Unit 4 Globalization detailed reading 2
Unit 4 Globalization
Detailed Reading
1. Difficult Sentences
Browder now manages $1.6 billion in assets.
What information can you get from the sentence?
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese
"National identity makes no difference for me," he says.
Why does Browder say so?
Although Browder and Mandl define their nationality differently, both
see their identity as a matter of personal choice, not an accident of
birth.
1. How do you understand “not an accident of birth”?
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese
Whatever their considerable differences, most Davos Men and Women share at least one belief: that globalization, the unimpeded flows of capital, labor and technology across national borders, is both welcome and unstoppable.
1. Underline the main structure of the sentence.
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese
This disconnect, he says, creates "a major cultural fault line.
1. What can we infer from the sentence?
2. Paraphrase the sentence
"If the issue is how the pie is divided, if you're in the Western world you could question that."
1. What does “that” refer to?
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese
2. Words and Expressions
globalization:n.free flows of capital, labor, technology, and personal contact
across national borders
* Some see the spread of English as an international language as just another consequence of globalization.
(=Thanks to globalization, the burger you buy in Moscow is exactly the same as the one you buy in New York.)
sweep aside:clear away or get rid of suddenly or forcefully; refuse to pay
attention to sth./ sb. says
*Anyway, by then she was sure that Julius would simply have swept any
curbs aside.
他们对所有的反对意见不予理睬。
(=They swept all the objections aside.)
Pattern:
sweep away 扫清, 迅速消灭
sweep out 扫掉; 清除
sweep over 眺望, 环视
sweep up 打扫干净, 收拾干净
strengthen: vt.become stronger or make sth. stronger
We must strengthen the weak links.
(=The President's first priority was to strengthen the economy.)
asset:n.
1) (usu. pl) money or property that a person or company owns
*Copyrights, patents, trademarks, brand names, and trade secrets are all part of a company’s intangible assets.
目前，他们的资产有623万美元。
(=Currently, they have $6,230,000 in assets.)
2) an advantage or a resource
*The most powerful asset we have is our skilled, dedicated workforce.
(=A sense of humor is an important asset for any teacher.)
Collocation:
capital/ fixed assets 资本/固定资产
cash assets 现金资产
liquid/ circulating/ current assets 流动资产
net assets 净资产
make no / little difference: have no / little effect (on), be of no / little importance (to) *That does not mean it makes no difference to social welfare which rules we settle upon. 姚明的缺席似乎对休斯顿火箭队没有太大的影响。
(=The absence of Yao Ming seemed to make little difference to the performance of the Houston Rockets.)
identify…as: recognize and correctly name someone or sth.
*His accent identified him as a Frenchman.
(=The policeman identified him as the thief.)
elite:n. a group of people who have a lot of power and influence because they have
money, knowledge, or special skills
*Only a small elite can afford to send their children to this school.
这些人构成了有决定权的精英集团。
(=These people form an elite who have the power to make decisions. )
Collocation:
political/social/economic elite 政治/社会/经济精英
a handful of: a very small number of people or things:
*That place was of little interest. I only took a handful of pictures.
(=What counts is having a handful of young that are exceptional.)
earnest: adj. marked by or showing deep sincerity or seriousness *Friends described Jackson as an earnest, hard-working young man.
你可以笑，但我绝对是认真的。
(=You may laugh but I’m in deadly earnest. )
Collocation:
in earnest 郑重地；严肃认真
CF: earnest, serious, severe
这三个形容词均有“严肃的”之意。
earnest 指严肃，认真，含诚恳和热情意味。例如:
* I could tell she was speaking in earnest. 我看得出来她的话是当真的。serious 指具有关键、严肃或严重意义的事情。例如:
*We give serious consideration to safety recommendations. 我们认真考
虑安全建议。
severe 指面孔的严肃，法律的严厉，伤病的严重。着重严厉性，无丝毫温情。
例如:
*Many people feel the punishment should have been more severe. 许多
人认为惩罚本应该更加严厉些。
considerable: adj. fairly large, especially large enough to have an effect or be
important
* Attracting tourists to the area is going to take considerable effort.
(=A considerable amount of research was done here by our science department.)
interconnect: vi. connect to or with each other
*Our operating system can now interconnect with other networks.
人们的生活是如何互相联系在一起的, 真是不可思议。
(=It’s strange how people’s lives interconnect.)
advantageous:adj.helpful and likely to make you successful
*Many bus companies provide advantageous fare tickets especially for tourists.
你会发现等几周再作答复是很有好处的。
(=You may find it advantageous to wait a few weeks before replying.)
NB: “advantageous”的名词形式为“advantage”。与其搭配常用的短语是：“have the advantage of”“有优势”; “take advantage of”“（以不正当手段）利用；占便宜”
entitle: vt.
1) give a title to给…题名，给…取名
*She was reading a poem entitled Auguries of Innocence.
(=He entitled the book The Secret Garden.)
2) give someone the official right to do or have sth.
*Full-time employees are entitled to receive health insurance.
他们有资格享有许多优惠和特权。
(=They are entitled to enjoy many advantages and privileges.)
Pattern:
be entitled 叫做, 称为
be entitled to (do) sth. 对...享有权利/有资格
vanish: vi. disappear suddenly, especially in a way that cannot be easily explained *My keys were here a minute ago but now they've vanished.
(=The plane vanished from radar screens soon after taking off.)
CF: vanish, disappear, evaporate
这三个动词均有“消失”之意。
vanish 语气强，指完全、往往是神秘而突然的消失，不留任何蛛丝马迹。
disappear 普通用词，强调从视线或脑海中消失。这消失可能是暂时的、突然的或永久的，视上下文而定。
evaporate 指像水蒸发时那样悄然逝去，也指某人悄悄地、突然退出或离去。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. Drugs won't make the pain _______ altogether, but they will help.
(=disappear)
2. All hopes of finding the boy alive have _____. (=vanished)
3. Hopes of achieving peace are beginning to ______. (=evaporate)
4. Before she could scream, the man had _____into the night. (=vanished)
5. 13 year-old Nicola ______ from her home on Saturday night. (=disappeared)
6. They then fan the water so that it ______ and in doing so lowers the temperature.
(=evaporates)
7. By the time of the trial, the tape had mysteriously _____. (=disappeared)
facilitate: vt. make it easier for a process or activity to happen
*Both centers are electronically linked to facilitate communication.
学校都建在同一校区内，以便资源共享。
(=Schools were located in the same campus to facilitate the sharing of resources.)
16. (Para. 4) at odds with: in conflict with; disagreeing or quarrelling with
*The government decision to raise taxes was at odds with their policies on inflation.
(=Briggs found himself at odds with his colleagues.)
Collocation:
at odds 矛盾；不一致
it makes no odds 没有关系，无关紧要
take odds 占优势
odds and ends 小事; 不要紧的东西
be committed to:promise to do (sth.); be devoted to
*A lot of money has been committed to this project.
中国承诺发展低碳经济。
(=China is committed to pursuing a low carbon economy.)
endorse: vt. express formal support or approval for someone or sth.
*The Prime Minister is unlikely to endorse this view.
(=I fully endorse the measures taken to improve safety standards.)
Collocation:
endorse a proposal/an idea/a candidate 赞成提议/想法/候选人
endorse a cheque 背书支票
erase:vt. get rid of sth. so that it has gone completely and no longer exists *Their dream is to erase poverty and injustice from the world.
没有什么东西可以使他忘记那件事。
(=Nothing can erase the incident from his memory.)
CF：erase, delete
这两个动词都有“去掉，抹去”之意。
erase 指“把写的或画的痕迹擦去或刮掉”, 用于比喻意义时, 指“从记忆中抹去”, 例如: He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误
答案, 写上了正确答案。又如：Nothing can erase the incident from his memory.
没有什么东西可以使他忘记那件事。
delete 指“去掉、擦掉(字迹等)”、“勾掉、删掉(字句等)”, 例如:
If you delete several words, we can put the whole story on one
page. 如果你删去几个字, 我们可把整个故事写在一页上。
accelerate: v.(cause to) move faster or happen earlier
*Mr Henley has accelerated his sale of shares over the past year.
选手们跑过弯道时平稳地加速。(=The runners accelerated smoothly round the bend.)
forefront: n. the foremost part or area
*The company has always been at the forefront of science and technology.
(=Companies compete to stay at the forefront of research and development.) Pattern：
at/in/to the forefront (of sth) 位于最前列；成为领导力量
keep sb/sth at/in/ to 使…保持在最前列
come into/to 跃居最前列
witness:
1. vt. be present and see
* The crash was witnessed by scores of holiday weekenders along the beach.
20世纪80年代，电子传媒得到了空前的发展。
(=The 1980s witnessed an unprecedented increase in the scope of the electronic media.)
2. n.someone who sees a crime or an accident and can describe what happened
*Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
(=The witness was asked to identify the defendant in the courtroom.)
beat a path to/ beat down sb’s door: if people beat a path to your door, they are
interested in sth. you are selling, a service you are
providing etc.
* The new design was supposed to have consumers beating a path to their door.
现在她已经成名, 她家门庭若市。(=Now that she has become famous, all sorts of people will be beating a path to her door.)
Pattern:
beat a path to/ beat down sb’s door 门庭若市
beat a big drum for/about 为…鼓吹;;为…大肆宣传
beat a bargain 还价成交
remarkable: adj. unusual or surprising and therefore deserving attention or praise
* Clark did a remarkable job setting things up for the meeting.
(=She has made remarkable progress.)
CF: remarkable, outstanding, striking
这三个形容词均有“显著的，引人注意的”之意。
remarkable 通常指因有与众不同的特点或优越性而引起人们注意或称道。
outstanding 通常指与同行或同类的人相比显得优秀或杰出，或具有他人或别的事物所没有的特征。
striking 强调能给观察者产生强烈而深刻印象。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. From the outside, the most _____aspect of the building is its tall, slender tower.
(=striking)
2. It's a _____ achievement for the company. (=remarkable)
3. The lowest ranks of society showed the most ______ and significant contrasts.
(=striking)
4. With her mass of black hair and pale skin she looked very ____. (=striking)
5. The book is a series of interviews with ______ artists and writers. (=outstanding)
6. His drawings are _______ for their accuracy. (=remarkable)
7. She would create something special, something _____ for her.
(=outstanding)
landmark: n.
1) sth. that is easy to recognize, such as a tall tree or building, and that
helps you know where you are
* The Washington Monument is a popular historical landmark.
这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
(=The tower was once a landmark for ships.)
2) one of the most important events, changes, or discoveries that
influences someone or sth.
* The Reform and Open Door Policy has become a landmark in Chinese history.
小孩的出世是所有相关人生活中一件大事。
(=The birth of a child is an important landmark in the lives of all concerned.)
overtake(overtook, overtaken):
1) v. go past a moving vehicle or person because you are going faster
than them and want to get in front of them
* Before you start to overtake, make sure the road is clear ahead of you.
(=Two trucks overtaking one another brushed him to the side.)
2) vt. catch up with or pass after catching up with
*Television soon overtook the cinema as the most popular form of
entertainment.
在工业产量方面德国迅速超过了英国。
(=Germany rapidly overtook Britain in industrial output.)
NB: 前缀over可以放在名词，动词，形容词前边表达“too much 过分”的含义。例如: “overpopulation” “人口过剩”; “overwork ”“过度工作”；“overweight”“超重的”。
displace: vt. take the place of; replace
* Coal has been displaced by natural gas as a major source of energy.
(=Some of the companies that have been displaced have, in their time, displaced others.)
elsewhere:adv. in, at, or to another place
*He'll work as a freelance consultant, unless he finds a better job elsewhere.
我们最喜欢去的那家饭店客满了, 因此不得不改去别处
(=Our favourite restaurant was full so we had to go elsewhere.)
patriotic: adj. having or expressing a great love of your country
* Relatives remembered him as a deeply patriotic man.
(=The presidential candidate said paying higher taxes was a patriotic act.)
let alone: much less; not to mention
* Many thousands of children had never even seen, let alone owned a pair of shoes.
他连带领保龄球队的本事都没有，更别提领导国家了。
(=He was incapable of leading a bowling team, let alone a country.)
Pattern:
let sb /sth. be 别打扰，不干预
let sth. drop/ fall 无意中说出，不经意透露
let sb./sth. go 放，释放
domestic: adj. relating to or happening in one particular country and not involving
any other countries
*Security on domestic flights in the US has been stepped up considerably.
(=History books do not tell us much about the domestic lives of our
ancestors.)
strike a balance: give the correct amount of importance or attention to two
separate things
*Effective organizations will strike a balance that allows them not only to accept uncertainty but to take advantage of it.
他发现平衡家庭和工作的关系是很困难的。
(=He was finding it difficult to strike a balance between his family and his work.)
After Reading
1 Useful Expressions
1. 扫除sweep aside
2. 寻找in search of
3. 国家认同national identity
4. 狂热信徒 a fervent believer
5. 认为identify… as
6. 毫不迟疑without any hesitation
7. 国际商业精英international business élite
8. 少数几位 a handful of
9. 没完没了的认真的讨论endless earnest discussion
10. 资本、劳动力和技术的流动flow of capital, labor and technology
11. 最佳地点the most advantageous locations
12. 全球超级物种global superspecies
13. 与…渐行渐远increasingly divorce from
14. 文化断层cultural fault line
15. 处于…的前沿at the forefront of
16. 开辟一条通向…的道路beat a path to
17. 一个创新的卓越环境 a remarkable environment of innovation
18. 根据对各国人口和经济增长的预计
be based on projections of demographic and economic growth
19. 从…脱离swing away from
20. 低薪流动劳工low-paid migrant workers
21. 医疗保健体系health care system
22. 跨国界经营cross-border business
23. 更别提let alone
24. 狭隘民族主义 a narrow nationalism