Unit 3 Father Knows Better
I. Words and Expressions
1. (Title) know better: behave in a more sensible and acceptable way
He is old enough to know better.
他很明事理，不至于以貌取人。
He knows better than to judge by appearances.
Pattern:
know better than sb.
know better than to do sth.
2. embarrass: vt. make (sb.) feel awkward or ashamed
It embarrassed him that he had to give a talk in front of a lot of people.
I don’t like making speeches in public. It’s so embarrassing.
I was really embarrassed when I couldn’t answer the teacher’s question.
3. dumb: adj.
a. foolish
That was a dumb thing to do.
He was so dumb that he left his keys at home again.
b. unable to speak
The terrible news struck us all dumb.
他生来不能说话，但是他设法到一个好工作。
He was born dumb, but he has still managed to get a good job.
4. in unison: acting in the same way at the same time
All the babies cried in unison.
国际社会准备一致反对恐怖主义。
The international community is ready to work in unison against terrorism.
5. consist of: be made up of
The city of New York consists of five boroughs.
The committee consists of scientists and engineers.
Collocation:
consist in 等于；在于
CF: consist, compose, comprise & constitute
这几个词都是动词，都有“组成”的意思。
consist 是个不及物动词，与介词of一起连用，不可用于被动语态。consist的主
Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. 水由氢和氧组成。
North America consists of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 北美洲包括美国、加拿大和墨西哥。
compose的主语表示事物的组成部分，宾语表示事物的整体。但在被动语态中正好相反。例如：
The United States, Canada, and Mexico compose North America. 美国、加拿大和墨西哥合起来构成北美洲。
Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. 水由氢和氧组成。
Comprise用作及物动词，有两种用法：传统规则认为其主语应当为事物的整体，宾语应当为事物的组成部分，词义为“由……组成，由……构成”；另一种趋势是用comprise表达“组成，构成”的意思，此时其主语为事物的组成部分，宾语为事物的整体。
North America comprises the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 北美洲包括美国、加拿大和墨西哥。
Ten stories comprise the book. 十个故事组成了这本书。
constitute的主语表示事物的组成部分，宾语表示事物的整体。例如：
The United States, Canada, and Mexico constitute North America. 美国、加拿大和墨西哥合起来构成北美洲。
Seven days constitute a week. 七天为一周。
6. fade: vi.
a. lose color or brightness
The wallpaper has faded.
b. disappear slowly
The sound of thunder faded away into the distance.
随着天气越来越冷，他早锻炼的热情逐渐消失了。
Her enthusiasm for early-morning exercises faded as the weather was getting colder and colder.
Collocation:
fade away 逐渐消失
fade out 逐渐消失；淡出
7. trade for: exchange (sth.) for (sth. else)
They traded their clothes for food.
农民用农产品换工具和钱.
The farmers traded farm produce for tools and money.
8. keep in suspense: delay telling (sb.) what they are eager to know
We’ve been kept in suspense waiting for the examination results.
观众的悬念一直持续到剧终。
The audience is kept in suspense to the very end of the play.
Collocation:
break the suspense 消除悬念
hold sb. in suspense 使某人处于悬念之中
be in suspense over 对…悬疑不安
9. interrupt: v. stop (sb.) from continuing what they are saying or doing
Stop interrupt me. I’m trying to talk to your mother.
My daughter kept interrupting me when I spoke.
10. distract: vt. take (sb.’s attention) away from sth. esp. for a short time
Don’t distract me from working.
She was distracted by the noise outside.
玩电脑游戏有时让他写作业分心。
Playing computer games sometimes distracts him from his homework.
Pattern:
distract sb./sth.
distract sb./sth. from
11. glorious: adj. wonderful
Look at the glorious colors on the sky.
It seems a pity to be indoors on such a glorious day.
12. hand down: give or leave to people who are younger or come later
The gold watch has been handed down from my grandfather.
她有一些珠宝，是从她祖母那儿传下来的。
She had some jewelry, which had been handed down from her grandmother.
Collocation:
hand in 上交；交给
hand on 传递；依次传下去
hand out 分给；分发
hand over 交出；移交
13. at any rate: whatever may happen; in any case
At any rate, I’m going back home.
At any rate, you survived the car accident.
Collocation:
birth rate 出生率
first-rate 一流的
at this / that rate 这样/那样的话；照这样/那样的情形
rate of exchange 汇率
junior是什么意思CF: speed, rate & pace
speed一般指单位时间内所运动的距离。例如：
He drove at a speed of 70 miles per hour. 他以每小时七十英里的速度行驶。
We can’t go any faster. We’re already at top speed. 我们不能再快了。我们已经全速前进了。
rate指比率、率，如速度、出生率、入学率等。指速度时可与speed换用。例如：
She can read at the rate of 100 words a minute. 她每分钟能阅读100个单词。
He must pay at the rate of 10 percent. 他必须按照百分之十的比率付款。
pace主要指行走、跑步等的步速，也可指生活、生长、进展等方面的速度、进度等。例如：
If you advance one pace, I will shoot you. 你再向前走一步，我就开了。
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