1、Apology to the futureBy rights(pa.1)rightly;with good reason It is often used with“should”or“ought to”,and carries little meaning but strengthens the modal meaning.By rights,I should have been promoted instead of him.I should by rights speak German,my mothers German,but I only know a few words.I sho
2、uld not by rights have told you.Rendered well-nigh uninhabitablemade almost unsuitable for people to live on Habitable,inhabitable,uninhabitable Inhabitable is much less common because of its ambiguity.As part of the world be _,millions of people will try to migrate to more hospitable areas.They wer
3、e desperate for _ land.When we first moved into this old house,it was barely _.Forces set in motion(pa.2)Set sth.In motion:start sth.;cause sth.To start working The news set the British war machinery in motion.(cause it to start operating)We will set the wheels in motion,and you will be hearing from
4、 us in a few weeks.-destructive forces which are activated or set to workI wish I could say but we do.(pa.2)I wish it were all because we have less than enough knowledge to make us realize we are doing wrong./I wish I could say we do all this damage to Earth out of ignorance.The harsh truth,however,
5、is we do have enough knowledge to convince ourselves of our wrongdoings.Dumping heedlesslydiscarding without proper care Alternatives to nuclear energy(pa.3)-such as solar energy,energy from water or wind,etc.,all of which are presently being tapped in some form,but none of which can so far replace
6、fossil fuels The lions sharemans doing(pa.4)-It is man who causes the greatest part of damage to the environment The lions share:the greatest part;nearly all;He never offers to buy any wine,but when a bottle is opened,he always takes the lions share.Or so we say(pa.4)if in fact that is not a problem
7、 for the future to solve,at least we think so.Or(So)is used to make a concession to the previous statement you have made.It means what you have just said may not be a true fact,but at least someone says or thinks so.James is leaving tonight,or so he said.Marys coming over this summer or so Ive heard
8、.It is not just to one another.(pa.5)Our behavior towards the environment indicates(speaks of)clearly(evidently)what kind of world you are going to have.But in addition,our behavior towards one another also indicates that,and just as clearly(as our behavior towards the environment).Speak of:indicate
9、;suggest;give evidence of;The blood stain on the floor spoke of the fierce fighting the night before.Everything at the party spoke of careful planning.than perished in great conflagration -than there were people who died in World War II.The subject of a comparative clause can be omitted,with the con
10、junction“as”or“than”then functioning like a relative pronoun.The situation is not as serious as has been reported.You spent more money than was intended to be spent.The house was more luxuriously furnished than suited her purpose.Even as I write you(pa.5)exactly at the moment of my writing Even as:j
11、ust as the same moment as,I tried to reason with him,but even as I started to explain how the mistake happened he stood up to leave.Even as she said this,she knew it was not quite true.Massive thermonuclear arsenals(pa.6)-huge collections of thermonuclear weaponsHair trigger(pa.6)a gun trigger inven
12、ted in the 16th century which allows fid wiring device of a gun to be operated by a very slight pull.In the text,“on hair trigger”means“oversensitive,ready to be set off at the slightest stimulus”,implying the danger of a nuclear war coming easily at any moment.The word is often used figuratively as
13、 an adjective:A hair-trigger situation has been created which could lead to an outbreak of war at any time.The municipal power gridthe citys network of high-voltage power lines carrying electricity from where it is produced to where it is usedRegister a Soviet missile strike(pa.6)set down a record o
14、f a strike,but mistake the lightning strike for a Soviet missile strike.Genetic mutations(pa.6)-Changes in gene structure,caused supposedly by radiation and certain toxic chemicals in the environmentHorrors weve been saving up for you-(ironic)dreadful things weve deliberately prepared for you Humank
15、ind has neverusing on itself(pa.7)-Humankind will use every weapon it has made sooner or later to kill itself.Get around to doing sth:do sth.after a long delay because you previously did not have time or chance to do it,e.g.I said I would write to you,but as usual I never got around to it.Ive got ba
16、gs of photographs and I must get round to putting them in an album some day.Countenance(pa.7)-(a formal word used mainly in the negative)Approve and allow to happen;tolerate,e.g.John would not countenance his daughters marrying while still a student.I just cant countenance killing animals to make fu
17、r coats.even if you have Armageddon(pa.7)even if Gods favor is suddenly and unbelievably bestowed upon you and saves you from suffering a nuclear world war A stroke,providence,Armageddon A stroke means a sudden unexpected occurrence of something pleasant.For example,a stroke of luck or fortune is an
18、 unexpected piece of good luck,as in:My car had broken down opposite a garage,which was a real stroke of luck.Providence is Gods will or fate,e.g.Pope John Paul said that providence had chosen him to proclaim the spiritual unity of Europe.Armageddon(the final battle between the forces of good and ev
19、il),the prospect of a nuclear conflict which will annihilate all human life on earthGovernment is supposed the hang of it.What is the meaning of government?Does it mean an organization or a institution?The party that was elected to power has no experience of government.(abstract)the act of governmen
20、t(of controlling and directing the public business of a country)Get the hang of learn the trick of sth.Pass for(pa.8)-be accepted as or mistaken for something one is not Childrens toy guns now look so realistic that they can often pass for the real thing in a robbery.She is 45 but could pass for 25.
21、Youd be appalledmodern age.-you would be shocked to find out about the pretended governing system in our so-called enlightened age.Malfeasance(pa.8)(uncountable)wrongdoing or misconduct by a public official mal=bad,maladministration,malfunction,feasance=doing Our entire societyeverybody else.(pa.8)U
22、S political system has caused the society to split up into numerous sections with as many different political views,even to the extent that in the everybody is disagreeing or quarrelling with everybody else.Politicized,polarized,factionalized In the final analysis:a.in the end,e.g.Im on the right tr
23、ack and I think in the final analysis people will understand that.b.to get to the root of the problem,e.g.In the final analysis,it is not the man in the street who decides which of the several candidates should be president.In such a bizarre reversals.-Under such abnormal conditions,national affairs
24、 are all strangely turned around into the wrong direction.Sell off(pa.9)sell cheaply The store is selling off their told televisions sets to make room for the latest models.They would sell the meat off as pet food.Use wasteful it does retain(pa.9)On the mall portion of lands which the department doe
25、s not sell off,it uses wasteful,destructive methods to grow crops.which stymies on the books(pa.9)We have only a few laws against pollution,but even they are only written on government papers for inspection:their implementation is severely blocked by the so-called Environmental“protection”Agency.Ser
26、ve as a front procurement(pa.9)Front mask or disguise Dont be fooled by his kindnessits just a front.The machinery company was a front for arms smuggling.He was using his business activities as a front for crime.Procure:obtain after an effort;manoeuvre to possess dismantle public education form the
27、top down Destroy the education system completely Its all the old human follies,writ large.It to give a reason for something Writ large:manifested(shown)on a larger scale or in a clearer manner A is B writ largeA is a magnified form or version of B Hollywood is often said to be American society,writ
28、large.Their political philosophy is just selfishness writ large.We single-mindedly “business as usual”We are bent on carrying out routine activities under the delusion that everything is going all right,so we continue to pollute,“ungreen”forestry,etc.,but in fact the normal activities are hiding all
29、 our evils(greed,stupidity,self-interest)and destruction of the world.Shape updo what is expected of one Or else(used to express a threat)or expect to be punished,e.g.Come inside this minute,Tommy,or else!He told us to put it right,or else.Pa.10 It is no hideous directly on you.(pa.10)It is not that
30、 any supernatural creature has appeared in the latter half of the 20th century,so that our environment is destroyed in such a way.The destruction has been caused by the same human vices that have been there for centuries.What seems different in the second half of that century is that the same vices
31、have been immensely augmented by the unparalleled technological advances in this period,thus producing for more devastating effects than ever before.You are going to have to judge elements(pa.10)When you come to evaluate our generation,its worst,rather than best,elements will have to be your chief c
32、onsideration.Judge sb.By sth.:base ones opinion of sb.On sth.You cant judge a book by its cover.Had we given ourselveshalf a chance(pa.11)If only we had allowed ourselves the slightest opportunity(then we would have turned the world around)Shes very bright and Im sure shell succeed given half a chan
33、ce.Given half a chance,hed give up working tomorrow.Pretensions(pa.12)Claim or belief that one has more merits,worth,or importance than one really has;unrealistic pride of oneself;boastful self-inspiration His social pretensions make him appear ridiculous.Uniteds championship pretensions took a dent when they were beaten 5-1 by Liverpool.
