Step by Step 3000 第1册 Unit9:For Peace and Development(2)

 　　Part 2. The Panama Canal handover.

　　Keyword. The Panama Canal, 19th century, hard labor¹, cut off, engineering marvels³, relinquish⁴ control of.

　　Vocabulary. swamp, jungle, malaria⁵, deposit, lock, toll⁶, marvel², relinquish, coincide.

　　A. Listen to three short paragraphs about Panama Canal, draw lines to match the paragraph number with its main idea.

　　During the first half of the 19th century, much thought was given to building the Panama Canal.

　　The discovery of gold in California in 1848 brought an increased demand for a transporation link across Panama.

　　A railroad line was completed after 6 years of hard labor in swamps and jungles.

　　Over 2,000 workmen died for yellow fever and malaria.

　　For 11 years workmen struggled against heat and disease.

　　The canal cuts thousand of miles off sea journeys between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, raising ships from one ocean and depositing them in the other through a system of water locks and a man-made lake.

　　Some 14,000 ships pass through the canal every year, and pay 540 million dollars in tolls⁷.

　　The canal remains⁸ one of the engineering marvels of the world.

　　It played a critical role in the development of global commerce.

　　This month, the United States relinquished⁹ control of the Panama Canal.

　　Panamanian President and formal U.S President Jimmy Carter signed a document turning over the canal and the land surrounding it to Palama.

　　It was in 1977 during Mr. Carter's administration, that the U.S and the Palama made the initial agreement:

　　The canal comes under Panamanian's control on December 31.

　　B. Listen to the following news item, complete the summary and details.

　　And Panama takes ownership of the Panama Canal from the United States at noon Friday, ending more than 90 years of the U.S control of the waterway.

　　Panamanians are planing the day of celebrations to mark the event, which coincide with New Year's Eve festivities.

　　United States later Thursday lowered its flag over the Palama Canal for the last time with the brief ceremony attended by the Panamanian President.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

3 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

4 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

5 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 relinquished   

交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She has relinquished the post to her cousin, Sir Edward. 她把职位让给了表弟爱德华爵士。
• The small dog relinquished his bone to the big dog. 小狗把它的骨头让给那只大狗。