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UNIT 4
Text A
PRE-READING TASK
Exercise 1
Before reading the passage, look at these questions. Then try to find the answers as you read it.
1. Where is the Bermuda Triangle located?
2. What happened there in 1945?
The Bermuda Triangle
1. On 5th December, 1945, five bombers from a United States Naval Air Station left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a routine training flight over the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida. A short time later the base received radio messages from the bombers (Flight 19) saying that they were lost. Then radio contact was broken. The flight did not return, and the planes that were sent to look for the bombers also failed to return. A massive search operation was mounted, but no trace of the missing planes or their pilots was found. They had simply and inexplicably disappeared.
2. This event was sufficient to confirm in many people's minds that the so-called "Devil's Triangle", or "Bermuda Triangle" -- a section of the North Atlantic bounded roughly by Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico -- really was haunted, and in some mysterious way was responsible for the loss of ships and planes. In all, in this area (3900000 square kilometres) of open sea, more than 50 ships and 20 planes have mysteriously disappeared. These include the U.S. Navy ship Cyclops in 1918 and the merchant vessel Marine Sulphur Queen in 1963. In the same year two U.S. Air Force KC 135 planes also disappeared without trace. In other words, it is not only small boats and planes that have vanished in the area, but the most modern and best equipped too.
3. Perhaps the most dramatic shipping loss in the area was the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine Scorpion. This vessel, like others before her, disappeared without explanation in May, 1968. Some months later she was found on the bottom of the ocean, but the reason for her loss has not been properly explained.
4. Many theories about the area have been proposed, and whole books have been written on the subject. It has been suggested, for example, that the disappearances are caused by unknown magnetic forces from outer space or from the bottom of the sea. There is also a theory about underwater volcanic action that affects shipping, and another that suggests the lost continent of Atlantis, which according to legend lies somewhere beneath the Atlantic, is involved.
5. However, others state that it is more likely that there is nothing special about this imaginary triangle of water, and that it is a product of sensational journalism. After all, ships, boats and planes are lost at sea in all parts of the world due to weather, mechanical failure or human error, and several of the losses are mysterious. The Marie Celeste, an American cargo boat, for example, was found in 1872 off the coast of Portugal in perfect order but with no crew on board. Their disappearance has never been explained. Did some of them mutiny and then escape? Were all the crew killed by some unknown agent? Did they try to escape from some danger or other? We shall probably never know.
6. However, regardless of the theories which exist about the "Bermuda Triangle", ships, boats and planes continue to travel daily through the area with great frequency, and it has not been proven that a higher percentage of accidents and losses occur in this section of the North Atlantic than in other areas of the world's oceans.
New Words
triangle
n. 三角形，三角形物体
bomber
n. an aircraft that carries and drops bombs 轰炸机
naval
a. of a navy 海军的
fort
n. 城堡，堡垒
routine
a. usual; habitual; regular 日常的，例行的
Atlantic
a. 大西洋的
n. [the Atlantic] 大西洋
mount
v. 1. to carry out 开展，进行
2. to put something into place on a support 安装
missing
a. that cannot be found or that is not in its usual place; lost 失去的，下落不明的
inexplicable
a. that cannot be explained 无法解释的
confirm
v. 证实，证明，确定
so-called
a. 所谓的，号称的
devil
n. 魔鬼
bound
v. 形成...的疆界，成为...的界线
n. 边界，界线
haunt
v. 1. (鬼魂等)经常出现,作祟
2.常到,常去(某地)
responsible
a. 1.being the cause (of something) 作为原由的
2.answerable for one's behaviour 对...负责的
loss
n. the act, instance or process of losing 损失,丧失,遗失
navy
n. 海军
nuclear
a. 1. 使用或产生核能的
2. 原子核的，核的
submarine
n. 潜水艇
vessel
n. a ship or boat, esp. a large one 舰,船(尤指大型的)
marine
a. 1. of, found in or produced by the sea 海的,海生的,海产的
2. of shipping matters 海上的,海事的,海运的
vanish
v. to disappear completely and suddenly 突然不见,消失
propose
v. to offer or put forward (something) for consideration; suggest 提出,提议,建议
unknown
a. not known 不为人所知的
magnetic
a. 磁的，有磁性的
outer
a. of or for the outside 外的,外部的
volcanic
a. 火山的，来自火山的
legend
n. 传说
involve
v. to include or affect (somebody or something) in its operation 牵涉,涉及
imaginary
a. existing only in the mind or imagination; not real 想象中的,不真实的
sensational
a. 令人激动的，轰动的
error
n. a mistake 过失,错误,谬误
due
prep. 应由...所得,应得
a. that should be paid or given 应给的,应得的
cargo
n. the goods carried in a ship or aircraft 船或飞机运载的货物
crew
n. 船上、飞机上或钻井机上的工作人员
mutiny
v. 背叛，反抗
agent
n. 1.(发生作用或影响的)动因,力量
2. the person who acts for other people in business, politics, etc. 代理人,经纪人
regardless
ad. paying no attention to someone or something 不顾一切地,无论如何
frequency
n. the fact of happening often 频繁
Phrases and Expressions
be responsible for
作为...原由的, 对...需负责任的
in all
总共,一共
in other words
换句话说
due to
由于,因为
in perfect order 完好无损
on board
在船上
regardless of
不顾,不管
Proper Names
Bermuda
百慕大群岛(位于北大西洋西部)
the Bermuda Triangle
百慕大三角
Fort Lauderdale
洛德代尔堡(佛罗里达州)
Florida
佛罗里达州(美国州名)
the Atlantic Ocean
大西洋
Puerto Rico
波多黎各(西印度群岛东部一岛,属美国)
Cyclops
塞克拉普斯号
Marine Sulphur Queen
海硫昆士号商船
Scorpion
天蝎星号核潜艇
Atlantis
亚特兰蒂斯(传说中的岛屿)
Marie Celeste
玛丽.塞莱斯特号货船
Portugal
葡萄牙
Text B
PRE-READING TASK
Exercise 1
The passage you are going to read is about "infra-sound"（次声）. Before reading the passage, think about the questions.
1. Do you have any ideas about infra-sound?
2. What might be the possible role it plays in our daily life?
Now read the passage to learn more about it.
Sounds We Cannot Hear
1. A man is driving down a long, straight Arizona highway. Suddenly he starts to drift across to the other side of the road. An oncoming truck flashes its headlights and hoots furiously, but to no avail. There is a sickening crash; the truck ends up half off the road, the driver of the car dies. The Arizona highway police, who arrive on the scene shortly afterwards, immediately ask all the obvious questions. Drink? No. Drugs? No, the post-mortem showed no evidence of drugs. Medicine? No, his wife was sure he had not been taking any medicine which might have affected him. Sleep? No, he had slept seven and a half hours the night before, and anyway he was an experienced highway driver. The weather? No, it was a mild autumn day. The car? As far as the police could tell, the car had been in good mechanical condition. There was one thing, though: it was a new car, and the man had never driven it before. So what had caused the accident?
2. Infra-sound is sound that the human ear cannot hear, as it cannot pick up vibrations below about thirty cycles a second (or above about 22 000). A motor vehicle running steadily at speed produces audible sound, but it also produces infra-sound, at between ten and twenty cycles per second. This sound cannot be heard but it can affect us. The British Acoustical Society has recently stated that, depending on the car, the road surface and the person concerned, this infra-sound can produce " euphoria, recklessness, lower efficiency and dizziness". You can become literally "drunk with sound". Was that what happened to the man on the Arizona highway? Perhaps in his case, we shall never know.
3. In fact infra-sound can be extremely dangerous to the body, as Professor Gavreau of Marseilles recently discovered. He wanted to investigate low-frequency sound, and realised that an ordinary French gendarme's whistle produces plenty of infra-sound. He therefore built a huge copy of a police whistle, six feet long, and connected it to an air-compressor. The results were more surprising than he expected: the operator who switched it on dropped dead on the spot. A post-mortem examination showed that his internal organs had been reduced to a jelly by the low-frequency vibrations. After that, Gavreau worked more carefully, Even so, in his second test he broke every window in every building within half a mile of the test site.
4. Low-frequency vibrations can be detected several minutes before an earthquake. People who live in earthquake zones are aware that dogs often start to howl before an earthquake, and seismographs confirm that what the dogs can sense is really occurring, though humans are unaware of it. Water is particularly sensitive to low frequency vibrations, and goldfish may be the first inhabitants of a house to be aware that an earthquake is coming. The Japanese, who live on top of a system of fractures and faults, are familiar with this phenomenon, and often keep goldfish in their houses; when the fish start swimming frantically about, it is time to look for a safe place well away from a large building! It has even been claimed that some animals become aware of earth tremors as much as several hours before they are observed by human beings, and that rabbits and deer have been seen running in terror from what afterwards turns out to be the epicentre of an earthquake.
5. More research will be needed before we are sure how infra-sound can be used, but two things are already clear: the information it provides may be vital, and infra-sound itself can be dangerous.
New Words
drift
v. 飘， 漂流
oncoming
a. 接近的，迎面而来的
headlight
n. a large lamp on the front of a locomotive, motor-car, etc. （火车，汽车等的）前灯
hoot
n. & v. the sound made by a motor-car horn, etc. 汽车喇叭等发出的鸣响
furiously
ad. violently 猛烈地
avail
n. value; help 帮助，用处
sickening
a. disgusting 令人毛骨悚然的，使人厌恶的
crash
n. 1. a sudden, loud sound made by a violent fall, blow or break 发出撞击声，爆烈声
2. a violent vehicle accident 车辆撞车事故
shortly
ad. soon; in a short time 即刻，不久
post-mortem
n. 验尸
mild
a. 1.(of the weather) warmer than usual, especially in autumn and winter （天气）温和的
2.(性情等)温和的
infra-sound
n. 次音(音频低于听觉范围的声音)
vibration
n. 振动，颤动
cycle
n. (交流电、声波等的)周,赫
vehicle
n. a machine such as a bus, car, that carries people or things from place to place 车辆
audible
a. loud enough to be heard 可听见的
acoustical
a. 声学的，听觉的
euphoria
n. 1.欣快症
2.兴奋
recklessness
n. 鲁莽
dizziness
n. 眩晕，头晕眼花
literally
ad. 1.简直
2.确实地, 真正地
investigate
v. to inquire into; make a careful study of 调查
gendarme
n. (法国等欧洲国家的)宪兵
whistle
n. 口哨，口哨声
air-compressor
n. 空气压缩机
operator
n. a person who operates or works something 操作者
switch
v. to turn (electric current) on or off 接通或切断(电流)
internal
a. of or in the inside 内部的,内在的
reduce
v. to change (to another form) 改变(成另一种形式)
jelly
n. 一团，糊状物
site
n. a place where something was, is, or is to be 场所
detect
v. to discover 查出,查明
earthquake
n. a sudden, violent movement of the earth's surface 地震
zone
n. 区域，地带
howl
v. (a wolf or dog) to utter a long, loud cry (狼、狗)嚎叫,狂吠
seismograph
n. 地震仪
unaware
a. not knowing; not aware 不知道的,未察觉的
sensitive
a. 敏感的
goldfish
n. 金鱼
inhabitant
n. 居民，住户
fracture
n. a break 断裂(面)
frantically
ad. 紧张纷乱地
tremor
n. the shaking or trembling 颤抖,颤动
rabbit
n. 兔子
deer
n. 鹿
terror
n. great fear 恐怖,惊骇
epicentre
n. the point at which an earthquake reaches the earth's surface 地震中心
vital
a. necessary or very important 必不可少的,极其重要的
Phrases and Expressions
to no avail
没有结果,不起作用
end up
结束,告终
shortly afterwards
不久之后
as far as
(表示程度、范围)就…, 尽…
pick up
听到,看到
switch on
打开,接通
be aware/unaware of
察觉到/未察觉到
be sensitive to
对...敏感
be familiar with
熟悉,了解
turn out
原来是,证明是
Proper Names
Arizona
亚利桑那州(美国)
the British Acoustical Society
英国声学学会
Gavreau
加夫罗(人名)
Marseilles
马赛(法国东南部港市)
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