大学英语精读第1册 (9)

UNIT 9


TEXT

Throughout the ages different ideas have been expressed about the workings of the human brain. It is only recently, however, that science has begun to give us some idea of how the brain really works.

The Brain The Most Powerful Computer in the Universe

Man still has lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body - the brain.
In ancient times men did not think that the brain was the center of mental activity. Aristotle the philosopher of ancient Greece thought that the mind was based in the heart. It was not until the 18th century that man realized that the whole of the brain was involved in the workings of the mind.
During the 19th century scientists found that when certain parts of the brain were damaged men lost the ability to do certain things. And so, people thought that each part of the brain controlled a different activity. But modern research has found that this is not so. It is not easy to say exactly what each part of the brain does.
In the past 50 years there has been a great increase in the amount of research being done on the brain. Chemists and biologists have found that the way the brain works is far more complicated than they had thought. In fact many people believe that we are only now really starting to learn the truth about how the human brain works. The more scientists find out, the more questions they are unable to answer. For instance, chemists have found that over 100,00 chemical reactions take place in the brain every second. Mathematicians who have tried to use computers to copy the way the brain works have found that even using the latest electronic equipment they would have to build a computer which weighed over 10,000 kilos. Some recent research also suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. We may not be able to recall this information, but it is all stored in our brains.
Scientists hope that if we can discover how the brain works, the better use we will be able to put it to. For example, how do we learn language? Man differs most from all the other animals in his ability to learn and use language but we still do not know exactly how this is done. Some children learn to speak and read and write when they are very young compared to average children. But scientists are not sure why this happens. They are trying to find out whether there is something about the way we teach language to children which in fact prevents children from learning sooner.
Earlier scientists thought that during a man's lifetime the power of his brain decreased. But it is now thought that this is not so. As long as the brain is given plenty of exercise it keeps its power. It has been found that an old person who has always been mentally active has a quicker mind than a young person who has done only physical work. It is now thought that the more work we give our brains, the more work they are able to do.
Other people now believe that we use only 1% of our brains' full pote

ntial. They say that the only limit on the power of the brain is the limit of what we think is possible. This is probably because of the way we are taught as children. When we first start learning to use our minds we are told what to do, for example, to remember certain facts, but we are not taught how our memory works and how to make the best use of it. We are told to make notes but we are not taught how our brains accept information and which is the best way to organize the information we want our brains to accept.
This century man has made many discoveries about the universe - the world outside himself. But he has also started to look into the workings of that other universe which is inside himself -the human brain.



NEW WORDS
Computer machine that stores information and works out answers 计算机
Universe 宇宙
Complex difficult to understand or explain 错综复杂的，难懂的
Ancient in or of times long ago 古代的；古老的
Philosopher 哲学家
Philosophy 哲学
Involve cause to become connected or concerned 使卷入
Working operation; action 运转，运行，活动
Ability 能力
Exactly with complete correctness 确切地；精确地
Exact
Amount 数量，数额
Chemist one who studies and understands chemistry 化学家
Biologist one who studies the life of animals and plants 生物学家
Biology 生物学
Complicated difficult to understand, complex 难懂的，复杂的
Chemical of chemistry
Unable not able
Reaction 反应
Mathematician one who studies and understands mathematics 数学家
Equipment 设备，装置
Equip
Kilo 公斤，千克
Recent done or made not long ago 近来的
Recall remember 记得，回忆起
Differ be different (from)
Mentally 智力上，脑力上
Physical of the body; of matter; of the science of physics 身体的，物质的，物理学的
Potential 潜力
Limit 局限，限度

PHRASES EXPRESSIONS
Put ... to (good) use use (in a profitable way) (好好) 利用
Differ from be dissimilar to 与 ... 不同
Compared to . with in comparison with 与 ... 相比
Make notes take notes 记笔记
Look into examine 调查，观察

PROPER NAMES
Aristotle 亚里士多德
Greece 希腊


NOTES
1 This text is taken from BBC Modern English (January 1981) and the author is Hugh Corrigan.
2 Aristotle (384-322 B.C.): Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato and tutor of Alexander the Great.

STUDY PRACTICE
Words to Drill
Ability amount ancient chemical complex
Complicated differ equipment exactly involve
Limit physical potential reaction recall
Recent unable

universe

Reading Aloud and Memorizing
1 Read the following paragraph until you learn it by heart, paying attention to sense groups and the sentence stress:
`Scientists `hope that if we can dis `cover `how the `brain `sorks, the `better `use we will be `able to `put it `to. For e`xample, ``how do we `learn `language? `Man `differs `most from `all the `other `animals in his a `bility to `learn and `use `language but we `still do `not `know e`xactly `how this is `done. `some `children `learn to `speak and `read and `write when they are `very `young com `pared to `average `children. But `scientists are `not sure `why this `happens. They are `trying to `find `out `whether there is `something about the way we `teach `language to `children `which in `fact pre `vents `children from `learning `sooner.


Comprehension of the Text
2 Tell whether each of the following statements is true or false according to the text:
1.In ancient times it was believed that it was the heart that did the thinking for man.
2.Modern research has found that each part of the brain is responsible for a different mental or physical activity.
3.The way we are taught to do things and to organize information may be very different from how our brain actually accepts information. Hence (因此) our way may not be the best.
4.The brain will not decrease in its power to function as long as it is given plenty of work to do.
5.Because of a great increase in the amount of brain research, scientists have answered most of their questions about the workings of the mind.
6.A person keeps in mind everything that happens to him. Yet it is still possible for him not to be able to recall something that's stored in his memory.
7.Note -making is the best way to organize the information we want our brains to accept.
8.If we know how the human brain learns to use language, perhaps we may be able to find a better way to teach language.
3 Answer the following questions:
1.Who was Aristotle? What did he think about the mind? When did man finally come to realize that Aristotle was wrong on this point?
2.What led people to think that each part of the brain controlled a different activity? Is it still believed to be true?
3.Why is the brain thought to be the most powerful computer in the universe?
4.Is research on the brain already at an advanced stage? What makes you think so?
5.Why are some scientists interested in the language learning process?
6.In what way can we make our brain more active?
7.Does the power of the brain decrease as one gets old according to the author?
How does he prove this? Do you agree with him? Is his argument convincing (有说服力的) enough for you?
8.Do we know at present how our brain accepts and organizes information?
Are scientists working to gain this knowledge?
For what purpose are they doing this?


Vocabulary
4 Study the following pairs of words and use them correctly in the given sentences

:
1. heart / mind
(1)The bad news broke my ________ .
(2)Tom works very hard and never loses _______ in face of difficulties.
(3)I promise that I will always keep your warnings in ______ .
(4)To my _______, this guy is a good - for -nothing (无用的人).
(5)Were you in your right _______ when you did such a foolish thing? I think you must have been out of your _______ .
(6)Don't take his rude words too much to ________. He often speaks like that.
2. find / find out
(1)He became so interested in her life story that he decided to ______ more about her.
(2)The librarian promised to _______ me the book I wanted.
(3)I'll try and ______ who broke the transistor (晶体管收音机)
(4)I ______ this to be true in all the cities I visited.
(5)Two of the young men were sent to town to ______ about the situation there.
(6)The wind was blowing all night. But the next morning. I ______ the rice shoots (秧苗) standing up straight, not a bit damaged.
5 Fill in the blanks with words or expressions given below. Change the form where necessary.
Potential differ universe make notes compared to
Physical look into recall involve complicated
Equipment damage amount put ... to good use
1.More than two substances(物质) _______ in this chemical reaction.
2.If you don't know how to ______ your books ______, give them to others.
3.If we compare our earth with the moon, we will find that the former _____ from the latter in many ways.
4.The _____ of money one earns is not the only measure of success.
5.In the earthquake many houses were ______ and some were destroyed.
6.The police are ______ the records of all those _______ in the crime(罪行).
7.The multiple origins (多种来源) of the English language make it a ______ one for the non - native speakers to learn.
8.These young people have a _____ for learning which has been neglected.
9.______ most women of her time, she was indeed very fortunate.
10.Americans who were old enough can clearly _____ what they were doing on November 22, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated (暗杀) in Dallas.
11.His new theory might hold the key to understanding how the _____ came into being.
12.A ______ examination is required for a marriage license (证书).
13.Knowledge of the use of specialized _______ is important in any technical field.
14.Students often, but not always, find it necessary to _______ of their professors' lectures.
6 Complete the following sentences, using the words in brackets:
1.It seems that he cannot understand the simplest instructions.
He seems ... (unable)
2.Even teachers of the same subject often have very different teaching styles.
Teaching styles often ... (differ)
3.Chinese cities are bigger in terms of population than most American cities.
Most American cities ... (compared to)
4.No other animal

but man is able to learn and use language.
Man alone ... (ability)
5.It is far from simple to communicate with people of different cultures, but not impossible.
Communication with ... (complex)
6.The place where we had agreed to meet escaped from my memory.
I could ... (recall)
8 Study the following words. Then use them to rewrite the given sentences without changing their meaning.
Findings writings teachings savings earnings
1.What the committee(委员会) finds will be published in the Daily News.
2.At the beginning, he gave all the money he earned to his mother.
3.It took all the money he had saved to buy the house.
4.What Darwin wrote on evolution (进化) produced a tremendous impact (巨大影响) on the development of biology.
5.What Comrade Mao Zedong taught us about the united front is still of great significance (重要性) today.
Structure
9 Rewrite the give sentences after the models:
Model 1: Earlier scientists thought that during a man's lifetime the power of his brain decreased gradually.
It was thought that during a man's lifetime the power of his brain decreased gradually.
1.In ancient times people believed that the mind was based in the heart.
2.People now claim (声称) that it is never too early to learn.
3.Some scientists believe that the left side of the human brain is responsible for logic(逻辑).
4.Man discovered long ago that the earth is round.
Model 2: Man didn't realize that the brain controlled our thinking until the 18th
Century.
It was not until the 18th century that man realized that the brain controlled our thinking.
Not until the 18th century did man realize that the brain controlled our thinking.
1.He didn't fall asleep until after midnight.
2.Scientists didn't know much about lung cancer until recently.
3.The boy never remembered to do his homework until bedtime.
4.He was not recognized as a writer of genius (天才) until after his death.
Model 3: If we work harder, we will get better results.
The harder we work, the better results we will get.
1.If we know more about the workings of the brain, we'll be able to put it to better use.
2.As scientists find out more about the brain, there are more questions they are unable to answer.
3.If we have more exercise, we will be healthier.
4.If you have better tools, the job will be easier.

Cloze
10 Fill in the missing words:
(A)
The human brain and its p_____(1) for learning is a c_____(2) subject which scientists have long sought to understand. The knowledge scientists now possess d_____(3) greatly from the theories of a_____(4) times; however, even r_____(5) study has left many questions unanswered. One question which scientists continue to look into is whether there is a l____(6) to the brain's a_____(7) to take in and r____(8) information. Another is e_____(9) how learning takes place in the brain. Though now our knowledge is great as c_______ t_______(1

0) earlier times, we have remained u____(11) to completely understand this c_____(12) part of the human body.
(B)
1You probably know there are two sides to the brain, the left and the fight. According _____(1) one theory, the right side deals ______(2) the senses (what we see, ____(3), feel and smell). It's the creative (有创造力的) imaginative _____(4) . The left side is concerned _____(5) logic. It analyses(分析) information and puts _____(6) in order. It's the 'educated' _____(7) of the brain.
Scientists believe that our brains will____(8) at least 75% more effectively if ______ _____(9) sides are exercised. In fact, in some schools, experiments have been _____(10) using a 50%--50% syllabus(教学大纲) That is, a syllabus ____(11) deals 50% with logic and 50% ____(12) creative skills and therefore exercises _____(13) sides of the brain. The results of students _____(14) were working from such a syllabus were _____(15) better than the results of students _____(16) from the more traditional (传统的) syllabus _____(17) concentrates on more 'logical' items and _____(18) only exercises the left side of the brain, without much attention ____(19) the right side.
2.Most forgetting takes place immediately after learning. _____(1) hour after studying or learning _____(2) new, more than 50% has been _____(3). After one month 80% has been forgotten _____(4) so on.
This shows that review is very I____(5). If you review the material _____(6) have just learnt, you remember much more. It's important to ______(7) newly learnt material a little and often. It's also necessary to ____(8) frequent breaks. We best remember ______(9) we learn at the beginning ____(10) a learning period and at the point ____(11) we stop. After the break, it's necessary to review what was _____(12) before the break - and then to c_____(13) learning the new material.
Other experiments have a______(14) that the brain needs time to digest(消化) _____(15) HAS BEEN LEARNT. The time necessary ______(16) this is 5 to 10 minutes. After a ______(17) of this time the memory _____(18) have absorbed (吸收) what it has _____(19) learnt, and more will be remembered. ______(20) this break it is important to e_____(21) the right side of the brain, ___(22) the left side is used during a learning period. ___(23) you should relax in some way. _____(24) to music, breathing in fresh _____(25) , and looking at a picture, are all ways of using the ____(26) side of the brain.

Translation
11 Translate the following sentences into English:
1．某些化学品（chemicals） 不该混和在一起，因为它们可能引起剧烈的（violent）反应。
2．最近的事件证明他们对政府新的外交政策所持的态度是正确的。
3．这位古希腊哲学家似乎能够用简单的文字表达复杂的思想。
4．那个国家一再卷入对外战争。
5．我们就这个问题进行了一番非常热烈的（heated）讨论，然而要确切地说出每个

人讲了些什么却不容易。
6．在过去二十年中，对于癌的起因的研究在数量上有了很大的增长。
7．人学习的能力似乎是无限的。
8．科学家们一致认为更好地了解人脑将有助于人们充分利用其无限的潜力。
READING ACTIVTTY
Skill: Looking for the Topic Sentence
More often than not, one sentence in a paragraph tells the reader(读者) exactly what the subject of the paragraph is and thus gives the main idea. This main idea sentence is called a topic(主题) sentence or topic statement. The topic sentence states briefly an idea whose full meaning and significance are developed by the supporting details. It may appear at the beginning, or in the middle, or at the end of a paragraph.

Sample 1: At the beginning
London's weather is very strange. It can rain several times a day; each time the rain may come suddenly after the sun is shining brightly. The air is damp (潮湿的) and chill(冷的) right through July. On one March afternoon on Hampton Heath last year it rained three times, there was one hail(冰雹) storm, and the sun shone brilliantly - all this within two hours' time. It is not unusual (不平常的) to see men and women rushing down the street on a sunny morning with umbrellas(雨伞) on their arms. No one knows what the next few moments will bring.
(The topic sentence in this paragraph is London's weather is very strange. All the other sentences illustrate(说明) the idea with supporting details.)
Sample 2: in the middle
Just as I settle down to read or watch television, he demands that I play with him. If I get a telephone call, he screams in the background or knocks something over. I always have to hang up to find out what's wrong with him. Babysitting with my little brother is no fun. He refuses to let me eat a snack(快餐) in peace. Usually he wants half of whatever I have to eat. Then, when he finally grows tired, it takes about an hour for him to fall asleep.
(All the details in this paragraph are cited(引用) to support the main idea: Baby -sitting with my little brother is no fun.)
Sample 3: At the end
Doctors are of the opinion that most people cannot live beyond 100 years, but a growing number of scientists believe that the aging process (过程) can be controlled. There are more than 12,000 Americans over 100 years old, and their numbers are increasing each year. Dr. James Langley of Chicago claims that, theoretically and under ideal(理想的) conditions, animals, including man, can live six times longer than their normal period of growth. A person's period of growth lasts about 25 years. If Dr. Langley's theory is accurate(准确的), future generations can expect a life span(寿命) of 150years
Sometimes a writer wants to give strong emphasis to a topic sentence. He may place a topic sentence at both the beginning and end of a paragraph. This can tell a reader that the idea in this paragraph is more important than other ideas found in other

paragraphs.
Sample 4: At both the beginning and end
Good manners are important in all countries, but ways of expressing good manners are different from country to country. Americans eat with knives and forks(叉)；Japanese eat with chopsticks(筷子). Americans say "Hi" when they meet; Japanese bow(鞠躬). Many American men open doors for women; Japanese men do not. On the surface, it appears that good manners in America are not good manners in Japan, and in a way this is true. But in any country, the only manners that are important are those involving one person's behavior(行为) toward another person. In all countries it is good manners to behave considerately toward others and bad manners not to. It is only the way of behaving politely that differs from country to country.
(This paragraph begins with a topic sentence and ends with a restatement of the same topic sentence.)
Read the following article and then
1. Write down the topic sentence of each paragraph in the blank space after the text;
2. complete the true / false exercise.
Words to Know
Interpret 解释 shade 遮蔽，遮光
Horizon 地平线 阴影
Sunlight 阳光 visual 视觉的
Shelf 架子，搁板 interpretation 解释
Normally 正常地 reject 拒绝，舍弃
Cube 立方体
Perception
Have you ever thought about how you see things?
How do you know how big something is?
Why do you notice some objects and not others?
1These are questions which psychologists(心理学家) have been studying for many years. They try to understand the way that people interpret what they see. For example. If you look out of your window perhaps you can see a tree on the horizon. Your eyes tell you that the tree is about one centimeter tall. But you know that is not true. Your knowledge about the world tells you that the tree is much bigger. Perhaps this seems simple but it is something we have to learn when we are children. If we didn't learn this we would find life very difficult.
2Now let's look at an interesting example with colours. (1)If you own a blue car, you know it is blue, even if it is in bright sunlight, in darkness or under a yellow street light. Your eyes tell you that it changes colour in these different situations, but your brain knows better. You have learnt that cars don't change colour all the time, and so your brain interprets the information your eyes give you.
3Psychologists have found that people learn to understand and interpret what they see easily. One psychologist tried an experiment on himself. He put on a special pair of glasses. When he looked through them everything he looked at seemed to be upside-down. Try and imagine how that feels. (2)At first, if he saw something on a high shelf, he bent down to pick it up because his eyes told him that the object was near the floor. But in a few weeks, h

e learnt to understand the strange, new world he saw. He lived normally without walking into things.
4Sometimes, however, we make mistakes. Look at the Necker Cube(内克尔立方体) below. Is the shaded part of the cube at the back or at the front?
Now look at it for a few minutes. Does the shaded part seem to move? This is an example of a visual illusion(视错觉). (3)The Necker Cube shows us that when we see an object, we make the best interpretation of it that we can. But sometimes we are wrong.
5(4) The way we see things is therefore more complicated than we imagine. Our eyes give us information all the time. But our brains decide what is important to us. For example, if you walk down a crowded street, you will see many faces. But yu will probably not really notice them. But if you see someone you know, you will notice him immediately. (5)From this example we can see that your brain chooses the visual information which is useful to you, and rejects the information which it does not need. The way your brain interprets that information depends on the knowledge you have about the world. And all this happens in less than a second.
--Vicky Greig

Exercise A
Write down the topic sentence of each paragraph:
1.__________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
4. __________________________________
5. __________________________________

Exercise B True or False?
If you think a statement is false, make necessary changes to make it true.
1.When you catch sight of an object in the far distance, you know immediately from experience that it must be much bigger than it looks.
2.If you know the colour of any object, you won't find it changes colour in any circumstances, because your brain keeps telling you what colour it is.
3.Your eyes send off "signals" constantly and your brain accepts them and explains their meaning in its unique(独特的) way.
4.When the psychologist put on a special pair of glasses, he found everything had changed either in size or in position.
5.But in a few weeks the psychologist found everything had turned back into its normal state.
6.Our eyes may make mistakes, causing optical illusions, but our brain never will - it can always make a sound judgment.
7.We cannot always avoid having a visual illusion because things we see are more complicated than we think.
8Our brain accepts or rejects the information our eyes provide according to our actual needs.
9The three questions raised at the beginning of the text are related to the relationship between visual information and mental interpretation.
10From the text we may infer (推断) that "perception" means "awareness through senses (sense of sight, for example) of external(外部的) objects".

Exercise C
Translate into Chinese the underlined sentences in the passage.

GUIDED WRITING
PART I
Combination: The Appositive (同位语)
Reread the last paragr

aph of the text of this unit, paying attention to the parts of the sentences after the dash(破折号). They are called "appositives" in grammar. An appositive is usually a noun, a noun phrase or clause added to another noun or pronoun as an explanation. The appositive may directly follow the noun or pronoun it modifies(修饰) or be separated from it by a comma(逗号) or a dash, depending on their relationship.
Write out a complete sentence with each pair of separated ideas given below after the models:

Models:
1. Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body.
That part is the brain.
--Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body - the brain.
2Then we three began to get things ready for the trip. The three of us are John, Helen and myself.
--Then we three, John, Helen and myself, began to get things ready for the trip.
1.This is Mr. Black. He is director of our hospital.
2."Leave it to me," said Peter. Peter was the man on duty.
3.Qinghai Lake is the largest inland body of salt water in China. It lies 3195 meters above sea level.
4.The whole plan was completed within three months. That is half the usual time.
5.He read all kinds of books. They were ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.
6.He feared that he might not be able to finish the work. The fear disturbed him greatly.
7.I suggested that we stick to our original (最初的) plan. My suggestion was finally accepted.
8.This theory was advanced by Li Siguang. Li was a famous Chinese geologist (地质学家)
9.He was formerly(以前) a worker himself. He is now an engineer.
10.She is a mother of three children. She has now entered a college gagin for further education.
11.We expressed a hope. That hope was that Mr. And Mrs. Morrison would come and visit China again.
12.I've come from Mr. Lin with a message. It says that he won't be able to see you this afternoon.

PART II
Paragraph Writing
Directions: Give two examples to illustrate the statement that if scientists can discover how the brain works we will be able to make better use of our minds. Use sox to eight sentences to complete the composition. A review of paragraphs five, six and seven may help you express yourself.