Before Reading
1. Listening Comprehension
2. Discussion
3. Background Information
Albert Camus
Jean Paul Satre
Existential Philosophy
Random House
Cadillac
Las Vegas
Theme Park
FBI
4. Topic-related Prediction
Listening Comprehension
Directions: Listen to the passage and answer the questions.
1. Why do so many people become gamblers, according to the
passage?
2. Who benefited from the increasingly popular gambling?
3. What problems may pathological gamblers bring?
■
Listening Comprehension
Directions:
Listen
to the
passage
Gambling is becoming
increasingly
popular
throughout
theand answer the questions.
world. Many people have friends or family members who have
gambling problems. This
increase
canmany
be attributed
to the gamblers, according to the
1. Why
do so
people become
legalization of gambling in many
countries and associated rapid
passage?
increase in gambling facilities such as casinos and slot
2. Who benefited from the increasingly popular gambling?
machines. It is true that gambling has brought income to some
3. What
problems
pathological
people such as American
Indians,
but it may
has brought
very gamblers bring?
serious problems for both individuals and society as a whole.
Increasing number of people are becoming addicted to
gambling, bringing a whole gamut of problems. Pathological
gamblers may develop stress related to medical conditions
such as peptic ulcers, depression, and alcoholism. Pathological
gamblers may also evidence anti-social behavior, leaving
regular employment and even engaging in criminal activities to
support their habit. And they often cause harm to their families
and friends.
Discussion
Directions: Look at the pictures. Discuss in groups the following
questions.
1. How do the pictures strike you?
2. What makes gambling so appealing
to some people?
3. What might be the disastrous
consequences of gambling?
Albert Camus
His philosophical view: There is only one
really serious philosophical question, and that
is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth
living is to answer the fundamental question in
philosophy. All other questions follow from that.
His literary view: A novel is never anything
but a philosophy put into images.
the French writer and
philosopher
His life:
1913
born in Algeria, into a working-class family
1935 -1939
received his diploma from the University of Algiers
in philosophy; joined the Communist Party
World War II
a member of the French resistance
published the novel The Stranger, concerning the
absurdity of the human condition
a reader and editor; editted the newspaper Combat
1942
1943
1947
resigned from Combat and published the novel The
Plague
1957
won the Nobel Prize for literature
1960
died
Jean Paul Satre
His philosophical view “existence is prior
to essence”: we are responsible for the
choices and for our emotional lives. In a
godless universe life has no meaning or
purpose beyond the goals that each man sets
for himself. Only one who chooses to assume
responsibility of acting in a particular situation
makes effective use of one's freedom.
His literary view: The goal of art is to
recover this world by giving it to be seen not
as it is, but as if it had its source in human
freedom.
the French novelist,
playwright, philosopher,
and literary critic
His life:
June 21,1905
born in Paris
World War II
imprisoned in Germany, but released in 1941
1943
published Being and Nothingness
1947
published his best-known book of literary criticism:
QU'EST CE QUE LA LITTÉRATURE
traveled in China
1955
published his philosophic work Critique of Dialectical
1960
Reason
was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, but he
1964
declined the award in protest of the values of
bourgeois society
was arrested because of selling on the streets the
1970
forbidden Maoist paper La cause du peuple
April 15, 1980 died in Paris
Existential philosophy
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of
the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards
human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice
and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.
Random House
Random House is one of the world’s largest publishers of the
English language and the general-interest books. It is a
publishing subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a large German media
conglomerate.
Random House entered reference publishing in 1947 with the
American College Dictionary, which was followed in 1966 by its
first unabridged dictionary. It publishes today the Random House
Webster's Unabridged and Random House Webster's College
dictionaries.
Random House owns many of the most prestigious and
profitable book publishing companies in the United States.
Random House has published books by a wide array of 20th
century American writers.
■
Cadillac
A large and US make of car. Owning a Cadillac is seen by
Americans as a sign of wealth and success. The Cadillac was
first produced in 1903 in Detroit by the Cadillac Motor Car
Company and is now made by the General Motors Corporation.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and
the center of one of the fastest-growing urban
areas in the United States. Revenue from hotels,
gambling, entertainment, theme parks, resorts,
and other tourist-oriented industries forms the
backbone of the economy. The nightclubs, casinos,
and championship boxing matches are world
famous, and entertainment enterprises have led to
an increasing array of music, sports, gambling,
and amusement centers up and down the main
"strip,“ as the city succeeded in the 1990s in redefining itself as a
family resort, complete with monorail (opened in 2004). The city is
also the commercial hub of a ranching and mining area and has
diverse manufacturing, including gaming equipment.
■
Theme Park
A theme park is an amusement park in which all the settings and
attractions have a central theme, such as the world of the future.
Typical examples are the Disneyland theme parks in California and
Florida.
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of
the U.S. Dept. of Justice, is in charge of investigating
all violations of federal laws except those assigned to
some other federal agency. The FBI has jurisdiction
over some 185 investigative matters, among which are
espionage, sabotage, and other subversive activities;
kidnapping; extortion; bank robbery; interstate
transportation of stolen property; civil-rights matters;
interstate gambling violations; and fraud against the
government. Created (1908) as the Bureau of
Investigation, it originally conducted investigations only
for the Justice Department. In 1935 it was designated
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI played an
important role in raising the standards of local police
units through its FBI Academy.
■
Topic-related Prediction
Text A is entitled “Going for Broke”. How do you understand the
word “broke”? What will the passage be about, judging from the title?
Global Reading
1. Part Division of the Text
2. Further Understanding
For Part 1 Questions and Answers
For Part 2 Blank-Filling
For Part 3 True or False
3. Text analysis
Part Division of the Text
Parts
Lines
Main Ideas
1
1 — 18
The authors give a brief account of the
life experience of a hard-core gambler
named Rex Coile.
2
19 — 85
The authors expound the problem of
gambling addiction, its causes and its
attendant steep social price.
3
86 — 111
Through further discussion of the example
of Rex, the authors reinforce the essay's
thesis that the life of compulsive gamblers
is a narrow box. Once trapped inside, they
will never get out.
Questions and Answers
1. How do the authors begin the passage?
2. What did Rex use to be? How long has he been addicted to
gambling?
3. What changes have occurred in Rex’s life since he became
addicted to gambling?
4. Why is Rex Coile nicknamed “Rex Trivia”?
5. If he had not been addicted to gambling, what would Rex’s life
be like now?
Blank-Filling
1. The prevalence of gambling in America:
_____________________________________________________________
all over the country; nearly every state; from Las Vegas to Indian
_____________________________________________________________
reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to corner
mini-marts
______________________________
2. The estimated number of gambling addicts:
_____________________________________________________________
4.4 million compulsive gamblers; another 11 million problem
_____________________________________________________________
gamblers; still soaring
3. The causes for the prevalence:
_____________________________________________________________
government’s sanction of some form of legalized gambling to raise
_____________________________________________________________
revenues; loss of self-control of the gamblers; no remedy
4. The bad consequences of gambling:
1) money losses:
50.9 billion dollars a year; money vanishing
_____________________________________________________________
2) family problems:
_____________________________________________________________
child abuse; murder; suicide; domestic violence; suffocating debts;
_____________________________________________________________
exasperated, overwhelmed and humiliated spouses who fight the
family problem alone, bleeding inside and even thinking of killing
_____________________________________________________________
their husbands
_____________________________________________________________
3) social harm:
_____________________________________________________________
society paying a steep price; embezzlement, bogus insurance,
_____________________________________________________________
bankruptcies, welfare fraud, other social and criminal ills; higher
suicide rates
_____________________________________________________________
True or False
1. Rex Coile has no alternative but to kill himself since he is heavily
indebted. ( F )
He is not about to kill himself, but occasionally thinks about it.
2. Lost in gambling, Rex has come down in the world. Otherwise, he
would have become successful in his career. ( T )
3. Rex was arrested and put in prison for domestic violence and child
abuse. ( F )
He was arrested and imprisoned for a short stint because he aided
another gambler to rob a bank.
4. At a poker table in Gardena, Rex lost some money first but later he
began to win. ( T )
5. Rex finally decided to leave the poker table at 2 A.M. and quit
( F )
gambling.
He hesitated for some time, but finally decided to continue with his
gambling.
Text analysis
Cohesive devices are important to achieve unity of the whole text.
Analyze the text and find out how the three parts of the text are
connected.
In the text, restatement or partial repetition is used as cohesive
tie to hold the three parts together an integral whole. It can be
illustrated as following:
1) Part II coheres with Part I by the first sentence of Paragraph 5:
“And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
in America”, which corresponds with the last sentence of
Paragraph 4 “There’s a lot of Rexes around these card rooms”.
2) In the same way, Part III coheres with Part II by the first
sentence of Paragraph 16: “Rex Trivia is not about to kill
himself…”, which corresponds with the ending part of
Paragraph 15: “… showed significantly higher suicide rates
than people …
The following article is based on a seven-month nationwide
investigation of gambling in America. The stories it tells offer a grim
picture of what can happen to those who become addicted to
gambling.
Going for Broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
whether he'll ever get out.
He never goes to the movies, never sees
concerts, never lies on a sunny beach, never
travels on vacation, never spends Christmas with
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
cheap motels with other compulsive gamblers,
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
might have been.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
Anonymous groups nationwide has doubled from
about 600 to more than 1,200.
Compulsive gambling has been linked to child
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
being left for nearly seven hours in a hot car while her mother
plays video poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
on the baby.
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
Money starts vanishing: $500 here, $200 there, $800 a couple
of weeks later. Where is it? The answers come back vague,
nonsensical. It's in the desk at work. A friend borrowed it. It got
spent on family dinners, car repairs, loans to in-laws. Exasperated
spouses play the sleuth, combing through pockets, wallets, purses,
searching the car. Sometimes the incriminating evidence turns
up — a racing form, lottery scratchers, a map to an Indian casino.
Once the secret is uncovered, spouses usually fight the problem
alone, bleeding inside, because the stories are too humiliating to
share.
Sentence
Word
"Anybody who is living with a
compulsive
gambler
is
totally
overwhelmed," says Tom Tucker, president
of the California Council on Problem
Gambling. "They're steeped in anger,
resentment, depression, confusion. None
of their personal efforts will ever stop a
person from their addiction. And they don't
really see any hope because compulsive
gambling in general is such an underrecognized illness."
One Los Angeles woman, whose husband's gambling was
tearing at her sanity, says she slept with her fists so tightly
clenched that her nails sliced into her palms. She had fantasies of
death — first her own, thinking he'd feel sorry for her and stop
gambling. Later, she harbored thoughts of turning her rage on her
husband. She imagined getting a gun, hiding in the closet and
blasting him out of her life.
Sentence
Word
"The hurt was so bad I think I would have
pulled the trigger," she says. "There were times
the pain was so much I thought being in jail, or
being in the electric chair, would be less than this."
With drug or alcohol abusers, there is the
hope of sobering up, an accomplishment in itself,
no matter what problems may have accompanied
their addictions. Compulsive gamblers often see
no way to purge their urges when suffocating
debts suggest only one answer: a hot streak
(suicide?). David Phillips, a UC San Diego
sociology professor, studied death records from
1982 to 1988 — before legalized gambling exploded across
America — and found that people in Vegas, Atlantic City and other
gambling meccas showed significantly higher suicide rates than
people in non-gambling cities.
Sentence
Word
Rex Trivia is not about to kill himself, but like most compulsive
gamblers, he occasionally thinks about it. Looking at him, it's hard
to imagine he once had a promising future as a smart young New
York book editor. His pale eyes are expressionless, his hair
yellowish and brittle. In his fifties, his health is failing: emphysema,
three lung collapses, a bad aorta, rotting teeth.
His plunge has been so dizzying that at one point he agreed to
aid another desperate gambler in a run of bank robberies — nine in
all, throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. When the FBI
busted him in 1980, he had $50,000 in cash in a dresser drawer
and $100,000 in traveler's checks in his refrigerator's vegetable
crisper. Rex, who ended up doing a short stint in prison, hasn't
seen that kind of money since.
Sentence
Word
At 11 P. M. on a Tuesday night, with a bankroll of $55 — all he
has — he is at a poker table in Gardena. With quick, nervous hands
he stacks and unstacks his $1 chips. The stack dwindles. Down
$30, he talks about leaving, getting some sleep. Midnight comes
and goes. Rex starts winning. Three aces. Four threes. Chips pile
up — $60, $70. "A shame to go when the cards are falling my way."
He checks the time: "I'll go at 2. Win, lose or draw."
Fate, kismet, luck — the cards keep falling. At 2 A. M., Rex is
up $97. He stands, leaves his chips on the table and goes out for a
smoke. In the darkness at the edge of the parking lot, he loiters with
other regulars, debating with himself whether to grab a bus and
quit.
Sentence
Word
"I should go back in there and cash in and get out of here," he
says. "That's what I should do."
A long pause. Crushing out his cigarette, Rex turns and heads
back inside. He has made his decision.
"A few more hands."
Sentence
Word
Going for Broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
whether he'll ever get out.
He never goes to the movies, never sees
concerts, never lies on a sunny beach, never
travels on vacation, never spends Christmas with
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
cheap motels with other compulsive gamblers,
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
might have been.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
Anonymous groups nationwide has doubled from
about 600 to more than 1,200.
Compulsive gambling has been linked to child
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
being left for nearly seven hours in a hot car while her mother
plays video poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
on the baby.
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
Money starts vanishing: $500 here, $200 there, $800 a couple
of weeks later. Where is it? The answers come back vague,
nonsensical. It's in the desk at work. A friend borrowed it. It got
spent on family dinners, car repairs, loans to in-laws. Exasperated
spouses play the sleuth, combing through pockets, wallets, purses,
searching the car. Sometimes the incriminating evidence turns
up — a racing form, lottery scratchers, a map to an Indian casino.
Once the secret is uncovered, spouses usually fight the problem
alone, bleeding inside, because the stories are too humiliating to
share.
Sentence
Word
"Anybody who is living with a
compulsive
gambler
is
totally
overwhelmed," says Tom Tucker, president
of the California Council on Problem
Gambling. "They're steeped in anger,
resentment, depression, confusion. None
of their personal efforts will ever stop a
person from their addiction. And they don't
really see any hope because compulsive
gambling in general is such an underrecognized illness."
One Los Angeles woman, whose husband's gambling was
tearing at her sanity, says she slept with her fists so tightly
clenched that her nails sliced into her palms. She had fantasies of
death — first her own, thinking he'd feel sorry for her and stop
gambling. Later, she harbored thoughts of turning her rage on her
husband. She imagined getting a gun, hiding in the closet and
blasting him out of her life.
Sentence
Word
"The hurt was so bad I think I would have
pulled the trigger," she says. "There were times
the pain was so much I thought being in jail, or
being in the electric chair, would be less than this."
With drug or alcohol abusers, there is the
hope of sobering up, an accomplishment in itself,
no matter what problems may have accompanied
their addictions. Compulsive gamblers often see
no way to purge their urges when suffocating
debts suggest only one answer: a hot streak
(suicide?). David Phillips, a UC San Diego
sociology professor, studied death records from
1982 to 1988 — before legalized gambling exploded across
America — and found that people in Vegas, Atlantic City and other
gambling meccas showed significantly higher suicide rates than
people in non-gambling cities.
Sentence
Word
Rex Trivia is not about to kill himself, but like most compulsive
gamblers, he occasionally thinks about it. Looking at him, it's hard
to imagine he once had a promising future as a smart young New
York book editor. His pale eyes are expressionless, his hair
yellowish and brittle. In his fifties, his health is failing: emphysema,
three lung collapses, a bad aorta, rotting teeth.
His plunge has been so dizzying that at one point he agreed to
aid another desperate gambler in a run of bank robberies — nine in
all, throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. When the FBI
busted him in 1980, he had $50,000 in cash in a dresser drawer
and $100,000 in traveler's checks in his refrigerator's vegetable
crisper. Rex, who ended up doing a short stint in prison, hasn't
seen that kind of money since.
Sentence
Word
At 11 P. M. on a Tuesday night, with a bankroll of $55 — all he
has — he is at a poker table in Gardena. With quick, nervous hands
he stacks and unstacks his $1 chips. The stack dwindles. Down
$30, he talks about leaving, getting some sleep. Midnight comes
and goes. Rex starts winning. Three aces. Four threes. Chips pile
up — $60, $70. "A shame to go when the cards are falling my way."
He checks the time: "I'll go at 2. Win, lose or draw."
Fate, kismet, luck — the cards keep falling. At 2 A. M., Rex is
up $97. He stands, leaves his chips on the table and goes out for a
smoke. In the darkness at the edge of the parking lot, he loiters with
other regulars, debating with himself whether to grab a bus and
quit.
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
he wonders how he got trapped inside,
1. What can we learnconfining
from the sentence?
whether
he'llthat
ever
out.
We can learn from the
sentence
Rexget
Coile
seems to
live in a very small area,He
as ifnever
being trapped
in it,the
withmovies,
no
goes to
never sees
freedom, and with no
hope of getting
concerts,
neverout.
lies on a sunny beach, never
2. How is the language
used on
here?
travels
vacation, never spends Christmas with
family.
Rex shares
floor space in
In this sentence, thehis
author
uses Instead,
metaphor. Words
are
cheap
with
other compulsive
gamblers,
used figuratively. Since
Rex motels
is addicted
to gambling,
his
life seems to be confined
in a boxhimself
with no signs
life.
comforting
withof delusional
dreams of
He slipped into gambling,
as if being
without any
jackpots
that trapped
will magically
wipe away three
hope for freedom. From
this
sentence
we
can
learn
that
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
gambling does great harm to people’s life.
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
Paraphrase the sentence.
have been.
He might have been amight
very promising
editor, but because
of his addiction to gambling
for 29 years,
he has achieved
Articulate,
intellectual,
he talks about existential philosophy, the
nothing in his life. Thinking
of this,
he felt painful.
writings
of Camus
and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
1. What does “society is paying a steep price” imply?
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
It implies that gambling is doing great harm to the society.
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
2. Translate the sentence
Chinese.
theinto
union
now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
由于全国几乎每个州都批准某种合法化的赌博形式以增加税收，越来
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
越多的事实表明，整个社会正在付出巨大的代价，不少研究者指出，
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
对此现象如果不能彻底改变，那就必须严肃面对。
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
1. What does “Rex Trivia” imply?
streak
that has Here
left him
scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
“Trivia” means something
unimportant.
it means
Still, facts
he agonizes
over what
he has become at 54 and what he
anecdotes, odd or obscure
about the subject
matters
enumerated. The nickname
implies that Rex
might“Rex
haveTrivia”
been.
Coile knows many anecdotes and interesting stories about
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
movies, television, etc., which indicates that he is quite
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
knowledgeable and intelligent.
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
2. What does “it” refer to?
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
The name “Rex Trivia”.
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
3. Translate the sentence into Chinese.
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
他脑子里装满有关电影、电视、棒球和历史的趣闻，因此那些纸牌室
的常客都叫他“趣闻大王雷克斯”，他珍惜这个带给自己些许自尊的
名字。
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
The subject of the sentence
is “share”,
and the predicate
is riverboats along the Mississippi to
of Indian
reservations,
from the
“pours”. The phrase between the dashes “an estimated
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
30% to 40%” is an inserted noun phrase to explain how
union
nowtwo
sanctioning
some form of legalized gambling to raise
much the share of thethe
losses
is. The
past participle
revenues,
evidence
is mounting
that society is paying a steep price,
phrases “hooked on …
money” and
“intoxicated
by …
that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
world” modify “chronicone
losers”.
2. Translate the sentence into
Chinese.
Never
before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
输掉的赌金中有相当一部分——
约占30%－40%——
$50.9 billion
last year 是从那些常输
— five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
的赌徒的钱包里掏出来的，赌博带来的兴奋令他们入迷，瞬息万变的
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
赌博世界令他们如痴如醉。
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
1. Analyze the structure of the sentence.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
1. What does “problemgamblers
gamblers”at
mean?
about 4.4 million, about equal to the
Those gamblers difficult
to dealranks
with orofcontrol.
Similar
nation's
hard-core
drug addicts. Another
expressions include “problem
children”,
“problem
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
customers”, etc.
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
2.What does “teeter onAnonymous
the verge” imply?
groups nationwide has doubled from
about 600 to more than 1,200.
The phrase implies that such gamblers alternate between
Compulsive
has been linked to child
“compulsive gamblers” and
“hard-core” gambling
gambling addicts.
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
insurance
claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
3. Translate the sentence
into Chinese.
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
另有1100万所谓有问题的赌徒，摇摆于嗜赌成瘾与成为死不改悔之
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
间，已濒临深渊摇摇欲坠。
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
1. Paraphrase the sentence.
being left for nearly seven hours in a hot car while her mother
No matter how much knowledge
we have
and
insight Chicago woman is so desperate for
plays video
poker.
A the
suburban
we have gained, we are still confused about gambling, and
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
gambling is still doing harm to us.
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
2. Translate the sentence
oninto
theChinese.
baby.
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
但无论对这一顽症有多少了解有多少认识，人们对它的困惑一点也没
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
有减少，它的破坏性也一点也没有减少。
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
1. What is implied in the sentence?
Money starts vanishing: $500 here, $200 there, $800 a couple
When one finds that her
wife Where
is lost in is it? The answers come back vague,
of husband/his
weeks later.
gambling and tells lies about where money goes, he/she
nonsensical. It's in the desk at work. A friend borrowed it. It got
usually deals with the problem on his/her own, suffering the
spent on
dinners,
car repairs, loans to in-laws. Exasperated
great pain inwardly, because
it is family
shameful
to tell the
spouses play the sleuth, combing through pockets, wallets, purses,
problem to others.
searching
the car. Sometimes the incriminating evidence turns
2. Translate the sentence
into Chinese.
up — a racing form, lottery scratchers, a map to an Indian casino.
秘密一旦被揭穿，配偶通常都单独面对问题，独自承受心头巨痛，因
Once the secret is uncovered, spouses usually fight the problem
为这种事太丢人，没法跟别人说。
alone, bleeding inside, because the stories are too humiliating to
share.
Sentence
Word
"Anybody who is living with a
compulsive
gambler
is
totally
overwhelmed," says Tom Tucker, president
1. What can we learn from the sentence?
of the California Council on Problem
Gambling.
steeped
in anger,
We can learn how angry
and painful "They're
the woman is
at her
resentment,
depression,
confusion.
None
husband’s gambling. She
became almost
insane about
it.
of their personal efforts will ever stop a
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese.
person from their addiction. And they don't
really see any hope because compulsive
一个洛杉矶妇女，由于丈夫嗜赌成瘾，自己几乎神经崩溃。她说自己
晚上睡觉时双手紧紧握成拳头，指甲把手掌都掐破了。
gambling in general is such an underrecognized illness."
One Los Angeles woman, whose husband's gambling was
tearing at her sanity, says she slept with her fists so tightly
clenched that her nails sliced into her palms. She had fantasies of
death — first her own, thinking he'd feel sorry for her and stop
gambling. Later, she harbored thoughts of turning her rage on her
husband. She imagined getting a gun, hiding in the closet and
blasting him out of her life.
Sentence
Word
"The hurt was so bad I think I would have
pulled the trigger," she says. "There were times
the pain was so much I thought being in jail, or
1. What does “this” refer
to?in the electric chair, would be less than this."
being
With
drug or from
alcohol
abusers, there is the hope of
The pain and the hurt
of suffering
her husband’s
sobering up, an accomplishment in itself, no
addiction to gambling.
matter what problems may have accompanied
2. What can we learn from the sentence?
their addictions. Compulsive gamblers often see
no bring
wayutmost
to purge
urges when suffocating
One’s gambling may
pain totheir
his family.
debts suggest only one answer: a hot streak
(suicide?). David Phillips, a UC San Diego
sociology professor, studied death records from
1982 to 1988 — before legalized gambling exploded across
America — and found that people in Vegas, Atlantic City and other
gambling meccas showed significantly higher suicide rates than
people in non-gambling cities.
Sentence
Word
Rex Trivia is not about to kill himself, but like most compulsive
1. Paraphrase the sentence.
gamblers, he occasionally thinks about it. Looking at him, it's hard
to imagine
hesoonce
had a and
promising future as a smart young New
Rex’s addiction to gambling
has been
bewildering
book to
editor.
His pale eyes are expressionless, his hair
confusing that once heYork
even agreed
help another
hopeless and reckless yellowish
gambler to and
rob abrittle.
bank. In his fifties, his health is failing: emphysema,
three
lung collapses, a bad aorta, rotting teeth.
2. Translate the sentence
into Chinese.
His plunge has been so dizzying that at one point he agreed to
他陷入赌毒之深让人惊惑，竟然一度答应协助另一个因绝望而不顾一
切的赌徒实施银行抢劫。 aid another desperate gambler in a run of bank robberies — nine in
all, throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. When the FBI
busted him in 1980, he had $50,000 in cash in a dresser drawer
and $100,000 in traveler's checks in his refrigerator's vegetable
crisper. Rex, who ended up doing a short stint in prison, hasn't
seen that kind of money since.
Sentence
Word
At 11 P. M. on a Tuesday night, with a bankroll of $55 — all he
1. What does this sentence imply?
has — he is at a poker table in Gardena. With quick, nervous hands
Time goes by quickly. Rex has been at the poker table for a
he stacks and unstacks his $1 chips. The stack dwindles. Down
long time. Luck begins to favor Rex. Even if he wanted to
$30, toheleave
talks
about
getting some sleep. Midnight comes
leave, it seems shameful
at this
pointleaving,
of winning.
2. Translate the sentence
Chinese.
and into
goes.
Rex starts winning. Three aces. Four threes. Chips pile
午夜稍纵即逝。… 三张A牌，四张3点。…“我牌运那么好，怎么能
up — $60, $70. "A shame to go when
走。”
the cards are falling my way."
He checks the time: "I'll go at 2. Win, lose or draw."
Fate, kismet, luck — the cards keep falling. At 2 A. M., Rex is
up $97. He stands, leaves his chips on the table and goes out for a
smoke. In the darkness at the edge of the parking lot, he loiters with
other regulars, debating with himself whether to grab a bus and
quit.
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
go for broke: commit or whether
expend allhe'll
of one's
everavailable
get out.resources
toward achievement
of a goal;
risk to
everything
in
He never
goes
the movies,
never sees
one determined attempt at sth.
concerts, never lies on a sunny beach, never
S
Why not go for broke
and apply
for Harvardnever
University?
travels
on vacation,
spends Christmas with
S 他决定孤注一掷把所有的钱全部投向股市。
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
motels
other compulsive gamblers,
T
He decided to go forcheap
broke and
put allwith
his money
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
into the stock market.
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
whether
he'll ever get out.
delusion: n. a false belief
or opinion
He never goes to the movies, never sees
S Jane is under the delusion
thatnever
I’m going
a lot beach, never
concerts,
liesto give
on ahersunny
of money.
travels on vacation, never spends Christmas with
S 这位病人妄想自己是拿破仑。
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
cheap motels with other compulsive gamblers,
T
The sick man is under the delusion
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
that he is Napoleon.
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders
how he got trapped inside,
这两个词都是名词，都有“错觉”的意思，
也都有这样的词组
“under the delusion”和“under
illusion”。
whether he'lltheever
get out.
He never goes to the movies, never sees
delusion 通常指一个被误导甚至是精神不正常的人的错误（病态的）观
concerts,
lies that
on he
a sunny
念，例如： Bob
once hadnever
the delusion
was a beach, never
on vacation, never spends Christmas with
“flying man”.travels
鲍勃一度妄想自己是个飞人。
illusion 通常指给人的感官印象似乎是正确的而实际不然的观念。例如：
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
I had the illusion
that motels
the sun goes
earth
cheap
witharound
other the
compulsive
gamblers,
when I was acomforting
child. 孩提时代，我错误地认为太阳是绕着地
himself with delusional dreams of
球旋转的。
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
CF: delusion & illusion
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
out. or ruined
wreckage: n. remains whether
of sth. thathe'll
has ever
been get
destroyed
He never goes to the movies, never sees
tryinglies
to find
S The investigation committee
concerts,was
never
onthea sunny beach, never
wreckage of the plane
afteron
thevacation,
crash.
travels
never spends Christmas with
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
S
The police dragged the wreckage
cheap motels with other compulsive gamblers,
of the car from the accident site.
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
Going for broke
Matea Gold and David Ferrell
Rex Coile's life is a narrow box, so dark and
confining he wonders how he got trapped inside,
whether
he'll ever get out.
not least of all: especially;
in particular
He never goes to the movies, never sees
all youngsters,
don't
seem
S People, not least of
concerts,
never
lies
onsoa polite
sunny beach, never
these days.
travels on vacation, never spends Christmas with
his family. Instead, Rex shares floor space in
S Millions of wild flowers color the valleys, not least of all
in April and May. cheap motels with other compulsive gamblers,
comforting himself with delusional dreams of
jackpots that will magically wipe away three
decades of wreckage. He has lost his marriage,
his home, his Cadillac, his clothes, his diamond
ring. Not least of all, in the card clubs of Southern
California, he has lost his pride.
Sentence
Word
streak: n.
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
1) a line, mark, smear, or
band differentiated
color
or
streak
that has leftby
him
scrounging
for table scraps to feed his habit.
texture from its surroundings
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
William noticed somemight
streaks
of grey
appearing in his
S
have
been.
mother’s black hair.
intellectual,
he talks about existential philosophy, the
2) (esp. in gambling) period Articulate,
of continuous
success or failure
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
S
The young man is very happy for he
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
enjoys a long streak of winning in
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
lottery.
"Rex
Trivia,"
a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
S
Mr. Smith had a streak
of luck
this year.
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
3) element or trace (in a person’s character)
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S Our chemistry teacher
has ahave
streakbeen.
of humor in him.
might
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
scrounge: v. seek to obtain
something
by begging
streak
that has
left him or
scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
borrowing with no intention of repayment;
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
forage about in an effort to acquire something
at no cost might have been.
Articulate,
The old man was scrounging
for emptyintellectual,
bottles in thehe talks about existential philosophy, the
S
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
dustbin.
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
S
He scrounged a cigarette
from me.baseball and history that card room regulars call him
television,
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak
that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
agonize: v. suffer great pain
or anxiety
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
Why do you agonize might
yourselfhave
with the
thought of your
S
been.
failure?
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
他对上星期五公司高层会议上的决定感到焦虑不安。
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
T He agonized over the decision made last Friday top meeting
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
of the company.
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
agony n. the suffering of intense physical or mental pain
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
S
says
in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
He was in an agony of
remorse.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
articulate: adj. (of a person)
ablethat
to express
streak
has leftone’s
himideas
scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
clearly and effectively in words
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S
might of
have
been.
Maria is the most articulate
the sisters.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S
我们大家都认为他是很有口才的演讲者。
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
T We all agree that he is an articulate speaker.
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak
thatofhas
leftgossip,
him scrounging
for table scraps to feed his habit.
tidbit: n. small but interesting
piece
news,
etc.
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S
The book is full of colorful tidbits about theater and theater
might have been.
people.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S
导演给孩子们讲了许多关于电影制作的趣事。
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
T The director told the children many tidbits about filmmaking.
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
regular: n. a habitual customer
client
a shop,
etc.,
streak or
that
hasat left
him pub,
scrounging
for table scraps to feed his habit.
a loyal person
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S
David is one of our regulars
— he comes
might have
been. in for a drink
about this time every night.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S
我是这家餐馆的常客，这里的菜很合我的口味。
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His
mind
soarejam
T I am a regular of this restaurant,
for the
dish is
here
verypacked with tidbits about movies,
much to my taste.
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
cherish: vt. treat with affection
holdscrounging
dear;
streakand
thattenderness;
has left him
for table scraps to feed his habit.
keep fondly in mind
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S He cherished the memory
of hisbeen.
dead wife.
might have
intellectual,
he talks about existential philosophy, the
S The old man cherished Articulate,
the girl as if she
were his daughter.
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
S 他怀念他那一去不复返的青春年华。
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
television,
and history that card room regulars call him
T He cherished the memory
of hisbaseball
departed youth.
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak
that has
left remaining
him scrounging
remnant: n. sth. left over,
a remainder;
small
quantity for table scraps to feed his habit.
Still, he agonizes over what he has become at 54 and what he
S The remnants of the feast were taken to the farm to feed
might have been.
the pigs there.
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S 他虽然深受冒犯，但仍保持了几分尊严。
writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
T Though terribly offended, he retained some remnant of
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
dignity.
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
S The general ordered the soldiers to wipe away the remnants
"Rex Trivia," a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
of the enemy.
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
Sentence
Word
Rex no longer feels sorry for himself, not after a 29-year losing
streak that has left him scrounging for table scraps to feed his habit.
resignation: n.
1) the act of giving up (one’s
for example)
Still, position,
he agonizes
over esp.
whatbyhe has become at 54 and what he
formal notification; oral
or written
might
havestatement
been. of giving up
one’s position
Articulate, intellectual, he talks about existential philosophy, the
S Mr. Smith handed in his resignation to the general
manager last week. writings of Camus and Sartre. He was once an editor at Random
House. His mind is so jam packed with tidbits about movies,
2) unresisting acceptance of something as inescapable;
television, baseball and history that card room regulars call him
submission
"Rex
Trivia,"
a name he cherishes for the remnant of self-respect it
S He lost the election and
had
to accept
gives him. "There's a lot of Rexes around these card rooms," he
his fate with resignation.
S 这位足球明星在最近的比赛中输了，他只得无
says in a whisper of resignation and sadness.
可奈何地承认失败。
T
The football star was defeated in the recent
game, and he had to accept the failure with
resignation.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
reservation: n.
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
1) an arrangement in advance,
as inmini-marts
a hotel or on
an airplane
the corner
selling
lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
union now
form of legalized gambling to raise
the concert,
you'llsanctioning
have to makesome
a
S If you want to go to the
evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
reservation, or thererevenues,
will be no tickets.
one
that some
researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
2) a limiting qualification,
condition,
or exception
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
S By negotiation, the party agreed to
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
the plan with certain reservations.
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
S 我对他所说的话的真实性持保留态度。
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses
—the
an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
about
T I have some reservations
truth of what he said. purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
3) a tract of land set apart
by the federal
government
for athe riverboats along the Mississippi to
of Indian
reservations,
from
special purpose, especially one for the use of a Native
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
American people
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
S
Many Native Americans live in reservations.
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
S
The Native Americanone
professionals
that proper
that somebelieve
researchers
say must be confronted, if not reversed.
management of land andNever
naturalbefore
resources
willbettors
improveblown so much money — a whopping
have
reservation economic viability.
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
Collocation:
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
定座 events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
make reservations
and sporting
取消预定
an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
cancel reservations losses —
purses of
chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
有保留地
with reservations
their money,
毫无保留地intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
without reservation
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
sanction:
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
1. n. authoritative permission
or approval
that makes
a lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
the corner
mini-marts
selling
course of action the
validunion now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
S The novel has been adapted to a play without the
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
sanction of the author.
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
S 我们获准继续进行我们的项目。
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
We received sanction
to proceed
with our
project.
T
$50.9
billion last
year
— five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting
events
2. vt. give official authorization
or approval
to combined. A substantial share of those gambling
— ansanctioned
estimatedthe30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
S The headquarters of losses
the company
purses
of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
establishment of a branch
in Shanghai.
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
revenue: n. income, esp.
total annual
income offrom
the state
ofthe
Indian
reservations,
the riverboats along the Mississippi to
from taxes
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
S The government gets its revenue from taxes.
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
S 个人所得税是一个国家岁入的主要来源之一。
revenues, evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
T Income tax is one of one
thatsources
some researchers
must be confronted, if not reversed.
the main
of a country’s say
revenue.
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
Collocation:
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
关税收入
customs revenue
more than
the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
国库收入
the Public revenue
and sporting
events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
逃（漏）税
defraud the revenue losses —
an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
个人总收入
one’s revenue
purses of
chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
国家岁入 intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
their money,
national revenue
incandescent
world.
税务官员
a revenue officer
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
substantial: adj. considerable
in importance,
value, degree,
of Indian
reservations,
from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
amount, or extent
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
S There has been substantial increase in production of the
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
automobile industry
in China inevidence
these years.
revenues,
is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
S Considering the environmental protection, the municipal
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
government has made Never
substantial
changes
the
before
haveinbettors
blown so much money — a whopping
development plan.
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
1) cause sb. to lose self-control
as reservations,
a result of takingfrom
alcoholic
of Indian
the riverboats along the Mississippi to
drink
the corner mini-marts selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
S Not only liquor, but also beer has the power to intoxicate.
the union now sanctioning some form of legalized gambling to raise
2) excite sb. greatly, beyond
self-control
revenues,
evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
one that some
say must be confronted, if not reversed.
S The audience were intoxicated
by the researchers
pianist’s excellent
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
performance.
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
S 他陶醉在西藏美丽的自然美景中。
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
T He is intoxicated by the
andbeautiful
sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
natural sceneries of Tibet.
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
intoxicate: vt.
Sentence
Word
And their numbers are soaring as gambling explodes across
America, from the mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the gaming parlors
incandescent: adj.
of Indian reservations, from the riverboats along the Mississippi to
1) emitting visible light; shining
brilliantly;
very bright
the corner
mini-marts
selling lottery tickets. With nearly every state in
S The physics teacher
the
union now sanctioning
some form of legalized gambling to raise
is demonstrating
how an
incandescent lamp revenues,
works.
evidence is mounting that society is paying a steep price,
one that some researchers say must be confronted, if not reversed.
2) characterized by ardent emotion or intensity
Never before have bettors blown so much money — a whopping
S His incandescent spirit inspired us to help the
$50.9 billion last year — five times the amount lost in 1980. That's
unprivileged people.
more than the public spent on movies, theme parks, recorded music
and sporting events combined. A substantial share of those gambling
losses — an estimated 30% to 40% — pours from the pockets and
purses of chronic losers hooked on the adrenaline rush of risking
their money, intoxicated by the fast action of gambling's
incandescent world.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
at about
4.4 to
million,
hard-core: adj. intensely gamblers
loyal; stubbornly
resistant
changeabout equal to the
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
He
is
known
as
a
hard-core
golferknown
because
long as he
is
S
11 million,
asasproblem
gamblers,
teeter on
free, he plays golf. the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
Anonymous groups nationwide has doubled from
S 他已成了一个顽固的赌徒，无论你怎
么劝，他就是不听。
about 600 to more than 1,200.
Compulsive gambling has been linked to child
T He has become a hard-core
gambler. No matter how
you domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
abuse,
persuade him out of gambling,
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
he won’t listen.
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
at about
verge: n. edge or border gamblers
of a road, path,
etc. 4.4 million, about equal to the
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
S The once very profitable business is now on the verge of
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
bankruptcy.
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
S 她力图忍住悲痛，但还是差点哭了出来。
Anonymous
groups
has doubled from
T She tried to hide her grief,
but she was
on thenationwide
verge of tears.
Pattern:
about 600 to more than 1,200.
在…的边缘
at the verge of
Compulsive
gambling has been linked to child
接近于，濒于
on the verge of
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
CF: verge, edge, border,insurance
margin & rim
claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
这些词都是名词，都有“边缘”
a host of的意思
other social and criminal ills. The advent
verge 是一个极尽头的边缘，界限，例如:
Owing to thecould
poor lure new legions into
of Internet gambling
management, the firm was on the verge of
wagering beyond their means.
bankruptcy. 由于经营不善，这家公司濒于破产。
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
edge 特指两个平面的分界线，棱边，例如：I hurt my knee
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
against the edge of the stove.
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
我的腿碰到了炉子的棱边，碰伤了。
the verge. 例如:
SinceThe
1990,
the
number of Gamblers
border 指边界线或正位于边界内的区域,
border
between
Anonymous
groups
nationwide
has doubled from
the two countries
runs along the
mountain
ridge.
这两个国家以山脊为界。
about 600 to more than 1,200.
margin 是指一种可精确限定宽度的边界，页面的空白处,
例如:
Compulsive gambling
has been linked to child
Professor Smithabuse,
always domestic
writes his comments
the
violence,inembezzlement,
bogus
margins of his students’ papers. 史密斯教授总是在学生论
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
文的空白处写上他的评语。
a host of other social 例如:
and Be
criminal
rim
常用于指圆周性或曲性物体（如车轮）的边缘,
careful!ills. The advent
Internet
gambling
could lure new legions into
The rim of your of
glass
is cracked.
当心！你的玻璃杯的边缘
裂开了。
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
fraud: n.
nation's
ranks
of hard-core
drugoraddicts. Another
1) a deception deliberately
practiced
in order
to secure unfair
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
unlawful gain
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
S Last year, an Illinois woman was convicted of fraud for
Anonymous
groupspolicy
nationwide
has doubled from
trying to collect a $200,000
life insurance
after
about 600 to more than 1,200.
smothering her daughter.
Compulsive gambling has been linked to child
2) one that defrauds; a cheat
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
S 用一叠纸牌为你占卜未来的人都是骗子。
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
T People who tell your future by means of a pack of cards are
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
frauds.
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
lure: v. attract or tempt
S Industry often seeks to lure scientists from universities by
Studies place the total number of compulsive
offering them huge salaries.
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
S 意欲获取巨额利润诱惑他做了那些不诚实的交易。
nation's ranks of hard-core drug addicts. Another
The hope of high profits lured him into dishonest dealings.
11 million, known as problem gamblers, teeter on
CF: lure & tempt
T
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
这两个动词都有“引诱”的意思。
Anonymous groups nationwide has doubled from
lure 包含着“强烈的、不可抗拒的而且通常是有害的诱惑力”。例如：
S
about
600 to or
more
than 1,200.
Perhaps it is the desire
for solitude
the chance
of
Compulsive
gambling
has been linked to child
making an unexpected discovery
that lures
men down
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
to the depths of the earth.
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare
T 可能正是想寻觅一个幽静的去处或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们
S
fraud and
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
进入地球的深处。
Internet
gambling
could lure new legions into
It was not money thatof
lured
the adolescent
husbandman
wagering
beyond their means.
to the cities, but the gay
life.
T 把那个青年农民引诱到城市的东西不是金钱，
而是那里的欢乐生活。
Sentence
Word
Studies place the total number of compulsive
gamblers at about 4.4 million, about equal to the
tempt 也表示强烈的诱惑力，但更含有“被诱惑者虽然知道不该被诱
nation's ranks
of hard-core drug addicts. Another
惑，但无法或难以克制受到诱惑”
。例如：
11 tempted
million, him
known
as problem
gamblers, teeter on
S The steaming apple pie
to disregard
his diet.
the verge. Since 1990, the number of Gamblers
T 那热气腾腾的苹果派把他诱惑得忘了自己需要节食。
Anonymous groups nationwide has doubled from
S I'm tempted to tell him what I really think of him.
about 600 to more than 1,200.
T 我忍不住要告诉他我对他的真实看法。
Compulsive gambling has been linked to child
abuse, domestic violence, embezzlement, bogus
insurance claims, bankruptcies, welfare fraud and
a host of other social and criminal ills. The advent
of Internet gambling could lure new legions into
wagering beyond their means.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
left for bad;
nearly
seven hours in a hot car while her mother
egregious: adj. extremelybeing
and noticeably
conspicuously
plays video poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
bad or offensive
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
S You made an egregious mistake when you spoke so rudely
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
to the president.
on the baby.
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
left for
nearly
seven
allegedly: adv. according tobeing
the charges
made
without
proof;hours in a hot car while her mother
supposedlyplays video poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
S He is allegedly a thief.
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
S The man has allegedlyon
the baby.
murdered
his wife but no proof has
been found.
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
predisposition: n. state of being likely to behave in a particular
10-day-old
baby girl in South Carolina dies after
way or headlines:
to suffer fromAa particular
disease;
being
left forornearly
seven hours in a hot car while her mother
tendency,
inclination,
susceptibility
genetic
S Diet as well as other factors,
plays including
video poker.
A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
predisposition, is related
to
hypertension
and
which
a bankroll to gambleobesity,
that she
allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
affect productivity and life span.
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
on the baby.
T She has a predisposition towards seeing the dark side of
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
things.
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
Collocation:
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
遗传性素质
hereditary predispositiondrug and
alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
natural predisposition amount先天素质
of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
天性
inborn predisposition any less
destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves
is also well beyond the comprehension of family
吹毛求疵的癖性
a predisposition to find fault
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
S
她有一种爱看事物阴暗面的癖性。
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
being left
for nearlyinvolve
seven
implicate: v. show to be involved
or concerned;
or hours in a hot car while her mother
plays or
video
poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
connect intimately
incriminatingly
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
S The police found a letter which implicated him in the murder
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
case.
on the baby.
S Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in
Science has begun to uncover clues to compulsive
the robbery.
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
Every once in a while, a case is so egregious it makes
headlines: A 10-day-old baby girl in South Carolina dies after
left
for nearly
seven
hours in a hot car while her mother
confound: v. confuse andbeing
surprise
(a person
or group
of people)
plays video poker. A suburban Chicago woman is so desperate for
S The accusation utterly confounded him.
a bankroll to gamble that she allegedly suffocates her 7-week-old
S I always confound him with his twin brother.
daughter 11 days after obtaining a $200,000 life-insurance policy
S 别把公事与私事混为一谈。
on the baby.
T Don’t confound public affairs
with private
ones.begun to uncover clues to compulsive
Science
has
gambling — genetic predispositions that involve chemical
receptors in the brain, the same pleasure pathways implicated in
drug and alcohol addiction. But no amount of knowledge, no
amount of enlightenment, makes the illness any less confounding,
any less destructive. What the gamblers cannot understand about
themselves is also well beyond the comprehension of family
members, who struggle for normality in a world of deceit and
madness.
Sentence
Word
starts vanishing: $500 here, $200 there, $800 a couple
exasperate: v. irritate or annoyMoney
sb. greatly
S
of weeksat later.
Where
is it? The answers come back vague,
The teachers were exasperated
Bob's cheat
in the
nonsensical. It's in the desk at work. A friend borrowed it. It got
examination.
S
我们对他的不良行为非常恼怒。
T
spent on family dinners, car repairs, loans to in-laws. Exasperated
spouses play the sleuth, combing through pockets, wallets, purses,
We were exasperated at his ill behavior.
searching the car. Sometimes the incriminating evidence turns
up — a racing form, lottery scratchers, a map to an Indian casino.
Once the secret is uncovered, spouses usually fight the problem
alone, bleeding inside, because the stories are too humiliating to
share.
Sentence
Word
Money starts vanishing: $500 here, $200 there, $800 a couple
humiliating: adj. shameful, disgraceful
S
of weeks
later.
Where inisfront
it? ofThe answers come back vague,
The boy’s ill manner made
his parents
humiliating
nonsensical. It's in the desk at work. A friend borrowed it. It got
the guests.
S
这位将军永远不会忘记给他带来耻辱的战败。
T
spent on family dinners, car repairs, loans to in-laws. Exasperated
spouses play the sleuth, combing through pockets, wallets, purses,
The general will never forget the humiliating failure in
searching the car. Sometimes the incriminating evidence turns
the battle.
up — a racing form, lottery scratchers, a map to an Indian casino.
Once the secret is uncovered, spouses usually fight the problem
alone, bleeding inside, because the stories are too humiliating to
share.
Sentence
Word
"Anybody who is living with a
compulsive
gambler
is
totally
overwhelmed," says Tom Tucker, president
ofturnthe
Council affect
on Problem
overwhelm: v. overpower;
over;California
submerge suddenly;
Gambling.
"They're steeped in anger,
deeply in mind
or emotion
resentment,
depression,
confusion. None
S The soldiers were overwhelmed
by the
enemy superior
of their personal efforts will ever stop a
forces.
person from their addiction. And they don't
S The boat was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.
really see any hope because compulsive
S 你的好意使我感激难言。 gambling in general is such an underrecognized illness."
T Your kindness quite overwhelms me.
One Los Angeles woman, whose husband's gambling was
tearing at her sanity, says she slept with her fists so tightly
clenched that her nails sliced into her palms. She had fantasies of
death — first her own, thinking he'd feel sorry for her and stop
gambling. Later, she harbored thoughts of turning her rage on her
husband. She imagined getting a gun, hiding in the closet and
blasting him out of her life.
Sentence
Word
"Anybody who is living with a
compulsive
gambler
is
totally
overwhelmed," says Tom Tucker, president
of the
California
Council ofon Problem
sanity: n. the quality of being
healthy
in mind; soundness
Gambling. "They're steeped in anger,
mind
resentment,
depression,
confusion. None
S Many people question the
sanity of huge
amounts of money
of their personal efforts will ever stop a
spent for defense.
person from their addiction. And they don't
S 他签遗嘱时神志是否清醒颇令人怀疑。
really see any hope because compulsive
T His sanity of mind was quite doubtful when he signed his will.
gambling in general is such an underrecognized illness."
Collocation:
One Los Angeles woman, whose husband's gambling was
判断正确
sanity of judgment
tearing at her sanity, says she slept with her fists so tightly
观点正确
sanity of outlook
clenched that her nails sliced into her palms. She had fantasies of
失去理智
lose one’s sanity
death —
first her own, thinking he'd feel sorry for her and stop
保持神志清醒
retain one’s sanity
gambling. Later, she harbored thoughts of turning her rage on her
husband. She imagined getting a gun, hiding in the closet and
blasting him out of her life.
Sentence
Word
"The hurt was so bad I think I would have
pulled the trigger," she says. "There were times
the pain was so much I thought being in jail, or
purge：v. remove impurities by cleansing; get rid of; purify
being in the electric chair, would be less than this."
S This medicine will help you to purge off the poison in your
With drug or alcohol abusers, there is the hope of
blood.
sobering up, an accomplishment in itself, no
S 为了洗清自己的罪过，他把余生都用在行善上。
matter what problems may have accompanied
T To purge his sins, he
their
addictions.
gamblers
devoted
the rest ofCompulsive
his life to doing
goods. often see
no way to purge their urges when suffocating
debts suggest only one answer: a hot streak
(suicide?). David Phillips, a UC San Diego
sociology professor, studied death records from
1982 to 1988 — before legalized gambling exploded across
America — and found that people in Vegas, Atlantic City and other
gambling meccas showed significantly higher suicide rates than
people in non-gambling cities.
Sentence
Word
Rex Trivia is not about to kill himself, but like most compulsive
gamblers, he occasionally thinks about it. Looking at him, it's hard
bust:
to imagine he once had a promising future as a smart young New
1. n. the human head, shoulders, and chest, esp. as shown in
York book editor. His pale eyes are expressionless, his hair
sculptur
yellowish and brittle. In his fifties, his health is failing: emphysema,
S He collects busts of famous statesmen.
three lung collapses, a bad aorta, rotting teeth.
S A stone bust of Cai YuanpeiHis
wasplunge
erectedhas
on been so dizzying that at one point he agreed to
the campus to honor the
principal
of the
aidlate
another
desperate
gambler in a run of bank robberies — nine in
university.
all, throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. When the FBI
2. v. (of the police) raid (a house) or arrest (sb.);
busted him in 1980, he had $50,000 in cash in a dresser drawer
break; smash
and $100,000
in traveler's checks in his refrigerator's vegetable
S Tom was busted on a charge
of taking drugs.
crisper. Rex, who ended up doing a short stint in prison, hasn't
S It was money troubles that bust up their marriage.
seen that kind of money since.
Sentence
Word
Rex Trivia is not about to kill himself, but like most compulsive
stint: n. a specified period of time spent doing sth.; peson’s
gamblers, he occasionally thinks about it. Looking at him, it's hard
fixed amount of work, etc.
to imagine he once had a promising future as a smart young New
S
Washing the breakfast dishes
her daily
stint.His pale eyes are expressionless, his hair
Yorkwas
book
editor.
S
yellowish
andstint
brittle.
In his fifties, his health is failing: emphysema,
The work proceeded steadily,
without
or difficulty.
three lung collapses, a bad aorta, rotting teeth.
His plunge has been so dizzying that at one point he agreed to
做份内工作
do one’s stint
aid another
desperate gambler in a run of bank robberies — nine in
超额工作
exceed one’s stint
all, throughout
Los Angeles and Orange counties. When the FBI
不受限制地
without stint
busted
him in 1980, he had $50,000 in cash in a dresser drawer
spend money without stint and 花钱如流水
$100,000 in traveler's checks in his refrigerator's vegetable
不遗余力地劳动
labor without stint
crisper.
Rex, who ended up doing a short stint in prison, hasn't
seen that kind of money since.
Collocation:
Sentence
Word
At 11 P. M. on a Tuesday night, with a bankroll of $55 — all he
has — he is at a poker table in Gardena. With quick, nervous hands
loiter：v. walk about slowly
with frequent
he stacks
and stops
unstacks his $1 chips. The stack dwindles. Down
S
S
$30,loitered
he talks
about
leaving,
With weary steps, Jane
on her
way home
fromgetting some sleep. Midnight comes
the bus stop.
and goes. Rex starts winning. Three aces. Four threes. Chips pile
She loitered along the street, looking into all the shop
up — $60, $70. "A shame to go when the cards are falling my way."
windows.
Collocation:
He checks the time: "I'll go at 2. Win, lose or draw."
Fate, kismet, luck — the cards keep falling. At 2 A. M., Rex is
虚度光阴
loiter one’s time away
up $97. He
stands, leaves his chips on the table and goes out for a
四处闲逛
loiter about
smoke. In消磨时间
the darkness at the edge of the parking lot, he loiters with
loiter out the time
工作懒散 debating with himself whether to grab a bus and
loiter over a job
other regulars,
quit.
Sentence
Word
After Reading
1. Useful Expressions
2. Spot Dictation
3. Discussion
4. Error Correction
5. Writing Practice
6. Proverbs and Quotations
Useful Expressions
1. 孤注一掷
go for broke
2. 嗜赌成瘾者
compulsive gamblers
3. 消除
wipe away
4. 失去尊严
lose one’s pride
5. 生存哲学
existential philosophy
6. 牌室的常客
card room regulars
7. 付出高昂的代价
pay a steep price
8. 主题公园
theme park
9. 不可救药的吸毒成瘾者
hard-core drug addicts
10. 在边缘摇摆
teeter on the verge
11. 虐待儿童
child abuse
12. 家庭暴力
domestic violence
13. 许多
a host of
14. 成为重大新闻
make headline
15. 无法理解
beyond one’s comprehension
16. 内心流血
bleed inside
17. 清醒起来
sober up
18. 为…而不顾一切
be desperate for
19. 保险单
insurance policy
20. 债台高筑
suffocating debts
21. 前途无量
promising future
22. 呆滞无神的双眼
expressionless eyes
23. 每况愈下的健康状况
failing health
24. 再玩几副
a few more hands
_______
Spot Dictation
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words you hear.
The tragedy of gambling addition reaches far beyond those
who have been _____
lured into gambling. Family members pay a _____
steep
price as well. They are frequently ____________
overwhelmed with the feeling of
sadness and hopelessness. A nation-wide ______
survey found that over
_______ gambling as a significant factor
2 million adults identified a spouse’s
in a ____
prior divorce. Children of gamblers are more likely to suffer
neglect , as well as abuse. A few years ago, an Illinois mother was
______
________
convicted of fraud for trying to collect a $200,000 life insurance
policy after _________
smothering her seven-year-old daughter. Prosecutors
__________
said that she killed the baby as she was short of cash to feed her
gambling addiction, and her relatives _________
portrayed her as a woman
living in a world of lies and ______
deceit . A considerable body of
evidence showed that the expansion of legally_________
sanctioned gambling
destroys individuals, ruined families, increases crime, and ________
ultimately
costs society far more than the ________
revenues government collects.
■
Discussion
Discuss the topic in groups: how to help the gamblers out. In a
group, three members express their viewpoints from different angles
(for example, the gamblers themselves, the family members, and
the society).
Error Correction
Directions: In the following passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes,
one in each numbered line. You may have to change a
word, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes
and put the corrections in the blanks provided.
Example:
Television is rapidly becoming the literature of our periods.
Many of the arguments having used for the study of literature as
a school subject are valid for Λ study of television.
1. time
2.
/
3. the
We are all naturally attracted to people
with ideas, beliefs and interests like our own.
Similarly, we feel comfortable with people with
physical qualities similar as ours.
We may have noticed about how people
who live or work closely together come to
behave in a similar way. Unconsciously we
copy these we are close to or love or admire.
So a sportsman’s individual way of walking
with raised shoulders is imitated by an
admired fan; a pair of lovers both shake their
heads in the same way; an employer finds
himself copying his boss’s habit of wagging a
pen between his fingers while thinking.
1._________
as → to
删去 about
2.__________
3.____________
these → those
admired → admiring
4.________________
employer → employee
5._________________
In every case, the influential person may
consciously notice the imitation but he will feel
comfortably in his presence. And if he does
notice the matching of his gestures or
movements, he finds it pleasing he is
influencing people: they are drawn to them.
Sensitive people have been mirroring their
friend and acquaintances all their lives, and
winning affection and respect in this way
without aware of their methods. Now, for
people who want to win agreement or trust,
affection or sympathy, some psychologists
recommend the deliberate use of physical
imitation.
consciously →
6.______________
unconsciously
______________
7.____________
comfortably →
____________
comfortable
8.____________
them → him
9.________________
friend → friends
10._______________
在without 和aware
_______________
之间加being
Writing Practice
Letters of Sympathy or Condolence
1. Introduction
Letter-writing is an important communication skill. The letter you
write is your personal representative. It takes your place when
circumstances make it impossible for you to be there in person.
When your relative or friend is suffering an injury, loss, or a
bereavement, your letter of sympathy or condolence can be a
proper way of expressing your concern and sympathy. The function
of such letters is to comfort, and they should be posted promptly.
2. Appropriate expressions for letters of sympathy or condolence
1. For letters of sympathy
I am
very sorry
more than sorry
surprised
deeply
distressed
to hear about
of
I can’t tell you how sorry I felt
I felt very sad indeed
What a surprise to me
How grieved I was
when
your illness.
the flood which
destroyed your house.
your injury in the car
accident.
I heard of…
I was informed of…
the news came that…
2. For letters of condolence
so
extremely
I am
terribly
most
sorry to hear of/
grieved to learn
the death
the loss
of…
We have just heard/learned with profound sorrow/regret the sad/tragic
news.
It was a great/profound shock to hear…
The sad news of… has filled my heart with profound regret.
I can’t tell you how saddened I am to hear of…
I wish I could do something to soften your grief.
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.
3. Examples
Example 1. To a friend who is hospitalized
Sept. 20
Dear John,
I’ve just heard that you are in hospital. It must be quite a
trying time for you.
I hope that by the time this letter reaches you, you’ll be
feeling a great deal better. I am sure that it won’t be long before
you are completely yourself again. I look forward to your early
recovery.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s anything I can
do to help.
Very sincerely
Harry
Example 2. To a friend or relative whose house was damaged
July 15
Dear Mary,
What a shock it was to learn of the damage to your house by
Hurricane Betsy, so sudden and unexpected, but I felt relieved that
you yourself weren’t hurt.
I know how much you love that house, and I also know how
warm and welcoming it was to visit there. Now, I just want to send
you my love and sympathy, along with my very best wishes that
everything can be repaired soon.
Truly yours
Christina
Example 3. To a friend whose mother has passed away
October 20
Dear Charles,
I am indeed saddened to hear of your mother’s passing away.
My thoughts and sympathy are with you at this sad time. I know
how close you were to your mother, and I recall your many loving
comments about how helpful and supportive she was to the
people in her life. She was so kind, blessed with a fine soul.
Please convey my regards and best wishes to your family.
Sincerely
Harry
4. Homework
1. You have just learned that a friend of yours is ill and
hospitalized. Write a letter expressing sympathy and all of your
family’s earnest wishes for his/her speedy recovery, and telling
him/her that you are sending him/her a best-seller to help while
away the time.
2. You heard of the loss of your friend’s father today. Write a few
sincere, well-chosen words consoling your grief-stricken friend.
Proverbs and Quotations
1. The best throw of the dice is to throw them away.
掷骰子的最好方法就是把它们扔掉。
2. Gambling is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the
father of mischief.
— George Washington
赌博是贪婪的孩子，不平等的兄弟，祸害的父亲。
—— 乔治•华盛顿
3. You cannot get anything out of nature or from God by gambling.
— John Ruskin, British Critic Social Theorist
人不可能通过赌博从大自然或上帝那里得到任何东西。
—— 英国社会批评理论家 约翰•拉斯金
4. I can't believe that God plays dice with the universe.
— Albert Einstein
我相信上帝是不会和人类掷骰子的。
—— 爱尔伯特•爱因斯坦
5. Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich.
— George Bernard Shaw
赌博对穷人的承诺就像财产对富人所做的那样。
— 乔治•肖伯纳
6. Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
肤浅的人相信运气，而强大的人相信有因才有果。
—— 拉尔夫•沃尔朵•爱默生