Part One
Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascination. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left - all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go ahead to the even more wrong headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved.
1．The third sentence of paragraph 1 implies that _____ .
A） people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
B） the blind could be happier than the sighted
C）over excited people tend to neglect vital things.
D） fascination makes people lose their eyesight
2. In paragraph 5, “the powerless” probably refers to _____ .
A）areas short of electricityB）dams without power stations
C）poor countries around India D）common people in the Narmada Dam area
3. What is the myth concerning giant dams?
A）They bring in more fertile soil.B）They help defend the country.
C）They strengthen international ties. D）They have universal control of the waters.
4. What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as _____ .
A）“It's no use crying over spilt milk”B）“More haste, less speed”
C）“Look before you leap”D）“He who laughs last laughs best”
Unit 5（1998）Part 1
重点词汇：
1.imagination?（想象；想象力）←imagin（e）想象+tion名词后缀。Imagination is more important than knowledge.想象力比知识更重要。Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.科学的每一个重大进展都得力于大胆的想象力。
2.symbol ?（符号；象征）即sym+bol，sym-共同，bol看作ball，“共同喜欢球类运动”→这是现代人的“象征”。Light is the symbol of truth.光是真理的象征。
3.cement （v.胶合；巩固n.水泥；胶接剂）。A sweet and innocent compliance is the cement of love.温柔天真的依从是爱情的粘合剂。
4.deprive （v.剥夺）即de+priv+e，de-（=away），priv词根“个人的”（如private→priv+ate→私人的），“使某物离开个人”→剥夺。Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.贫穷常使人丧失全部精神与美德，空袋子是难以直立的。
5.persist（v.坚持，持续）即per+sist，per-“完全”，sist词根“站立”，于是“自始至终都站着”→坚持。参consistently（始终如一地），1999年Passage 5。To persist in efforts without losing the aim will finally result in success.不失目标地坚持努力终将导致成功。
6.complex（复杂的；综合的；联合体）即com+plex，com-“一起”，plex词根“重叠”，“重叠在一起的”→复杂的。参perplex（使困惑，使复杂化）←per完全+plex Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.凡事都比你思考的简单，同时比你想象的复杂。
7.go-ahead n.批准，允许。
8.wrong-headed 执迷不悟的。
9.environmental （周围的，环境的）←environment环境+al形容词后缀。
10.proper（适当的；合乎体统的；固有的）。Proper words in proper places make the true definition of style.风度的准确定义就是在适当的场合说适当的话。
11.resolve（v.n.决心；解决；决议）←re+solve解决。同根词：dissolve（v.溶解；解散）←dis+solve。
12.conflict （v.n.冲突）即con+flict，con-一起，flict词根“打”，“打在一起”→冲突。
13.hydroelectric（水电的）即hydro+electric，hydro词根“水的”，electric单词“电的”。另记：hydrogen（氢）←hydro+gen，这是化学家创造的英文单词，因为氢气燃烧的产物是水，-gen后缀意为“致……的物质”。
14.irrigation ?（灌溉；水利）
15.at the mercy of 受……支配；stop just short of 几乎要……；far from guaranteed 根本没有保障。
难句解析：
① Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating.
这个句子中包含了一个强调句型，基本结构是it is... that...，强调部分的关键词是suffering，这个词就是后面that引导的从句的主语，因而这个句子的核心句其实就是Suffering makes the ideal so fascinating。suffering加上前后的修饰、限定成分是humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought（人类受水旱灾害控制的长期的苦难）；ideal后面跟了一个of引导的分词短语：forcing the waters to do our bidding（让河水听我们吩咐［的这个理想］）；suffering使得这个ideal如何呢？so fascinating。在掌握了这个整体框架之后，这个句子就很清楚了。
通过分析结构我们知道此句强调的是suffering这个使得ideal如此fascinating的这个因果关系。一旦给that引导的从句找到了真正的主语suffering，这个句子的基本结构就出来了。
②It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam had become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves.
这个句子中第一个单词it指代的是文章中上面的一句话，即“从大型水坝中得到的教训是不一定大的就是好的”。help后面是一个从句，在这个从句中，主语是一个现在分词短语，核心句是Building a dam had become a symbol of achievement。分词短语striving to assert themselves是修饰nations and people的限定成分。
注意it doesn't help的意思，此处意为“无法阻止”。
③The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left ― all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
这个句子首先要注意的是有两个谓语：stopped和deprived；然后可以找出这个句子的核心句：The Aswan Dam stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the silt。第一个silt后面有一个that引导的从句that floods left修饰silt；破折号后面的all代替的是破折号前面所说的the fertile silt，介词短语in return for后面的宾语带了一个which引导的从句，修饰的是这个宾语：a giant reservoir of disease，同时这个从句中还有一个so... that的结构。如果把这个which引导的从句分解开来就是The reservoir is now full of silt, so it barely generates electricity。
此句理解的关键有三个：一是找到两个谓语：stopped和deprived；二是要明白all指的是前面所说的the fertile silt；三就是which引导的从句修饰的是the reservoir of disease这个名词短语。
④This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube.
这个句子理解上的困难可能出现在短语上。撇开前面的时间状语和地点状语不看，这个句子的核心句其实是Slovaks and Hungarians stopped sending troops。这里有两个短语需要理解：short of差一点就；send in派遣。后面的in their contention over a dam说的是他们sending in the troops的原因。再加上前后的状语短语，就有了一个完整理解。
这个句子的短语和介词非常重要，除了结构分析中所说的两个短语之外，in the contentions，over a dam，on the Danube都对句子理解非常重要。
⑤Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts.
这个句子的核心句是Study can help to resolve conflicts。但是理解的重点却在study后面的修饰成分，因为study后面有两个并列关系的of，说明了study的内容：study of the impacts of dams和study of the cost and benefits of controlling water。第三个of修饰的是the cost and benefits两个名词，of后面是个动名词短语。这个修饰成分解决了，后面的句子就好理解了，再注意一下help to do sth.的用法。
主要是四个of的用法，注意哪两个of是并列关系（of the impacts和of the cost and benefits）。
试题解析：
1. 【正确答案】[C]
意为：过于兴奋的人容易忽视极为重要的事情。第一段指出，在重大技术所创造的东西中，很少有比大坝更能体现人的幻想的。也许是因为人类长期遭受洪涝和干旱的袭击，使人类（通过筑坝）制服洪水的愿望显得更加令人兴奋不已（该句是一个强调句，基本句型是：it is... that makes... so fascinating）。这两句谈的是人们的愿望；本段第三、四句话锋一转，指出愿望与现实往往相反，所以，第三句应该在第一、二句意思的基础上理解。第三句可理解为：但是，兴奋有时候也表现为盲目。而第三句的意思又被第四句进一步阐释为：有些大坝工程为害多于为善（do more harm than good）。盲目建设大坝的危害在第三、五段都举了具体例子加以说明。
A意为：人们如果无视现实就会感到高兴。B意为：盲人比有眼睛的人更幸福。D怠为：兴奋使人双目失明。
2. 【正确答案】 [D]
意为：讷尔默达河大坝周围的平民百姓。讷尔默达河位于印度。根据第五段，建设讷尔默达河大坝（Narmada Dam）本来就是一个错误（wrong-headed），但是，世界银行还是向印度贷款，支持大坝建设。银行的顾问指出，大坝将给平民百姓带来苦难，给环境带来破坏，但是，银行方面却一意孤行。大坝的建设也许会给掌权有势的人带来益处。但是，即使这一点也根本没有保障（即：很难保障大坝会给有权势者带来利益）。该句中的the powerless（平民百姓）在意思上应该对应于上一句的the powerful（有权势者）。
A意为：缺电力的地区。B意为：没建电站的大坝。C意为：印度周边的穷国。定冠词the置于形容词之前经常指一类人，如：the poor穷人，the rich富人，the miserable受苦难的人，the young年轻人，等等。
3. 【正确答案】 [D]
意为：它们普遍能控制住洪水。第一段第一、二句指出，人们幻想大坝来达到控制洪水的目的，但有时意识不到大坝会带来意想不到的后果。第三段也指出，大坝有时有违其建设目的，埃及的阿斯旺高坝（Aswan High Dam）就是一个例子。大坝起到了制服尼罗河洪水泛滥的作用，但也不再有洪水过后留下的肥沃的冲积土壤；换来的只是（all in return for）一个硕大的病态水库，水库被淤泥填满，几乎无法发电。
第四段指出，尽管如此，制服洪水的神话还在继续传送。这句话的意思是：人们仍然一味地幻想着通过建坝来控制水：其含义是，尽管大坝的建设有时弊多于利，会给人类带来意想不到的后果，但是，人们建坝的热情还是很高，本段下文提到了斯洛伐克和匈牙利拟在多瑙河上建坝的事。最后一段第二句指出，其实，水力发电也好，治水也好，灌溉也好，未必都只有通过建坝进行。
A意为：它们带来更肥沃的土地。B意为：它们有助于国防。第二段第二句指出，有些人把建设硕大的大坝看作是国家成就的象征，是一个民族独立（assert themselves）的体现，这其实是一种幻想（It doesn't help that...）；第四段第二、三、四句指出，本周，在文明的欧洲中心，为了多瑙河上的建坝事宜，斯洛伐克人和匈牙利人几乎就要派驻军队了，该大坝也可能产生其他大坝存在的所有问题，但是，斯洛伐克正在闹独立（is bidding for independence），想脱离捷克，它想通过大坝来证明自己的能力和独立性（prove itself）。可见，人们想通过大坝证明自己的国力和独立性，并非将大坝用于国防。C意为；它们增强国际联系。
4. 【正确答案】 [C]
意为：“三思而后行。”该题实际上提问的是作者的观点：作者想通过