Stop Spoiling Your Children Section B Stop Spoiling Your Children

Stop Spoiling Your Children 1 Reading Skills 2 Words and Expressions 3 Detailed Study of the Text

Understanding Figurative Language Reading Skills Understanding Figurative Language To make language clearer, more interesting, and more striking, all of us use expressions which are not literally true. We make comparisons in speaking and writing. Figurative language—language that is used not in its literal meaning, but in a way that makes description more interesting or impressive—paints a picture for the reader.

Understanding Figurative Language Reading Skills Understanding Figurative Language Figurative language can be confusing if it is understood literally. The ability to recognize and interpret or explain figurative language may help us fully understand a writer’s point. Look at the following examples taken from Passage A:

Reading Skills Example 1 1. For what, I sometimes wonder; so that she can struggle to breathe through most of her life feeling half her strength, and then die of self-poisoning, as her grandfather did? (Para. 7)

Reading Skills Example 2 2. Smoking is a form of self-battering that also batters those who must sit by, occasionally joke or complain, and helplessly watch. (Para. 8)

Reading Skills Explanation In both examples, smoking is compared to a form of self-poisoning and self-destroying, thus making the evil effects of smoking cigarettes more alarming.

Reading Skills There are different ways of using figurative language. Listed here are just a few of them: a) Similes (明喻), figurative expressions which directly compare one thing to another by using as or like.

Reading Skills b) Metaphors (暗喻), figurative expressions in which comparisons are only implied, without using as, like and the like. c) Personification (拟人), figurative expressions which compare non-human things to humans.

这场雨弄得我们的野餐一团糟。 他们宠坏了孩子。 Words and Expressions Spoil vt. 损坏; 糟蹋; 搞糟;宠坏, 溺爱 The rain spoiled our picnic. 这场雨弄得我们的野餐一团糟。 They spoiled their child. 他们宠坏了孩子。

assign分配, 分派(+to);派定, 指定, 選派(+to/for) Each overseas teacher was assigned a studio. 每位外籍教师都分配到一间套房。 Jack was assigned to the assembly shop of the factory. 杰克被分配到厂里的装配间工作。

barely 仅仅, 勉强; 几乎没有; 贫乏地; 光秃秃地 He has barely enough money to live on. 他的钱仅够勉强维持生计。 The room was furnished barely but neatly. 房间陈设十分简陋, 但很整洁。

greedy a. . 貪食的; 貪吃的;貪婪的(+for/of) Don't be so greedy -- leave some of the food for the rest of us. 别这么贪吃--留些食物给我们其余的人吃。 The dictator was greedy for power. 那个独裁者贪图权力。

sensitive敏感的; 易受傷害的(+to);神經過敏的; 易怒的(+to/about) Donna is sensitive to strong smells. 唐娜对强烈的气味很敏感。 He is sensitive about his failure. 人家一提他的失败他就生气。

contradiction n.矛盾;自相矛盾的說法 There seems to be a contradiction between her words and actions. 她的言行似乎不一致。 The statement "A circle is a square" is a contradiction. "圆是正方形"这句话是自相矛盾的说法。

submit 使服從, 使屈服[(+to)];使經受, 使受到[(+to)] We'll submit ourselves to the court's judgments. 我们将听从法庭的裁决。 The metal was submitted to analysis. 对该金属进行了分析。

respond 作答, 回答[(+to)];作出反應; 響應[(+to/by/with)] Has she responded to your letter? 她有没有回过你的信? The government has responded to pressure and dropped the proposal. 政府已在压力下放弃了这一建议。

prompt 敏捷的, 及时的, 迅速的[(+in)][+to-v];促使; 激励; 怂恿 He is prompt in paying his rent. The drowning child was saved by Dick's prompt action. 他付房租从不拖延。 迪克的及时行动救了那个溺水的孩子。 He was prompted by patriotism. 他为爱国心所激励。

definite明確的, 確切的;一定的, 肯定的 She made no definite answer. It's definite that he'll be late again. 他肯定又要遲到。 她沒有作確定的回答。

bound 极可能的, 必然的[+to-v] He's bound to notice your mistake. 他必定会觉察到你的错误。

be packed with: be full of, be filled with 塞满了······，充满了······ His study is packed with a large variety of books. 他的书房里摆满了各种各样的书。 The stadium was packed with a crowd of fans who were cheering for their favorite team. 体育场里挤满了球迷，他们在为自己喜欢的球队欢呼加油。

make a point: state a point 提出论点 make a point of doing sth. 坚持/重视做······ He has made an original point in his speech. 他在发言中提出了一个新颖的观点。 He made a point of visiting the old man on his way home. 他总是在回家的路上顺便看望下这位老人。

He couldn’t hold down his job after he got a psychological illness. hold down: keep (a job) for some time 保住(工作) He couldn’t hold down his job after he got a psychological illness. 他患了心理疾病以后就无法保住工作了。 With a poor health, he’s never been able to hold down a steady job. 由于身体虚弱，他从未能保住一份稳定的工作。

compensate sb. for … 为······向某人赔偿 compensate for … 弥补，补偿 compensate: v. give (sb.) sth. good to lessen the bad effect of damage, loss, etc. 补偿，赔偿 compensate sb. for … 为······向某人赔偿 compensate for … 弥补，补偿 Nothing can compensate for the loss of one’s health. 健康受损是无法弥补的。 The animal’s good sense of smell compensates for its poor eyesight. 这种动物敏锐的嗅觉弥补了其视力上的缺陷。

pine for: wither or waste away from longing or grief, long for 为······伤心; 渴望 After two years of studying abroad, he pined for home. 在国外学习了两年后，他特别想家。 With his clothes growing looser and looser, he never felt regret for the fact that he had pined away for her. 衣带渐宽终不悔；为伊消得人憔悴。

for fear: being afraid / uneasy 担心 for fear of sth. 担心某事 for fear that + clause 担心/害怕······ He studies very hard for fear that he might lag behind his classmates. 他很努力地学习，害怕自己会落在同学的后面。 He slipped out of the classroom for fear of being noticed by the teacher. 担心被老师注意到，他悄悄溜出了教室。

stand up to: 1) meet or face bravely; be against without fear 勇敢地面对 2) not be changed or damaged by 经得起，承受得起 Their views won’t stand up to detailed criticism. 他们的观点经不起仔细推敲。 The little girl knows how to stand up to a bully. 小姑娘知道该怎样对付无赖之徒。

fluctuate between …and …: 1) (of an attitude or a state) change continually 犹豫不决 2) (of price, number, rate, etc.) rise and fall (价格、数量) 在······和······之间波动 One’s life always fluctuates between hope and despair. 人生始终在希望与失望两者间徘徊。 The price of vegetables fluctuates according to the weather. 蔬菜价格随着天气变化而波动。

feel a wave of: feel a sudden rush of emotion 感到一阵（情绪） Like many other girls, she feels a wave of panic at the sight of snake. 和许多其他女孩一样，她一见到蛇就感到一阵惊慌。 He felt a wave of thrill for having the chance to be face to face with his idol. 他为有机会能和自己的偶像面对面而感到一阵兴奋。

Three masked men robbed the bank of thousands of dollars. rob sb. of …: to take valuable or desired articles unlawfully from; to deprive unjustly of something belonging to sb. 抢夺某人······; 剥夺某人······ Three masked men robbed the bank of thousands of dollars. 三个蒙面人抢了那家银行几千美元。 Poverty has robbed many rural children of the right to receive formal education. 贫穷剥夺了许多农村孩子接受正规教育的权利。

become / be insensitive to: lacking in sensitivity to the feelings or circumstances of others 不受······影响; 对······不敏感/麻木不仁 He is so addicted to violence online that he becomes insensitive to evil in reality. 他太迷恋网上的暴力，以至于对现实中的邪恶麻木不仁。 He is one of the kind that is insensitive to the minor but sensitive to the major. 他是那种对小事不敏感，但对大事很敏感的人。

As a new mother, she fed her baby on demand. on demand: when needed or asked for 一经要求 As a new mother, she fed her baby on demand. 作为新妈妈，宝宝一哭闹她就给喂奶。 If any of the child’s requests is met on demand, the child would grow greedier and greedier. 如果孩子的任何要求一经提出就能满足，孩子会变得越来越贪婪。

She decided to turn over a new leaf and give up smoking. turn over a new leaf: start a new and better way of behaving 悔过自新，洗心革面，重新做人 她决定改掉旧习惯，把烟戒掉。 She decided to turn over a new leaf and give up smoking. 他以前一直很懒，但他将改过自新，努力工作。 He has been very lazy but he is going to turn over a new leaf and work hard.

You’re bound to feel nervous about your interview. be bound to do sth.: be certain or extremely likely to do sth. 一定······，必定······ 你对面试定会感到紧张。 You’re bound to feel nervous about your interview. 如果他不努力，考试注定会不及格。 He’s bound to fail the exam if he doesn’t work hard.

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