Finding fossil man
We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write. But there are some parts of the world where even now people cannot write. The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas – legends handed down from one generation of story tellers to another. These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migrations of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now living in the Pacific Islands came from. The sagas of these people explain that some of them came from Indonesia about 2,000 years ago.
But the first people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. So archaeologists have neither history nor legends to help them to find out where the first ‘modern men’ came from.
Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, because this is easier to shape than other kinds. They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away. Stone does not decay, and so the tools of long ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.
词汇
recount v. 叙述，讲述
recount / relate / report sth. to sb.
tell sb. (about) sth.
She recounted the events of the previous week to the police.
(3-56课) We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
(28课) History does not relate whether his friend accepted his medical help, but in all probability he did.
(3-16课) After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb.
narrate 按时间顺序记叙
narrative 记叙文
account account for … 占… 比例; 解释
Afro-Americans account for 12% of the US population. （占比）
The gene they discovered doesn’t account for all those cases. （解释）
discount 折扣
Members get a 20% discount.
saga n. 长篇英雄传说
saga: a prose narrative recorded in Iceland in the Middle Ages. It’s written about the Vikings of Norway and Iceland.
epic 长篇诗歌，史诗
legend 传说；传奇 legendary a. 传奇的
Robin Hood is a legendary hero.
myth / mythology 神话
myth 可以当可数名词；mythology 是神话题材，不可数
migration n. 迁移，移居
migrate v. 移居；迁徙 migration migrant n. 迁徙的人/动物；如候鸟
immigrate v. 移民 immigration immigrant
illegal / permanent immigrants
emigration emigrant
emigrate from immigrate to
Europeans emigrating from their homelands after World War II were encouraged to immigrate to Australia.
总结：
| v. | n. | n. |
|---|---|---|
| migrate | migration | migrant |
| immigrate | immigration | immigrant |
| emigrate | emigration | emigrant |
anthropologist n. 人类学家
anthropologist anthropology
“anthrop-” = man 人类
anthropoid 类人的
Gorillas（大猩猩）, chimpanzees（黑猩猩） and gibbons（长臂猿） are all anthropoid apes（猿）.
anthropogenic 人类产生的、导致的
The pending extinction of some species are caused by anthropogenic factors, directly or indirectly.
philanthropist /fɪ’lænθrəpɪst/ 慈善家
“phil” = love philosopher 哲学家
“(o)logy” = to study biology （3-2课）
ancestor n. 祖先
an (=ante，在前面) + ces (to go) + tor (person)
Yandi and Huangdi are the legendary ancestors of the Chinese nation.
祖先 (+) forefather forebear
后代 descendant 动物的崽，后代 offspring
He is a direct descendant of Confucius.
the conflict between parents and their offspring.
posterity 后代（不可数）
These works of art are preserved for posterity.
rot v. 腐烂
Too much candy will rot your teeth / make your teeth rot.
rot away 烂掉
rotten a. 腐烂的，道德败坏的
One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.
decay v.
Too much candy will decay your teeth / make your teeth decay.
decay 比 rot 更正式，有“衰退”的意思
Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decays.
culminate 达到鼎盛
课文
Finding fossil man
这篇的标题不是一个完整的句子，而是动名词。单词简短，引人注意。而且使用了 alliteration（头韵）。
find: discover
fossil man: ancient man; prehistoric man
encourage -> spur
prohibit / forbid -> ban
compete -> vie
nominate -> name
头韵
第一课 Finding fossil man
第二课 Spare that spider
第三课 Matterhorn man
第四课 The sporting spirit
Pride and Prejudice 傲慢与偏见
Prince and Pauper 王子与贫儿
World Wide Watch 世界观察
A Delicious Dish A Day 天天饮食
Beauty and the Beast
第一句：We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write.
read of … 读到
speak of / talk of … 谈到 hear of / learn of / know of 谈到
think of, dream of
这里的 of 相当于 about
Of Truth 《论真理》
Of Death, Of love, Of Envy, Of Human Bondage 《人性枷锁》, …
正常的语序是 “事件”、“地点”、“时间”
I saw him at the party yesterday.
文中先说 5000年前，再接着地点，因为地点状语长得多。
(4课) Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people who can read and detect colors with their fingers, and even see through solid doors and walls.
(5课) He maybe conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect of elders—as if mere age were a reason for respect.
(考研翻译) What is an intellectual? I shall define him as an individual who has elected as his primary duty and pleasure in life the activity of thinking in Socratic way about moral problems.
(考研阅读) As a logical consequence of this development, separate journals have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur readership.
定语从句代替其他状语从句，可以按照其含义去翻译（英译汉）：
We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, because people first learned to write there.
=> We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write.
We endeavour to avoid the old, romantic idea of a gusher, because it wastes oil and gas.
=> (13课) We endeavour to avoid the old, romantic idea of a gusher, which wastes oil and gas.
The small shop, Elkor, after she had been searching the Barents Sea for weeks, was on its way home.
=> (3-32课) The small shop, Elkor, which had been searching the Barents Sea for weeks, was on its way home.
Much to the aristocrat;s amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter and he proceeded to read it to the prisoner.
=> (3-22课) Much to the aristocrat;s amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
汉译英：
造句：最近几年大批农民工（migrant workers from the countryside）涌入大城市，因为他们在那里可以找到不错的工作且养活家人。
The past few years witnessed the great influx of migrant workers from the country side to big cities, where they could secure decent jobs and support their families.
第二句：But there are some parts of the world where even now people cannot write.
There seem / appear to be …
There used to be …
There happen to be …
There is / are going to be …
造句：有越来越多的人对英语有兴趣。
There are more and more people who are interested in English.
=> There is growing interest in English.
造句：人们普遍同意妇女应该享有和男人完全的平等。
People generally agree that women should enjoy full equality with men.
=> There is general agreement that women should enjoy full equality with men.
造句：现在世界上依然有部分地区人们还吃不饱肚子（cannot satisfy one’s hunger）。
There are some parts of the world where even now people cannot satisfy their hunger.
第三句：The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas – legends handed down from one generation of story tellers to another.
（复习，3-3课）preserve 保护，保存（keep sth. in good condition）；conserve 保护（数量）；reserve（保留，保护）
preserve historical records
preserve food / one’s eyesight
conserve natural resources
动词不定式做表语时，若前面出现了实义动词“do”，则经常去掉“to”。
All I have to do is dream.
The best thing you can do now is write her an apology.
(3-60课) The only thing to do was ask them to come half an hour later than the other guests. Then they arrived just when we wanted them.
hand sth. down: pass sth. from older people to younger ones.
The recipe was handed down from an ancestor of the family.
story-teller tell stories
fortune-teller tell one’s fortune
第五句：Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now living in the Pacific Islands came from.
remote 久远的 remote ancestors 远祖
a distant relative 远亲
a close / near relative 近亲
第七句：But the first people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten.
写作中的实词互相替换，如 fossil man 表示为：
the first people who were like ourselves
people who lived long ago
the first modern man
ancient
people who were like ourselves 介词
people who were similar to ourselves => people who similar to ourselves 形容词（be similar to）
people who were resembling ourselves 动词
people who bearing a resemblance to ourselves 名词（bear a resemblance to …）
bear a resemblance to …
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life doesn’t not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.
if 承接让步状语从句
His descendants, if any, never left the island.
He is seldom, if ever, absent from work.
第九句：Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, because this is easier to shape than other kinds.
shape v. 塑形
He shaped the clay into a vase.
Like it or not, our experiences shape our personalities.
这种用名词当动词的用法还有：
He thundered at the door. 他用力敲门。
The street was veiled in darkness. 黑夜笼罩着街道。
A gust of wind whipped the dust along the road. 一阵风卷起了路边的灰尘。
Honey, I forgot to duck. 亲爱的，我忘记躲了。
第十句：They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away.
（复习）may / might have done 对过去的肯定的推测
must have done （语气更重一点）
cannot / could not have done （否定的推测）
should / ought to have done （带一点批评/自责）
should not / ought not to have done
skin 皮
hide 专门指兽皮
fur 毛皮
feather 羽毛
（复习）fur and feather 飞禽走兽 fin, fur and feather 各种动物
metonymy 借代
A bald slipped out of the house. （boy）
He has been messing around with several skirts of his class. （girl）
The crown should not yield to the cross. （王权；神权）臣本布衣，躬耕于南阳
第十一句：Stone does not decay, and so the tools of long ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.
when 这里跟让步状语从句。“尽管、既然”
He walks when he might take a taxi.
Why do you walk when you have a car?
disappear / vanish without trace
The burglar slipped out of the house and then disappear / vanish without trace.
本文写作模式：Problem-Solution Pattern
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新东方《新概念英语（第四册）》（李延隆老师）课程来源于 YouTube.
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