Lesson 5 No Room in the Ark 诺亚方舟无容身之地

The gorilla is something of a paradox in the African scene. One thinks one knows him very well.

For a hundred years or more he has been killed, captured, and imprisoned, in zoos. His bones have been mounted in natural history museums everywhere, and he has always exerted a strong fascination upon scientists and romantics alike. He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past.

Yet the fact is we know very little about gorillas. No really satisfactory photograph has ever been taken of one in a wild state, no zoologist, however intrepid, has been able to keep the animal under close and constant observation in the dark jungles in which he lives. Carl Akeley, the American naturalist, led two expeditions in the nineteen-twenties, and now lies buried among the animals he loved so well. But even he was unable to discover how long the gorilla lives, or how or why it dies, nor was he able to define the exact social pattern of the family groups, or indicate the final extent of their intelligence. All this and many other things remain almost as much a mystery as they were when the French explorer Du Chaillu first described the animal to the civilized world a century ago.

The Abominable Snowman who haunts the imagination of climbers in the Himalayas is hardly more elusive.

New words and expressions 生词短语

(good article : five stars 该文写得不错。)

the + n.(s) 表示一类: the gorilla(s)

scene 场景

in the African scene : Africa as the background

gather palace 聚集地

something of a paradox 自相矛盾(人对猩猩的观点) contradictory ideas about him

主题句：One thinks one knows him very well.

问题：Yet the fact is we know very little about gorillas.

Their ideas vary。人们对他的观点相差很大。

For a hundred years or more 一百年甚至更多(包括一百年)

For more than one hundred years 一百多年

西方，动物一般用人称代替。本文中，gorillas 用 him 代替。另外有：cat – she, dog – he .

imprisoned 关起来圈养

be mounted in natural history museums 陈列在自然历史博物馆

重点句型：

He exert a strong fascination upon(on) Sb. 施加给人们强大的魅力

exert … on … 施加(压力)

impose … on … ,例如 impose influence on , impose pressure on

上句可表示为 He have a strong fascination for Sb.

或 The gorilla is always fascinating to Sb.

alike adv.相同，一样 adj.只能做表语。例如：

The two are alike. 这两人真像。

形容词只要以 a 开头，99.99%都做表语。不能做定语词。

例如：asleep , awake ,afloat 等

He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books.

stereotyped – old time 老样子horror films 恐怖片

film (英) movie (美)the stereotyped monster 经典模式

省略主语 and (he is) an obvious (…) link with our ancestral past

link with … 与…相联系our ancestral past (n.)

through not perhaps strikly scientific

尽管话说回来，不是严格的科学概念

through 引导的从句主语和主句相同，可以省略。

Eg: I arrived at the meeting , though (I was ) late.

Yet 与 however ，表示转折，意思完全相同。但 yet 用在句首，however 加标点，可以用

在自由位置。

重要句型：

No really satisfactory photograph has ever been taken of one in …

Take picture / photograph 照相

of one 定语后置，satisfactory photograph of one。主要是为了句子的平衡。One 指 gorilla

in a wild state 在野生状态下

keep the … under … observation 把某事处于观察之下

keep the city clean 保持城市清洁

close and constant observation 持续不断的观察

Eg: I have to keep the boy under close control.

To control the boy very strikly.

插入语：however intrepid = no matter how intrepid 无论多么英勇

Eg: No man , however intelligent , is perfect.

No palace, however peaceful and tranquil , is a paradise.

lies buried here among the animals he loved so well

埋葬在他所钟爱的动物中间

形容词做状语：lie awake , lie crouched

lifespan 寿命

how long the gorilla lives

因为猩猩的寿命客观存在，所以 live 用一般现代时。

Organ’s decay 器官衰竭

Nor 引导否定并列句，与 unable 并列

生活方式：group living , individual living新概念英语课文下载

智力：intelligence – IQ , intelligence qoutient

CIA – the Central Intelligence Agency of America

CID – Criminal investigation Division 重案组，罪犯调查科

All this and many other thing remain (amost as much ) a mystery (as ) they were.

as much as 同 the same as

…remain a mystery the same as they were.

He is as much a musician as a writer.= He is both a musician and a writer.

civilized world 文明世界

savaged world 野生世界

civilized : to get away from wild life

中文中的“文明单位”不能用 civilized , 应该用 model 或 pace setting unit

I’m a pace soldiery。我是排头兵。

The Abominable Snowman who haunts the imagination of climbers in the Himalayas is hardly more elusive.

那萦绕在喜马拉雅山爬山者脑海中的那种令人难以捉摸的雪人，看起来也不一定比我们研究的大猩猩更加令人费尽心思。(通过侧面比较，引出结论，一种有用的写作方法)

Abominable Snowman 作比较，省略 gorilla