# Week 65

## NCE4 Lesson 2 Spare that spider

**Why, you may wonder, should** spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the **human race**. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, **if it were not for** the protection we get from insect-eating animals. **We owe a lot to** the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill **only a fraction of** the number destroyed by spiders. **Moreover**, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders **never do the least harm to** us or our belongings.

**Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them.**&#x4F;ne can **tell the difference** almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

How many spiders **are engaged in** this work **on our behalf**? One authority on spiders made a **census** of the spiders in grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; **that is something like** 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not **content with** only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

T. H. GILLESPLE Spare that spider from The Listener

## 文章背景

**The Listener** was a weekly magazine established by the BBC in January 1929 which ceased publication in 1991. The entire digitised archive was made available for purchase online to libraries, educational and research institutions in 2011.

It was first published on 16 January 1929, under the editorship of Richard S. Lambert, and was developed as a medium of record for the reproduction of broadcast talks. It also previewed major literary and musical broadcasts, reviewed new books, and printed a selected list of the more intellectual broadcasts for the coming week.![](https://1233645198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-M8VeTVQiD6fmRZNbNTl%2Fsync%2F8de7b26ea9d873ab326b93cc21b605847cd0266f.JPG?generation=1590759718546869\&alt=media)酷爱的新闻标题的写法一览：

压头韵：

**s**pare that **s**pider

**f**inding **f**ossil man

![](https://1233645198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-M8VeTVQiD6fmRZNbNTl%2Fsync%2F05a9074639d0a01d09f1146a32acb4d86af2a88a.png?generation=1590759718604079\&alt=media)

## 表达积累

### spare

v.节省，匀出，留出，赦免

to give time, money or space to someone especially when it is difficult for you

（尤指在自己困难的情况下）抽出，拨出，挤出

adj.节省的，备用的，空闲的，闲置的

n.备胎

eg. get the spare

> spare和save
>
> spare是give it to someone or make it available without causing difficulties for yourself.
>
> save是gradually collects money by not spending it.
>
> save的钱是用来攒起来，先不消费，未来买大东西的
>
> eg. save enough to buy a house.

搭配：

**spare a thought for**可怜一下(不幸的人)

If you **spare a thought for** an unfortunate person, you make an effort to think sympathetically about them and their bad luck.

**spare no effort in doing sth**不遗余力/不惜工本

If you **spare no effort in** doing something, you do it as well as possible, without worrying about the amount of work involved. If you **spare no expense in** doing it, you do it as well as possible, without trying to save money.

**Spare** the **rod** and **spoil** the **child**.

（old-fashioned saying）孩子不打不成器。 爱之深，责之切

said to mean that if you do not punish a child when it does something wrong, it will not learn what is right

**not spare yourself +in sth.**&#x7AED;尽全力，全力以赴

(formal)

to try as hard as you can to achieve something

**go spare**(BrE, informal)

1.to become very angry or upset

气急败坏；焦虑万分

2.be unwanted or not needed and therefore available for use

闲置的

eg. I didn't have much money going spare.

我没多少闲钱。

### destroy=kill off

slaughter屠杀

wipe out/exterminate灭绝

### human race 人类

**race**种族，不可数n

**man / human being**：man不可数，不可以用men，human being是可数，唯一一个可数的人类

**mankind / humankind**不可数，正式书面语

**humanity**人类，正式，侧重人性，人道的含义

* humanities文史哲的文科
* a crime against humanity 反人类罪

### if it were not for … 若没有……的话

### owe

**I owe you (one).**&#x611F;激感谢，熟人朋友间用这个，不用于陌生人。我欠你一个人情。

eg. I owe you a lot / a great deal.

**owe A to B 归因于**

eg. I owe my success to good luck.

### fraction

a small amount of sth. fraction本来就是一小部分

eg. His shares are now worth a fraction of their former value.

* proportion / percentage

  a high / large proportion / percentage of …

  a small / tiny proportion / percentage of …

### tell the difference 看出区别，把……分辨开

\=tell sb. / sth. apart

### be engaged in (doing) sth. 从事……

### on one’s behalf / on behalf of sb.

1.为了你的利益

\= in one’s interest / in the interest of sb.

2.代表

### census/'sensəs/

n. 对数量的统计，普查

> **use the right word: census, investigation, inquest, survey/poll, inquiry/enquiry**
>
> **census**涉及总数：the fifth national (population)
>
> eg. census road traffic census
>
> **investigation**对一个事件，案件的调查
>
> eg. The case is under investigation.
>
> eg. The investigation into the cause of the air crash is continuing.对……的调查
>
> **inquest**仅指对死因的调查：为什么会死掉
>
> eg. an inquest into the death of the actor
>
> **survey / poll / opinion poll**对老百姓的看法，民意测验
>
> 后接\~ find / show / indicate / reveal …
>
> eg. The survey revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike.
>
> **inquiry/enquiry**：各种调查都可以
>
> on the spot现场 / official官方 / sampling样本 inquiry

### content /kən'tent/

1.只能做表语，不在n前做前置定语

**be content / satisfied with …**

eg. He seems fairly content with his life.

**be content / satisfied to do …**

eg. He is content to stay in his present job.

2.contented 没有场合限制，满意，满足

A contented mind is a perpetual feast.

`OPP`反义adj只有一个：discontented

**be discontented / dissatisfied with …**

`N`content / satisfaction

live in peace and content

## 重难点

### Why，you may wonder，should spiders be our friends？

设问来开头：问句引发好奇，should在疑问句中，“怎么会”，表达出乎意料的语气

eg. How should I know?

最重要的位置：句首和句末，能用简单句，不用复合句。

不重要的主句放在中间做插入语，但要偶尔使用，不能全篇都是

### …because they destroy so many insects and insects include some of the greatest Enemies of the human race.

why的回答一定是because，不能是for

不用定语从句而使用看上去啰嗦的并列句式。因为定语从句的重要性会下降，本句中后面的重要性没有降低，所以用并列句，合同、条款中重要内容一般不用复合句。

### Moreover，unlike some of the other insects eaters，spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings

* moreover没有感情色彩，更糟，更好都可以；

  besides

  Further/furthermore, What is more

  In addition

  Additionally
* never do the least harm to

  加强否定→否定语气先降到最弱，再否定

  eg.I have no interest in boxing.

  →I don’t have the slightest interest in boxing.

  加强肯定→双重否定

  All of us admit that…

  →No one can deny that …

  All of us are attracted by …

  →No one can resist …

### Spiders are not insects ，as many people think ，nor even nearly related to them

**as与否定：**

如果as非限制性定语从句主句是否定句，如果as从句位于主句之前，则的确是修饰整个主句，包括否定词，否则位于主句之后或之间，仅修饰的是去掉否定词后的肯定的主句。

eg. As has been said above, grammar is not a set of dead rules.

AS关系代词在从句中做主语，修饰整个主句：语法不是一套死规则。

eg. She did not open the box, as her friends feared.

She did not, **as her friends feared**, open the box. 朋友担心的是她打开盒子。

**nor的部分倒装：**

… nor （**are spiders**） even nearly related to them.

### …and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.

* that is后面的部分和前面的是同一个意思

  **that is (to say): or more exactly 也就是说，确切地说**，即：

  I loved him ― that is, I thought I did.我认为我当时爱他，确切的说，我认为我当时爱他
* **something like …**&#x53E3;语，约摸着，估摸着，大概其，

  后面+数量，+普通名词都可以，未必紧跟数字

  some … 直接+数量词，表示大约，而不是一些

  原文处 =something / somewhere in the region of …

  →… that is some / something in the region of 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.
