Unit 12“Take over Bos' n!”练习答案综合教程三

Unit12

Key to the Exercises

Text comprehension

I.

Decide which of the following best states the theme of the story.

B

(The story is about the sense of responsibility in time of trial, which in this case is a

shipwreck.

Human

instinct

is

brought

into

full

play

in

the

trial

but

it

is

the

sense

of

responsibility that overweighs instinct and wins the battle at the end of the story, so B is

more appropriate than A. As for C, though brotherly love does exist between these sailors,

it

is

not

brought

into

the

limelight;

rather

it

is

the

sense

of

responsibility

that

is

emphatically glorified in the story.)

II.

Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1.

T (Refer to Paragraph 4. Snyder could see in their bloodshot eyes that they'd gladly

kill him for those few drops.)

2.

T (Refer to Paragraph 6. Snyder was the man with the gun -- the only authority in the

boat.)

3.

F (Refer to Paragraph 5. Snyder judged that they must be some two hundred miles

east

of

Ascension.

That

means

a

long

way

since

the

men

were

too

weak

to

pull

on

the

oars.)

4.

F (Refer to Paragraph 21. Snyder felt he was falling asleep, and simply couldn't keep

the gun in hand.)

5.

T (Refer to Paragraph 28. The bos'n's mate said,

day.

III.

Answer the following questions.

1.

Refer to Paragraphs 1 ?4. Snyder knew very well that, without the gun, the nine men

on the lifeboat would jump at the remaining water like animals, or they would even kill

him for the water.

2.

Refer to Paragraph 6. Snyder knew as well that once the water was gone they would

have nothing to look forward to but death. If he had given in to their instinct for the water,

they'd have emptied the last canteen days ago and by then they'd all have been dead.

3.

Throughout the story, the narrator keeps referring to the gun and the fact that he was

the

man

with

the

gun.

The

gun

means

at

the

same

time

authority

and

responsibility,

especially for maintaining reason, which he had to keep where the rest had lost it. When

he

handed

over

the

gun

to

the

bos'n's

mate,

he

was

handing

over

the

duty,

and

it

was

amazing that the mate changed from a craving animal to a reasonable guard once he took

over the gun.

4.

Refer to Paragraph 19. Snyder hated the bos'n's mate because the mate had been the

biggest threat to the water, and he was able to sleep, while Snyder had to keep awake for

maybe seventy-two hours. Yet Snyder did not mean it when talking about hate. They were

not personal enemies. Their confrontation arose as a result of the desperate situation and

Snyder's responsibility: he was the man with the gun and he was in command there, and

hence the man to think; that was the difference.

5.

Refer

to

Paragraph

28.

Snyder

was

amazed

to

find

out,

after

he

woke

up,

that

the

bos'n's mate held the gun steady at the rest of the surviving crew, and said that he had

kept off the apes all day. He understood sufficiently that when one was the boss-man, in

command and responsible for the rest, one would surely get to see things differently.

IV.

Explain in your own words the following sentences.

1.

To the nine men, I was no longer a man or officer. I meant to them a gun that would

shoot them if they drank the water.

2.

As he was extremely thirsty, Barrett had lost his reason and was not able to think any

more.

Structural analysis of the text

Through a detailed description of Jeff Barrett, the author builds up the image of a strong

and

dangerous

man,

a

constant

threat

to

the

hope

of

the

survivors

on

the

lifeboat.

Readers are surprised to find that in the end he was the very person to keep the order and

protect

the

water

when

Snyder

was

asleep.

With

such

an

unexpected

turn,

the

author

reveals how a sense of responsibility could be aroused by one's position.

Rhetorical features of the text

1.

2.

rest

watched

me

as

Barrett

did,

ready

to

spring

the

instant

I

relaxed.

(Paragraph 7) The underlined part is employed to indicate the state they were in.

3.

9)

The

underlined

part

is

a

prepositional

phrase

which

further

describes

the

man

(the

subject of the sentence).

Vocabulary exercises

I.

Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1.

at such a short distance; from a place that was so near (to the other nine men)

2.

I wasn't important

3.

coldly planning/scheming

4.

give up reluctantly

5.

weakening

II.

Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word taken from the box in its appropriate

form.

1. gulp

2. growls

3. clog

4. Hefting

5. mirage

6. sunken

7. craving

III.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

1. paralyze

2. brutalities

3. wreckage

4. judgmental

5. disadvantageous

6. uncountable

7. scorcher

8. commanding

IV.

Fill

in

the

blank

in

each

sentence

with

an

appropriate

phrasal

verb

or

collocation

taken from the text.

1. give in to

2. sleep away

3. hold out

4. hold off/keep away

5. keeled over

6. take over

7. looked forward to

8. prop up

V.

Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense

it is used.

1.

Antonym: plump (chubby, fleshy)

2.

Synonym: burn

3.

Synonym: block (choke)

4.

Antonym: shaven

5.

Synonym: attentive

6.

Synonym: jeer (scoff)

7.

Antonym: gentle (meek, mild)

8.

Synonym: lift (hoist)

VI.

Explain the underlined phrasal verbs in your own words.

1.

resist

2.

have

3.

match with

4.

satisfies

5.

cover up

6.

settle

7.

have prejudice against

8.

prohibit the dissemination of

Grammar exercises

I.

Change the following sentences to avoid any unnecessary repetition.

1.

His

second

child

is

a

girl,

who

is

twenty-four

and

newly

married.

The

youngest

is

twenty, a boy, a high-school graduate who has spent the last couple of years doing odd

jobs.

2.

The Italians have a strong tradition of cooking. Do the English have one?

3.

A number of people were involved in the accident but none were hurt.

4.

If you want to read novels, I've got some.

5.

My sister prefers tea to coffee but I like both.

6.

Steven noticed that they were not flying in tight formation as they should have been.

7.

John won't like it but Rachel will.

8.

A: He'll be out of town by nightfall.

B: He'd better be.

II.

Simplify the following sentences by omitting the words in italics or replacing them

with the items in the box.

1.

I like the Richards' house but I don't like their garden. I think it is too small for them.

Don't you think it is too small, too?

2.

Look! This is a wonderful spot for our picnic. Why don't we stop here?

3.

When I was younger I didn't have all the things I have now. Still I think I was happier

then.

4.

A: Who wants some tea?

B: I do, please.

A: What about you, Peter? Tea or coffee?

C: Neither, thank you.

5.

A: Which books do you want?

B: The ones with hard covers.

6.

A: I wonder if you'd help me do this homework.

B: I would if I could, but I'm afraid I ought to go out right now.

7.

Can you give me a few nails? I need some.

8.

Some of the equipment has been damaged, but none has been lost.

III.

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct forms.

1.

didn't know, wouldn't/couldn't understand

2.

had

3.

spend, won't have

4.

will open

5.

could, would

6.

will/shall be

7.

had not been

8.

were, would go

IV.

Add the articles where necessary in the following passage.

A, a, The, an, the, The, the, a, the, the, the

V.

Insert the, a or an where necessary into the following newspaper headlines to make

normal sentences or phrases.

1.

A Briton falls to his death on the Matterhorn.