精选阅读词汇笔记（一）
日期:2008-09-24
以下文章均选自真题及其他各类托福练习，在了解托福阅读文章的题材，形式的同时，应该重点掌握和注意下划线的词汇：
P1
The first professional clown born in the United States was John Durang (1768-1822), who came from a decidedly noncircus family. Durang was the first in a long line of great clowns to dynamically combine genuine dramatic and comedic talent with a highly developed proficiency in a wide range of circus techniques. He left home at the age of 15 to tour as a dancer with a traveling performer. His lack of formal training did not stop him from becoming an accomplished puppeteer, clown, Harlequin, dancer, ropewalker, equestrian, Shakespearean actor, scene designer, and pyrotechnist. John Bill Ricketts was impressed enough to offer him a job in 1793, but Durang declined because it required superior horsemanship, a skill which he had not yet acquired. In 1795 Ricketts repeated his offer, and this time Durang accepted. He immediately began practicing trick riding and was soon able to add equestrian clowning to his repertoire. By 1797 Durang had become a key member of Rickett’s company, and that summer he and Ricketts led the troupe on a tour into Canada. During continued his remarkable career for the next 20 years, performing in theaters and circuses and even managing his own dramatic touring troupe for nine consecutive summers. Before he died John Durang revealed yet another talent by writing his memoirs, the only extensive first-person account of circus life in the early United States.
clown : n. 小丑,粗鲁愚蠢的人
decidedly : adv. 决定,断然；明了,无凝
circus : n. 马戏团,马戏,竞技场
dynamically : ad. 动态的
genuine : a. 真正的,真实的,诚恳的
dramatic : a. 戏剧性的,生动的
comedic : a. 喜剧的
proficiency : n. 精通,熟练,精练
technique : n. 技术,方法,表演法
lack : n. 缺乏,无,不足;vt. 缺乏,短少,不足,需要;vi. 缺乏
accomplished : a. 完成的,实现的,善社交的,有造诣的,熟练的
puppeteer : n. 操纵木偶的人,操纵傀儡
harlequin : n. 丑角
ropewalker : n. 走钢丝,绳索特技表演者
equestrian : a. 骑马的,马的,在马背上的;n. 骑手
Shakespearean : a. 莎士比亚的
scene : n. 场,景,情景,景色,镜头,发生地点,布景,道具
pyrotechnist : n. 烟火制造者
offer : n. 出价,提议,意图,报价;vt. 提供,出价,奉献,使出现,企图,演出;vi. 出现,献祭,提议
decline : n. 衰微,跌落,下降;vt. 使降低,婉谢;vi. 下降,衰落,偏斜
superior : n. 长者,高手,上级;a. 上好的,出众的,高傲的
horsemanship : n. 马术
acquired : a. 已取得的,已获得的,已成习惯的,后天的
accepted : a. 一般承认的,公认的
immediately : ad. 立刻,刚,立即
trick : n. 诡计,欺诈,谋略,癖好,恶作剧,决窍;vt. 戏弄,欺骗,装饰;vi. 哄骗,戏弄;a.有决窍的,特技的,欺诈的,漂亮的,靠不住的,有效的
equestrian : a. 骑马的,马的,在马背上的;n. 骑手
repertoire : n. 全部剧目,保留剧目,全部技能
troupe : n. 一团,一班,剧团;vi. 巡回演出
consecutive : a. 连续的,联贯的,始终一贯的
reveal : vt. 露出,显示,透露,(神)启示,揭露,泄露;n. 窗侧,门侧
memoir : n. 传记,实录,追思录,回忆录,自传
P2
Sleep is part of a person’s daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles. If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows . When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing will slow and become quite regular. Your brain wavers slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then, about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness, you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long , but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep that most dreams seem to occur. Provided that you do not wake up during the first REM sleep period,your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep---only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
activity : n. 活动,动作,活力
cycle : n. 周期,循环,自行车,一段时间,整套;vi. 循环,轮转,骑自行车;vt. 使循环,使轮转
occur : vi. 发生,想到,存在
average : n. 平均,平均数,海损;a. 一般的,通常的,平均的;vt. 平均为,均分,使平衡;vi. 买进,卖出
drift : n. 漂流物,观望,漂流;vt. vi. (使)漂流
slumber : n. 睡眠,沉睡状态;vi. 熟睡,打盹,蜇伏;vt. 睡着渡过(时间)
roll : n. 卷,滚动,名单,压路机,案卷,翻滚;vi. 滚,滚动,飘流,起伏,绕,卷;vt. 使滚动,卷,绕
slightly : ad. 些微地,苗条地
muscle : n. 肌肉,臂力
relax : vi. 放松,松懈,松弛,变从容,休息,休养;vt. 使松驰,缓和,使松懈,使休息
breathing : n. 呼吸,瞬间,微风;a. 呼吸的,逼真的
alpha : n. 希腊字母的第一个字母,最初,开端
rhythm : n. 旋律,节奏,韵律,匀称,节律
predominate : vt. 掌握,控制,支配;vi. 统治,成为主流
consciousness : n. 意识,知觉,自觉
reach : n. 伸出,延伸,区域,岬,河段,范围;vt. 到达,达到,伸出,延伸,影响;vi. 达到,延伸,伸出手,传开
delta : n. 三角州,希腊字母的第四个字
instead : ad. 改为,抵作,更换,替代
disappear : vi. 消失,不见
pattern : n. 模范,典型,式样,模式,样品,格调,图案;vt. 模仿,仿造,以图案装饰;vi. 形成图案
dart : n. 飞镖,投射;vt. 投射;vi. 疾走,突进
eyelid : n. 眼皮,眼睑
rapid : a. 迅速的,飞快的,急促的,险峻的;n. 急流
REM : rapid eye movement
provided : conj. 倘若
gently : ad. 轻轻地,逐渐地
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P1
The first professional clown born in the United States was John Durang (1768-1822), who came from a decidedly noncircus family. Durang was the first in a long line of great clowns to dynamically combine genuine dramatic and comedic talent with a highly developed proficiency in a wide range of circus techniques. He left home at the age of 15 to tour as a dancer with a traveling performer. His lack of formal training did not stop him from becoming an accomplished puppeteer, clown, Harlequin, dancer, ropewalker, equestrian, Shakespearean actor, scene designer, and pyrotechnist. John Bill Ricketts was impressed enough to offer him a job in 1793, but Durang declined because it required superior horsemanship, a skill which he had not yet acquired. In 1795 Ricketts repeated his offer, and this time Durang accepted. He immediately began practicing trick riding and was soon able to add equestrian clowning to his repertoire. By 1797 Durang had become a key member of Rickett’s company, and that summer he and Ricketts led the troupe on a tour into Canada. During continued his remarkable career for the next 20 years, performing in theaters and circuses and even managing his own dramatic touring troupe for nine consecutive summers. Before he died John Durang revealed yet another talent by writing his memoirs, the only extensive first-person account of circus life in the early United States.
clown : n. 小丑,粗鲁愚蠢的人
decidedly : adv. 决定,断然；明了,无凝
circus : n. 马戏团,马戏,竞技场
dynamically : ad. 动态的
genuine : a. 真正的,真实的,诚恳的
dramatic : a. 戏剧性的,生动的
comedic : a. 喜剧的
proficiency : n. 精通,熟练,精练
technique : n. 技术,方法,表演法
lack : n. 缺乏,无,不足;vt. 缺乏,短少,不足,需要;vi. 缺乏
accomplished : a. 完成的,实现的,善社交的,有造诣的,熟练的
puppeteer : n. 操纵木偶的人,操纵傀儡
harlequin : n. 丑角
ropewalker : n. 走钢丝,绳索特技表演者
equestrian : a. 骑马的,马的,在马背上的;n. 骑手
Shakespearean : a. 莎士比亚的
scene : n. 场,景,情景,景色,镜头,发生地点,布景,道具
pyrotechnist : n. 烟火制造者
offer : n. 出价,提议,意图,报价;vt. 提供,出价,奉献,使出现,企图,演出;vi. 出现,献祭,提议
decline : n. 衰微,跌落,下降;vt. 使降低,婉谢;vi. 下降,衰落,偏斜
superior : n. 长者,高手,上级;a. 上好的,出众的,高傲的
horsemanship : n. 马术
acquired : a. 已取得的,已获得的,已成习惯的,后天的
accepted : a. 一般承认的,公认的
immediately : ad. 立刻,刚,立即
trick : n. 诡计,欺诈,谋略,癖好,恶作剧,决窍;vt. 戏弄,欺骗,装饰;vi. 哄骗,戏弄;a.有决窍的,特技的,欺诈的,漂亮的,靠不住的,有效的
equestrian : a. 骑马的,马的,在马背上的;n. 骑手
repertoire : n. 全部剧目,保留剧目,全部技能
troupe : n. 一团,一班,剧团;vi. 巡回演出
consecutive : a. 连续的,联贯的,始终一贯的
reveal : vt. 露出,显示,透露,(神)启示,揭露,泄露;n. 窗侧,门侧
memoir : n. 传记,实录,追思录,回忆录,自传
P2
Sleep is part of a person’s daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles. If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows . When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing will slow and become quite regular. Your brain wavers slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then, about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness, you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long , but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep that most dreams seem to occur. Provided that you do not wake up during the first REM sleep period,your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep---only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
activity : n. 活动,动作,活力
cycle : n. 周期,循环,自行车,一段时间,整套;vi. 循环,轮转,骑自行车;vt. 使循环,使轮转
occur : vi. 发生,想到,存在
average : n. 平均,平均数,海损;a. 一般的,通常的,平均的;vt. 平均为,均分,使平衡;vi. 买进,卖出
drift : n. 漂流物,观望,漂流;vt. vi. (使)漂流
slumber : n. 睡眠,沉睡状态;vi. 熟睡,打盹,蜇伏;vt. 睡着渡过(时间)
roll : n. 卷,滚动,名单,压路机,案卷,翻滚;vi. 滚,滚动,飘流,起伏,绕,卷;vt. 使滚动,卷,绕
slightly : ad. 些微地,苗条地
muscle : n. 肌肉,臂力
relax : vi. 放松,松懈,松弛,变从容,休息,休养;vt. 使松驰,缓和,使松懈,使休息
breathing : n. 呼吸,瞬间,微风;a. 呼吸的,逼真的
alpha : n. 希腊字母的第一个字母,最初,开端
rhythm : n. 旋律,节奏,韵律,匀称,节律
predominate : vt. 掌握,控制,支配;vi. 统治,成为主流
consciousness : n. 意识,知觉,自觉
reach : n. 伸出,延伸,区域,岬,河段,范围;vt. 到达,达到,伸出,延伸,影响;vi. 达到,延伸,伸出手,传开
delta : n. 三角州,希腊字母的第四个字
instead : ad. 改为,抵作,更换,替代
disappear : vi. 消失,不见
pattern : n. 模范,典型,式样,模式,样品,格调,图案;vt. 模仿,仿造,以图案装饰;vi. 形成图案
dart : n. 飞镖,投射;vt. 投射;vi. 疾走,突进
eyelid : n. 眼皮,眼睑
rapid : a. 迅速的,飞快的,急促的,险峻的;n. 急流
REM : rapid eye movement
provided : conj. 倘若
gently : ad. 轻轻地,逐渐地
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