Lesson 17 A man-made disease 人为的疾病
课文
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit.
在澳大利亚移民初期，一些有创业精神的移民不明智地把欧洲兔子引进了澳大利亚。
This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits.
这种兔子在澳大利亚及新西兰没有天敌，因此便以兔子所特有的杂乱交配迅猛繁殖起来。
It overran a whole continent.
整个澳洲兔子成灾。
It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle.
它们在地下打洞，吃掉本可以饲养数百万头牛羊的牧草，给澳洲大陆造成了毁灭性的破坏。
Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis.
科学家们发现，这种特殊品种的兔子（显然不包括别的动物）易患一种叫“多发性粘液瘤”的致命毒性疾病。
By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created.
通过让染上此病的动物在洞内乱跑，就可以使这种疾病在一个地区蔓延起来。
Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits.
后来又发现，有一种蚊子是传播这种疾病的媒介，能把此病传染给兔子。
So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one.
因此，世界上其他地方在设法消灭蚊子的时候，澳大利亚却在促使这种蚊子大量繁殖。
It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population.
蚊子把这种疾病扩散到整个澳洲大陆，效果甚佳，结果兔子的数目在为减少。
It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated.
后来，明显看出，兔子对这种疾病已产生了一定程度的免疫力，所以兔子不可能被完全消灭。
There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.
但是，已有希望解决兔子所带来的问题。
Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence.
具有讽刺意味的是，欧洲把这种兔子作为有害动物传给澳洲，而欧洲自己却染上了这种人为的瘟疫般的疾病。
A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis.
一位法国内科医生决定除掉自己庄园内的野兔子，于是引进了这种多发性粘液瘤疾病。
It did not, however, remain within the confines of this estate.
然而，这种疾病并未被局限在他的庄园内，
It spread through France, where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as a sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry.
结果在整个法国蔓延开来。野兔在法国一般不被当作有害动物，而被视为打猎取乐的玩物和有用的食物来源。这种疾病又蔓延到了英国。在英国，野兔被当作有害的动物，可是家兔是赚钱的毛皮工业的基础，然而家兔同样易感染这种疾病。
The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.
现在的问题是，人类能否控制住这种人为的疾病。
词汇讲解
settlement
settlement ['setlmənt] n. 殖民地，新的居住地；殖民（过程）；小社区；解决
【辨析】表达“殖民地”：
settlement 既可以指外国人的殖民地、也可表示到蛮荒地殖民
colony 外面人侵占的殖民地
【同根词】
settler 指开垦荒地的人
colonist 指“侵略”者
colonial adj. 殖民地的，殖民的
semi-colonial and semi-feudal society
【辨析】
settlement 指“殖民（过程）”
the settlement of American West
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit.
settlement n. a small community 小的居住区
Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had rapidly become popular, Alpine village tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains.
settlement 指“解决”
out-of-court settlement 庭外解决
settle sth. out of court 庭外解决
enterprising
enterprising ['entəpraɪzɪŋ] adj. 有事业心的，有进取心的
an enterprising young man
【课文句型提炼】
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.
This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
造句：他是个有事业心的年轻人，不会满足于平淡的日常生活。
He is an enterprising young man, not content with the dull routine of everyday life.
【同根词】
enterprise n. 含义1： 事业心, 进取心
He is a man of extraordinary enterprise.
enterprise n. 含义2： 企业
state-owned enterprise
collectively-owned enterprise
township enterprise
foreign-funded enterprise
joint-venture enterprise
entrepreneur n. 企业家
promiscuous
promiscuous [prə'mɪskjuəs] adj. 性乱的；不加选择的，随便的
promiscuous adj. 含义1：. having sex with a lot of people
promiscuous adj. 含义2：. indiscriminate; casual 不加选择的，随便的
promiscuous eating habits
the promiscuous distribution of diplomas
【近义词】
licentious adj.放荡的；淫荡的；淫乱的
licence / license
abandoned adj.放纵的；堕落的
abandon
Holiday shoppers are spending money with reckless abandon.
orgy n. a party at which there is a lot of drinking and sexual activity 放纵；放荡
orgies of … / an orgy of … 疯狂的……；过度的……
an orgy of killing
an orgy of spending before Christmas
Even if one didn't know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles.
binge / spree 放纵
go on a … binge / spree
He went on a drinking binge over the weekend.
The girls went on a shopping spree on Saturday.
susceptible
susceptible [sə'septəbl] adj. 易受影响的；易受感染的
be susceptible to … 易受….的影响
Some officials are susceptible to corruption.
I’m most susceptible to women’s tears.
I’m susceptible to flu.
【反义词组】
be immune to … 不受….的影响
He is immune to criticism.
I'm immune to smallpox.
【扩展】表达“给某人种疫苗”：
immunize sb. against …
inoculate sb. against …
vaccinate sb. against …
bequeath
bequeath [bɪ'kwi:ð] v. 把……遗赠给……
bequeath sth. to … 把…遗赠给……
He bequeathed everything to charity / his son.
One age bequeaths its civilization to the next.
【近似词组】把……遗赠给……
leave / will sth to …
【扩展】
inherit sth. from sb. 从…继承….
He inherited a fortune from his grandfather.
inheritor n. 继承人；后继者
inheritance / legacy n. 遗产
heritage 遗产（指国家或社会长期形成的历史、传统和特色）
historical / cultural / literary / architectural heritage
课文讲解
（第一段）
In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit.
知识点（1）时间
days 时期
in the early days (of …) 在…的早期
in the early days of spring / our marriage / the Qing Dynasty …
in the pioneering days (of …) 在…的创始时期
In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all.
【复习】时间表达总结（24）Lesson03-21、Lesson03-24
in one’s youth 在某人年轻的时候
in one’s childhood 童年时期
in one’s early years 小的时候
in one’s adolescence 青春期
in one’s middle age 中年
in one’s old age 老年
The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
somebody's day 某人鼎盛时期
Every dog has his day.
Don't be disappointed: your day will come.
In his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
知识点（2）
【近义词组】表达“不明智的”：
unwise adj. 不明智的；愚蠢的；轻率的
ill-advised adj. 没脑筋的；欠考虑的
impolitic adj. 失策的；不明智的
folly n. 愚蠢；愚笨；愚蠢的想法（或事情、行为）
Seward’s Folly; it refers to the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. William Seward Seward’s Folly Seward’s Ice Box
This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits.
语法分析：
This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that（所以） it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits（形容词短语做后置定语）（with... 方式状语从句）. （so that…结果状语从句）
知识点（1）
natural enemies 天敌
Porpoises and sharks are natural enemies.
知识点（2）
the Antipodes 地球相反的位置
antipodes n. 地球上处于正相对应的两个地区，尤指（与欧洲形成对跖地的）澳大拉西亚
知识点（3）
do sth. with wild / gay / reckless /… abandon 以...放任的方式做某事
They danced with wild abandon.
Christmas shoppers are spending money with reckless abandon.
知识点（4）
be characteristic of … 是…的典型特征
= be typical of …
Such bluntness is characteristic of him.
The creamy richness is characteristic of the cheese from the region.
考研英语（阅读真题）：
With optimism characteristic of all industrialized countries, we came to accept that everyone is fit to be educated.
【同根词】
characterize vt. 是 … 的特征；以 … 为典型
Bright colors and bold strokes characterize his early paintings.
be characterized by … 具有…的特征
考研英语
Sleep is divided into periods of so-called REM sleep, characterized by rapid eye movements and dreaming, and longer periods of non-REM sleep.
It overran a whole continent.
知识点（3）
overrun (overran overrun) v. 英文解释：to be present in a place in such large amounts or numbers that it is unpleasant 泛滥，蔓延
Weeds have overrun the garden.
The warehouse was overrun by / with mice.
a mall overrun by / with shoppers
It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle.
语法分析：
It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle（which...定语从句）. （by... 方式状语）
知识点（1）
herbage 牧草
pasture 牧场
Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures.
Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis.
语法分析：
Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal（插入语）) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. （that… 宾语从句）
知识点（1）
variety n. 多样；种类；杂耍；变化，多样化
The lake has more than 20 varieties of fish.
【近义词】
species n. [生物] 物种；种类 adj. 物种上的
endangered species
genre n. 类型；种类；体裁；样式；流派；风俗画
a musical / literary genre
of a … nature 做后置定语，修饰前面的名词；表示“某种类型的…”Lesson04-03
… dangers of the most perilous nature …
I can’t approve of things of this nature. 这种事
treaties of a political nature 政治性的条约
books of an erotic nature 色情的书刊
questions of an academic nature 学术性的问题
articles of a technical nature 技术性的文章
By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created.
知识点（1）
let … loose 释放
The kidnappers let him loose on a dark country lane.
【近似词组】表达“释放”：
free …
release …
let … go
Please release me, let me go. For I don't love you anymore. To waste our lives would be a sin. Release me and let me love again.
liberate 解放
Allied armies liberated France from the Nazis.
emancipate 解放（宾语是人）
emancipate slaves / women
the Emancipation Proclamation
Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits.
语法分析：
Later it（形式主语）was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits（which...定语从句）. （that...主语从句）
知识点（1）
【近义词组】表达“作为”：
act as …
serve as …
function as …
be used as …
知识点（2）
carrier n. [化学] 载体；运送者；带菌者
carry a disease
We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops.
知识点（3）
pass sth. on to sb. 把…转交给…；（派生）传染
I’ll pass your complaints on to my superiors.
He passed his cold on to me.
【近义词组】表达“传播疾病”：
communicate / transmit a disease to …
So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one.
知识点（1）
get rid of … 打发走；（派生）除掉
= dispose of …
It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
There is no quicker method of disposing of patients than by giving them what they are asking for, …
I used weedkiller to get rid of the weeds in the garden.
The president ruthlessly disposed of his rivals.
知识点（2）
encourage v. 促进，助长
Poor hygiene encourages the spread of disease.
It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population.
知识点（1）
all over the continent 遍布了…
around the continent
throughout the continent
the continent over
Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behaviour more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions, no matter how aberrant.
知识点（2）
drastic adj. extreme and sudden 极端的；急剧的；严厉的；猛烈的
take drastic measures 采取极端措施
drastic cuts in government spending 大幅缩减开支
The size of the army was drastically cut.
It later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated.
语法分析：
it（形式主语）later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease（that...主语从句）, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated. （so that…结果状语从句）
知识点（1）【课文句型提炼】
it became clear / obvious / apparent / evident that … 明显看出
It soon became clear / obvious / apparent / evident that she did not have a genuine interest in her job.
【复习】Lesson03-16
it is / was clear / obvious / apparent / evident that … 显然
The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
造句：该药有效地抑制了 (restrain) 肿瘤的生长，但是，经过一段时间 (in the course of time)，肿瘤对该药产生了一定程度的抗药性。
知识点（2）【课文仿写】
The medicine effectively restrained the growth of the tumor, which, in the course of time, however, developed a degree of resistance to it.
There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.
知识点（1）Lesson03-34、Lesson03-43词组搭配
there be + 无灵主语 （地道句式）
there is always hope that … 总是会有…的希望
there is no denying that ... 不可否认的是…
there is no doubt/ question that ... 毫无疑问的是…
there is every likelihood that ... 很有可能的是…
there is little likelihood that ... 不大可能的是…
there is no shortage of ... 有的是…
Of course, New York is the ideal place for such an interesting study, because there is no shortage of tall buildings.
there is an element of truth in ... 有点道理…
Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.
there is a good deal of truth in ... 很有道理…
Apparently, there is a good deal of truth in this idea.
there is a truth in 有道理
Albert Einstein once attributed the creativity in a famous scientist to the fact that he never went to school. There is undoubtedly a truth in his observation, but such a truth is not criticism of schools.
知识点（2）
manageable adj. easy to control or deal with 易管理的；易控制的；易办的
My hair is more manageable since I had it cut.
（第二段）
Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence.
语法分析：
Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia（which... 非限定性定语从句）, acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence.
A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis.
It did not, however, remain within the confines of this estate.
知识点（1）
confines n. 范围
The open sea was deep and mysterious, and anyone who gave more than a passing thought to the bottom confines of the oceans probably assumed that the sea bed was flat.
within the confines of … 在…范围之内
beyond the confines of … 在…范围之外
within the confines of the farm / the law
beyond the confines of human knowledge
It spread through France, where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as a sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry.
语法分析：
It spread through France, where wild rabbits are not（不是） generally regarded as a pest but（而是） as a sport and a useful food supply（where... 非限定性定语从句）, and（大并列） it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest （where...定语从句）but（定语从句并列） where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease（插入语）, are the basis of a profitable fur industry.
知识点（1）
sport n. 英文解释：an activity that people do in the countryside, especially hunting or fishing （狩猎，钓鱼等）乡间活动，消遣
知识点（2）
domesticated adj. 英文解释：domesticated animals are able to work for people or live with them as pets 家养的，驯化的
domesticated animals such as sheep and horses
知识点（3）
注意：不规则复数变化形式；拉丁词
basis / bases
axis / axes
thesis / theses
ellipsis / ellipses
analysis / analyses
diagnosis / diagnoses
hypothesis / hypotheses
知识点（4）
on the basis of … 在…的基础之上
Decisions were often made on the basis of incorrect information.
【辨析】
base n.底部；基地
I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the words 'made in the U.S.A' had been neatly inscribed.
It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave.
The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.
语法分析：
The question became one of（介词of引出同位语） whether Man could control the disease he had invented（定语从句）. （whether… 宾语从句）