| 在阅读英文段子的时候，我们会遇到很多生词，有些词在句子中属于主要信息，如果不认识或理解错误将导致对文章的错误理解；有些词在句子中处于次要位置，即便不认识，也不会影响对全文的理解。在四六级以及考研的阅读文章中，含有6~8的生词是正常现象。那么在平时的阅读训练中，我们将结合历年考试的阅读真题，把阅读段子中出现的考纲高频词、重点词做学习和练习。结合短文学习词汇，在前后文的语意环境中进行理解记忆，将会产生事半功倍的效果。
For centuries, explorers have risked their lives venturing into the unknown for reasons that were to varying degrees economic and nationalistic. Columbus went west to look for better trade routes to the Orient and to promote the greater glory of Spain. Lewis and Clark journeyed into the American wilderness to find out what the U.S. had acquired when it purchased Louisiana, and the Apollo astronauts rocketed to the moon in a dramatic show of technological muscle during the Cold War.
[词汇解析]
venture n. 冒险事业；投机 vt. 冒…危险 vi. 进行冒险；敢于
[例]ventured into the wilderness. 冒险进入荒野
promote v. 提升、晋升或擢升某人
[例] She worked hard and was soon promoted. 她工作很努力，很快便获得提升。
acquire v. （靠自己的能力, 努力或行为而）获得，得到（某事物）
[例] Some people go back for their education to acquire another degree or diploma to impress the society. 有些人回到学校去接受教育,是想再取得一个学位或一张文凭,以增强自己在社会上的地位。
dramatic adj. 戏剧性的；激动人心的；给人深刻印象的
[例]Her opening words were dramatic. 她的开场白十分动听。
[段落译文]
几个世纪以来，探险家冒着生命危险到未知世界去探险，因为在不同程度上是经济和民族(情感)的需要。哥伦布到西方去寻找通往东方的更好的贸易路线，是为了替西班牙增光。Lewis和Clark深入美国荒野是去调查当美国购买露易斯安那州时获得了什么。冷战期间，阿波罗号宇航员乘火箭到月球去，是为了大力炫耀美国的科技能力。
Although their missions blended commercial and political-military imperatives, the explorers involved all accomplished some significant science simply by going where no scientists had gone before.
[词汇解析]
blend v. 混合；搀和
[例] Blend the sugar and flour.把糖和面粉和在一起。
accomplish vt. 完成（某事物）；做成功；实现
[例]You should accomplish the task within the allotted time. 你们必须在规定时间内完成这项任务。
significant adj. 有意义的（尤指直接而明显的）；重大的；重要的
[例]Their change of plan is strange but I don't think it's significant. 他们改变了计画十分奇怪, 我觉得没有什麽用意。
[段落译文]
虽然他们的任务带有商业、 政治和军事的使命，但参与这些活动的探险家全部都到达了科学家从未去过的地方，从而完成了有重要意义的科学活动。
Today Mars looms(隐约出现) as humanity’s next great terra incognita(未探明之地). And with doubtful prospects for a short-term financial return, with the cold war a rapidly fading memory and amid a growing emphasis on international cooperation in large space ventures, it is clear that imperatives other than profits or nationalism will have to compel human beings to leave their tracks on the planet’s reddish surface. Could it be that science, which has long played a minor role in exploration, is at last destined to take a leading role? The question naturally invites a couple of others: Are there experiments that only humans could do on Mars? Could those experiments provide insights profound enough to justify the expense of sending people across interplanetary space?
[词汇解析]
prospect n. 景象，景观；成功的机会，前景；希望，期望 v. 勘探，勘查
[例] The prospects for this year's wine harvest are poor. 今年的葡萄酒产量前景不佳。
fade v. 褪色，凋落，衰弱；（从视野中、听力范围中、记忆中等）逐渐消失，变得模糊不清
[例] All memory of her childhood had faded from her mind. 她对童年的一切记忆逐渐从脑海中消逝了
emphasis n. 强调，重视，重点
[例] The emphasis here is on hard work, not enjoyment. 这里至关重要的是努力工作，而不是享乐。
compel vt. 使（某人）做某事，强迫；强夺、强求（某物），强迫，使必须
[例] They often compelled us to work twelve or fourteen hours a day. 他们常常强迫我们每天工作十二或十四小时。
minor adj. 较小的，程度轻的，次要的
[例] a minor part/role in a play 剧中的次要角色。
profound adj. 深刻的，意义深远的
[例] a profound insight. 深邃的洞察力；profound social changes. 意义深远的社会变革
justify v. 表明或证明（某人[某事]）是正当的、 有理的或公正的
[例] How can you justify your rude behavior? 你如何解释你的粗鲁行为呢?
[段落译文]
现在火星又成为人类的下一个探索领域。由于短期经济回报的疑问，冷战在人们记忆中的迅速消失，以及逐渐在大规模空间探险中国际合作的加强，很清楚的是使命而不是利益或民族主义让人类在那个红色行星的表面留下足迹。是不是很长时间以来在探险中扮演次要角色的科学最终注定要扮演主角？这个问题自然会引出其他一些问题：有些实验是否只由人类去到火星上做？那些实验是否能提供证据，从而证明值得耗巨资送人类穿越星间太空呢？
With Mars the scientific stakes are arguably higher than they have ever been. The issue of whether life ever existed on the planet, and whether it persists to this day, has been highlighted by mounting evidence that the Red Planet had abundant stable, liquid water and by the continuing controversy over suggestions that bacterial fossils rode to Earth on a meteorite (陨星，陨石) from Mars. A more conclusive （确实的, 最后的, 决定性的）answer about life on Mars, past or present, would give researchers invaluable data about the range of conditions under which a planet can generate the complex chemistry that leads to life. If it could be established that life arose independently on Mars and Earth, the finding would provide the first concrete clues in one of the deepest mysteries in all of science: the prevalence of life in the universe.
[词汇解析]
stake n. 树桩；赌金；比赛奖金
[例] The old ladies played for small stakes just for amusement. 老太太们下小赌注赌钱只是为了取乐。
persist v. 坚持，执意；持续，存留
[例] Fog will persist throughout the night. 雾将整夜不散。
controversy n. 公开辩论; 论战
[例] The appointment of the new director aroused a lot of controversy. 新负责人的任命引起了激烈的争论。
concrete adj. 以物质形式存在的；具体的；实体的；确实的；明确的；确定的
[例] The police have nothing concrete to go on. 警方没有任何确实的东西作依据。
prevalence n. 普遍；盛行；流行
[例] They were very surprised by the prevalence of anti-government sentiments. 他们对普遍存在的反政府情绪感到很吃惊。
[段落译文]
火星探险的科学赌注比以往任何时候都高。由于越来越多的证据表明，这个红色行星上曾经有稳定而丰富的液态水，而且人们对从火星落到地球上的细菌化石陨石的说法一直有争论，所以火星上是否存在过生命和是否至今仍有生命的问题一直是引人注目的重点。关于火星过去或者现在有生命的更具结论性的答案将会给研究者提供珍贵的关于在何种条件下行星能够产生孕育生命的复杂化学物质的数据。如果生命在火星和地球上独立形成的说法成立，这个发现将为所有科学中最大的奥秘之一提供第一批具体线索：宇宙中生命的普遍存在。
[习题演练]
1．Women are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and____ .
2．this rise was ____ without government aid of any kind.
3．People were ____ to leave downtown areas.
4．The change poses _____questions for government and society.
5．The main ____ surrounding speeding laws is the extent of their safety value.
[习题解答]
1．promoted 妇女们也更有可能获得雇佣、丰厚的收入以及获得晋升。
2．accomplished 这种增长的实现没有获得政府任何形式的帮助。
3．compelled 人们被迫离开城市中心区。
4．profound 改变对政府和社会造成了深远的影响。
5．controversy 关于超速法规的辩论主要是安全速度的范围。
文章来源：新东方 | 
