Unit 8 The Great Minds

　　Life Without Limits

　　① Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios(设想) together: no arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that effect your everyday life?

　　② Born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia, without any medical explanation or warning, Nicholas Vujicic came into the world with neither arms nor legs. (1)Having had an uneventful pregnancy and no family history to expect this condition, imagine the shock his parents felt when they saw their first born, brand new baby boy, only to find he was what the world would consider imperfect and abnormal. How would their son live a normal happy life? What could he ever do or become when living with what the world would see as such a massive disability(严重残疾)? (2)Little did they or anyone know that this beautiful limbless baby would one day be someone who would inspire and motivate people from all walks of life, touching lives all over the world.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　1. Having had an uneventful(平凡的)pregnancy and no family history to expect this condition, imagine the shock his parents felt when they saw their first born, brand new baby boy, only to find he was what the world would consider imperfect and abnormal.

　　(1) 悬垂分词。建议换成：Having had an uneventful pregnancy and no family history to expect this condition, his parents felt great shock when they saw …. Can you imagine the shock?

　　以下是可以接受的悬垂分词形式：

　　Strictly speaking, nobody is allowed in here.

　　Judging from his accent, he must be from the South.

　　经常这样用的分词(分词词组)有：frankly (broadly, generally, strictly…) speaking, judging from / by…,talking about…,speaking of…等。

　　某些句子中作状语的分词的逻辑主语虽然不是句子的主语，但可能是句中的另外某一成分，对这样的句子也可以不认为是"悬垂分词"。课文中的这个句子属于这种情况。再如：

　　Seeing her health sinking rapidly, alarm clutched the father's heart. 她父亲看到她健康迅速恶化，很是惊慌。

　　切记：该结构应慎用。

　　(2) only to find…不定式表示结果。不定式表结果时通常前面需要加only,表示出乎意料的不希望看到的结果。例如：

　　They rushed to the cinema, only to find the tickets left at home.

　　They hurried back home, only to find the door locked.

　　They went to the hospital without any delay, only to be told their beloved grandpa had already passed away.

　　(3) what the world would consider作插入语

　　(4) 译文：在经历了一段平静无事的孕期，而且没有任何家族病史预示的情况下，我们可以想象得到当时他的父母看到这个刚出生的小男孩时会是多么地震惊，只知道他就是世人所说的缺陷和不正常。

　　2. Little did they or anyone know that this beautiful limbless baby would one day be someone who would inspire and motivate people from all walks of life, touching lives all over the world.

　　(1) 否定词放在句首句子倒装，如rarely, seldom, in no case, by no means, little, hardly等。

　　(2) who would inspire and motivate people from all walks of life定语从句，先行词是someone。

　　(3) touching lives all over the world 现在分词作状语，修饰inspire and motivate people。

　　(4) 译文：当时他们不知道而且也没有任何一个人知道，这个漂亮的无手足的小男孩有一天会启发激励社会各阶层的人，并且感动全世界的人们。

　　请认真答题，答题结果将记入知识点测评的成绩!

　　【单选题】16. He returned to work after recovery from his illness, _______ another employee had taken his place.

　　· A. only to tell

　　· B. only to be told

　　· C. only to be telling

　　· D. to be told

　　【答案】B

　　【解析】本题考查不定式表示结果。不定式表结果时通常前面需要加only，表示出乎意料的不希望看到的结果。本句的意思是"他生病痊愈返回了工作岗位，结果却被告知另一个雇员接替了他的岗位"，故选B。

　　【知识点】不定式表示结果

　　③ As Nick grew up he learned to deal with his disability and started to be able to do more and more things on his own. He adapted to his situation and found ways to accomplish tasks that most people could only do by using their limbs, such as cleaning teeth, brushing hair, typing on a computer, swimming, playing sports, and much more. As time went by, Nick began to embrace his situation and achieve greater things.(承上启下句) In grade seven Nick was elected captain of his school and worked with the student council(学生会)on various fund-raising events for local charities and disability campaigns.

　　④ After school Nick went on with further study and obtained a double bachelor degree majoring in accounting and financial planning. By the age of 19, Nick started to fulfill his dream of encouraging others by sharing his story through motivational speaking(励志演讲). He found the purpose of his existence, and also the purpose of his circumstance. Nick wholeheartedly believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles we encounter in our lives and that our attitude towards those struggles can be the single most effective factor in overcoming them.

　　⑤ Now at 27 years old, this limbless young man has accomplished more than most people even twice his age. Nick recently made the massive move from Brisbane, Australia to California, USA, where he is the president of an international non-profit organization(非盈利组织), and also has his own motivational speaking company, Attitude Is Altitude. Since his first motivational speaking engagement(演讲)back when he was 19, Nick has traveled around the world, sharing his story with millions of people, speaking to a range of different groups such as students, teachers, youth, business men and women, entrepreneurs, and church congregations of all sizes. People ask Nick, "How can you smile?" (3)Then they realize there's got to be something more to life than meets the eye if a guy without arms and legs is living a fuller life.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　3. Then they realize there's got to be something more to life than meets the eye if a guy without arms and legs is living a fuller life.

　　(1) There is something to / in sth. ……有意义，有道理

　　(2) live a full life 生活充实

　　(3) 译文：接着他们意识到，如果一个没有四肢的人过得比普通人更充实，那么人生的含义必定超出了我们目光所及的范畴。

　　⑥ Nick shares with his audiences the importance of vision and dreaming big. Using his own experiences in worldwide outreach as examples, he challenges others to examine their perspective and look beyond their circumstances. (4)He shares his view of ceasing to see obstacles as problems, but instead begin to see them as opportunities to grow and reach out to others. (5)He stresses the importance of our attitude being the most powerful tool we have at our disposal and illustrates how the choices we make can have a profound effect on our lives and the lives of those around us. (6)Nick shows through his own life that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams are persistence and choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience, rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　4. He shares his view of ceasing to see obstacles as problems, but instead begin to see them as opportunities to grow and reach out to others.

　　(1) cease to do sth. 停止做某事，不再做某事

　　(2) see…as…: look on / upon …as, view…as, regard…as

　　(3) reach out to 伸手以抓到、触到或拿到某物

　　We must reach out to those in need. 我们应该伸出援手，去帮助有困难的人。

　　本句reach out to others意为"求助于某人"

　　(4) 译文：他与大家一起分享停止把阻碍看作是麻烦、困难，相反，应该把它们看作是自身成长并接触他人向他人学习的机会。

　　5. He stresses the importance of our attitude being the most powerful tool we have at our disposal and illustrates how the choices we make can have a profound effect on our lives and the lives of those around us.

　　(1) at our disposal任某人处理;供某人任意使用

　　disposal是dispose的名词形式，意为"支配，处理"。

　　联想：al为名词后缀，再如：arrive-arrival, survive-survival, approve-approval, disapprove-disapproval, dismiss-dismissal, deny-denial, refuse-refusal等。

　　(2) have a profound effect on sth. 对……产生深远的影响

　　(3) 译文：他强调态度是我们可以支配的最强大的工具，阐明了我们作出的选择如何对我们自身乃至周围人的生活产生深远的影响。

　　6. Nick shows through his own life that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams are persistence and choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience, rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us.

　　(1) through his own life作状语，修饰show。show的宾语是由that引导的宾语从句，宾语从句的主干是the major keys are persistence and choosing to … , rather than allowing…。

　　(2) embrace failure as a learning experience 欢迎失败，把它看成是学习的体验

　　(3) rather than 相当于instead of "而不是"

　　(4) rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us 而不是被失败和恐惧所打倒

　　(5)译文：尼克用他的人生来告诉我们实现远大梦想最关键的就是坚持不懈和选择拥抱失败，把它看作是一次学习的机会，而非容忍失败带来的内疚和恐惧使我们瘫痪、麻痹。

　　⑦ How does Nick Vujicic feel about his disability now? He accepts it, embraces it and oftentimes pokes fun at his own circumstance as he shows off his many tricks. He meets challenges with his special blend of humor, perseverance and faith, always encouraging those around him to examine their perspective as they develop and define their vision. (7)Using those new definitions he challenges each person he meets to make changes in their lives so that they can begin the path to fulfilling their biggest dreams. (8)Through his amazing ability to connect with people from all walks of life and his incredible sense of humor that captivates children, teens and adults alike, Nick is a truly inspirational motivational speaker.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　7. Using those new definitions he challenges each person he meets to make changes in their lives so that they can begin the path to fulfilling their biggest dreams.

　　(1) using those new definitions 分词作状语

　　(2) challenge sb. to do sth. 刺激某人做某事

　　(3) begin the path to fulfilling their biggest dreams 开始踏上实现人生梦想的征程

　　(4) 译文：采用这些新的定义，尼克鼓励每个人勇于面对并改变生活，以便他们开始完成人生梦想的征程。

　　8. Through his amazing ability to connect with people from all walks of life and his incredible sense of humor that captivates children, teens and adults alike, Nick is a truly inspirational motivational speaker.

　　(1) 句子的主干是Nick is a truly inspirational motivational speaker.。through…作状语

　　(2) alike: adv. in the same way 同样地

　　例如：treat everybody exactly alike 一视同仁

　　The climate here is always hot, summer and winter alike.

　　his incredible sense of humor that captivates children, teens and adults alike 他惊人的幽默感令孩子、青少年和成年人都着迷

　　(3) 译文：通过与人们沟通的惊人能力和令人难以置信的幽默，尼克深受孩子、青少年和成年人的喜爱，尼克成了真正的使人倍受鼓舞的演说家。

　III. 部分练习讲解

　　P256 Bridging the Gap

　　Directions: Fill in the blanks with a word or a phrase that best completes the passage. You may choose a suitable one from the list given.

　　解题方法：把词分类

　　动词 　　　名词 　　　形容词 　　　　　副词 　　　　　介词 　　　　　连词

　　mark 　　　mark 　　　confused 　　intentionally 　as opposed to 　　even if

　　confused 　potential 　　likely

　　known 　　　　　　　 potential

　　called upon 　　　　　　natural

　　Gifts are those talents and abilities that flow almost effortlessly from us. Gifts are sometimes 1 confusedwith skills. While skills can be developed, gifts are something we are born with - they are what we discover as we try new things and find that some things are as 2 naturalto us as breathing.

　　When we 3 intentionallymake a decision to create our life and work based on our gifts, we're not only more 4 likelyto succeed, but can also more thoroughly enjoy the journey toward creating and realizing our full 5 potential .

　　Take inventory of(评估) your life to determine where you are utilizing learned and developed skills 6 as opposed toexpressing and honoring your innate(与生俱来的)gifts. Are you operating based on what you think you "ought" to be doing or are you living an authentic life that is rich and fulfilling?

　　7 Even ifyou are not in a place to pursue a new career based on your gifts, look for ways to make your gifts 8 known to others and demonstrate them in as many areas of your life as possible. The more your gifts are 9 called upon, the more naturally you will fully accept and promote those gifts. The more you express your life through your innate gifts, the more you will excel. It's a beautifully self-perpetuating(能使自身永久存在的)process once you make the decision to begin.

　　Your gifts are your signature, your unique paintbrushes - use them to express your greatness and make your greatness and make your 10 markon the world!