Unit 21

UNIT 21 WORD LIST ashore If something goes ashore, it goes from the water to the land. After a long day of fishing, Glen pulled his boat ashore, so it wouldn't float away. contradict To contradict means to state the opposite of what someone else has said. Ken was always fighting with his little sister because she kept contradicting him. counterpart A counterpart is something that is very similar to something else in what it does. Our manager will meet our rival company's counterpart later today. devoid When something or someone is devoid of a thing, they are missing it. The movie was devoid of any violence, so it was a perfect movie for the family. diverge To diverge is to become different or to follow a different direction. The road diverged into two paths that led to our houses. embryo An embryo is a human or animal that is still growing inside its mother. Some doctors say that what a mother eats has a big effect on her embryo. finally When something finally happens, it happens at the end of a series of events. We finally reached our destination. gazette A gazette is a newspaper. Alice wants to write for a gazette when she's older. homogeneous If something is homogeneous, it is made up of things which are all the same. All of the houses on Victor's block were boring and homogeneous. individual An individual is a single member of a group. Each individual is responsible for themselves.

如果某物上岸，就是指它从水里到陆地上。 在钓了一整天的鱼之后，格伦把船拉上岸，这样它就不会漂走了。 自相矛盾的意思是说与别人所说的相反的话。 肯总是和他的小妹妹吵架，因为她总是反驳他。 对等物是指某物的功能与另一物非常相似。 今天晚些时候，我们的经理将会见竞争对手公司的经理。 当某物或某人缺乏某物时，他们错过了它。 这部电影没有任何暴力，所以它是一部完美的家庭电影。 发散是指变得不同或遵循不同的方向。 这条路分成两条小路通向我们的房子。 胚胎是指仍在母体内生长的人或动物。 一些医生说，母亲吃的东西对她的胚胎有很大的影响。 当某件事最终发生时，它发生在一系列事件的最后。 我们终于到达了目的地。 gazette公报公报是一份报纸。 艾丽丝想长大后为公报撰稿。 同质的如果某物是同质的，它是由完全相同的事物组成的。 维克多所在街区的所有房子都单调乏味，千篇一律。 individual个体个体是群体中的单个成员。 每个人都要对自己负责。

major A major event is a very important event. There had been a major shift in government policy. obstruct To obstruct something means to get in its way. The car broke down on the road and obstructed traffic for hours. plunge To plunge means to move down into something very quickly. The water in the pool was very cold, but the boy plunged in anyway. prolong To prolong means to make something last for a longer time. Sandy walked slowly across the beach, trying to prolong her lunch break. publicize To publicize is to make something get a lot of attention. The company publicized the job positions in the newspaper. surplus A surplus is an extra amount of something. The store sold their surplus items on sale. survive When something survives, it manages to continue to live in spite of difficult circumstances. She survived a heart attack. theorize To theorize means to develop ideas about something. They enjoyed theorizing about how things worked. verify To verify means to find out if something is true Julian called the movie theater to verify that the movie started at nine. vigorous If something or someone is vigorous, they use a lot of energy. Henry uses vigorous exercise to keep himself in shape.

major event是非常重要的事件。 政府的政策发生了重大转变。 阻碍某事的意思是妨碍它。 汽车在路上抛锚了，交通阻塞了好几个小时。 plunge的意思是很快地进入某物。 池里的水很冷，但男孩还是跳进了水里。 延长是指使某事持续更长时间。 桑迪慢慢地走过海滩，试图延长她的午休时间。 publicity的意思是使某事得到很多关注。 公司在报纸上登了招聘启事。 盈余是某物的额外数量。 这家商店减价出售他们多余的物品。 当某物幸存下来时，它会设法在困难的环境中继续生存。 她心脏病发作后幸免于难。 理论化意思是对某事提出想法。 他们喜欢把事情的运行原理理论化。 核实的意思是查明某事是否属实朱利安打电话给电影院核实电影是否在九点开始。 如果某事或某人很有活力，他们会消耗很多能量。 亨利通过剧烈运动来保持体形。

Amazing Komodo Dragons Once, a British gazette had an unusual story. Scientists at a zoo made a major discovery about komodo dragons. Komodo dragons are giant lizards that grow up to two and a half meters long. A female lizard at the zoo had babies. However, it had never been around a male lizard in its entire life. After the scientists publicized their discovery, many people thought it was not true. But it was true. It was discovered that female komodo dragons can have babies without the help of their male counterparts. This contradicts what scientists know about how most animals have babies. In most cases, there are many things that can obstruct this type of reproduction. For example, adult males and females carry different genes needed to make an embryo. If the genes are homogeneous, the babies are weaker and have genetic problems. Over time, the weakened species dies out completely. This makes it necessary for the male to be involved. However, scientists verified that when Komodo babies are born, their genes aren't the exact same genes as their mother. Also, they are devoid of any genetic problems. Scientists theorize that Komodo dragons developed the ability because it helps the species avoid extinction. If a volcano erupts, lava can kill all of the komodo dragons on an island. However, as long as an individual female avoids death, she can prolong the survival of the species. Luckily, Komodo dragons are vigorous swimmers. So, the surviving female can plunge into the ocean and swim to another island. When she comes ashore, she can reproduce by herself. Over time, the genes within the population diverge. Then, the small population increases. Finally, there is a surplus of lizards on one island. Scientists think that this may be how the lizards survived and took over all of the islands in that area.

神奇的科莫多巨蜥曾经，一份英国公报上有一个不寻常的故事。 动物园的科学家们对科莫多巨蜥有了重大发现。 科莫多巨蜥是一种巨大的蜥蜴，可以长到2.5米长。 动物园里的一只雌蜥蜴生了孩子。 然而，它一生中从未接触过雄性蜥蜴。 科学家们公布了他们的发现后，许多人认为那不是真的。 但这是真的。研究发现，雌性科莫多巨蜥可以在没有雄性同伴帮助的情况下生育。 这与科学家们对大多数动物如何生育的了解相矛盾。 在大多数情况下，有很多东西可以阻碍这种类型的繁殖。 例如，成年雄性和雌性携带不同的基因来形成胚胎。 如果基因是同质的，婴儿就会更弱，有遗传问题。 随着时间的推移，衰弱的物种完全灭绝。 这就需要男性的参与。 然而，科学家们证实，当科莫多幼崽出生时，它们的基因与母亲的基因并不完全相同。 此外，它们没有任何遗传问题。 科学家们推测，科莫多龙之所以有这种能力，是因为它帮助这个物种避免了灭绝。 如果火山爆发，熔岩可以杀死岛上所有的科莫多巨蜥。 然而，只要一只雌性个体免于死亡，她就可以延长物种的生存时间。 幸运的是，科莫多巨蜥是游泳健将。 因此，幸存的雌性可以跳入大海，游到另一个岛屿。 当她上岸时，她可以自己繁殖。 随着时间的推移，种群内的基因开始分化。 然后，小人口增加。 最后，有一个岛上有多余的蜥蜴。 科学家们认为这可能是蜥蜴存活下来并占领该地区所有岛屿的原因。