Unit 21

UNIT 21 WORD LIST background A background is a person's education, family, and experience. The new teacher had a background in science and math. bait Bait is something used to trick a person or thing to do something. The best bait for catching fish is a big, fat worm. chronicle To chronicle an event means to record it. The daily newspaper chronicles local and world events. copper Copper is a red-brown metal often used in electric wire and pipes. Ancient hunters melted copper to make knives and spears. disease A disease is an illness that causes specific problems. He had a disease that caused him to lose his hearing. folklore Folklore is the collection of beliefs and stories of a culture. India's folklore has stories about great warriors written in long poems. infect To infect someone means to give them an illness. The common cold infects hundreds of millions of people each year. itch To itch means to have an unpleasant feeling that you want to scratch. The rough fabric in his shirt made his neck itch. literature Literature is books, plays, and poetry. Early American literature covers the poetry and stories from 1500 to 1800. millennium A millennium is 1000 years. Stonehenge is believed to have been built about five millennia ago.

背景是指一个人的教育、家庭和经历。 新老师有科学和数学的背景。 bait是用来诱骗某人或某物做某事的东西。 捕鱼最好的诱饵是又大又肥的虫子。 编年史的意思是记录一件事。 这份日报记载了当地和世界的大事。 铜是一种红棕色的金属，常用于电线和管道。 古代猎人熔化铜来制作刀和矛。 疾病是一种引起特定问题的疾病。 他患了一种使他失去听力的疾病。 民俗是一种文化的信仰和故事的集合。 印度的民间传说中有写在长诗里的伟大战士的故事。 传染某人的意思是把疾病传染给他们。 每年有数亿人感染普通感冒。 痒的意思是有一种不愉快的感觉，你想抓。 他衬衫的粗糙布料使他脖子发痒。 文学包括书籍、戏剧和诗歌。 早期美国文学涵盖了1500年到1800年的诗歌和故事。 千禧年是1000年。 巨石阵被认为建于大约五千年前。

myth A myth is a traditional story that explains a culture's history and beliefs. In Greece, there was a myth about a woman who had snakes for hair. promote To promote someone means to raise them to a higher position or rank. After two years at the company, she was promoted to manager. relate To relate to something means to have a connection with it. A company's plan usually relates to how much profit it can make. religion A religion is a belief in a god or gods. Their religion taught that people should forgive their enemies. sum A sum is a specific amount of money. He calculated the numbers to see what the sum of his bills would be. teller A teller is a person who works with a bank's customers. The teller at the bank helped Kelly put money into a savings account. trustworthy If someone is trustworthy, they are honest and truthful. Mary is one of the most trustworthy people I've ever met. update To update something means to make it more modern. We need to update the programs on our computers. vein A vein is a tube in the body that carries blood toward the heart. The blue veins in my hand are just under my skin. venom Venom is a poisonous substance that comes from animals or plants. A snake's venom can be used to cure the illnesses it creates.

神话是解释一种文化的历史和信仰的传统故事。 在希腊，有一个神话是关于一个女人以蛇为头发的。 提升某人意味着把他们提升到更高的职位或等级。 在公司工作两年后，她被提升为经理。 与某事相关意味着与它有联系。 公司的计划通常与它能赚多少利润有关。 religion宗教宗教是对一个或多个神的信仰。 他们的宗教教导人们应该原谅他们的敌人。 sum是指具体的金额。 他计算了一下数字，看看他的账单的总和是多少。 出纳员是与银行客户打交道的人。 银行的出纳员帮凯利把钱存进了一个储蓄账户。 如果某人是值得信赖的，他们是诚实和诚实的。 玛丽是我见过的最值得信赖的人之一。 更新某物的意思是使它更现代。 我们需要更新电脑上的程序。 静脉是体内将血液输送到心脏的管道。 我手上的青筋就在皮肤下面。 毒液是一种来自动物或植物的有毒物质。 蛇毒可以用来治疗由它引起的疾病。

The Teller and the Thieves A teller at a bank suspected some of her fellow employees of not being very trustworthy. She thought they were stealing. In order to catch them, thought she needed some way to link them to the crime. She had a background in religion and folklore. She remembered that one religion's literature had a myth that chronicled how a group of thieves was captured. In the millennium old story, coins of copper were covered with venom taken from a poisonous snake. The coins were left as bait for the robbers. When they touched the coins, the venom infected their bodies through their skin. The venom ran through their veins, and they all became very sick, as if they had a disease. It made their skin purple. The police arrested whoever had purple skin. She knew she couldn't use venom because it might hurt someone. However, she thought of a way to update the old story. She decided to cover a sum of money with a special powder. If people touched the money, the powder would cause their skin to itch. She placed the stack of money in the bank's safe. No one was supposed to take money from the safe. If somebody did, then they had to be stealing. Within a few hours, three of her coworkers were scratching their hands and arms. They itched so badly that they couldn't even work. She checked the money and it was gone. She told her boss what she had done, and he had the thieves arrested. He thanked her and promoted her. Because events from history often repeat, ancient literature had helped the teller solve a crime. She proved that stories from the past still relate to the problems of today, and they can be helpful in solving those problems.

银行的出纳员怀疑她的一些同事不太值得信任。 她认为他们在偷东西。 为了抓住他们，她觉得她需要一些方法把他们和犯罪联系起来。 她有宗教和民间传说方面的背景。 她记得有一种宗教的文学作品中有一个神话，记载了一群小偷是如何被抓获的。 在千年的古老故事中，铜币上覆盖着毒蛇的毒液。 这些硬币是留给强盗做诱饵的。 当他们接触硬币时，毒液通过皮肤感染他们的身体。 毒液在他们的血管里流淌，他们都病得很厉害，就像得了什么病一样。 它使他们的皮肤变紫。 警察逮捕了所有紫色皮肤的人。 她知道她不能使用毒液，因为它可能会伤害到别人。 然而，她想到了一个更新旧故事的方法。 她决定用一种特殊的粉末来掩盖一笔钱。 如果人们碰了这些钱，粉末会使他们的皮肤发痒。 她把那堆钱放在银行的保险柜里。 谁也不能从保险箱里拿钱。 如果有人这么做，那他们一定是在偷东西。 几个小时后，她的三个同事开始抓挠自己的手和胳膊。 他们痒得厉害，甚至无法工作。 她检查了一下钱，发现钱不见了。 她把她所做的事告诉了老板，于是他派人逮捕了小偷。 他向她道谢并提拔了她。 因为历史上的事件经常重演，古代文学曾帮助讲述者破案。 她证明了过去的故事仍然与今天的问题有关，并且可以帮助解决这些问题。