Unit 15

UNIT 15 WORD LIST aquarium An aquarium is a place where fish and underwater animals are kept. We took a trip to the aquarium and saw a scary shark. arbitrary If something is arbitrary, it is not based on any plan or system, so it seems random. The classroom had many arbitrary rules that confused me. autobiography An autobiography is a true story of a person's life written by that person. I read an autobiography about my favorite entertainer. convention A convention is behavior that is considered to be common or polite. In the US, a popular convention is to shake hands when you meet someone. gracious If someone is gracious, then they are kind and helpful to those who need it. The operator was gracious enough to help me find the number. improve To improve something means to make it better. He studied hard to improve his test scores from the previous year. insulate To insulate something means to protect it from heat, cold, or noise. People can conserve energy by insulating their houses. intrigue To intrigue means to cause an interest in something or someone. Her mysterious past intrigued her new friend. longevity Longevity is the ability to live for a long time. Sea turtles have an amazing longevity. misplace To misplace something means to lose it. I misplaced my wallet, and I didn't find it until a week later.

水族馆水族馆是养鱼和水下动物的地方。 我们去了水族馆，看到了一条可怕的鲨鱼。 如果某件事是任意的，它没有基于任何计划或系统，所以看起来是随机的。 教室里有许多武断的规定，使我感到困惑。 自传自传是一个人写的关于一个人生活的真实故事。 我读了一本关于我最喜欢的艺人的自传。 惯例是被认为是普通或礼貌的行为。 在美国，见面时握手是一种流行的习俗。 如果某人是亲切的，那么他们对那些需要帮助的人是善良和乐于助人的。 接线员很亲切地帮我找到了这个号码。 改善某事意味着使它变得更好。 他努力学习以提高去年的考试成绩。 使某物绝缘意味着保护它不受热、冷或噪音的影响。 人们可以通过给房子隔热来节约能源。 阴谋是指引起对某事或某人的兴趣。 她神秘的过去引起了她新朋友的兴趣。 长寿就是能够活得很长。 海龟的寿命惊人。 To misplace something意思是丢了它。 我把钱包放错地方了，直到一个星期后才找到。

naughty When children are naughty, they behave badly or do not do what they are told. The boy had to go to his room because he was being naughty. norm A norm is a way of behaving that is considered normal in a particular society. Wearing a heavy coat all summer is not considered a norm. orangutan An orangutan is a large ape with red and brown hair and long arms. Orangutans use their long arms to swing from trees. overload To overload something means to put more things into it than it is meant to hold. If you overload the truck, it might crash. philanthropy Philanthropy is the act of helping others without wanting anything in return. The wealthy business owner is well known for his acts of philanthropy. probe To probe into something means to ask questions to discover facts about it. The bank probed into his financial history to see if he qualified for a loan. recipient A recipient of something is the person who receives it. I was the recipient of four phone calls today. reptile A reptile is a cold-blooded animal that lays eggs and has skin covered with scales. Lizards are my favorite type of reptile. thrive To thrive means to do well and be successful, healthy, or strong. He may be an old man, but he continues to thrive. ultimate When something is ultimate, it is the final result or aim of a long series of events. By trying hard in school, I will reach my ultimate goal of becoming a doctor.

当孩子们淘气的时候，他们表现得很糟糕，或者不按照他们所说的去做。 那个男孩因为淘气，不得不回自己的房间去。 norm是指在特定社会中被认为是正常的行为方式。 整个夏天都穿厚外套被认为是不正常的。 猩猩是一种长着红棕色毛发和长臂的大型猿类。 猩猩用长臂在树上荡来荡去。 超载某物的意思是放进去的东西比它能容纳的要多。 如果你让卡车超载，它可能会撞车。 慈善是帮助别人而不求任何回报的行为。 这位富有的企业主以他的慈善行为而闻名。 探查某事意味着提出问题以发现有关它的事实。 银行调查了他的财务历史，看他是否有资格获得贷款。 接收者某物的接收者是接收它的人。 我今天接到了四个电话。 爬行动物是一种冷血动物，会产卵，皮肤上覆盖着鳞片。 蜥蜴是我最喜欢的爬行动物。 茁壮成长的意思是做得很好，成功，健康或强壮。 他也许是个老人了，但他仍在茁壮成长。 当某事是ultimate时，它是一长串事件的最终结果或目标。 通过在学校的努力，我将达到成为一名医生的最终目标。

The Lottery Joe was watching television when he heard a knock at the door. He thought, "Who could that be? It's probably one of the naughty neighborhood children!" Joe stood up and walked to the door. When he opened it, he saw a beautiful woman. She said, "Good morning, Joe! I have great news. You're the recipient of this check for one million dollars! You won the lottery!" Joe couldn't believe it. His mind was overloaded with emotions. Joe said, "Thank you! Thank you!" After he calmed down, Joe made a photocopy of the check in case he misplaced the original one. He sat and thought about what he wanted to do with the money. He didn't want to spend it in an arbitrary way. Joe thought, "I know there are others who need this money more than I do. I've always loved animals, so I think I'll buy things for the zoo!" Joe knew that the zoo was in bad shape. The cages were too small, and they weren't insulated from the cold. Animals couldn't thrive in such conditions. He took out some stationary and wrote a letter to the zoo. He offered to help the zoo buy huge cages for the large mammals and reptiles. He offered to buy healthy food for the orangutans to increase their longevity. He even said that he would buy new glass walls for the aquarium because the old ones were cracked. Joe's act of philanthropy intrigued the zookeeper. He decided to probe into Joe's motivations to learn why he spent his money to improve the zoo. It wasn't a social convention for a person to be so gracious. Joe told the zookeeper, "I know it's not the norm, but my ultimate decision to help these animals is better than anything I could have done for myself. If I ever write an autobiography, I will write that this was the happiest day of my life."

彩票乔正在看电视，突然听到有人敲门。 他想：“那会是谁呢？ 可能是邻居家某个淘气的孩子！”乔站起来向门口走去。 当他打开它时，他看到了一个美丽的女人。 她说：“早上好，乔！我有个好消息。 你是这张一百万美元支票的收款人！你中彩票了！”乔简直不敢相信。 他心里充满了感情。 乔说：“谢谢你！谢谢你!”乔冷静下来后，把支票影印了一份，以防把原来的支票放错了地方。 他坐下来思考他要怎么处理这笔钱。 他不想随意花钱。 乔想：“我知道还有其他人比我更需要这笔钱。 我一直很喜欢动物，所以我想我要给动物园买些东西！”乔知道动物园的情况很糟糕。 笼子太小了，而且也不能御寒。 动物无法在这样的条件下茁壮成长。 他拿出一些信纸，给动物园写了一封信。 他提出帮助动物园为大型哺乳动物和爬行动物购买巨大的笼子。 他提出为猩猩购买健康食品，以延长它们的寿命。 他甚至说他要给水族馆买新的玻璃墙，因为旧的已经破裂了。 乔的慈善行为引起了动物园管理员的兴趣。 他决定调查乔的动机，了解他为什么花钱来改善动物园。 一个人如此彬彬有礼并不是社会惯例。 乔告诉动物园管理员：“我知道这不是常态，但我最终决定帮助这些动物，这比我为自己做的任何事情都要好。” 如果我要写自传，我会写这是我一生中最快乐的一天。”