Section III
Maintaining a Sharp Eye

Passage I :   Read the Text   
Is It Going to be a Fine Day
A weatherman is giving the weekend forecast on the TV evening news:
..It's still raining here in Chicago, and it looks like that rain is going to continue through the weekend. It'll be cloudy tomorrow with scattered showers,(1) and the outlook for Sunday--more rain and colder. The predicted high for tomorrow is forty-five degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is expected to dip to the freezing point tomorrow night with thirty-two degrees.(2) I'm afraid colder weather is on its way! Now let's take a look at the weather across the country. Showers expected tomorrow down the West Coast as far south as San Francisco. Fair weather in the low seventies predicted for the Los    Angeles area; fair in San Diego. (3)
There is a cold front from Canada moving down through the western states. (4) Thirty-eight degrees in Denver, Colorado, with thirty-mile-an-hour winds, and it's expected to be cold and windy right through the weekend. Dallas is experiencing unseasonably cold weather--forty-eight degrees. It is raining as fareast as Detroit and Toronto, and rain is going to continue through tomorrow, when it may turn to snow.(5)  Currently , forty-three degrees in Detroit, forty-one degrees in Toronto. And temperature's dropping.
It's snowing heavily in Montreal, ladies and gentlemen, its first storm of the season, and we expect snow activity to move down from Canada into the eastern states sometime tomorrow, probably reaching the New York area sometime tomorrow night.(6)
Good weather across the south. Clear skies in Miami, and they're going to enjoy a sunny seventy-eight degrees in that town this weekend, so if you're thinking about a vacation, now's time to do it.(7) Back to Chicago. Once again, continuing rain tonight through Sunday. Current temperature, thirty-eight degrees. And that winds up our weather report for this evening. This is Dave Spellman. Have a good night, and if you're going out, don't forget your umbrella.

Difficult Sentences

1. (Para. 2 ) It will be cloudy tomorrow with scattered       showers…
“with” structure further explains the part of the   weather that precedes it.
明天多云，局部地区有阵雨。
2. (Para. 2) The predicted high for tomorrow is forty-five degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is expected to dip to the freezing point tomorrow night with thirty-two degrees.
“passive voice” is a commonly-used structure of a weather forecast .
预计明天最高温度华氏45度，明天晚上温度会降至冰点，华氏32度。
3. (Para. 3) Showers expected tomorrow down the West Coast as far south as San Francisco. Fair weather in the low seventies predicted for the Los Angeles area; fair in San Diego.
“expected…” here “are” is omitted
“ predicted…” here “is” is omitted
“fair in San Diego…”The full sentence should be “it will be fair in San Diego.”
预计明天沿西南海岸向西海岸直至旧金山有阵雨；洛杉矶地区，天气晴好，气温70多华氏度；圣地亚哥，晴。
4. (para. 4)There is a cold front from Canada moving down through the western states.
“There be+ n.+ participle phrase” structure is often used in a weather forecast.
“moving down…” Post modifier
来自加拿大的冷锋下行经过西部各州。
For example:
There are some students coming from the south.

5. (para. 5) It is raining as far east as Detroit and Toronto, and rain is going to continue through tomorrow when it may turn to snow.
“when it may turn to snow”, a relative clause further explaining the weather situation tomorrow
降雨一直向东延伸到底特律和多伦多，而且将要持续到明天，届时很可能雨转雪。
6. (Para. 6) ...and we expect that snow activity to move down from Canada into the eastern states sometime tomorrow, probably reaching the New York area sometime tomorrow night.
“reaching”, present participle used as an accompanying adverbial of move down
而且我们计降雪会在明天某时从加拿大南下到东部各州, 可能于明晚某时到达纽约地区。
For example:
She has been in University of Utah for half a year, surely enjoying the academic atmosphere.
7. (Para. 7) Clear skies in Miami, and they’re going to enjoy a sunny seventy-eight degrees in that town this weekend, so if you’re thinking about a vacation, now’s time to do it.
“so…”, introduces an adverbial clause of result
迈阿密,周末天气晴好，气温78华氏度,阳光充足。如果你正打算度假, 现在正当其时。
For example:
Come in for this course, and you will learn how to use the latest office software, so if you’re thinking about updating your knowledge, it is your choice.

Important Words
1. look like: seem to be, seem as if…
For example:

  1. It looks like we’re going to be late.
  2. It looks like a good book.
  3. It looks like to me that he is ill.

2. continue: v. remain, stay; keep doing something and do not stop; start again after stopping for a period of time
For example:

  1. If the situation continues for one month, workers will probably go on strike
  2. He continued talking (to talk).
  3. The girls should continue with their English study.
  4. The next day he continued building his model airplane.

3. through: prep. (esp. in expression of time) up to and including
For example:

  1.  We had no rain from March right through October.
  2.  The exhibition is on from Monday through Friday.

4. predict: v. see or describe (a future happening) in advance as a result of knowledge,
experience, reason, etc.
For example:

  1.  He predicted a brilliant future for the child.
  2.  You can’t predict what they are going to do.

5. expect: v. think that something will happen
For example:

  1. I expect that he will pass the examination.
  2. “Will she come soon?” “I expect so.”

6. dip: (cause to) drop slightly, perhaps just for a moment
For example:

  1. Grain prices dipped yesterday. 
  2. The plane’s nose dipped.

7. experience: v. feel, suffer or know
For example:

  1. Similar problems have been experienced by other students.
  2. She has experienced a lot in her 30years of life.

8. turn to:
a) become something different 变成，转为
b) (cause) (one’s intention, interest, mind, etc.) to be directed towards something              （把）（注意力、兴趣等）转向
c) ask (someone) for help or advice 求助于（某人）
For example:
If you give more heat, the water will turn to steam.
Soon her sobbing turned to crying.
His attention turned to the pretty young girl.
I wonder if we can turn our conversation to something you mentioned earlier.
She’d turn to him for help.
Whatever happens, he will turn to his parents for advice.
9. currently: adv. at the present time, at the moment  目前，当前
For example:

  1.  Currently the prices are low and people are happy buying what they want.  
  2.  Currently this product is still hand-made.

10. drop: v. let fall or lower  降低，下降
For example:

  1.  Prices dropped and everyone was happy.
  2.  His voice dropped and we could hardly hear him.

11. think about: consider seriously before making a decision; think of  考虑， 思考
For example:

  1. We are thinking about going to France for our holiday but we haven’t decided for certain.
  2. She is thinking about buying a new house as the child becomes older.

12. wind up: cause to be finished 结束，办完
For example:

  1. It is time to wind up the game.
  2. They wound up the party with a drink.