1. 学习目标
In this unit, you will learn how to
● learn about the risks from nature;
● discuss different kids of risks involved in different kids jobs;
● learn the positive and negative effect of technology on our health;
● talk about the activities giving you're the greatest pleasure;
● write a composition entitled “Are Environment Risks Worth Taking?”

2. 语言精要

重点单词 (26)
assess, disaster, fraction, head-on, injury, multiply, partial, physician, ratio, sensible, suspect, symptom, tremble, bare, costly, differ, radiation, replace, terror, artificial, decay, destruction, evolve, nitrogen, poisonous, volcano

重点词组 (11)
end up, in question, may well, reduce … to, by virtue of, in this light, make sense, show up, strike terror or fear into people's heart, in response to, no doubt

重点句型
● The answer is that you are roughly twice as likely to die in a serious crash in a small car than in a large one.
● So although far more people are killed in car accidents than in mining, the latter turns out to be four times riskier than the former.
● We live in an age when natural has come to mean “benign” and anything made by humans seems both artificial and suspect.

重点语法
● latter （前者）和former（后者）的含义和用法
e.g. 1) So although far more people are killed in car accidents than in mining, the latter turns out to be four times riskier than the former.
2) In the first case, he will have his normal life span cut short by about 45 years; in the latter case, the deficit is about 5 years.
● 动名词作主语、动词宾语、介词宾语
● that引导的同位语从句
● 现代分词短语作状语
● 倍数表达

3．课文主题
This text mainly deals with the risks in our daily life. The author believes that risks are almost always a matter of probability rather than certainty and nothing we do is completely safe. Then the author makes a comparison between hypochondria and anxiety about the risks of life, and he also explains how to measure the risk level of activities by means of ratio or fraction. Finally, he drew the conclusion that the problem is not to avoid risks but to manage them in a sensible way, which includes tow things: common sense and information about the character and degree of the risks we may be running.

4．佳句背诵
● Modern life is full of all manner of threats — to our lives, our peace of mind, our families, and our future.
● Risks are almost always a matter of possibility rather than certainty.
● All of this is another way of saying that nothing we do is completely safe.

5．专家建议 — 掌握英语论说文的篇章结构特点和文体特点，提高阅读的效率和能力
作者在本单元的In-Class Reading的开始就列举事实，并且是生活中出现的、每个人会遇到的事实，说明危险无处不在，而且“总是一个可能性的问题而无确定可言”。然后通过摆事实讲道理，说明危险的不确定性。最后得出结论：问题的关键不是要躲避危险，而是要理智地对付危险。此文完全符合论说文的特点：提出问题—论证问题—解决问题。希望同学们掌握英语论说文的篇章结构特点和文体特点，提高阅读的效率和能力。