【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 5. to date: until now 至今，直到現(xiàn)在To date he has done half the work.至今他已完成這項工作的一半。To date it has pleted three revisions of its patent law. 迄今為止，已經(jīng)對專利法進(jìn)行了3次修正。【辨析】up to date與to dateUp to date與to date都有“到目前為止，到現(xiàn)在為止”的意思。表示這種意思的時候，兩者可以通用。例如： Up to date (或To date) we have no news of him. 到現(xiàn)在為止我們還不知道他的消息。 To date (或Up to date) twenty students have been accepted into the school. 到目前為止已有二十名學(xué)生被接受入學(xué)。下面句中的詞組uptodate有兩個最主要的意義：一是“切合目前情況的”、“直至目前為止的”；二是“新式的”、“現(xiàn)代化的”。這個詞組通常起形容詞的作用，一般在句中作表語或補(bǔ)語，定語常用uptodate的形式。又如： All our information is kept right up to date on the puter. 我們貯存在計算機(jī)中的所有信息都是不斷更新的。That car is a beauty and quite up to date. 那輛小汽車式樣美觀、新穎。 He is always right up to date in his information about this subject. 在這個學(xué)科上，他一向掌握最新的信息。 The yearly supplement keep the dictionary up to date. 逐年的增補(bǔ)使這部詞典的內(nèi)容能隨時跟上形勢的發(fā)展。 What he has used is a uptodate method of language teaching. 他使用的是一種最新的語言教學(xué)法。6. nothing less than :used to emphasize how important or surprising sth. is。 exactly 簡直是；完全His negligence was nothing less than criminal.他的粗心大意無異于犯罪。The munity expects nothing less than full dedication and professionalism from its public servants. 市民要求的，是一支盡忠職守、高度專業(yè)的公務(wù)員隊伍?！颈嫖觥縩o more no less nothing more nothing lessno more (than) 不比...多I have no more than 30 。no less (than) 不比...少You have no less than 60 。nothing more (than) 只不過...You don39。t need to cry, it39。s nothing more than a ，這僅僅是個糖果而已。nothing less (than) 完全是...He is nothing less than a 。7. be confined to be kept within certain limits 限制于，局限于Should the AntiJapanese National United Front be confined to the Kuomintang and the Communist Party? 抗日民族統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)線是否只限于國共兩個黨的呢？Confined to bed, she needed to be waited on in everything. 由于臥病在床，她事事都要別人侍候?！緮U(kuò)展】confine…to… 把…限制在某范圍內(nèi)1）.限制。使局限[(+to)] We39。ll confine our discussion to the main issue. 我們將只討論主要問題。 2） 禁閉。幽禁。使臥床[(+to/in)] He was confined to bed by illness. 他因病臥床。 n. [+of] 邊界, 邊緣。 區(qū)域, 范圍She passed her life within the confines of her native place. 她一生從未離開過故鄉(xiāng)。 The scientists are trying to prevent the water birds from leaving the confines of this preservation. 科學(xué)家們試圖阻止水鳥離開這個保護(hù)區(qū)的范圍8. as of/from starting from (the time stated) 從...起As of Jan 31st, I had married 3 time, 截止到1月31日止，我結(jié)了3次婚The project was terminated as of January 9. in effect :1)in reality 。in fact 事實上，實際上His reply is in effect an 。The two systems are, in effect , identical. 這兩種制度實際上一模一樣。2)有效The rule is still in 。This remained in effect until the adoption of a new method. 在采用新方法之前，這仍然有效。 10. in bination with together with 與...一起；共同He carried on the business in bination with his friends.他與朋友們合伙做生意。The fleet is manoeuvring in bination with the air unit. 艦隊正在和航空進(jìn)行部隊聯(lián)合演習(xí)。注：manoeuvre [m?′nu:v?]。 演習(xí)The grand manoeuvres will be held 。vi. 演習(xí)The fleet is manoeuvring off the east 。11. be descended from :be related to sb. who lived long ago 為...的后裔His family were descended from king. 他的家族乃皇室的后裔。She was descended from an old Italian noble family。 he es from humble origins. 她出自一個古老的意大利貴族家庭；他出自卑賤的出身。Language Points:1. It stands as the most extensive survey to date on how humans vary at the level of their genes. (Para. 1) Meaning: The book remains the most extensive survey so far on human genetic evolution. 2. The book39。s firm conclusion: Once the genes for surface features such as skin color and height are discounted, the races are remarkably alike under the skin. (Para. 1) Meaning: The book firmly concludes that if the genes for superficial characteristics such as skin color and height are ignored, all races are fundamentally alike. |3. The book, however, is much more than an argument against the latest racially biased theory. (Para. 2) Meaning: But the book is not just an argument against the latest racially biased theory. (A racially biased theory is one that shows an unreasonable like or dislike for one race based on personal opinions).Note here more than is used without an adverbial clause of parison. Here it means to a greater degree than something else or than usual. 1) more than followed by a noun phrase: He39。s more than a coach。 he39。s a ，他更是一位朋友。2) more than followed by a verbal phrase: Learning English is more than attending the classes and taking 。We more than waited from morning till night。 we were ，還擔(dān)心受怕。3) more than followed by an adjective: She was more than glad to hear the 。The jokes you told me the other day are more than 。4. The book features more than 500 maps that show areas of genetic similarity—much as places of equal altitude are shown by the same color on other maps. (Para. 2) Meaning: The book includes more than 500 maps. These maps show areas of genetic similarity in the same way that places of equal altitude are shown by the same color on other maps. 5. Result: the closest thing we have to a global family tree. (Para. 2) Meaning: As a result, we39。ve got what is almost a global family tree—how the world39。s populations are related to each other. 6. And to ensure the populations were pure, the study was confined to groups that were in their present locations as of 1492, before the first major movements from Europe began—in effect, a genetic photo of the world when Columbus sailed for America. (Para. 3) Meaning: And to make sure the survey participants were not mixed with outsiders, the study was limited to people who had been living since 1492 in their present locations and were not affected by the first major movements from Europe due to Columbus39。 discovery of America. In fact, what the scientists drew was a genetic map of the world in 1492. 7. One of them jumps right off the book39。s cover: A color map of the world39。s genetic variation has Africa at one end of the range and Australia at the other. (Para. 5) Meaning: One of the discoveries was right on the book39。s cover: A color map of the world39。s genetic distribution shows that Australians a