【正文】 me to ask him what was intended by that remark. I thought he was just joking.2) It occurred to me that the names of their children—Rose, Lily and Daisy—were the names of flowers.3) When he heard her say so, it occurred to him that for convenience he also could contact the local travel agency and ask them to take care of everything.4) Has it never occurred to you that the problems in the Middle East are plicated and difficult to solve?) If they don39。t agree to work extra hours for no extra pay, chances are that they will be dismissed.2) Research is being carried out on the disease and progress is being made at present. Chances are that there will be a cure within the next ten years.3) If you are eating lots of fatty food, chances are that you39。ll put on several pounds in a matter of weeks. 4) He left his office an hour ago but hasn39。t got home yet. Chances are that he39。s got stuck in a traffic jam.Comprehensive ExercisesI. Cloze(A)1. Statistics 2. rural 3. era 4. stood for 5. on the latch 6. vulnerable7. barriers 8. at bay 9. electronic 10. reflection 11. puzzle 12. civilized (B)1. worse / scarier 2. tougher / harder 3. Yes / True 4. barricading 5. from 6. not7. every 8. However 9. say 10. back / at bay 11. chances 12. Therefore 13. when 14. leave 15. Don39。t 16. head/brains II. TranslationA burglary is reported every 15 seconds in the United States. Statistics show burglars en173。tered more than 2 million homes last year. Actually it is almost impossible to keep a determined burglar out. All you can do is discourage him for a few minutes, thus exposing him to police patrols or those wandering around. Common sense tells us that lighting is a barrier to criminal activity. A light should be fixed in the doorway and switched on at night. Believe it or not, some people, particularly children who happen to be the last to e in, leave their doors on the latch at night. Doors of hollow core, even when locked, are vulnerable to breakins. Thus doors of solid core or steel are much preferred as they make it difficult for the burglar to pry open. If you decide to buy an alarm device, be sure to ask for its signs and put them up on both windows and doors. Finally, a word of warning—when you travel, make sure that you have a trusted neighbor collect and keep all the deliveries of newspapers and mail until you return. This is because a collection of newspapers and mail on the front doorstep or in your mailbox is an advertisement that no one is home. Part III TextBComprehension Check 1. b 2. b 3. b 4. d 5. a 6. dLanguage Practice1. impact 2. inflicted 3. draw the line at 4. remend 5. circumstance 6. break into 7. take the plunge 8. conclude / have concluded 9. aggressive 10. confirm 11. advocated 12. insure 13. departed 14. in our favor 15. target 16. count on17. head for 18. Under no circumstances 19. on the line 20. aimed atPart IV ThemeRelated Language Learning TasksModel paper Why We Are against Gun Control Should Americans oppose gun control? Of course we should. The gun is the great equalizer. It does not matter whether you are a big tough man or a small frail woman. With a gun in your hand you stand at the same 39。s more, it is the foundation of our nation. Without it there would be no Republic as it is, for we would never have been able to drive the Indians off the land without shooting so many of them down. Nor would the West have been won. Who would have dared venture into lands unpro173。tected by the law if they had not been able to protect themselves with a gun? The spirit of our nation thrives on aggressive individuals who are ready to stand up for themselves and to fight for their rights. Look at our films. What do we enjoy watching? People shooting one another. True, children occasionally get hold of guns and slaughter their classmates. But if only their classmates had been properly armed, they could have fought back. It was gun control that left them defenceless.