新概念英语第四册Lesson 4 Seeing hands

Lesson 4
Seeing hands
能看见东西的手

First listen and answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。

How did Vera discover she had this gift of second sight?

Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people who can detect colours with their fingers, and even see through solid and walls. One case concerns and eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can also perceive things with different parts of her skin, and through solid walls. This ability was first noticed by her father. One day she came into his office and happened to put her hands on the door of a locked safe. Suddenly she asked her father why he kept so many old newspapers locked away there, and even described the way they were done up in bundles.
Vera's curious talent was brought to the notice of a scientific research institute in the town of Ulyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she was given a series of tests by a special commission of the Ministry¹ of Health of the Russian Federal Republic. During these tests she was able to read a newspaper through an opaque² screen and, stranger still, by moving her elbow over a child's game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures and colours printed on it; and, in another instance, wearing stockings and slippers⁴, to make out with her foot the outlines and colours of a picture hidden under a carpet. Other experiments showed that her knees and shoulders had a similar sensitivity. During all these tests Vera was blindfold⁵; and, indeed, except when blindfold she lacked the ability to perceive things with her skin. It was also found that although she could perceive things with her fingers this ability ceased the moment her hands were wet.
ERIC DE MAUNY Seeing hands from The Listener


New words and expressions

solid
adj. 坚实的
safe
n. 保险柜
Ulyanovsk
n. 乌里扬诺夫斯克
commission
n. 委员会
opaque
adj. 不透明的
lotto
n. 一种有编号的纸牌
slipper³
n. 拖鞋
blindfold
adj.& adv. 被蒙上眼睛的

参考译文
俄罗斯最近报导了几个事例，有人能用手指看书识字和辨认颜色，甚至能透过厚实的门和墙看到东西。 其中有一例谈到有一个名叫维拉.彼托洛娃的11岁学生。她的视力与常人一样，但她还能用皮肤的不同部位辨认东西，甚至看穿坚实的墙壁。是她父亲首先发现她这一功能的。一天，维拉走进父亲的办公室，偶然把手放在一个锁着的保险柜的门上，她突然问父亲为什么把这么多的旧报纸锁在柜子里，还说了报纸捆扎的情况。
维拉的特异功能引起了她家附近乌里扬诺夫斯克城一个科研单位的注意。4月里，俄罗斯卫生部一个特别委员会对她进行了一系列的测试。在这些测试中，她能隔着不透明的屏幕读报纸。更为奇怪的是，她把肘部在儿童玩的“罗托”纸牌上移动一下，便能说出印在纸牌上的数字和颜色。还有一次，她穿着长筒袜子和拖鞋，能用脚步识别出藏在地毯下面的一幅画的轮廓和颜色。其他实验表明，她的膝盖和双肩有类似的感觉能力，在所有这些实验中，维拉的双眼都是蒙着的。如果不蒙上双眼她的皮肤就不再具有识别物体的能力。这是千真万确的。同时还发现，尽管她能用手指识别东西，但她的手一旦弄湿，这种功能便会立即消失。
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　　课堂笔记
New words and expressions 生词短语
1、Perceive察觉，瞬间感觉到的
to make out 费尽心机辨出
I looked thoroughly⁶ for my elderly mother, finally I make her out .
Yeah, I remembered, I finally make him out.
I perceive a fly in my teacup.
2、elbow one’s way (用肘)挤出
elbow one’s way out of the crowed.挤出人群
Notes on the text 课文注释
Flash 中没有详细讲解

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

3 slipper   

n.拖鞋

参考例句：

• I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
• The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

4 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

5 blindfold   

vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物

参考例句：

• They put a blindfold on a horse.他们给马蒙上遮眼布。
• I can do it blindfold.我闭着眼睛都能做。

6 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。