大学英语精读2unit9

第一篇：大学英语精读2unit9

精读二 Unit9

1.quitter n.轻易停止的人, 懦夫(Ex.)quit v.放弃quit smoking.离开;退出He quitted Paris

2.standpoint n.立场,观点,看法 viewpoint

3.tender adj.e.g.tender flowers 柔弱的花朵 a tender expression on her face 她脸上温柔的表情

My finger is tender because I cut it yesterday.我的手指一碰就疼，因为我昨天割破了(Ex.)tender-hearted adj.心肠软的;富于同情心的tender-nosed adj.嗅觉灵敏的tender-eyed adj.视力不佳的;目光和善的4.equivalent n.e.g.Some American words have no British equivalent.美国英语的一些用法在英国英语中没有对等的词

adj.*be equivalent to/of相等于a wish that was equivalent to a command相当于命令的请求

5.bamboo n.(Ex.)bamboo shoot n.笋, 竹笋 bamboo grove [thicket]竹林bamboo ware精致竹器

6.torture n.e.g.suffer torture from因...受痛苦the tortures of jealousy妒忌的折磨

vt.拷问[打];(使受)折磨;曲解(out of;into);扭弯e.g.torture a rule to make it fit a case把尺子弄弯使其能够量箱子

7.Christ interjection感叹词 n.(Ex.)Before Christ公元前(缩写为 B.C.)AD abbr.公元[拉](Anno Domini)

8.utter vt.e.g.Those ideas are so dishonest they will not utter.那些想法卑鄙得说不出口utter the truth说真话

adj.e.g.I was at an utter loss what to do.我完全不懂该怎做才好an utter stranger完全不认识的人an utter refusal断然拒绝

9.scatter vt.e.g.Leaves are scattered by the wind.树叶被风吹散

vi.e.g.The flock of birds scattered when a shot was fired.枪响鸟散

(Ex.)scattered adj.e.g.a few scattered fishing villages一些疏疏落落的渔村(ant.)gather v.10.insane adj.e.g.He must be insane to drive his car so fast.他把车开得这么快，一定是疯了(ant.)sane adj.健全的e.g.Jim is not mad;he is as sane as any other normal person.他的神智跟任何其他正常人一样清醒

11.institutionalize vt.(Ex.)institute n.学会, 学院institution n.公共机构, 协会, 制度institutional adj.制度上的12.grocer n.(Ex.)groceries n.食品；杂货

13.deceive vt.e.g.He deceived her into thinking he could drive a car.他骗她，使她相信他会开汽车

*deceive sb.into doing sth.骗某人做某事 *be deceived in sb.看错了某人, 对某人感到失望

(Ex.)undeceive vt.使醒悟e.g.undeceive sb.of his mistakes使某人明白自己的错误deceiver n.欺骗者

14.missile n.15.ambitious adj.(1)有抱负的They are ambitious although they are poor.他们虽穷却很有志气

(2)（of, to）热望的e.g.be ambitious of success渴望成功be ambitious to serve the people一心想为人民服务

(Ex.)ambition n.野心, 雄心 e.g.Her ambition was to be a famous singer.她的理想是成为著名的歌唱家

16.identification n.e.g.His only means of identification was his passport.他唯一证明身份的证件就是他的护照

(Ex.)identify v.e.g.He identifies beauty with goodness.他认为美与善是一致的。She identified with foreign workers.她同情并理解外籍工人

That politician is too closely identified with the former government那位政客被认为与上届政府关系过于密切

17.revolve v.e.g.The earth revolves round the sun.地球绕太阳转

He revolved the main points in his mind.他在心中思索要点

*revolve about [round] 围绕...而旋转;反复考虑;围绕(某一个问题)

e.g.The wheel is revolving about its axis.轮子在轴上转动

Their troubles revolve around money management.他们的麻烦围绕着金钱管理

(Ex.)revolving adj.e.g.a revolving door旋转门

18.intermediate adj.e.g.intermediate ports中途口岸Gray is intermediate between black and white.灰色介于黑色和白色之间

(Ex.)inter-表示“在一起, 交互”之义 mediate v.仲裁, 调停e.g.mediate between two warring countries /adj.中间的;间接的19.advanced adj.e.g.advanced positions 前沿阵地the advanced education 高等教育advanced studies 高深的研究

advanced ideas先进的思想

20.lap vt.e.g.The dog lapped its water(up).狗舔水喝（常与up, down连用）舔，舐vi e.g.The sea lapped against the rocks.海水拍打着礁石

21.monstrous adj.e.g.a monstrous sum巨款monstrous crimes滔天罪行22.refugee n.23.corruption n.22.fascinate vt.e.g.The city fascinates him.这座城市强烈地吸引住了他。

He's fascinated with Buddhist ceremonies.他迷上了佛教的仪式

23.humiliate vt.e.g.humiliate oneself丢脸, 出丑The country was humiliated by defeat.该国因战败而受辱

(Ex.)humiliation n.羞辱, 蒙耻

24.sympathize vi.(Ex.)sympathy n.同情, 同情心---antipathy n.憎恶sympathetic adj.有同情心的---unsympathetic

25.diplomat n.e.g.a U.S.diplomat assigned to the embassy in London驻伦敦使馆的美国外交官

(Ex.)diplomatic adj.外交的, 老练的26.embassy n.e.g.American E-in China美国驻华大使馆

*go on an embassy出任大使 *send sb.on an embassy派某人出任大使

27.oval adj.卵形的, 椭圆的n.卵形, 椭圆形(Ex.)rectangle长方形 square正方形round圆triangle三角形pentagon五角形

28.journalist n.29.considering prep.e.g.You managed the project well, considering your inexperience.考虑到你缺乏经验…

conj.考虑到 e.g.Considering he's only been learning English a year, he speaks it very well.30.onward a./ad.(ant.)backward

31.correspond vi.+with, to相符e.g.These goods don't correspond with my order.这些货物与

我的订货单不符

His expenses do not correspond to his income.他入不付出

通信e.g.We correspond with a friend 和一个朋友通信

32.marginal adj.e.g.He owns a small, marginal business.他经营一个收益不大的小生意(Ex.)margin n.e.g.He is on the margin of death.他已濒临死亡the margin of a river 河边

33.concession n.e.g.The boss's promise was a concession to union demands.*make a concession to对...让步

34.keen adj.e.g.A keen north wind was blowing.刮刺骨的北风He has a keen brain.他头脑敏锐Competition is very keen.竞争激烈

They are rather keen to purchase Chinese goods.他们渴望购买中国货

She's keen on sailing.她喜爱驾船（与连on用）热心„的；对„有兴趣；喜爱„的35.nuisance n.e.g.Don't make yourself a nuisance to others.不要做一个令人讨厌的人*make a nuisance of oneself(=make oneself a nuisance)惹人讨厌

36.thrill n.e.g.It gave me a thrill to know I had passed the examination.我得知考试及格后很兴奋

vt.e.g.The traveler thrilled us with his stories.这位旅行者的经历使我们惊骇不已

37.fantasy n.e.g.The young man lives in a world of fantasy.这个年青人生活在幻想的世界里(Ex.)fantastic adj.e.g.fantastic dream怪诞的梦a fantastic trip to Europe美好的欧洲之旅fantastic hopes异想天开

38.depart vi.e.g.depart from custom.脱离习俗

39.scheme n.e.g.He thought of a schemeto get some money.他想出了一个弄钱的方案

40.summit n.e.g.a mountain summit山顶talks at the summit最高级会谈

41.namely adv.(=that is to say)e.g.Only one student passed the exam, namely Peter.只有一个学生通过了考试，就是彼得

42.overall adj.e.g.overall situation总的形势, 全局overall utilization综合利用the overall length全长

adv.e.g.Overall, prices are still rising.大体说来，物价仍在上涨

43.forevermore adv.(第一句社会背景或现象)Recently, it is(widely, generally, commonly)believed that….….Is playing increasing(important/crucial/essential/significant role)in our lives.Whether…has created much debate.Some people assert(claim, demonstrate, suggest)that, while others argue that….personally, I am in favor of the former/latter one.There are several reasons for me to believe that…

First, second, last

In summary, I would make the conclusion that…despite that… overall, I am convinced that....

第二篇：大学英语精读第二册 Unit 10 Profits of Praise

Are we too quick to blame and slow to praise? It seems we are.Unit Ten Profits of Praise

It was the end of my exhausting first day as waitress in a busy New York restaurant.My cap had gone awry, my apron was stained, my feet ached.The loaded trays I carried felt heavier and heavier.Weary and discouraged, I didn't seem able to do anything right.As I made out a complicated check for a family with several children who had changed their ice-cream order a dozen times, I was ready to quit.Then the father smiled at me as he handed me my tip.“Well done,” he said.“You've looked after us really well.”

Suddenly my tiredness vanished.I smiled back, and later, when the manager asked me how I'd liked my first day, I said, “Fine!” Those few words of praise had changed everything.Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit;we cannot flower and grow without it.And yet, while most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism, we are somehow reluctant to give our fellows the warm sunshine of praise.Why“beautiful”even housewives.Do you ever go into a house and say, “What a tidy room”? Hardly anybody does.That's why housework is considered such a dreary grind.Comment is often made about activities which are relatively easy and satisfying, like arranging flowers;but not about jobs which are hard and dirty, like scrubbing floors.Shakespeare said, “Our praises are our wages.” Since so often praise is the only wage a housewife receives, surely she of all people should get her measure.Mothers know instinctively that for children an ounce of praise is worth a pound of scolding.Still, we're not always as perceptive as we might be about applying the rule.One day I was criticizing my children for squabbling.“Can you never play peacefully?” I shouted.Susanna looked at me quizzically.“Of course we can,” she said.“But you don't notice us when we do.”

Teachers agree about the value of praise.One teacher writes that instead of drowning students' compositions in critical red ink, the teacher will get far more constructive results by finding one or two things which have been done better than last time, and commenting favorably on them.“I believe that a student knows when he has handed in something above his usual

standard,” writes the teacher, “and that he waits hungrily for a brief comment in the margin to show him that the teacher is aware of it, too.”

Behavioral scientists have done countless experiments to prove that any human being tends to repeat an act which has been immediately followed by a pleasant result.In one such experiment, a number of schoolchildren were divided into three groups and given arithmetic tests daily for five days.One group was consistently praised for its previous performance;another group was criticized;the third was ignored.Not surprisingly, those who were praised improved dramatically.Those who were criticized improved also, bus not so much.And the scores of the children who were ignored hardly improved at all.Interestingly the brightest children were helped just as much by criticism as by praise, but the less able children reacted badly to criticism, needed praise the most.Yet the latter are the very youngsters who, in most schools, fail to get the pat on the back.To give praise costs the giver nothing but a moment's thought and a moment's effortand yet consider the results it may produce.“I can live for two months on a good compliment,” said Mark Twain.So, let's be alert to the small excellences around us-and comment on them.We will not only bring joy into other people's lives, but also, very often, added happiness into out own.

第三篇：现代大学英语精读三Unit 1 教案

教案一:

Unit 1 Your College Years I.Teaching Plan This essay is planned to finish in 20 minutes.1-3 mins

Warming-up &Pre-reading 4-17 mins

While-reading 18-20 mins Post-reading II.Teaching Aims:

1.Knowledge aims(1)Students can understand and master the new words and expressions.(2)Students can master the main grammar.2.Ability aims(1)Students can understand the main idea through listening to tape.(2)Students can express their attitudes toward the article in English.(3)Enhance students' reading ability and skills of guessing new words in context.3.Emotion aims(1)Help students to understand the university life(2)Improve students' sense of cooperative learning.III.Teaching Methods: Task-based method, Grammar-translation method.IV.Teaching Difficult /Key Points:

1.Grammar Parallelstructure, Object clause 2.Writing techniques V.Teaching Contents: Step 1: Warming up

Lead in the topic by providing some basic backgrounds.1.Background Author--Bob Hartman Bob Hartman is a storyteller of children and part-time pastor.He was born in Pittsburgh in the United States.(Justification:Help students to know about the author and understand the essay better.)Step 2: Pre-reading

Ask students to have a free talk: 1.In the 1st college year, did you experience anything different from that in high school?

2.What do you think about these differences?(Justification: Arouse interest of students.)Step 3: While-reading 1.New Words

(1)Endeavor

v.to try very hard eg.He endeavored to claim himself down but in vain.辨析: Endeavor强调愿望发自内心以及用异乎寻常的极大努力去做某事，尤指克服困难。Strive 和endeavor 一样，表示付出极大努力，但该词强调做某事所需要的辛劳和竭尽全力，不强调努力的结果。

Try指花费体力或心力试图完成某事，且包含有成功的可能。

Attempt强调开始着手进行某事，但不强调花费力气，且所希望或期待的结果常常未能实现。

(2)Perceive

v.to understand or think of sth in a particular way perceive

through

take

>>>凭借感觉去拿，即意识到，认为 凭借拿

Perception n.洞察力，看法，见解

(3)Excessive adj.much more than is reasonable or necessary eg.Bad habits, such as smoking and excessive drinking, can harm your health.excessive 超出行走

…的>>>行走的距离超出的，即过分的，过多的

(4)Resentment

n.A feeling of anger because sth has happened that you think is unfair

re

sent

ment 相反感觉行为>>>相反的感受，即反感，愤恨，怨恨 resent v.愤恨，感到气愤

(5)Project

v.to show other people(what your future role will be as a man or woman)project

forward

throw >>>向前投掷，向前扔，即规划，计划 向前投掷，扔

(6)Feminine

adj.belonging to or considered typical of women or girls the traditional feminine(7)Masculine adj.belonging to or considered typical of men or boys eg.Her husband was handsome and strong, and very masculine(8)Option

n.a choice you can make in a particular situation 辨析: Option 指特别赋予的进行选择的权利，强调的是进行选择的自由和权利。Choice 指运用自己的判断进行选择的机会，权利或能力，强调的是进行选择的可能性。

Alternative 主要指在相互排斥的两者之间做严格的选择，也可指在两者以上中进行选择。

(9)Rebel

v.to oppose or fight against sb in a position of authority rebel against sb./ sth.反抗…，反叛…

rebellion n.谋反，叛乱，反叛rebellious

adj.叛逆的，造反的(10)Ethnic VS.Ethic A.Ethnic adj.relating to a particular race, nation, or tribe and their customs and traditions

ethnic groups 族群

ethnic tensions 种族紧张局势

B.Ethical adj.connected with principles of what is right and what is wrong ethic n.伦理标准，道德准则，道德体系

(11)Affirm

v.to state that sth.Is true and you agree with it or support it, esp.in public eg.I affirm that you will not lose the job.affirmation

n.肯定，断言

affirmative adj.肯定的，同意的 辨析: Affirm 强调说话人坚定地相信自己说的是事实，并且有可靠的根据，不容置疑。Assert 指没有客观证据而非常自信地宣称或断言。Allege 指在缺乏证据的情况下宣称。

Claim 指强调宣称某事是真实的，尤指在面对反对意见时的宣称。Declare 指肯定地说某事，往往是公开地针对反对意见的宣称或断言。(12)Contribute

v.to help to cause sth to happen con

tribute

全部给予>>>全部给予，即捐助，捐赠 contribute to sth.是…的原因之一，促成… 3.Phrases& Grammar(1)Has it ever occurred to you that your professors and other school personnel have certain goals for your growth and maturity during your college years? 句中，it为形式主语，真正的主语是that引导的从句。Occur to sb(观念或想法)被想到，出现在头脑中

(2)Has it dawned on you that certain developmental changes will occur in your life as you move from adolescence to your adulthood? Dawn on sb使开始明白，使渐渐领悟

(3)During this time, students are going through an identity crisis and are endeavoring to find out who they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are.本句为复合句。句中，who和what均引导宾语从句，做find out的宾语。Go through sth.经历，遭受；仔细检查，仔细查看；详细研究，仔细琢磨(4)While students are going through an identity crisis, they are becoming independent from their parents yet are probably still very dependent on them.Be dependent from 独立于，不依赖于

(5)College students need to stand back and see where they are in the independence struggle.本句为复合句。句中，where引导宾语从句，做see的宾语。

(6)In the late sixties, a young woman from a background that was extremely prejudiced against people from other races came to college convinced that her race was superior.句中，介词短语from a background that…为后置定语，修饰woman；其中that 引导定语从句，修饰background；过去分词短语convinced that her race was superior作伴随状语，其中that引导定语从句，作convinced的宾语。Be prejudiced against 对…有偏见(7)平行结构

在英语中，并列连词and, but, as well as, both…and, neither…nor, either…or, not only…but also, rather than, as…as 等可连接两个对等的词或对等的结构，我们称之为平行结构(parallelstructure)。平行结构的要求主要有以下几个方面。A.所连接的谓语形式必须一致。

eg.He went downtown, brought some books and visited his daughter.(went, bought 和visited 都是用的过去时)B.所连接的词或短语形式必须一致。

eg.She has good looks, quick wits, and a good character.(looks, wits 和character都是名词)C.所连接的非谓语动词的形式必须一致。

eg.Some find swimming more enjoyable than sitting at home.(swimming和sitting都是动名词)D.所连接的句子结构必须一致。

eg.Restrict your passage to one or two pages, and list the references on a separate sheet.(and连接的两个句子都是祈使句)4.Structure Part 1(para.1)

Introduce that college students will go through many key changes during their college years.Part 2(paras.2-9)Explain the key changes students will experience in detail.Part3(para.10)

Conclude that college is a time of personal growth and expansion.4．Style(1)Genre:expository essay

(2)Diction:formaland technical words, eg.adulthood, adolescence(3)Syntax:long and involved sentences(4)Techniques 1.quotationeg.'' in...source, according to...'' 2.parallelism eg.words : para.2 ''strengthens and weaknesses'' phrases : para.2 ''determined by genetic endowment;shaped

by environment;influenced by chance events''(Justification:Improve students' skills of reading details and help them to master new words and grammar.)Step4: Post-reading Read the article again and ask students to work in groups and have a competition to answer the following question: 1.Do you agree that young adults such as college students are bound to go through an identity crisis? Have you had any identity crisis yourself so far? 2.Do you consider yourself reasonably independent from your parents? Why it is so important to gain this independence? 3.What other things should students do at university? What does the author mean by ＂internalizing＂religious faith, values, and morals?(Justification: Make students use initiatives.)VI.Homework 1.Retell the text.2.Write an essay by using writing techniques in this essay.3.Discussion(1)Is it true that our struggles for independence and our desire to establish our identity start at college when we reach early adulthood?(2)Have you gained much freedom now that you are a college student? If the answer is yes, how are you enjoying your newly acquired freedom?(Justification: Improve students' oral competence and writing skills.)

第四篇：大学英语精读第二册 Unit 6-The Making of a Surgeon

大学英语精读第二册 Unit 6:The Making of a Surgeon Unit Six：The Making of a Surgeon

A famous surgeon tells about the importance of self-confidence from his own experience.The Making of a Surgeon

How does a doctor recognize the point in time when he is finally a “surgeon”? As my year as chief resident drew to a close I asked myself this question on more than one occasion.The answer, I concluded, was self-confidence.When you can say to yourself, “There is no surgical patient I cannot treat competently, treat just as well as or better than any other surgeon”and I could live with it.So, once I had made a considered decision, I no longer dwelt on it.Reviewing it wasn't going to help and I knew that with my knowledge and experience, any decision I'd made was bound to be a sound one.It was a nice feeling.In the operating room I was equally confident.I knew I had the knowledge, the skill, the experience to handle any surgical situation I'd ever encounter in practice.There were no more butterflies in my stomach when I opened up an abdomen or a chest.I knew that even if the case was one in which it was impossible to anticipate the problem in advance, I could handle whatever l found.I'd sweated through my share of stab wounds of the belly, of punctured lungs, of compound fractures.I had sweated over them for five years.I didn't need to sweat any more.Nor was I afraid of making mistakes.I knew that when I was out in practice I would inevitably err at one time or another and operate on someone who didn't need surgery or sit on someone who did.Five years earlierI wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had had to take sole responsibility for a mistake in judgment.Now I could.I still dreaded errorsbut a surgeon needs conceit.He needs it to encourage him in trying moments when he's bothered by the doubts and uncertainties that are part of the practice of medicine.He has to feel that he's as good as and probably better than any other surgeon in the world.Call it conceit-call it self-confidence;whatever it was, I had it.NEW WORDS

surgeon

n.doctor who performs operations 外科医生

self-confidence

n.自信心

making

n.means of gaining success 成功之道

resident

n.住院医生

conclude

vt.arrive at a belief or opinion by reasoning 得出结论

surgical

a.of, by, or for surgery 外科的；手术的competently

ad.with the necessary skill 称职地；胜任地

competent

a.near

vt.approach;come closer to

emergency

n.sudden and dangerous happening needing immediate action 紧急情况；急症 encounter

vt.be faced with(difficulties, danger, etc.);meet unexpectedly 遭到；意外地遇见

dread

vt.fear greatly 畏惧

critical

a.important at a time of danger and difficulty 紧要的；关键性的particular

a.belonging to some one person, thing, or occasion 特定的case

n.instance of disease or injury 病例

infrequently

ad.seldom;not often

relax

vi.become less tense 放松

n.residency

n.the last stage of a doctor's training at a hospital 高级专科住院实习（期）constant

a.happening all the time;unchanging 不断的；始终如一的resolve

vt.solve 解决

resolution

n.considered

a.carefully thought out 经过深思熟虑的dwell

vi.live(in a place)居住

bound

a.very likely;certain 一定的，必然的sound

a.correct;based on good judgment 正确的，合理的confident

a.sure of oneself and one's abilities 自然的confidence

n.handle

vt.manage, deal with 处理

butterfly

n.蝴蝶

abdomen

n.belly 腹（部）

anticipate

vt.see beforehand 预期

anticipation

n.sweat

n.汗

vi.流汗

stab

n.thrust made with a pointed weapon 刺；戳

belly

n.肚，腹部

puncture

vt.make a small hole in(sth.)with sth.pointed 刺穿

compound

a.having more than one part 复合的n.break in a bone 骨折

compound

n.复合性骨折

inevitably

ad.unavoidably 不可避免地

inevitable

a.err

vi.make mistakes;do wrong

operate

vi.perform a surgical operation 动手术

surgery

n.外科；外科手术

sole

a.unshared;one and only 唯一的responsibility

n.责任；责任心

avoid

vt.escape;keep or get away from 避免

conceited

a.having too high an opinion of oneself 自负的conceit

n.too high an opinion of oneself

trying

a.hard to endure or bear;very difficult 难受的；恼人的bother

vt.annoy, trouble 烦扰，麻烦

uncertainty

n.uncertain condition;doubtPHRASES & EXPRESSIONS

draw to a close

come to an end 结束

live with

learn to accept(sth.unpleasant);tolerate 学会；适应；容忍

dwell on

think, write, or speak a lot about 老是想着；详述；强调

(be)bound to(do)

(be)certain to(do)一定..., 必然...in practice

(医师,律师等)在开业中;在实践中

butterflies in the stomach

feelings of nervousness 忐忑不安

cut open 切开,给...开刀

in advance

ahead of time 预先,事前

at one time or another

sometime or other 早晚

sit on

delay taking action on;do nothing about 拖延;搁置

PROPER NAMES

Nolen

诺兰(姓氏)

Walt

沃尔特(男子名 Walter 的昵称)

Larry

拉里(男子 Lawrence 的昵称)

第五篇：大学英语精读第四册 Unit 8 The New Caves

Would you choose to live underground if you could gain many advantages from doing so? Weather would no longer trouble you.Temperature would remain the same all the year round.Artificial lighting could make the rhythm of our life uniform everywhere.And the ecology of the natural world above ground would be greatly improved.Still, the prospect of moving underground may not be appealing to many people.Unit 8 The New Caves

During the ice ages, human beings exposed to the colder temperatures of the time would often make their homes in caves.There they found greater comfort and security than they would have in the open.We still live in caves called houses, again for comfort and security.Virtually no one would willingly sleep on the ground under the stars.Is it possible that someday we may seek to add further to our comfort and security by building our houses underground--in new, manmade caves?

It may not seem a palatable suggestion, at first though.We have so many evil associations with the underground.In our myths and legends, the underground is the realm of evil spirits and of the dead, and is often the location of an afterlife of torment.(This may be because dead bodies are buried underground, and because volcanic eruptions make the underground appear to be a hellish place of fire and noxious gases.)

Yet there are advantages to underground life, too, and something to be said for imagining whole cities, even mankind generally, moving downward;of having the outermost mile of the Earth's crust honeycombed with passages and structures, like a gigantic ant hill.First, weather would no longer be important, since, it is primarily a phenomenon of the atmosphere.Rain, snow, sleet, fog would not trouble the underground world.Even temperature variations are limited to the open surface and would not exist underground.Whether day or night, summer or winter, temperatures in the underground world remain equable and nearly constant.The vast amounts of energy now expended in warming our surface surroundings when they are too cold, and cooling them when they are too warm, could be saved.The damage done to manmade structures and to human beings by weather would be gone.Transportation over local distances would be simplified.(Earthquakes would remain a danger, of course.)

Second, local time would no longer be important.On the surface, the tyranny of day and night cannot be avoided, and when it is morning in one place, it is noon in another, evening in still another and midnight in yet another.The rhythm of human life therefore varies from place to place.Underground, where there is no externally produced day, but only perpetual darkness, it would be arificial lighting that produces the day and this could be adjusted to suit man's convenience.The whole world could be on eight-hour shifts, starting and ending on the stroke everywhere, at least as far as business and community endeavors were concerned.This could be important in a freely mobile world.Air transportation over long distances would no longer have entail “jet lag.” Individuals landing on another coast or another continent would find the society they reached geared to the same time of day as at home.Third, the ecological structure could be stabilized.To a certain extent, mankind encumbers the Earth.It is not only his enormous numbers that take up room;more so, it is all the structures he builds to house himself and his machines, to make possible his transportation and communication, to offer him rest and recreation.All these things distort the wild, depriving many species of plants and animals of their natural habitat--and sometimes, involuntarily, favoring a few, such as rats

and roaches.If the works of man were removed below ground--and, mind you, below the level of the natural world of the burrowing animals —— man would still occupy the surface with his farms, his forestry, his observation towers, his air terminals and so on, but the extent of that occupation would be enormously decreased.Indeed, as one imagines the underground world to become increasingly elaborate, one can visualize much of the food supply eventually deriving from hydroponic growth in artificially illuminated areas underground.The Earth's surface might be increasingly turned over to park and to wilderness, maintained at ecological stability.Fourth, nature would be closer.It might seem that to withdraw underground is to withdraw from the natural world, but would that be so? Would the withdrawal be more complete than it is now, when so many people work in city buildings that are often windowless and artificially conditioned? Even where there are windows, what is the prospect one views(if one bothers to)but sun, sky, and buildings to the horizon--plus some limited greenery?

And to get away from the city now? To reach the real countryside? One must travel horizontally for miles, first across city pavements and then across suburban sprawls.In an underworld culture, the countryside would be right there, a few hundred yards above the upper level of the cities--wherever you are.The surface would have to be protected from too frequent, or too intense, or too careless visiting, but however carefully restricted the upward trips might be, the chances are that the dwellers of the new caves would see more greenery, under ecologically healthier conditions, than dwellers of surface cities to today.However odd and repulsive underground living may seem at first thought, there are tings to be said for it--and I haven't even said them all.