Unit 2
Text A
II. Words & Expressions
be lost in / lose oneself in: be absorbed in; be fully occupied with
- He was lost in playing computer games so he was unaware of my entering the room.
- I had lost myself in thought.
- 他忙于这项工作而对周围的一切都很漠然。(He was lost to the world in this task.)
available: adj.
1. able to be got, obtained, used, etc.
- If you don’t want to buy a kite, you can make your own using directions available in the book.
- We have already used up all the available space.
- 对不起,这种外套没有你要的颜和尺码。(I’m sorry. Those overcoats are not available in your color and size. )
2. able to be visited or seen; not too busy
- 律师现在没空。 (The lawyer is not available now.)
or something: used when you are not very sure about what you have just said
- The air fare was a hundred and ninety-nine pounds or something.
- Here’s some money. Get yourself a sandwich or something.
NB:
同义的短语：or something like that
go ahead: continue; begin (sometimes followed by with + n.)
- The board of directors will vote today on whether to go ahead with the plan.
- Henry will be late but we will go ahead with the meeting anyway.
estimate:
1. vt. form a judgment about (a quantity or value)
- Bill’s personal riches were estimated at $368 million.
- I estimate that the total cost for the treatment of the disease will go from $5,000 to $8,000.
- 我估计她有35岁。 (I estimate her age at 35. )
2. n. approximate calculation or judgment made about a quantity or value
- According to some estimates, the number of farms has increased by 50 percent.
- My estimate of her character was wrong.
CF: estimate, evaluate & value
这组词都有“估计”或“估价”的意思。
estimate 指先于实际的测量、计算或测试而作的某种估计或估价，可以是经过仔细考虑，也可以是随意的。
- He estimated he would do the hundred miles by noon. (他估计自已到中午时能走完这一百英里路。)
- I asked three building firms to estimate for the repairs to the house.  (我请三个建筑公司估计修缮房屋的费用。)
evaluate 很少表示用金钱来估计某物的市场价值，而是对其相对或内在价值的评定。
- The research project has only been under way for three months, so it’s too early to evaluate its success. (这个研究项目进行了不过三个月，所以要对它的效果作出评价为时尚早。 )
value 指估计某物的价值、价格。
-
He valued the house for me at ￡3,500. (他为我给这幢房子估价，价值3,500英镑。)
Put into each gap one of the above words. Change the form where necessary.
1. How do teachers evaluate their students’ work?
2. It was estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 spiders in one acre of grass field.
3. They have gone to have their jewels valued.
might / may (just) as well: If you say that you might / may (just) as well do sth., you mean that you will do it although you do not have a strong desire to do it and may even feel slightly reluctant  about it.
- Anyway, you’re here; you might as well stay.
- The post office is really busy. We’ll have to queue for ages to get served. We might as well go home.
- 这道甜食我还是不吃了吧。 (I might as well give the sweet course a miss.)
not much of: not a good …
- 天气不是很好。(It is not much of a day. )
- Some people may think that doing housework for others is not much of a career.
- He is not much of a father, but he is an outstanding professor.
keep up: continue without stopping
- They risk losing their homes because they can no longer keep up the repayments.
- I was so hungry all the time that I could not keep the diet up for longer than a month.
Collocation:
keep to                        坚持；信守
keep up with            跟上；赶上
keep on                    继续进行；反复地做
keep out of                躲开；（使）置身于…之外
keep off                    避开；不让…接近
Put into each gap one of the above phrases. Change the form where necessary.
1. Keep off the grass!
2. If this rain keeps up, the garden will be ruined.
3. Try to keep out of trouble.
4. Don’t run — I can’t keep up with you.
5. He just kept on writing, paying no attention to the cry of the baby. 
6. He always keeps to his promises.
correspondence: n.
1. the act of writing, receiving or sending letters (often followed by with + n.)
- His interest in writing came from a long correspondence with a close college friend.
- 敌人空袭后通信中断了。(The correspondence dropped after the enemy’s air raid. )
2. the letters that sb. receives or sends (used as an uncountable noun)
- Mary really never mentions her step-mother in her correspondence.
- less is more大学英语课件The library bought all the correspondence between Queen Victoria and her daughters.
Collocation:
carry on correspondence                            进行通信
break off correspondence                            中断通信