《新视野大学英语》是国务院批准的教育部“面向21世纪振兴行动计划”的重点工程“新世纪网络课程建设工程”项目系列教材之一。 由国家级名师上海交通大学郑树棠教授担任总策划和教材总主编，清华大学、上海交通大学和东北大学等全国十余所大学几十名资深教授和中青年骨干教师共同设计、编写和制作的教育部普通高等教育“十五”国家级规划教材，教育部大学英语推荐教材。
<1>prodigy n. [C] a young person who has unusual and very noticeable abilities for their age 奇才；天才
However, if a child could pick up the language merely by exposure he would be considered a real prodigy. 然而，如果一名儿童仅仅通过接触就能学会这门语言，他会被视作是一个真正的奇才。
<2> narrow-minded a. not willing to accept different ideas or customs 心胸狭窄的
He was criticized for being boring, selfish and narrow-minded. 他的无聊、自私自利、心胸狭窄受到了批评。
I think I'm not too narrow-minded in my outlook, and that I encompass different periods and ideas. 我认为自己的观点不是太偏狭，我涉及到了不同的时期和不同的思想。
<3> long-term a. continuing for a long time into the future 长期的
What we need is a long-term solution, not a short-term one. 我们所需要的是一个长期的解决办法，而不是一个短期的解决办法。
A new training scheme to help the long-term unemployed is expected. 人们期望有一个新的帮助长期失业人员的培训计划。
<4> self-motivated a. motivated by oneself 积极主动的
They were so determined to learn and they were so strongly self-motivated. 他们学习的决心如此之大，他们的自我主动性如此之强。
The children are very self-motivated but they are still very young. 这些孩子们积极性很高，但他们的年纪仍然太小。
Phrases and Expressions
<5>spring up appear or develop quickly and/or suddenly 涌现；突然兴起
His success doesn't spring up out of nowhere. 他的成功不是凭空而来的。
If the project's a success, similar constructions may spring up elsewhere. 如果这个项目成功的话，类似建筑物也许会在其他的地方涌现。
<6>out of nowherehappening or appearing suddenly 突然发生；突然出现
He was driving too fast on the express highway when a police car appeared out of nowhere and stopped him. 他正在高速公路上超速行驶，这时不知打哪儿冒出一辆警车把他拦住了。
The thought swam into her mind out of nowhere. 这想法不知从何处涌入她的脑海。
<7>look intoexamine 调查
Many such crimes are looked into by special agencies rather than the police. 许多这种犯罪是由专门的机构调查，而不是由警方进行调查的。
The union representative is looking into the case to see if the company is responsible. 工会代表正在调查这起案子，看公司是否负有责任。
<8>go out of one's way to do sth. make a special effort to do sth. 特地做某事；想尽办法做某事
Mary always went out of her way to help me learn Russian before I went to Moscow. 我去莫斯科前，玛丽总是不怕麻烦地帮助我学习俄语。
He could have complained to the top about my basic lack of professionalism but instead he went out of his way to try and help me. 他原本可以向上层领导埋怨我缺乏基本的职业技艺，可相反，他千方百计地试图帮助我。
<9>in question under consideration or discussion 考虑之中的；谈论中的
If the restaurant in question adds a service charge, then there would be fewer customers. 要是那家谈论中的餐馆增收服务费，那么顾客就会比较少了。
Can you give us more information about the man in question? 关于这个人你能给我们提供更多的情况吗？
<10>step by step gradually 逐渐地
Step by step, they are approaching the crux of the problem. 一步步地，他们正接近问题的关键。
The gang of robbers approached with guns, forcing them step by step into the sea. 那帮强盗拿着枪逼近，强迫他们一步一步地走到大海中。
<11>have an advantage over be better, more effective, and more useful than 比...处于有利地位，比...有优势
She realized that she had an advantage over her mother's generation. 她意识到她比自己母亲这代人有优势。
His recent research finds that older learners have an advantage over the very young in certain aspects of language learning. 他最近的研究发现，在语言学习的有些方面，年龄较大的学习者比年龄非常小的有优势。
<12>be in a position to do sth. be able to do sth. because you have the ability, money, or power to do it 能够做；有条件做
When I have read the whole report I shall be in a better position to comment. 读完整篇报告之后，我才能更好地作出评论。
As a mother of five, I feel I am in a position to speak about how to better educate children. 作为一个五个孩子的母亲，我觉得我有资格谈论如何更好地教育孩子。
Proper Names
<13>Einstein 爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein, 1879-1955，美籍德国理论物理学家）
<14>Pablo Picasso 帕布罗·毕加索（1881-1973，西班牙画家、雕刻家，立体主义画派主要代表）
<15>Mozart 莫扎特（1756-1791，奥地利作曲家，维也纳古典乐派主要代表）
<16>Karl Friedrich Gauss 卡尔·弗里德里希·高斯（1777-1855，德国数学家）
<17>Holland 荷兰（西欧国家）