Lesson51 Reward for virtue 对美德的奖赏
Why did Hugh’s diet not work?
My friend, Hugh, has always been fat,
but things got so bad recently that he decided to go on a diet.
He began his diet a week ago.
First of all, he wrote out a long list of all the foods which were forbidden.
The list included most of the things Hugh loves:
butter, potatoes,rice, beer, milk, chocolate, and sweets.
Yesterday I paid him a visit.
I rang the bell and was not surprised to see that Hugh was still as fat as ever.
He led me into his room and hurriedly hid a large parcel under his desk.
It was obvious that he was very embarrassed.
When I asked him what he was doing,
he smiled guiltily and then put the parcel on the desk.
He explained that his diet was so strict that he had to reward himself occasionally.
Then he showed me the contents of the parcel.
It contained five large bars of chocolate and three bags of sweets!
New words and expressions 生词和短语
- reward (title)/ri’wɔ:d/n．报偿
- embarrass (1.8)/im’bærəs/v．使尴尬
- virtue (title)/’və:tʃu:/n．美德
- guiltily (1.9)/’giltili/adv．内疚地
- diet (1.2)/’daiət/n．节食
- strict (1.10)/strikt/adj．严格的
- forbid (1.3)/fə’bid/ (forbade/fə’bæd/,forbidden /fə’bidn/) v．禁止
- reward (1.10)/ri’wɔ:d/v．给奖赏
- occasionally (1.10)/ə’keiʒənəli/adv．偶尔地
- hurriedly (1.7)/’hʌridli/adv．匆忙地
Notes on the text 课文注释
- Reward for virtue, virtue作“美德”讲，此处指“节食”一事。
- but things got so bad,但是情况变得如此糟糕。动词get作“变得”，“成为”讲。
- go on a diet(=be on a diet),实行节食。
- first of all, 首先。
- I paid him a visit. 我去拜访他。
- as fat as ever, 像以往一样胖，其中的as ever实际上是状语从句as he ever was 的省略形式。
- It was obvious that he was very embarrassed. 显然他感到很尴尬。that引导的从句是一个名词性从句，在句子中作主语，it是先行主语。
参考译文
我的朋友休一直很胖， 但是近来情况变得越发糟糕， 以致他决定节食。 他是一星期前开始节食的。 首先，他开列了一张长长的单子， 上面列了所有禁吃的食物。 这张单子上的大多数食物都是休喜欢吃的： 黄油、土豆、米饭、啤酒、牛奶、巧克力和糖果。 昨天我去看望了他。 我按响了门铃。 当看到休仍和往常一样胖时，我并不感到惊奇。 他把我领进屋，慌忙把一个大包藏到了桌子下面。 显然他感到很尴尬。 当我问他正干什么时，他内疚地笑了， 然后把那个大包拿到了桌上。 他解释说，他的饮食控制得太严格了， 以致不得不偶尔奖赏自己一下。 接着他给我看了包里的东西。 里面装了5大块巧克力和3袋糖果！
Lesson52 A pretty carpet 漂亮的地毯
What is the writer’s carpet made of?
We have just moved into a new house and I have been working hard all morning.
I have been trying to get my new room in order.
This has not been easy because I own over a thousand books.
To make matters worse, the room is rather small,
so I have temporarily put my books on the floor.
At the moment, they cover every inch of floor space
and I actually have to walk on them to get in or out of the room.
A short while ago, my sister helped me to carry one of my old bookcases up the stairs.
She went into my room and got a big surprise
when she saw all those books on the floor.
‘This is the prettiest carpet I have ever seen,’she said.
She gazed at it for some time then added,
‘You don’t need bookcases at all.
You can sit here in your spare time and read the carpet!’
New words and expressions 生词和短语
- temporarily(11.4-5)/’tempərərili/adv. 暂时地
- space(1.6)/speis/n.空间
- inch(1.6)/intʃ/n.英寸(度量单位)
- actually(1.6)/’æktʃuəli/adv.实际上
Notes on the text 课文注释
- I have been working hard all morning.我辛辛苦苦地干了整整一个上午。句中用了现在完成进行时，用来强调动作在某一段时间内一直在进行，而且动作有现在的结果。
- get…in order，把…整理好。
- to make matters worse，更糟糕的是。
- in your spare time，你空闲的时候。
参考译文
我们刚刚搬进一所新房子， 我辛辛苦苦地干了整整一个上午。 我试图把我的新房间收拾整齐，但这并不容易， 因为我有1,000多本书。 更糟糕的是房间还非常小，所以我暂时把书放在了地板上。 这会儿，书把地板的每一点空隙都占据了， 我实际上是踩着这些书进出房间的。 几分钟前，我妹妹帮我把一个旧书橱抬上了楼。 她走进我的房间，当她看到地板上的那些书时，大吃一惊。 “这是我见过的最漂亮的地毯，”她说。 她盯着“地毯”看了一会儿，又说： “你根本用不着书橱，空闲时你可以坐在这儿读地毯！”
Lesson53 Hot snake 触电的蛇
What caused the fire?
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California.
Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began.
Forest fires are often caused by broken glass
or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away.
Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully,
but were not able to find any broken glass.
They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire.
This morning, however, a firemen accidentally discovered the cause.
He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round
the electric wires of a 16，000-volt power line.
In this way, he was able to solve the mystery.
The explanation was simple but very unusual.
A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground
and then dropped it on to the wires.
The snake then wound itself round the wires.
When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground
and these immediately started a fire.
New words and expressions 生词和短语
- hot(title)/hɔt/adj.带电的，充电的
- wire(1.9)/’waiə/n.电线
- fireman(1.1)/’faiəmən/ n. 消防队员
- volt(1.9)/vəult/n.伏特(电压单位)
- cause(1.3)/kɔ:z/v.引起；n．原因
- powerline(1.9)/’pauə-lain/电力线
- examine(1.4)/ɪɡˈzæmɪn/v.检查
- solve(1.9)/sɔlv/v.解决
- accidentally (1.7)/ˌæksɪˈdentəli/adv.意外地，偶然地
- mystery (1.9)/’mistəri/n.谜
- snatch(1.10)/snætʃ/v. 抓住
- remains(1.8)/ri’meinz/n.尸体，残骸
- spark(1.11)/spa:k/n.电火花
Notes on the text 课文注释
- at last，最后，终于。
- they have been trying to find out how the fire began，他们一直试图找出起火的原因。句中短语动词 find out 的宾语是一个从句 how the fire began。
- broken glass，碎玻璃。
- cigarette ends，烟头。
- in this way，就这样。
参考译文
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。 从那时起，他们一直试图找出起火的原因。 森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起。 昨天，消防队员仔细查看了地面，但未能发现碎玻璃。 他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。 然而今天上午，一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。 他发现了缠绕在16，000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。 就这样，他解开了起火之谜。 解释很简单，却异乎寻常。 一只鸟把蛇从地上抓起来，然后把它扔到了电线上。 于是蛇就缠住了几根电线。 当它这样做时，把火花送到了地面， 这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
Lesson54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指
What two interruptions did the writer have?
After breakfast, I sent the children to school
and then I went to the shops.
It was still early when I returned home.
The children were at school,
my husband was at work and the house was quiet.
So I decided to make some meat pies.
In a short time I was busy mixing butter
and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry.
At exactly that moment, the telephone rang.
Nothing could have been more annoying.
I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers
and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Helen Bates.
It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later.
At last I hung up the receiver.
What a mess! There was pastry on my fingers, on the telephone, and on the doorknobs.
I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead.
This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter!
New words and expressions 生词和短语
- sticky(title/’stiki/adj．粘的
- dismay(1.8)/dis’mei/v．失望，泄气
- finger(title)/’fiŋgə/n．手指
- recognize(1.8)/’rekəgnaiz/v．认出，听出
- pie(1.4)/pai/n．馅饼
- persuade(1.9)/pə’sweid/v．说服，劝说
- mix(1.4)/miks/v.混合，拌和
- mess(1.9)/mes/n.乱七八糟
- pastry(1.5)/’peistri/n．面糊
- doorknob(1.10)/’dɔ:nəb/n．门把手
- annoying(1.7)/ə’nɔi-iŋ/adj.恼人的
- sign(1.12)/sain/v.签字
- receiver(1.7)/ri’si:və/n.电话的话筒
- register(1.12)/ˈredʒɪstə(r)/v.挂号邮寄
Notes on the text 课文注释
- The children were at school, my husband was at work.孩子在上学，我丈夫在上班。
- at exactly that moment，恰恰在此时。
- I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers. 我用两个沾满面糊的手指捏起话筒。
- ring back later，晚一点再来电话。
- What a mess！真是糟糕透了，真狼狈。
- I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead．我刚回厨房，门铃又响了起来，响声足以把死人唤醒。 no sooner…than…的句型有“刚……就……”的意思。短语loud enough to wake the dead用来作状语，修饰rang。注意enough作为副词要用在形容词或副词之后。
- a registered letter，挂号信。
参考译文
早饭后，我送孩子们上学，然后就去了商店。 我回到家时，时间还早。 孩子们在上学，我丈夫在上班，家里清静得很。 于是我决定做些肉馅饼。 不一会儿我就忙着调拌起了黄油和面粉， 很快我的手上就沾满了粘粘的面糊。 恰恰在此时，电话铃响了。 没有什么能比这更烦人了。 我用两个沾满面糊的手指捏起了话筒。 当我听出是海伦·贝茨的声音时，非常丧气。 我用了10分钟的时间才说服她过会儿再来电话。 我终于挂上了话筒。真是糟糕透了！ 我的手指上、电话机上以及门的把手上， 都沾上了面糊。 我刚回到厨房，门铃又响了起来，响声足以把死人唤醒。 这次是邮递员，他要我签收一封挂号信！
Lesson55 Not a gold mine 并非金矿
What did the team find?
Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently.
A new machine called‘The Revealer’has been invented
and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground.
The machine was used in a cave near the seashore
where—-it is said—-pirates used to hide gold.
The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it.
Armed with the new machine,
a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure.
The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave
when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground.
Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep.
They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless.
The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly
but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk.
In spite of this, many people are confident
that‘The Revealer’may reveal something of value fairly soon.
New words and expressions 生词和短语
- gold(title)/gəuld/ n. 金子
- arm (1.6)/a:m/v.武装
- mine(title)/main/n.矿
- soil(1.8)/sɔil/n．泥土
- treasure(1.1)/’treʒə/n. 财宝
- entrance(1.8)/’entrəns/n.入口
- revealer(1.2)/ri’vi:lə/n. 探测器
- finally(1.10)/’fainəli/adv.最后
- invent(1.2)/In’vent/v.发明
- worthless(1.10)/’wə:θləs/adj. 毫无价值的
- detect(1.3)/di’tekt/v.探测
- thoroughly(1.10)/’θʌrәli/adv.彻底地
- bury(1.3)/’beri/v.埋藏
- trunk(1.11)/trʌŋk/ n.行李箱
- cave(1.4)/keiv/n.山洞
- confident(1.11)/’kɔnfidənt/adj.有信心的
- seashore(1.4)/’si:’ʃɔ:/n. 海岸
- value(1.12)/’vælju:/n.价值
- pirate(1.5)/’paiərət/n.海盗
Notes on the text 课文注释
- Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently.最近，找到失踪宝藏的梦想差一点儿变成了现实。come true，变成现实。
- it is said是插入语，当“据说”讲。课文中用破折号把插入语与正文隔开，给人以临时插入的感觉。
- The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. 海盗们过去常把金子埋藏在洞里，但后来却没能取走。would表示过去的习惯性动作，fail后面接动词不定式表示否定。
- armed with the new machine，由于装备着这台新机器。这里过去分词短悟作状语，表示伴随状态。
- hoping to find buried treasure，希望能找到埋藏的金子。现在分词短语作状语，表示目的。
- a hole two feet deep，两英尺深的洞。
参考译文
最近，找到失踪宝藏的梦想差一点儿变成现实。 一种叫“探宝器”的新机器已经发明出来， 并被人们用来探测地下埋藏的金子。 在靠近海边的一个据说过去海盗常在里面藏金子的岩洞里， 这种机器被派上了用场。 海盗们过去常把金子埋藏在那个洞里，可后来却没能取走。 一支用这种新机器装备起来的探宝队进入了这个岩洞，希望找到埋藏着的金子。 当这个队的队长正在检查洞口附近的土壤时，那台机器显示出它的下面埋有金子。 队员们异常激动，就地挖了一个两英尺深的坑， 但最后找到的是一枚几乎一钱不值的小金币。 队员们接着又把整个洞彻底搜寻了一遍， 但除了一只空铁皮箱外什么也没找到。 尽管如此，很多人仍然相信“探宝器”很快就会探出值钱的东西来。