书城外语用耳朵听最优美的名著
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第18章 观英伦跌宕史感人本精神之衰落(17)

难点重点,一目了然!

长难句解析Sentence Structures

A

She sat with her feet tucked under her, and Leaned against her father, who held her in his arm, as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.

她蜷缩这双腿,倚靠在父亲的臂弯里。她看着车窗外来来往往的行人,脸上露出若有所思的神情。

who引导定语从句,修饰前面的“her father”。

B

She was such a Little girl that one did not expect to see such a Look on her small face. It would have been an old Look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven.

这种奇怪的神情即便出现在一个十二岁的孩子脸上都会觉得老气横秋,而萨拉·克鲁才只有七岁。

such……that……如此……以致于……。

C

The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to.

事实上,她经常会幻想一些奇怪的事情,连她自己都不记得她有哪一刻没在想着成年人的事情和属于他们的世界。

句中用双重否定来强调肯定“……and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things……”。

The Plain Man and His Wife平凡人和他的人生。

朗读指数:◆◆◆

背诵指数:◆◆◆

难度指数:◆◆◆

总词汇量:0398词汇

每篇好故事都有灵魂!

今日关键语导读Today’s Key Points

《平凡人和他的妻子》是英国着名作家阿诺德·本涅特的一部短小精悍的作品。本书中主人公为“平凡人”,代表了20世纪初大部分的中产阶级,也暗指每一个读者。“平凡人”寻常无奇的人物性格颇具代表性,每个读过这本书的人都可以从中寻找自己的影子。

文中障碍词抢先攻克!

障碍词先听为快Words and Expressions

austere/?s"t??/adj.简朴的,艰苦的,苦修的

digestion/dai"d?est??n/n.消化力;消化

affirmative/?"f?:m?t?v/adj.肯定的,赞成的;正面的(答复、意见等)

ecstasy/"ekst?s?/n.强烈的情绪,狂喜

mitigate/"m?t?ɡe?t/v.减轻,缓和

gusto/"ɡst/n.兴致,热忱

regiment/"red??m?nt/n.(军队的)团

multitudinous/,m?lt?"tju:din?s/adj.大量的,众多的

精彩文字,耳听心受!

好英文娓娓动听Words and Expressions

The plain man on a plain day wakes up, slowly or quickly according to his temperament, and greets the day in a mental posture which might be thus expressed in words:

“Oh, Lord!Another day!What a grind!”

If you ask me whom I mean by the plain man, my reply is that I mean almost every man. I mean you.I certainly mean me.I mean the rich and the poor, the successful and the unsuccessful, the idle and the diligent, the luxurious and the austere.For, what with the limits of digestion, the practical impossibility of wearing two neckties at once, the insecurity of investments, the responsibilities of wealth and success, the exhaustingness of the search for pleasure, and the cheapness of travel-the real differences between one sort of plain man and another are slight in these times.(And indeed they always were slight.)

……

Oh!But he chose his vocation. He likes it.It satisfies his instincts.It is his life.(So you say.)Well, does he like it?Does it satisfy his instincts?Is it his life?A If truly the answer is affirmative, he is at any rate not conscious of the fact.He is aware of no ecstasy.What is the use of being happy unless he knows he is happy?Some men know that they are happy in the hours of business, but they are few.The majority are not, and the bulk of the majority do not even pretend to be.The whole attitude of the average plain man to business implies that business is a nuisance, scarcely mitigated.B With what secret satisfaction he anticipates that visit to the barber"s in the middle of the morning!With what gusto he hails the arrival of an unexpected interrupting friend!With what easement he decides that he may lawfully put off some task till the morrow!Let him hear a band or fire-engine in the street, and he will go to the window with the eagerness of a child or of a girl-clerk.If he were working at golf, the bands of all the regiments of Hohenzollern would not make him turn his head, nor the multitudinous blazing of fireproof skyscrapers.No!Let us be honest.Business constitutes the steepest, roughest league of the appointed path.C Were it otherwise, business would not be universally regarded as a means to an end.

难点重点,一目了然!

长难句解析Sentence Structures

A

If truly the answer is affirmative, he is at any rate not conscious of the fact.

即使这些答案真的是肯定的,至少平凡人自己还没有意识到。

at any rate 不管怎样,至少。例如:I don’t think they liked my idea.At any rate, they weren’t very enthusiastic about it.我觉得他们不喜欢我的主意,至少他们不是很热心。

B

With what secret satisfaction he anticipates that visit to the barber"s in the middle of the morning!With what gusto he hails the arrival of an unexpected interrupting friend!With what easement he decides that he may Lawfully put off some task till the morrow!

他内心期待上午十点多去理发的心情不知道有多满足!招呼那打断他工作的不速之客时不知道有多开心!决定可以把一些任务合理地推到明天时不知道有多轻松!

put off 推迟,拖延。例如:The meeting has been put off for a week.会议被推迟了1周。

“With……”引导的这三个句子是平行结构。

C

Were it otherwise, business would not be universally regarded as a means to an end.

要不然,工作是不会被普遍当作达成目的的手段的。

虚拟语气,省略了if,并将系动词were 放在句首,相当于“If it were otherwise”。

The Time Machine时光机器

朗读指数:◆◆◆

背诵指数:◆◆◆◆◆

难度指数:◆◆◆◆

总词汇量:0302词汇

每篇好故事都有灵魂!

今日关键语导读Today’s Key Points

《时光机器》是赫伯特·威尔斯的成名作。小说字里行间流露出作者对社会问题的深刻认识,对人类未来的担忧和思考以及对自己所处时代社会发展的反思和警示。选文为小说的结尾部分,作者用细腻的笔触描绘了乘坐时光机器所看到的未来地球黑暗荒凉的景象。

文中障碍词抢先攻克!

障碍词先听为快Words and Expressions

liverwort/"liv?w?:t/n.叶苔

lichen/"la?k?n/n.地衣

fleck/flek/v.使有斑点,使斑驳

assail/?"se?l/v.猛烈攻击,打击

flake/fle?k/n.小薄片;碎片

eddy/"ed?/v.(水、风、尘土、烟雾等)起漩涡,旋转

sable/"se?bl/adj.【诗】黑色的;阴暗的

undulating/"?ndj?,leti?/adj.波动的,起伏的

pinkish/"pi?ki?/adj.浅粉红色的

精彩文字,耳听心受!

好英文娓娓动听Words and Expressions