新编英语教程3Unit11languagework

Unit 11 Text I

I．Writing Skills

After Twenty Years‘ is a short story written by O Henry. The short story is a form of fiction generally under 10,000 words in length. Because of its limited length, a short story presents very few characters (generally one or two), and focuses on only one event. Through some means or other, the short story achieves suspense and dramatic effect through complication.

①Structurally, a short story may break up into five sections: the situation (setting and a brief introduction to the characters), the generating circumstance (the incident in the story), the rising action, the climax and the ending.

②The plot is developed mainly through the dialogues. ③The characters are described and shown to the readers through their external action and dialogue.

④The language of this short story is somewhat out-dated and ungrammatical at times.

II．Language Points

1. on the beat: on the route he was ordered to patrol beat: (n)

①the usual path followed by a policeman on duty巡逻 e.g. The two policemen are covering their ~s.

par. The young policeman was on the route he was ordered to patrol.

(The young policeman was on his ~.)

②the particular news source or activity that a reporter is responsible for covering

记者负责采访的新闻, 范围或单位

e.g. The fledgling newspaper reporter is on the sports ~. The woman reporter has been removed from the White House ~.

She goes out on the City Hall ~ for the evening paper at 3 every afternoon.

be out of /off one’s ~: (fig.) be doing sth. with which one is not familiar, sth. different from one’s usual work做非本行的工作, 做自己不熟悉的事

e.g. Doing that is rather off my ~. English grammar is out of my ~. 2. impressively: admirably

①impressive: (adj.): making a deep impression on the mind and feelings

于人印象深刻的, 令人佩服的

e.g. They observed an ~ ceremony last week.

Mr. Brown made an ~ speech on environmental protection. ②impressiveness: (n.)

e.g. This gives ~ to what he says.

The professor‘s ~ makes us admire and respect him. ③impressively: (adv.)

e.g. The policeman walked along the street impressively. 3. for show: intended to be seen but not used e.g. He wears glasses for show on many occasions.

All this ceremony is just empty show: it‘s all done for show: it doesn‘t mean a thing.

The decoration is just for show, not for comfort.

par. She is wearing a very bright dress at the party to show herself.

Many people donated money not to show themselves but to

help the poor.

4. cast his watchful eye down the pacific thoroughfare eye: the power of seeing

e. g. The little girl‘s fell on the teddy bear as soon as she entered the room.

To a great sculptor‘s ~, a young muscular archer ready to shoot an arrow would make a good statue.

There is much to arrest the ~ of the travellers in this souvenir shop.

cast an eye/ one’s eye at /on /ove: look at, examine e.g. The policeman on duty always cast an eye at/over/on the places they are

responsible for.

par. Please keep an eye on the luggage for a while. He asked me to examine the condition of the machine. 5. vicinity: (n.)

①nearness, closeness of relationship (fml) be in close ~ to

e.g. This school is in close ~ to the church. ②neighborhood

e.g. There are two primary schools in our ~. Are there any amusement parks in this ~? par. There are no shops in the neighborhood. The post office is somewhere in the neighborhood. There are quite a few universities in the neighborhood. in the ~ of: a) near

par. There are some cinemas in the place near our college. The biggest post office in our city is near the railway station. His home is near our factory.

b): about

par. His income is about $5,000 a year.

The cost of the leather coat is about twenty dollars.

6. (every) now and then/again: at times; form time to time; occasionally

par. I don‘t think about my old home very much, only from time to time.

Foreign visitors come to our county occasionally. At times, I see David at the library. 7. majority

①majority (n.): the greater number or amount (esp of people ); most

a/ the ~ of

e.g. The ~ of doctors believe smoking is harmful to health. The proposal failed to find a ~.

par. The new leader is supported by the greater number of the people.

Most people seem to prefer watching games to playing games.

The company holds the greater amount of the stock. be in the/ a ~: the greater number of people or things居多, 占大多数

e.g. People who can read and write are not in the ~ in some countries.

par. In our department, the greater number of students are girl students.

②major

a) (adj.): greater when compared with others, in size, number, or importance

e.g. The car needs ~ repairs. (大修)

The play is a ~ success.

b)(vi.): specialize in ( a certain subject) at college or university e.g. Brian ~ed in economics when he was at college. I ~ in English and minor in French.(主修英语,兼修法语) c) (n.): subject ~ed in

e.g. Can you tell me what your ~ is, Christina? 8. have long since: It’s a long time since

par. It‘s a long time since he worked in this company. (He has long since worked in this company.)

It is a long time since I forgot what our quarrel was about. (I‘ve long since forgotten what our quarrel was about.) It‘s a long time since he married. (He has married long since.) 9. hardware store -ware: (n.)

①things of the same hard material, esp. for use in a house, hotel, restaurant, etc. 器皿,制品

e.g. tinware/ ironware/ goldware/ silverware/ jadeware ②things used in the stated place for the preparation of food烹调用具

e.g. kitchenware ovenware/ microwave ovenware 10. reassure

①reassure (vt.): to comfort and make free from fear, remove doubts or worries of

e.g. The doctor ~d the sick man (about/of his health). The mother was / felt ~d when she knew her son‘s safety. ②reassurance (n.)

e.g. She won‘t believe it in spite of all our ~(s). ③reassuring (adj.)

e.g. Pets, such as dogs and cats, like ~ pats.

He was longing for ~ words. ④reassuringly (adv.)

e.g. ―You will be all right,‖ he said ~.

11. be torn down = be pulled down: be broken in pieces and destroyed (something

built)

par. Half the houses in the street are being pulled down to make room for the new post office.

Many old buildings have already been pulled down in our vicinity.

tear sth. down/off/away/out of: cause (sth.) to our of place by pulling sharply

e.g. The man tore a notice down from a notice-board. One page is missing here; it must have been torn out of the book.

He tore off his clothes and jumped into the water to save the boy from

drowning.

tear oneself away (from): leave; stop doing

e.g. At last we tore ourselves away from Guilin and returned home.

par. She could hardly make up her mind to leave the beautiful park.

(She could hardly tear herself away from the beautiful park.) The boy couldn‘t put down his teddy bear.

(The boy could not tear himself away from his teddy bear.) 12. oddly set

set: fix, put one thing firmly in another镶,嵌 set sth. in sth./ set sth. with sth.

e.g. The king is wearing a crown set with jewels.

The tops of the walls were set with broken glass. Please set this diamond in the ring. 13. figure ①(v.)

a) believe, think, imagine

e.g. You may ~ the situation for yoursel f.

I ~ that different people like different things.

She ~d that she would she would be the next to be interviewed.

b) have a part (in a play), appear e.g. He ~d as Henry VIII in the play. She ~d as chief guest at the party. His name ~d in my recent report. c) used in phrases

~ sth .out: calculate, work out, reckon

e.g. We should ~ out the cost of the operation precisely. He couldn‘t ~ out what had gone wrong with the washing machine.

par. I can hardly work out the answer to this problem. We tried our best to work out what he meant. ~ in: reckon in, include, take into account e.g. Have you ~d in the expenses in the hotel? Did you ~ in the cost of a taxi across London? ~ on: expect, estimate, conclude

e.g. We didn‘t ~ on so many people here. I didn‘t ~ on his presence. ②(n.)

a) symbol for a number, esp. 0 to 9 e.g. He has an income of six ~s.

Will you check these ~s? b) (pl.)arithmetic e.g. Are you good at ~s?

c) human form, esp the appearance and what it suggests e.g. I saw a ~ approaching in the darkness. The dancer has a good/handsome ~. I am dieting to keep my ~.

d) (an important) person, esp his character of influence e.g. The new leader is a dominating ~ like Napoleon. Mahatma Gandhi was both a political and a religious ~ in Indian history.

e) price

e.g. We bought the house at a very high /low ~. Name the lowest ~ you can take /accept. 14.destiny ①destiny (n.)

a) [u]: fate, power believed to control events 命运

e.g. Destiny often plays tricks on human beings.(命运之神常常捉弄人)

Destiny is sometimes cruel.

b) [c]: that which happens to sb., thought of as determined in advance by fate定数, 天命

e.g. It was his ~ to die in a foreign country, far from his family. It was the great man‘s ~ to lead his country to freedom. ②destine (vt.): (usu. pass.) decide or ordain in advance, intended by fate, willed by

God

e.g. He as a soldier‘s son and was ~d from birth for the army.

They were ~d never to meet again.

His hopes were ~d to be realized. /He was ~d to failure. par. Fate had determined that his work should never succeed. (His work was destined never to succeed.)

I never thought that I would marry her, but I suppose Fate had decided that I

should do it.

(I never thought…, but I suppose it was destined/ I was destined to marry her.)

15. correspond ①correspond: (v.)

a) exchange letters regularly with ~ with sb.

e.g. I ~ with my brothers and sisters regularly.

Janet and Handson ~ed for several years before they met. par. Our teacher has been exchanging letters with his students.

Jane has been exchanging letters with Tom for many years. She exchanges letters with the man about business. b)be equal to; be similar to ~ to

e.g. His expenses do not ~ to his income.

par. The American Congress is equal to the British Parliament. The wing of a bird is equal to the arm of a man. Red lines on the map is equal to major roads. c)be in harmony with, be in agreement with, match ~ with/ to

e.g. Her white hat and shoes ~ with her white dress. These goods don‘t ~ with/to the list of those I ordered. par. His action is not in harmony with his position. The job is completely in harmony with my interest.

Appearance and reality are seldom in harmony. ②corresponding (adj.): matching; related

e.g. His rank is high, but he has his ~ responsibilities. All rights carry with them ~ responsibilities. What is the ~ noun form of the verb ?excite‘?

Imports for 1-10 August this year are larger by 10% than for the ~ period last year.

③correspondent

a) (adj.) matching, fitting, in harmony with be ~ with

e.g. The result is ~ with his wishes.

b) (n.) a reporter or journalist in a far away place报纸通讯员,特派记者

e.g. The newspaper has a foreign/ war ~. Mr. Smith is our Hong Kong ~.

c) (n. ) person with whom one exchanges letters通信者 e.g. He is a good/ bad ~. (He writes regularly/ seldom.) ④correspondence (n.) a)the act of exchanging letters be/keep in ~ with

e.g. My parents are in ~ with my uncle in Canada. I have kept in/up ~ with my friends. A ~ school ~ course (函授) b) harmony, similarity, agreement

e.g. There is not much ~ between your ideas and mine. What he said has little ~ with the fact.

16. keep/ lose track of sb./ sth.: keep in /lose touch with e.g. I read the newspaper every day to keep track of current events.

He soon lost track of how much money he had spent.

17. turn up

①show up; make one’s appearance; arrive

e.g. Our boss hasn‘t turned up this morning—I hope she isn‘t ill.

She turns up late for everything. ②find

e.g. The police searched the house hoping to turn up more clues.

We‘ve turned up additional examples. ③be found, esp. by chance

e.g. The ring you‘ve lost may turn up one of these days. The missing bag turned up, completely empty, in the lake. ④(of an opportunity, etc) happen; present itself

e.g. He is still waiting for a piece of good luck/ a job to turn up.

Something unexpected may have turned up. c.f. turn sth. Up: (cause to ) slope upwards

e.g. He turned the coat collar up because of the wind. She turned up the end of her trousers. (roll up) turn sb. up: (colloq) cause to vomit; disgust e.g. The blood on the ground turned me up.

turn up one’s nose at sth./ sb.: look down upon, contempt express a superior and critical attitude towards

e.g. He turned up his nose at the suggestion.(显出不屑一顾的样子)

The rich lady turned up her nose at the poor young man. 18. bet (bet, bet/ betted, betted)

①(v.): risk money on a race or on some other event of which the result is doubtful

~ on sth./sb. ~ (sb) that…

e.g. Do you ever ~?

His grandpa thinks it foolish to ~ on a horse.

He ~ me two pounds on Henry‘s winning /that Henry would win the game.

(colloq uses)

e.g. I ~ it will rain/ it rains tomorrow. ( I bet = I am sure.) I ~ he is absolutely right in his assumption. ---Will you tell her about it?

---You ~. (You can be sure; certainly.)

②(n.): agreement to risk money; the money, etc offered e.g. Let‘s make/ have a ~ on the next election. Have they accepted/ taken up the ~?

I made a ~ of 50 dollars with him on the result of the ball game and I won/ lost the ~.

He made a ~ that he would reach the summit before any of the others.

19. wit ①wit (n.)

a) (sing. or pl.) intelligence; understanding; quickness of mind智力, 才智

e.g. He hadn't the ~s /hadn‘t ~ enough to realize what to do in the emergence.

I haven‘t the ~ to say no to him.

at one’s ~’s end: not knowing what to do or say智穷, 不知所措

e.g. Facing the girl, Kevin was at his ~‘s end.

out of one’s ~s: greatly upset; mad; distracted 不知所措, 发疯

e.g. You‘ll drive me out of my ~s if you go on behaving in this way.

b) [u] clever and humorous expression of ideas; liveliness of spirit机智的措辞, 机智,

才智, 情趣横溢

e.g. His conversation is full of ~. Her writings sparkle with ~.

②witty (adj.): full of humor风趣的, 诙谐的 e.g. My little sister is a ~ girl. The manager is a ~ speaker.

20. groove (n.): way of living that has become a habit get in/into /be stuck in a ~: become set in one’s ways, one’s style of living养成习惯

e.g. People are apt to get in a ~ as they grow older. get out of the ~ (改变因循守旧的习惯) 21. absurdity

①(n.): the state of being ridiculous e.g. He knew the ~ of our situation.

②absurd (adj.): foolish, ridiculous, unreasonable e.g. Even sensible men do ~ things. par. Your claim is quite ridiculous.

It is unreasonable to predict that the sun will not rise tomorrow.

It is foolish of you to suggest such a thing.

22. In a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears,… The man from the West, his egotism enlarged by success,… The parts in italics are called non-finite clauses, which are also known as the nominative absolute construction. They are used to express accompanying circumstances. The absolute phrase may be active, in which case the –ing participle is used.

e.g. The young pioneers went into the cave, Tom acting as guide.

The old couple lived happily for the rest of their lives, their two daughters paying all their living expenses and taking good care of them.

The absolute phrase may be passive, in which case the –ed participle is used.

eg: The naughty boy rushed into the classroom, his face covered with sweat.

23. moderately

①(adv.): so-so, not very

e.g. The examination questions were ~ difficult. ---Are you getting on very well? ---Moderately. ②moderate

a) (adj.): not extreme; having reasonable limits; limited中等的,适度的

e.g. He has a ~ appetite. I‘d like a ~ price room.

It‘s a large house, but the garden is of ~ size.

At the time of the accident, the train was travelling at a ~ speed.

b) (adj.): keeping or kept within reasonable or sensible limits不过分的, 不走极端的e.g. He holds ~ political opinions; he doesn‘t want to keep conditions just as they are,

but nor he wish for violent changes.

c) (v.): to make or become less violent or extreme减轻, 缓和 e.g. There‘ll be no agreement between the workers and the employers if the workers

don‘t ~ their demands.

The wind was strong all day, but it ~d after sunset. 24. submerge

①submerge (v.)

a) to (cause to) to go under the surface of water e.g. He ~d the dirty cups in the basin. The ship ~d, then rose to the surface. b) to cover or completely hide

e.g. Her happiness at seeing him ~d her former worries. (消除)

His talent was ~d by his shyness. (遮没)

The factory is ~d with orders. (接到大量定单,应接不暇) ②submerged (adj.): under the surface of the sea, etc e.g. The ship bumped into the ~d rocks in the sea. ③submergence/ submersion

e.g. The bell has been recovered after a ~ of three centuries. The other, submerged in his overcoat,…

At the corner stood a drugstore, brilliant with electric lights. The above parts in italics are adj. phrases used attributively. 25. gaze upon/on: (formal) set eyes on

e.g. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever ~d upon/on.

Never in my life have I ~d upon/on such wonderful scenes. c.f. gaze at: look long and steadily e.g. What are you ~ing at?

She ~d at the stranger, wondering who he was. 26. be under arrest: be/ place / put under arrest be/ be made a prisoner

e.g. The corrupt officer was put under ~.

27. sensible (adj.): having or showing good sense; reasonable, practical

e.g. That is very ~ of him. She is a very ~ woman.

These are ~ shoes for mountain climbing. (适合爬山的鞋) be ~ of: be aware of, know

e.g. The boy is ~ of the trouble he caused. The detective was ~ of the danger of his position. par. We are a ware of our responsibility. Tom knows his step-mother‘s kindness. c.f. sensitive

①quickly or easily receiving impressions

e.g. A ~ skin is easily hurt by too much sunshine. A ~ nerve in a tooth can cause great pain. be ~ to

e.g. Our eyes are ~ to light.

His ears are highly ~ to any unusual sound in the machine. An artist is ~ to beauty.

②easily hurt in the spirit, easily offended e.g. Children are usually ~ to blame. An author must not be too ~ to criticism. The girl is very ~ about her ugly appearance. IV. Translation

1.我们学校附近有许多公司和商店。 2.他搞不清这部真空吸尘器出了什么毛病。 3.你对这个故事的叙述和玛丽所讲的不一样。 4.我肯定我们的女子排球队将得冠军。

5.寒冷的风一阵阵地吹着，行人们匆匆地赶路，并将自己严严实实地裹在大衣里。

6.那小男孩静静地坐了好几个小时，凝望着天际中的星星。 7.工人们的要求并不过分，他们只是要求稍微提高工资。 8.人事部经理已经答应来参加会议，但尚未到。 9.他们命中注定要结为夫妻。

10.漆黑的天空繁星点点，看起来像点缀着一颗颗的钻石。