Unit 8 Text A A.课文内容提要 Theoretically speaking, the early-airport arrivals should be rewarded while the late-airport ones should be punished. But this usually isn’t the case. And there are such people who pay off their taxi only just before boarding, but still get their luggage first when landing. To my great embarrassment, early as I arrived, I somehow couldn’t get the seat I wanted. What made it worst was because I got to the airport so early that I was told to board an earlier plane. Being in a great hurry, I stumbled over a woman’s leg and the got abused for being late. B.词汇详解 1. determine v. 1.决心,下决心(=make up one’s mind) ?He determined to go at once/that he would go at once. 他决心马上去。 2.决定,限定 ?Weather determines the size of the crop. 气候决定收成好不好。 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:determined adj.坚决的,有决心 的;determination n.决心,决意 [常用短语]determine the rights and wrongs决定是非;be determined to do sth.下定决心做某事 2. aware adj. 1.知道,觉得,明白 ?Are you aware of the difficulty/that there is a difficulty? 你知道那项困难吗?/有困难吗? 2.有……认识的 ?She is politically/artistically aware. 她有政治意识/艺术感。 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:awareness n.意识,觉悟 形近词:aweary疲倦的 [常用短语]be aware of sth.意识到,觉察到,知道;be aware that (clause) 3. signal n.1.信号,暗号 ?A red lamp is often used as a danger signal. 2.手势 ?The driver of the car gave the signal that he wanted to stop. 司机打了个手势表示要停车。 v.1.发信号,做信号 ?The general signaled to his officers for the attack to begin. 这位将军向他的军官们发出开始攻击的信号。 2.以信号表示(警告,告知等) ?The policeman signaled (to)the traffic to move forward slowly. 警察以信号指示人车缓慢前进。 3.成为……之征兆,显示 ?The defeat of 1066 signal(1)ed the end of Saxon rule in England. 1066?ê之战败标志着撒克逊人在英国统治之结束。 adj.(文语)显著的,重大的,优越的 ?a signal example of courage 一个杰出的英雄楷模 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:signalize,-ise v.使著名,使显著,使突出;signally显著地,非常地;sign n.记号,征兆;signal(1)er n.信号手,通信兵 [常用短语]signal…to do sth.向……发信号示意要…… 4.practically adv. 1.几乎 ?The holidays are practically over; there’s only one day left. 假期几乎快结束了,只剩一天而已。 2.实用地 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:practicable adj.能实行的,行得通的;practical adj.实际的,实用的;practicality n.实际,实用性 5.crush v.1.压破,压坏,压碎 ?Don’t crush this box, there are flowers inside! 不要压破盒子,里面有花! 2.挤压 ?The people crushed through the gates as soon as they were opened. 大门一打开,民众便汹涌地挤压过来。 3.破坏,镇压 ?The military government has successfully crushed all opposition. 军政府镇压了一切的反对势力。 4.揉皱,弄皱(vt);起皱(vi) ?Her dress was crushed. 她的连衣裙被弄皱了。 ?This cloth will not crush. 这种布不会起皱。 n.挤压 ?There was such a crush on the train that I could hardly breathe. 火车上人挤得很,我几乎喘不过气来。 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:crushing adj.压倒的,压碎的 形近词:crash:碰撞,坠毁;撞击,砸碎 [常用短语]crush the enemy打垮敌人;crush …into将……碎成 6. figure v.1.出现,扮演 ?Roger figured as chief guest at the party. 罗吉尔在宴会上以主客姿态出现。 2. (美语:不正式)认为;想 ?I figured(that)you’d want your tea. 我猜你想要茶。 3.计算 ?She learnt to read, write and figure. 她学习读、写和算。 n.1.人像,画像,人物;轮廓,隐约可见的人影 ?You can see a figure of a ship on the sea. 海上隐约可见一只轮船。 2.身影,体形 ?Doing exercise can improve one’s figure. 做运动可以健美体形。 3.要人,知名人士,人物 ?Mahatma Gandhi was both a political and a religious figure in Indian history. 甘地在印度历史上是政治和宗教要人。 [记忆技巧]同源派生:figured adj.饰以图案的;figurative adj.象征的,比喻的 [常用短语]figure in包括在内;figure of speech比喻;figure on计划,估计,料想;figure out解决,理解,计算出 7.embarrass v. 1.使难堪,使困窘 ?She was embarrassed when they asked her age. 他们问她的年龄时她感到窘迫得很。 2.使感到拮据;使焦灼 ?He was embarrassed by many debts. 他被很多债务弄得焦灼不安。 [记忆技巧]同源派生派词:embarrassment n.困难,为难;embarrassing adj.使人尴尬的;embarrassed adj.尴尬的 [常用短语]be embarrassed by窘迫的(指精神上);be embarrassed with体力不支;be embarrassed at…对……感到为难 8.argue v. 1.辩论 ?They argued the case for hours. 他们就该案辩论了好几个小时。 2.争论,争吵 ?Do what you are told and don’t argue with me. 叫你怎么做就怎么做,别跟我争论。 [记忆技巧]同源派生词:arguable adj.有疑问的,可论证的;argument n.理由,论据 [常用短语]argue against据理反对,证明……是不能成立的;argue sb.into/out of doing sth通过争论使某人(不)做某事 9.somehow adv. 1.以某种方法;不知怎样地 ?I can’t see how,but we’ll have to reach an agreement somehow. 我不知道怎样做,但我们总得设法达成协议。 2.因某种不明之理由,不知为什么 ?I think she’s right but somehow I’m not completely sure. 我想她是对的,但我总觉得不完全有把握。 [记忆技巧]与somehow同义的短语有in some way. some和疑问词构成的合成词还有somewhere, somewhat [常用短语]somehow or other不知是什么原因,由于某种原因 C.词组用法 1. take off 1.(飞机、太空船等)起飞 2.脱掉(衣服) ?Take your coat off. 把外衣脱掉。 3.模仿(某人的举止,说话的神态以取笑) ? The actor made everyone laugh by taking off the members of the royal family. 那个演员模仿皇室家族的动作,引得大家发笑。 注意区别take after(外表、实质等)像(自已的父母);学……的样(有效仿之意)。 2.pay off 1.偿还掉,付掉 ?I’ll pay off my debt with this check. 我将用这支票偿还掉我的债务。 2.洁清工资历解雇 ?When the building was completed,he paid off the laborers. 当这幢建筑完工时,他把劳力们都解雇了。 3.成功 ?Did you plan pay off? 你的计划成功了吗? 与这个短语相似的表达有pay back报复,偿还;pay out付少量金钱。 ?Have I paid (you) back the ?10 you lent me for those books? 我买那些书向你借的十英镑还给了你没有? 3.make a(big)fuss(about)大惊小怪 ?Jean Pierre was making a fuss about one of the translations. 琴.皮埃尔正对其中一处翻译大惊小怪。 注意区分make a fuss of对……殷勤招待,过于照顾。 ?Don’t make a fuss of him. 不要对他过分娇纵。 4.ahead of 1.在……之先,在……之前 ?She left one day ahead of him. 她比他早一天离开。 与这个短语相似的表达有in advance of。 2.胜过,超过 ?Tom is ahead of me in class. 汤姆在班上比我强。 5.in advance 事先,提前(与ahead of schedule意思相近) ?They will pay a hundred and thirty francs in advance. 他们将提前付130法郎。 ?Everything had been fixed in advance. 一切都已提前做好了准备。 6.one other 另一个 ?I have one other thing to do. 我有另一件事情要办。 与这个短语相似的表达有another,抽象概念常用some more. ?I need some more money. 我还需要些钱。 ?I need another five dollars. 我还需要5美元。 D.疑难词语辨析 1.award,reward与prize 三者均有“奖赏”之意,award指对于成绩优异或贡献卓越经评定后正式授予的奖励。可以是精神方面的,也可以是物质方面的;reward意为“报答、奖赏、报酬”,重点在于对好行为或付出的劳动给予的报答,酬谢;prize多指在竞争、竞赛或抽奖中获胜所赢得的奖。 ?The award for the year’s best actor went to Jack Nichclson. 本年度最佳男演员奖授予了杰克?尼科尔森。 ?He got very little in reward for his hard work. 他努力工作,但所得的报酬却微乎其微。 ?Frank won the first prize in the chess tournament. 在象棋比赛中弗兰克得头等奖。 2.aware与conscious 二者均有“意识到的,感觉到的,明白的”之意。两个词都可接of,在非正式的场合中通用。Aware一般指通过感官或别人提 Unit 8 供的情况对外界事物有所了解;conscious一般指身体状况,思想上,心理上的意识或感觉。 ?He was not aware of his mistakes. 他没有意识到自已错了。 ?He is hardly conscious of the seriousness of the situation. 他差点认识不到形势的严重性。 3.be about to ,be going go与be to be about to表示即将要发生的动作,即“正要……”,后面不加表示具体时间的词或短语;be going to表示事先计划好、打算好要干某事,其后一般加时间状语,紧迫感较差,还可以表示决心,肯定,或命令,但也可表示即将发生的自然现象;be to 表计划,只用于肯定句和疑问句,表命令,只用于肯定句和否定句,表可能多用于被动结构,表应该多用现在式,表注定多用过去式。 ?The meeting is about to begin. 会议即将开始。 ?I am going to visit one of my friends tomorrow evening. 明晚我打算去看一个朋友。(表计划) ?I’m going to oppose the proposal. 我要反对这项建议。(表决心) ?Our boss is to visit your factory next month. 我们的老板下个月要去参观你们的工厂。 ?Norman says I am to leave you alone. 诺曼要我不理你。(表命令) ?Where is he to be found? 在哪可找到他?(表可能) ?You are to do your homework before you watch TV. 你得先完成作业了才能看电视。 4.scarcely,hardly,barely与seldom 这四个含有否定意义的副词在普通写作中一般是可以互换的。Scarcely暗示“仅仅”,指数量而言,表示“不足”,常与enough, sufficient, any或数词之类的词连用,但也可表示“几乎没有,简直不”之意;hardly强调“困难”,着重实际上不可能这一面,所以常驻和表示能力的can,could,possible等连用;barely与scarcely差不多,也常常与enough,sufficient连用;seldom为日常用语,常同行为动词连用。 ?Scarcely an hour has passed since we departed. 我们分开几乎一小时了。 ?She scarcely knew a word of English. 她对英语几乎一无所知。 ?I hardly know what to say. 我简直不知说什么。 ?He had barely enough money to pay for the watch. 他仅有够付这块表的钱。 ?She seldom goes out. 她几乎不外出。(她深居简出) E.课文重点难点详解 1.If there were any justice…would be rewarded for…(paragraph 2,line1) 如果这个世界上存在着公正的话……应该受到奖赏…… 这个句子使用了虚拟语气。在与现在事实相反的非真实条件句中,条件从句的谓语用“were/did”,结果主句用“would/should/could/might+v.”;在与过去事实相反的非真实条件句中,条件从句的谓语用“had+v.-ed”,结果主句用“would/should/could/might+have+v. -ed”;在与将来事实可能相反的非真实条件句中,条件从句的谓语用“were/did””should+v.”或“were to+v.”,结果主句用“would/should/could/might+v.” ?If we left now, we should arrive in good time. 假如我们现在就走的话,我们就会及时到达了。 ?If he were to come, what should we say to him? 假如他来了,我们对他说什么呢? ?If he should see me, he would know me. 假如他看见我,就会认识我。 2….bite their fingernails to the bone.(paragraph 3,line 2) 拼命地咬手指甲,这里引申为“急得团团转”。 注:cut to the bone削减到了最低限度。 ?The bus service has been cut to the bone. 公共汽车服务被套削减到不能再少的地步了。 3….with a man on the same flight as me.(paragraph 5,line 1) (遇到)一位与我搭乘同一班机的男人。 flight:班机 ?Flight Number 447 to Geneva is ready to leave. 飞往日内瓦的447班机准备起飞。 4….but he insisted we stay for another round.(paragraph 5,line2) insist sb.(should)do sth.为虚拟语气的用法。与此用法相似的动词还有demand,suggest,propose,order,require,request,desire,command与arrange等。 ?He suggested that we should leave early. 他建议我们早点动身。 ?The detective insisted that he should have a look. 警察坚持要查看。 5….all us wimps know that not only will that late…but it is probably…(paragraph 17,line 1) not only是否定副词,当位于句首时,句子需要倒装。与此相似的否定副词还有:never,seldom,little,nor,hardly,scarcely,no sooner等。 ?Never in my life have I seen such a thing. 我一生中从未见过这样的事。 ?Seldom have we felt as comfortable as here. 我们很少像在这里住得那样舒适。 6.Well,just try to show up early…(paragraph 19,line 1) show up,显示,出现。相近的表达方式有:turn up。 ?She turns up late for everything. 她总是迟到。 7. The woman I stepped over was no wimp. “be no+noun”,这种表示感情强烈的否定。 “be not+a/an+noun”,这种结构只用于陈述事实,不带强烈的感情色彩。 ?He is no friend of mine. 他才不是我的朋友哩。 ?The girl was not a fool. 这姑娘不是傻瓜。 F.课文佳句背诵 1. If there were any justice in this world, the early-airport people would be rewarded for doing the right thing. 2. I once found myself in an airport bar with a man on the same flight as me. 3. The pilot is practically in the air when these people are still paying off the taxi. 4. And when we finally take off, all us wimps know that not only will that late luggage be the first off the plane, but it is probably sitting on top of our luggage, crushing our shirts. 5. I climbed on board, our of breath, red-faced, and stumbled over a woman’s legs to get to the last unoccupied seat. G.课文参考译文 前往机场 经过多年研究,我断定这个世界上只有两种人:一种是很早就到达机场的人;另一种是飞机将要起飞时才慢吞吞到达的人。 如果这个世界上存在着公正的话,那么早到机场的人应该受到奖赏,因为他们按规矩办事,而姗姗来迟的人则应受到惩罚。 但公正并不存在,早到机场的人急得溃疡病,心脏病发作,急得团团转。 迟到机场的人几乎不知道他们将要飞行。 有一次我在机场的小酒吧里遇到一个跟我乘同一班飞机的男人,广播已经播过三次我们搭乘的飞机即将起飞,但他仍坚持我们再坐一会,再喝一杯。 “如果我们错过了为班飞机,一个小时后总有另一班。”他边说边招手示意要两杯。 “去沙特阿拉伯的达兰?”我问。“一个星期内不会有航班了。” “我有一个理论,”他说,“如果你误了航班,那是因为上帝不想让你去。” 很明显这是一个永远不会得溃疡病的家伙。 早到机场的人还蒙受另一种嘲弄。他们被称为“优心忡忡者”,这倒恰如其分。 我知道多年来我一直是个早到机场的人。 我常告诉自己,我的行李要第一个放上飞机。 确实是如此,但这也使得它成为飞机着陆时最后一件搬出飞机的行李。 你知道谁才能真正地最早取回行李吗?就是那种晚到机场的人,他们在飞机起飞的前三分钟才慢吞吞地起进机场。 当飞机几乎已经开始飞行时,这些人仍然还在付出租车费。 然后,他们为了使行李能送上飞机,又在闸口忙得团团转。 当终于起飞时,我们这些“忧心忡忡者”都清楚,迟到的行李不仅会第一个搬下飞机,而且很可能正放在我们行李上面,把我们的衬衣挤压得皱巴巴的。 但如果我到达机场的时间确实是很早很早,我对我自己这个“忧心鬼”说,我会得到一个最好的位置的。 那好吧。就尽量早点到达,选个想要的位置,就这么去试试看吧。 无论我多早到达,我总是被告知有人已经在比我早两三年就订下了那个我想要的位置。 我想,那是个阴谋:在美国,每天都有人打电话给每一家航空公司:“那个忧心鬼西蒙今天是不是要乘机到什么地方去?如果是,请把他的座位给我。” 几年前当我(纽约)拉瓜迪亚机场飞往奥黑尔时,我就经历了一次早到机场的最尴尬的事。 当我到达检票台时,那里的人说:“先生,你乘坐的是上午9:15到芝加哥的班机,对吗?” “是的,”我说。 “那么,现在才上午7点,7:05的航班还没有离开。如果你赶时间的话,您可以改乘个航班。” 啊!是这样! 但我当时窘得说不出我早到机场的目的的本是为了不必匆忙,只好沿着走廊飞奔向飞机。 那个被套我踩了一脚的妇女一也不忧心忡忡,她有胆量抱怨。“你该早点到机场来!”她历声说道。 “我本来是很早到的,”我有气无力地说,“但不知怎样,就变成不早了。” 经过一辈子争论,我是否该在起飞前24时就收拾好行李,并把闹钟调快4小时,现在我弄明白了另一个事实:早到机场者和晚到机场者总是互相依存的。