Lesson 69 But not murder!

【New words and expressions】(11)

murder n. 谋杀

instruct v. 命令，指示

acquire v. 取得，获得

confidence n. 信心

examiner n. 主考人

suppose v. 假设

tap v. 轻敲

react v. 反应

brake n. 刹车

pedal n. 踏板

mournful adj. 悲哀的

★acquire v. 取得，获得，学到(知识、技术、语言等)，养成(习惯等)

Mary acquired a good knowledge of Chinese in five years’ time.

acquire a habit of doing sth. 养成……的习惯

Tom acquired a habit of smoking.

acquire confidence 获得信心

【Text】

I was being tested for a driving licence for the third time. I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had done so successfully. After having been instructed to drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence. Sure that I had passed, I was almost beginning to enjoy my test. The examiner must have been pleased with my performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more thing, Mr. Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on the window, you must stop within five feet.' I continued driving and after some time, the examiner tapped loudly, Though the sound could be heard clearly, it took me a long time to react. I suddenly pressed the brake pedal and we were both thrown forward. The examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr. Eames,' he said, in a mournful voice, 'you have just killed that child!'

参考译文

我第3次接受驾驶执照考试。按照要求在车辆拥挤的路上驾驶，我圆满地完成了。在接到把车开出城的指令后，我开始有了信心。确信我已通过考试，所以我几乎开始喜欢起这次考试。主考人对我的驾驶想必是满意的，因为他微笑着说：“埃姆斯先生，只剩1项了。让我们假设一个小孩子突然在你前面穿过马路。我一敲车窗，你必须把车停在5英尺之内。”我继续往前开着。过了一会儿，主考人砰砰地敲了起来。虽然声音听得很清楚，但我过了好一会儿才作出反应。我突然用力踩紧刹车踏板，结果我俩的身体都向前冲去。主考人伤心地看着我。“埃姆斯先生，”他以悲伤的声调说，“你刚刚把那个小孩压死了!”

【课文讲解】

1、I was being tested for a driving licence for the third time.

a driving licence 驾驶执照

2、I had been asked to drive in heavy traffic and had done so successfully.

heavy adj. 大量的，多的，密集的

Traffic is heavier on this road than on the other one.

3、The examiner must have been pleased with my performance, for he smiled and said, 'Just one more thing, Mr. Eames. Let us suppose that a child suddenly crosses the road in front of you. As soon as I tap on the window, you must stop within five feet.'

must have been表示对过去的事情的猜测

performance n. 表现，表演，工作情况

be pleased with 对……满意

They are pleased with his work.

The manager isn’t very pleased with his secretary.

let us suppose that… 让我们假设……

Let us suppose that there is a forest fire.

4、The examiner looked at me sadly. 'Mr. Eames,' he said, in a mournful voice, 'you have just killed that child!'

in a … voice 以……的声调

in a mournful voice 用悲伤的声调

He told them the news in a sad/excited voice.

【Key structures】

被动语态

被动语态可以用于“介词+动名词”结构中，在英语中是很正式的用法，一般不用于口语。“介词(after，before，on)+动名词”这个结构通常相当于一个时间状语从句。如果两个动作中有一个在另一个开始之前已经完成，则可以用“after +动名词的完成式”表示第一个动作;如果只表示先后顺序，则可用“after/before +动名词”结构;“on +动名词”通常表示两个动作几乎同时发生：

The man called the police after being robbed.

He killed a child before being arrested.

On/After being told that her mother was seriously ill, she hurried back to England.

被动语态用于want后面的不定式中时，to be可以省略，want后跟被动语态时往往表示希望别人完成所说的动作：

I want the luggage fetched from the hotel this afternoon.

被动语态还可用于过去进行时，以强调动作的持续性：

I was being asked about the film all day yesterday.

【Special Difficulties】

Practice and Advice

practice n.(反复的)练习，实践，实行

Your spoken English will improve with practice.

Have they put their plan into practice? 他们把计划付诸实施了吗?

practise vt.& vi. 练习，经常做

Jimmy used to practice (playing) football every afternoon.

She practises on the piano for three hours every day.

advice n. 忠告，劝告，建议(不可数名词)

She gave me some good advice / a piece of advice about jobs.

advise vt.& vi. 劝告，向……提供提议

She advised me against going to the party. 她建议/劝我不要去参加聚会。

Enjoy, Entertain and Amuse

enjoy vt. 欣赏，喜爱，享受……之乐(后跟名词、动名词或反身代词，用于主动语态)

I enjoy swimming in summer.

We’re really enjoying ourselves.

entertain vt. 款待，招待，请客;使……快乐，给……娱乐(=amuse)

We often entertain friends at weekends.

Uncle Sam entertains/amuses the children for hours at a time.

萨姆叔叔一连好几小时地逗孩子们乐。

My children can entertain/amuse themselves for hours with telling stories to each other.

amuse vt. 逗乐，逗笑(常用于被动语态)

She was amused by her father’s funny stories.

His story amused the children very much.

 新概念第三册