加载中…Lesson 43
Insurance companies are normally willing to insure anything.
Insuring public or private property is a standard practice in most countries in the world.
If, however, you were holding an open air garden party or a fete it would be equally possible to insure yourself in the event of bad weather.
eqully=alike/in the same way
in the event of =in case of
In the event of being sick, you‘d better not go to
the
为防生病，你最好不要去参加那个party了。
event that 假如，如果
Event that our team wins, there will be a celebration.
Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay.
needless to say,插入语
It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for cost of salvaging a sunken ship.
=it is quite common,双重否定用于强调语气
1、not＋否定adj
2、not＋without
3、no＋(not/no) 两个no都是用来修饰限定名词
There is no cat that doesn't like fish.
There is nothing he can't do.
It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for cost of salvaging a sunken ship.
He doesn't have any meals without meat.
There is no rule that has no exception/that doesn't have exception.
make a claim提出索赔要求
We have already made a claim with/against the seller for giving short measure.
卖主缺斤少两，我们向其提出索赔
But the claim made by a local authority to recover the cost of salvaging a sunken pie dish must surely be unique.
recover
vi.使得到补偿，弥补=make up for,
vt,康复
Admittedly it was an unusual pie dish, for it was eighteen feet long and six feet wide.
It had been purchased by a local authority so that an enormous pie could be baked for an annual fair.
purchase vt.买（比buy要正式，主要用于书面语，还可以是名词）
Can you purchase freedom with money?
purchasing power 购买力
not worth a day’s purchase?
危在旦夕
His life is not worth a day’s purchase.
The pie committee decided that the best way to transport the dish would be by canal, so they insured it for the trip.
Shortly after it was launched, the pie committee went to a local inn to celebrate.
At the same time, a number of teenagers climbed on to the dish and held a little party of their own.
Dancing proved to be more than the dish could bear, for during the party it capsized and sank in seven feet of water.
The pie committee telephoned a local garage owner who arrived in a recovery truck to salvage the pie dish.
Shivering in their wet clothes, the teenagers looked on while three men dived repeatedly into the water to locate the dish.
shiver v.打颤，发抖 =tremble
整体的颤抖用shiver,部分的用tremble
His hands are trembling.
His trembling voice betrayed his secret.
He is shivering with cold.
shudder 因寒冷、害怕等因素导致的全身抖动,可替换shiver
They had little difficulty in finding it, but hauling it out of the water proved to be a serious problem.
haul v.拖曳
=pull with effort our force强调用力拉
They hauled the boat up
pull 应用范围最广,连续不断的拉
drag 拖拉,强调二者有摩擦力
The stone was so heavy that I had to drag it into the room.
drag oneself to 拖着疲惫的身躯去
After a day’s hard work, I dragged myself home.
The sides of the dish were so smooth that it was almost impossible to attach hawsers and chains to the rim without damaging it.
attach to
Eventually chains were fixed to one end of the dish and a powerful winch was put into operation.
put into operation
=come into operation
=be in operation
When will the new law come into operation?
The dish rose to the surface and was gently drawn towards the canal bank.
For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water.
agonizing a. 精神紧张的，提心吊胆的
agonize v. 使精神紧张，使极度痛苦
This frustration agonized him.
agonized a. 感到提心吊胆的
agony n. =great pain极度痛苦，常用介词in
For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water.
precariously
precarious
=unsafe/not firm/not steady
The men were now obliged to try once more. This time they fixed heavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten the chains.
The dish now had to be lifted vertically because one edge was resting against the side of the canal.
The winch was again put into operation and one of the men started up the truck.
Several minutes later, the dish was successfully hauled above the surface of the water.
Water streamed in torrents over its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal.
There was danger that the wave would rebound off the other side of the bank and send the dish plunging into the water again.
rebound off 弹回
send 造成，使得＋v.ing（做宾语补足语）
What send you doing so?
什么使得你这么做呢？
By working at tremendous speed, the men managed to get the dish on to dry land before the wave returned.
Lesson 44
People travelling long distances frequently have to decide whether they would prefer to go by land, sea, or air.
Ice-breaking 开篇破题
Hardly anyone can positively enjoy sitting in a train for more than a few hours.
Train compartments soon get cramped and stuffy.
It is almost impossible to take your mind off the journey.
take one’s mind off sth. 将注意力从…移开，不去想
造句
他发现，拼命工作是摆脱痛苦的最佳方法
She found that hard work was the best way to take her mind off her sorrow.
It is almost impossible to take your mind off the journey.
我无法不去想那令人悲伤的消息
Nothing could take my mind off the sad news.
put out of one’s mind (设法)不想，忘掉
然后我把这件事忘掉了
Then I put the matter out of my mind.
Reading is only a partial solution, for the monotonous rhythm of the wheels clicking on the rails soon lulls you to sleep.
=tedious 乏味的
The mother lulled her baby to
sleep.
lull sb. to sleep =causes you to fall asleep
这轻柔朦胧的音乐使我不能专心看书，诱我昏昏欲睡。
The dreamy music took my mind off my book and lulled me to sleep.
What a good day, the wind lulled! 风和日丽
Lullaby 催眠曲
During the day, sleep comes in snatches. At night, when you really wish to go to sleep, you rarely manage to do so.
in snatches 断断续续地
It rains in snatches.
On the train, we sleep in snatches.
If you are lucky enough to get a sleeper, you spend half the night staring at the small blue light in the ceiling, or fumbling to find you ticket for inspection.
He fumbled the door open.
他摸索着把门打开了。
He fumbled in his pocket for the key.
他在口袋里摸索着钥匙。
Inevitably you arrive at your destination almost exhausted. Long car journeys are even less pleasant, for it is quite impossible even to read.
Long car journeys are even less pleasant,
通过比较级过渡
On motorways you can, at least, travel fairly safely at high speeds, but more often than not, the greater part of the journey is spent on roads with few service stations and too much traffic.
more often than not 在更多情况下，多半
碰到起雾的天气，火车往往晚点
During foggy weather the trains are late more often than not.
as often as not 大约一半的时候
现在那的车流量很大，你多半不能过马路
The traffic is so heavy there, as often as not , you cannot even cross the street.
By comparison, ferry trips or cruises offer a great variety of civilized comforts.
通过表示对比的信号词过渡。
You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, meet interesting people and enjoy good food -- always assuming, of course, that the sea is calm.
同义词：
a roomy house
capacious 容量大的
commodious adj.宽敞的，便利的
=roomy and convenient
If it is not, and you are likely to get seasick, no form of transport could be worse.
airsick
carsick
homesick 想家的
If it is not, and you are likely to get seasick, no form of transport could be worse.
比较级表示最高级复习：L23
Even if you travel in ideal weather, sea journeys take a long time.
Relatively few people are prepared to sacrifice holiday time for the pleasure of travlling by sea.
留下悬而未决的问题，过渡。
Aeroplanes have the reputation of being dangerous and even hardened travellers are intimidated by them.
通过逻辑分段过渡
They also have the disadvantage of being an expensive form of transport.
But nothing can match them for speed and comfort.
Travelling at a height of 30,000 feet, far above the clouds, and at over 500 miles an hour is an exhilarating experience.
You do not have to devise ways of taking your mind off the journey, for an aeroplane gets you to your destination rapidly.
For a few hours, you settle back in a deep armchair to enjoy the flight.
The real escapist can watch a film and sip champagne on some services.
But even when such refinements are not available, there is plenty to keep you occupied.
An aeroplane offers you an unusual and breathtaking view of the world.
You soar effortlessly over high mountains and deep valleys.
You really see the shape of the land.
If the landscape is hidden from view, you can enjoy the extraordinary sight of unbroken cloud plains that stretch out for miles before you, while the sun shines brilliantly in a clear sky.
The journey is so smooth that there is nothing to prevent you from reading or sleeping.
However you decide to spend your time, one thing is certain: you will arrive at your destination fresh and uncrumpled.
You will not have to spend the next few days recovering from a long and arduous journey.
Lesson 45
In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned.
However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events.
Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves.
read of/about 读到(有关…的情况)
read for (a degree)研究、攻读
He is reading for a degree in physics at Cambridge.
Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can
cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about
their private lives.
untold =too many to be counted 数不尽的
Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press.
一夜成名，一举成名
rise to fame overnight
=rise to fame swiftly
Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old.
The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota.
As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty.
They are as poor as church mouse, they are have to struggle against perpetual poverty.
everlasting a. 永恒的,持久的,无止境的
lasting
constant
They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems.
expecting a baby
=be expecting 即将分娩、怀孕
Susan is expecting a baby about next month.
=be going to have a baby
=be in a family way
=be in an interesting condition 妮称
=get pregnant 中性
=be conceiving a baby 正式
a pressing need 迫切需要
If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed.
They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity.
odds =difficulties
fight/struggle against economic odds
fight/struggle against all the odds
the odds are that
=it is likely that
The odds are that you will be disqualified.
你很可能将被取消资格。
But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically change their lives.
radically
=completely
=entirely
=thoroughly
=fully
=inclusive
The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.
The rise to fame was swift.
Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country.
exclusive
The swimming pool is for my exclusive use.
The store is exclusive, only very wealthy people can visit it.
Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but room baby
food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their
products.
pour in 大量涌入
The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500,000 home.
Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences.
press for
=urge
迫切要求，催问，不停的请求
公众迫切要求对此问题有个答复
The public press for an answer to the problem.
be pressed for
=have barely enough for sth. 缺乏
We are a bit pressed for time.
While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame.
It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives.
They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value.
Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.
commodity n.商品
commodity economy
商品经济
顶