Key words and expressions

risk n. 危险，冒险picnic n. 野餐 edge n. 边缘 strap n. 带,皮带 possession n. 所有

be out of breath 上气不接下气 catch up with sb 赶上某人 contents n. (常用复数)内有的物品 mend v. 修理。

Questions on the text

1 What did the two men try to do when Mrs. Sterling was having a picnic with her children at the edge of a forest?

The two men had rushed up to her and tried to steal her handbag.

2.What were the two thieves doing when Mrs. Sterling caught up with them?

They were going through the contents of the bag

3What did the thieves do when Mrs. Sterling ran straight at them?

They dropped the bag and ran away.

Language points

1.Mrs Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest after two men.

she was taking 是定语从句，前面省略了with，take the risk：冒险  ran….after… 追赶某人。

例：Are you sure you want to take the risk? 你肯定你想冒这个风险吗？

We’ll take/run the risk of setting out in such a weather. 我们准备在这样的天气下冒险出发。

take the risk of sth 冒险做…..也可以说：run the risk of sth

2.They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of a forest with her children.

up 介词表示向….靠近

例：A man came up to me and asked t borrow the lighter. 一个男人向我走过来，向我借打火机。

1.     In the struggle, the strap broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees.（介词短语，起伴随作用。）

be in one possession…表示归某人拥有。例：This clavichord has been in my family’s possession for years.

我们家拥有这架古钢琴已经多年了。Possession和其他动词连用的情况

例：The property came into my possession last year. 去年这笔财产落到了我的名下。（为我所拥有）

How did you get possession of these documents?你是怎么得到这些文件的？

4.She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run.

be…out of breath 表示喘不过气来的意思  例：He took a deep breath.他深深地吸了一口气。

Let me get my breath back.让我喘一口气。 He held his breath and listened.他屏住呼吸听着。

5.When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them.

caught up with：赶上…  例：You start first. I’ll catch up with you later.你们先走，过一会儿我会赶上你们。

You’ll have to work harder to catch up with the top students in your class.你得加倍的用功才能赶上班里的尖子学生。

He has gone through many hardships.他经历过很多艰辛的事。

 

Key structures and usage  动名词和不定式

 

With the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees.

started+动名词running，在动词start 、begin、 continue 这些动词后面+不定式或者动名词，在意思上没有多大的差别。例：She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run(running).但是在很多情况下还是有区别的。

例：Don’t forget to post the letter.别忘了寄这封信。(不定式表示即将要做的某一件事)

I always forget checking my spelling.我总是忘记检查我的拼写。（动名词表示这件事情本身）

I hate to disturb you, but can I come in for a moment please?我不想打扰你，但是我可以进来一会儿吗?

I hate disturbing people when they are busy.我不喜欢在别人忙的时候打扰别人。

I love swimming.   I enjoy reading

在表示喜欢做某事的动词(love, enjoy, like等)后面一般用动名词，如果后面跟动词不定式，则一般出现在what like to do sth 和what love to do sth的结构中，表示想做….

这个故事告诉了我们一个有趣的道理，普通人也会在一些特定的情形下做出不同寻常的事情。In some instance ordinarily people can suddenly behave in the extraordinary？？？