Lesson 16  Mary had a little lamb 玛丽有一头羔羊

Text 课文
Was Dimitri right to apologize to his neighbour? Why not?
        Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece. One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her. She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening. One evening,however,the lamb was missing. The rope had been cut,so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
       When Dimitri came in from the fields,His wife told him what had happened. Dimitri at once set out to find the thief. He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village. After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour,Aleko,had suddenly acquired a new lamb. Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb. He told him he had better return it or he would call the police. Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard. It was true that he had just bought a lamb,he explained, but his lamb was black. Ashamed of having acted so rashly,Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him. While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko's house until the rain stopped. When he went outside half an hour later, he was astonished to find that the little black lamb was almost white. Its wool,which had been dyed black,had been washed clean by the rain! 
 
参考译文：

   玛丽与丈夫迪米特里住在希腊南部一个叫波拉考拉的小村庄里。玛丽最珍贵的财产之一就是丈夫送给她的一只白色小羔羊。白天，玛丽把羔羊拴在地里的一棵树上。每天晚上把它牵回家。可是，一天晚上，那只小羔羊失踪了。绳子被人割断，很明显小羔羊是被人偷走了。
    迪米特里从地里回来，妻子马上把情况告诉了他。他马上出去找偷羔羊的人。他知道在这样一个小村庄里抓住小偷并不困难。把失窃的事告诉几个朋友后，迪米特里发现他的邻居阿列科家突然多了一只小羔羊。迪米特里立刻去了阿列科家，气呼呼地指责他偷了羔羊。告诉他最好把羊交还，否则就去叫警察。阿列科不承认，并把迪米特里领进院子。不错，他的确刚买了一只羔羊，阿列科解释说，但他的羔羊是黑色的。迪米特里为自己的鲁莽而感到不好意思，向阿列科道了歉，说是错怪了他。就在他俩说话的时候，天下起了雨，迪米特里便呆在阿列科家里避雨，一直等到雨停为止。半小时后，当他从屋里出来时，他惊奇地发现小黑羔羊全身几乎都变成了白色。原来羊毛上染的黑色被雨水冲掉了！

New words and expression 生词和短语
★Prize  adj.珍贵的, 宝贵的
-- Mary has got a prize lamb.  /  The cat is prize to the old lady.
= Valuable（adj.有价值的, 贵重的）
= Precious（adj.珍贵的, 宝贵的）
= Cherishable  adj.珍贵的（cherish vt.抚育, 爱护, 珍爱）
= Dear（adj.昂贵的, 亲爱的）

★Tie  v.拴, 系
tie sth to…
-- I tied the dog to a tree.（拴在某处）
-- He is tied to his family.（于…有联系）
Tie  n.领带, 关系（强调血缘关系）
-- ties of blood 血缘关系  /  the ties of friendship 朋友关系

★theft  n.偷盗行为，偷盗案
-- He reports the theft to the police.

★Accuse  v.指控
accuse sb of doing sth
-- He accused his neighbor of stealing his bicycle.
accuse 比charge语义弱：accuse强调＂严厉的指责＂，charge强调＂控告＂
charge sb with doing sth

★deny  v.否认
deny doing sth
-- He denied stealing the lamb. / He denied the truth.
deny sb nothing 百依百顺（deny v.拒绝）
-- He denies his wife nothing. 他对他的妻子有求必应。
deny oneself 克制自己
-- On some occasions we must deny ourselves. 在某些场合我们必须克制自己

★Ashamed  adj.感到羞耻，惭愧
be ashamed of…  为...感到羞耻
-- He is ashamed of being a dustman.
Shameful  adj.可耻的（-- The theft is shameful.）
Shameless  adj.无耻的（-- The thief is a shameless person.）

★Apologize  v.道歉  （apology  n.道歉）
apologize to sb (for sth)    (因为某事)向某人道歉

★dye  v.染（-- Dye the cloth black 把这布染成黑色。）

★Southern  adj.南方的, 南部的
★Greece  n.希腊（腊欧洲东南部国家）
★Rope  n.绳, 索, 绳索
★Steal（stole, stolen, stealing）
★Acquire  vt.获得, 学到
★Backyard  n.后院, 后庭
★Rashly  adv.轻率地（rash adj.轻率的, 匆忙的）
★Wool  n.羊毛, 毛织品, 毛线
★Neighbour  n.邻居(美作：neighbor)
★Neighbourhood  n.邻居关系(美作：neighborhood)

 

Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece.
in the tiny village of...
-- in the big city of Beijing.  /  in the beautiful city of Paris.
in southern Greece = in the south of Greece

One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her.
Possession  n.所有物
-- What I possess is valuable.= My possessions are valuable.
Belonging  n.随身携带物, 附属品, 附件

She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening.
Keep+宾语+宾补   使…处于某种状态
keep后的宾语补足语可以是形容词、介词短语、分词。
--keep和过去分词搭配, 过去分词和宾语之间是逻辑上的动宾关系。
--keep和现在分词搭配, 宾语和现在分词之间是逻辑上的主谓关系。
-- I keep my windows closed in winter. / He kept the dog locked in the kitchen.
-- I kept the boy standing outside.

One evening, however, the lamb was missing. The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
It is obvious that...  显而易见…

When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had happened. Dimitri at once set out to find the thief.
set out to do sth 开始着手做某事 （set about doing…）

After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb.
tell sb about sth   告诉某人关于某事
-- He told the police about the theft.

He told him he had better return it or he would call the police.
He can't be ill or he wouldn't have come. 他不可能生病了要不他就不会来了。
or else…  否则…
-- Your room is so dirty. Clear it promptly, or else....。

Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard.
Lead  vt.vi.（led, led, leading）引导；指引
-- He led us to his home.  他把我们带到他家。

It was true that he had just bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was black.
It is true that…but...   诚然…但是…
-- It is true that the work is hard, but we'll finish it ahead.（adj.adv.提前,向前,在前面）

Ashamed of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him.
Ashamed前省略了be动词。
Ashamed of…是现在分词结构(形容词结构)做原因状语（放主句前后均可）
-- Angry at everybody here, he left suddenly.
-- Anxious for a quick decision, he called his friends.
-- Nervous, the man opened the letter.

 

Special difficulties 难点
had better do  / had better not do
1.It  would be advisable for us to have lunch.
----We had better have lunch. （Advisable adj.适当的；明智的；可取的）
2.It would be advisable for her to renew hre passport.
--She had better renew her passport （Renew vt.更换, 更新）
3.It would not be advisable for you to ask so many questions.
---You'd better not ask so many questions.
4.It would not be advisable for us to stay any longer.
----We'd better not stay any longer.
5.It would be advisable for the children to get  an early night.
---The children had better get an early night. （Consult  v.商量, 商议, 请教）
6.It would be advisable for me to consult solicitor.
---I had better consult my solicitor.（Solicitor n.律师, 法律顾问）

 

Multiple choice questions 多项选择
1.Every evening, Mary used to go and____.
(a)cut the lamb from the rope it had been tied on
(b)untie the lamb so it could wander in the field at night
(c)bring her  lamb back for the night
(d)make sure that her lamb was not  missing
-- C    untie  vt.解开 vi.松开, 解开

2. It would not be difficult t o find the thief because_____
(a)the lamb had been one of Mary's prize possession
(b)news travels fast in a small   community
(c)Dimitr had a lot of triends in the village
(d)the rain would soon wash the black dye off the lamb
--B    community （n.社区, 公社, 团体, 社会）= village

3. When Aleko first showed Dimitri the lamb in his backyard_____
(a)be was truthful about how he had acquired the lamb but not about its colour
(b)Dimitri admitted that the lamb could not be his wife's
(c)it was clear that the lamb had been dyed black
(d)it started to rain before Dimitri had time to identify the lamb as his
--B    truthful（adj.诚实的, 说实话的）       admit（v.容许, 承认）

4.Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in perachora,____tiny village in southern Greece.
(a)in a  (b)the  (c)in the  (d)a
--- D　

5.- was a little white lamb which had been_____from her husband.
(a)present  (b)presented  (c)presenting  (d)a present
--- D正确
present（adj.现在的, 出席的）  反义词：absent（adj.不在的, 缺席的）
present  （vt.赠送, 给）
-- When Mr. Brown left firm, the director presented a gold watch to him.
-- The gold watch was present from the director.
a present from somebody  某人所送的礼物

6. On her husband's return,____what had happened.
(a)his wife told him  (b)she told Dimitri  (c)Mary told him  (d)Dimitri was told
--C

7.-it would not prove difficult in a village of___size.
(a)a such small  (b)so small  (c)the smallest  (d)so small a
--- D    so small a size

8.He told him if he____it, he would call the police.
(a)was not returning  (b)did not return  (c)has not returned  (d)had not returned
--- B

9.One of Mary's most___possessions....
(a)valued  (b)worthwhile  (c)worthy  (d)expensive
--- A 
valued  adj.尊贵的, 尊重的, 宝贵的
-- valued advice宝贵的忠告 /  valued friend尊贵的朋友
worthwhile  adj.值得做的（-- working hard is worthwhile 努力学习是值得做的）
worthy  adj.值得的, 配得上的（be worthy of）
-- The chain is worthy of the watch.（chain n.链子）
-- His deeds are worthy of our praise. 他的确行为陪得上我们的表扬

10.After_____the theft to several of his friends....
(a)telling  (b)reporting  (c)expressing  (d)counting
-- B  
tell somebody about something
report something to somebody

11.During their____, it began to rain.
(a)chat  (b)argument  (c)conversation  (d)
--- C正确    chat  v.聊天 n.聊天
argument  n.争论, 辩论

12.When he went______half an hour later....
(a)out of doors   (b)into the open  (c)in the open air  (d)inside out 
---A正确　
out of doors = outdoors = outside（n.adj.adv.prep.）
-- outdoors  n.户外 adv.在户外, 在野外
adj.在户外 = outdoor（adj.室外的, 户外的）
-- outdoors 的反义词：indoors（adv.在户内）
in the open air   在户外, 露天
inside out 里外反穿
-- He put his socks on inside out. 他把袜子穿反了。