Lesson Eight The Kindness of Strangers信用卡欺诈
1. In the middle of the dert, I came upon a young man standing by the roadside.(←1)
To come upon: (literary) to meet, find, or discover by chance or by accident
好词好句好词好句More examples:
During their trip they came upon an unknown animal.
The other day, I came upon a very interesting book that deals with this issue.
Compare:“to come upon” and “to come across”
2. He had his thumb out and held a gas can in his other hand (←1)
申请转正This is the usual gesture of hitchhikers when they ask for a free ride. The gas can obviously is meant to explain why they need thus favor. (They have run out of has )
3. There was a time … when you’d be considered a jerk if …(←1 )
Drill students in the attributive claus introduced by “ when” in the following pattern:
-Has he always been in such poor health?
-No, there was time when he was as strong as a hor .
Jerk: (informal) a stupid person who does not care about the effects of his actions
4. With gangs, drug addicts,… lurking everywhere , …(←1)
This is a prepositional phra ud as an adverbial of reason . It could be turned into an adverbial clau introduced by “as”:
As gangs, drug addicts, …are lurking everywhere, …
Gang: a group of cr4iminals who work together
Addict: someone who is unable to stop taking drugs
T o lurk: to wait silently and cretly, ready to do wrong
5. Leaving him stranded … did not bother me so much. what bothered me was ….(←2)
T o leave sb / sth done : to make sb / sth stay in a certain state
More examples:
They left the food untouched.
Never leave the door unlocked.
Drill students in subject claus introduced by “what” in the following pattern:
-What did he say at the meeting yesterday?
-I don’t know what he said. / I don’t remember what he said. / I’m not in what he said. / OK, let me tell you what he said. / What he said was very funny.
6. I never even lifted my foot off the accelerator. (←2)
The author was really shocked – how he could have been so indifferent, so unfeeling and so unsympathetic.
Accelerator: the part of a car that can make the car go faster when you press it
7. … relying solely on the hood will of his fellow Americans .(←3)
“To rely on” and “to depend on” are sometimes synonyms. But in the following context , “to depend on” is the right choice :
容易的英语怎么说
-Are you going?
-That depends .It depends on whether I’m free.
Fellow Americans: other Americans like onelf怎么打官司
Also: fellow students, fellow teachers, fellow workers
8. The idea intrigued me(←4)
To intrigue: to interest greatly ; to fascinate ; to attract
9. The week I turned 37, I realized that I had never taken a gamble in my life .(←5)
The week I turned 37…:The week (when) I turned 37 …
Here “when”is often omitted. Similarly, we say “the day I was born …”, “the year he got marred …” , “the night the fire broke out …”, etc
T o take a gamble: We can also say “ to take a rest” , “to take a risk” ,etc . Pay attention to this kind of collocations.
10. through the land of the almighty dollar(←5)
the land of the almighty dollars : the country in which money has as much power as God (“it” here refers to the United States ). The dollar is the most powerful thing.
11. … and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge with a 50-pound pack on my back and a sign displaying my destination to passing vehicles : “America”(←6)
The author was holding a sign showing people where he was going. The fact that he put down “America”as his destination may have been the reason why he had been so well treated. It must have caught the attention of the media and roud people’s patriotic feeling.
Golden Gate Bridge is in San Francisco.
12. hitched (←7)= hitchhiked
13. … to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming(←7): … to be careful about the cowboys in Wyoming
More examples of“ to watch out”:
Watch out for cars when you’re crossing the street
Watch out ！The train is coming
14. … when it emed to run contrary to their own best interests(←7) :…
When it emed to be in a way that is opposite to their best interests. /…when it emed to be exactly what they should not have done for their own safety
T o run contrary to: t6o rum against; to rum counter to
“Contrary” is an adverb here
15. … a car pulled to the road shoulder(←8)
The word “pull” is often ud to describe the movement of a car, e .g .
He had to pull up his car at the red light (to make the car come to a halt)
The policeman ordered him to pull over (to stop his car at the side of the road )
Shoulder: A m E an area of ground beside a road where drivers can stop their cars if they have some trouble; roadside
16. … old ladies dresd in their Sunday finest (←8): …old ladies who were wearing their best clothes
“In” is often ud to mean “wearing sth”
More examples:
He looked very handsome in his army uniform
The boy was in black hurrying to that hotel
The boy was in rags . And he was hungry
17. I didn’t know whether to kiss them or scold them for stopping(←8)
I didn’t know whether I should thank them for their kindness or criticize them for running
this risk
The author was obviously deeply touched. He said this to emphasize the kindness and
courage of the two old ladies, not to suggest that it was wrong or stupid
“Whether” cannot be replaced by “if” in this pattern. “If” is usually followed by a cau and without “or”
18. … she’d rather risk her life than feel bad about …(←8) : … she preferred to risk her life rather than feel guilty about …
More examples of the u of “would rather …than …”:
I’d rather stay home than go out tomorrow
I’d rather marry someone I can trust than someone who has lots of money but no heart
We’d rather live a simple life with clean air , clean water and clean food than a life of luxuries in a heavily polluted place
19. …a trucker pulled over ,locking his brakes so hard he skidded on the grass shoulder(←9)
Trucker: truck-driver
Locking his brakes: putting his brakes
T o skid: to slide sideways and become out of control
20. … robbed at knifepoint (←9): …robbed while the robber pointed a knife at him
Also: at gunpoint
21. But I hate to e(←9)
The proper translation would be : 我真不愿见到……
More examples:
I hate to disturb you, but could you take a look at my computer?
I really hate to ask my parents for money.
22. compassionate(←10) :feeling sympathy for sb. who is suffering
“Compassionate” and “sympathetic” are synonyms. But in the
“sympathetic” is ud , not “compassionate”:
They are very sympathetic to our plan
I like to talk to her about my problems. She has a very sympathetic ear
23. But what I found most touching was the fact that they all did it as a matter of cour (←
办公室副主任
11)
As a matter of cour: as a most natural way to act
I was very much impresd by the fact that ＿＿＿＿
尽收眼底打一成语24. The executive director … handed me a brochure for a local campground(←12)
Executive director : can be translated as 执行董事，常务经理，主管人员，etc
Brochure :a thin book giving information or advertising sth .
Campground: A m E an area where people can camp that often provides water, gas, food and other rvices. It estimated that nationwide, there are more than 16,000 such campgrounds in the United States .
25. Now we’re taking (←12)
艾滋病常识This is ud when you think someone’s suggestion is a very good idea
More examples:
—I suggest we first get a hamburger and then a big ice-cream
—Now we are talking！Let’s go.
26. Te ll you shat (←12)
“tell you what” is ud when you are suggesting or offering sth .
More examples:
a)– I’d like to go very much. But it’s too far away.
-Tell you what. Y ou take my car .I’m not going anywhere today.
b)–I won’t be able to come back home until 7. But I have to pick up my son at 5:30.
-Tell you what. I’ll pick up your son and bring him to y place
27. His wife ，… a venth –grade science teacher , was cooking a pot roast …(←13)
In the U.S., education begins in elementary school, which is for children between the ages of 5 and 11, then goes on to middle school, which is for children between 11 and 14 , then to high school , which is for children of 14 or 15 to 18 years old . After that there will be the college or university.
28. …“mountain stay-at-home people” who rarely entertained in their hou .(←13)
Stay-at-home people : people who stay at home all the time and do not like to do exciting things
Draw students’ attention to the way this compound word is formed.
Other examples:
The next-to-last step / a wait-and-e policy / a take –or-leave-it attitude / a get-rich-quick dream
29. This revelation made my night there all the more special.(←13)
Revelation: something surprising suddenly made known to you
It comes from the verb “reveal”.
All the more special: ud for emphasis, which means “more special than usual”
Similarly: all the more difficult , all the more interesting
30. I… had been scheduled to talk to every class …(←14)
To be scheduled to do sth.: to be planned that sb .will do sth . or sth .will happen
More examples:
He is scheduled to go to the Great Wall during his visit.
The railway is scheduled to go into operation in 2005.
31. to run sb . over (←14) : to hit sb .with a car or other vehicles ,e .g.
he was run over by a bus
32. … how my faith … had been renewed (←15)
Faith: strong belief or trust
People are often said to have or have no faith in such things as human nature, God, government, etc .
33. In spite of everything you can still depend on the kindness of strangers (←15)
In spite of: regardless of; despite
More examples:
In spite of the bad weather conditions we still had a good harvest.
