新概念英语第2册Lesson31~33课文详注
新概念英语第2册Lesson31课文详注
1.Before he retired, Frank was the head of a very large business company, but as a boy he used to work in a small shop. 在退休前,弗兰克是一家非常大的商业公司的经理,但他小时侯却在一家小铺里做工。
(1)head在此处的意思不是人或动物的“头部”,而是“首领”、“头目”,一般出现在“the head of +名词”结构中:
John is the head of the family.
约翰是一家之主。
Frank is the head of that firm.
弗兰克是那家公司的总裁。
(2) as在这里为介词,表不“当……时”,as a boy相当于 as he was a boy。
2.It was his job to repair bicycles…他那时的工作是修理自行车……
it为“先行主语”,句子的真正主语为to repair bicycles。
3.He saved money for years and in 1958 he bought a small workshop of his own. 他靠多年积蓄,于1958年买下了自己的一个小铺子。
(1)for years表示“许多年”。
(2)of one's own为固定短语,表示“自己的”、“属于自己的”,own为代词:
He wanted a room of his own.
他想要一个自己的房间。
Do you have a house of your own?
你有自己的房子吗?
4.in one's twenties,(在某人)二十多岁的时候。
one's twenties/thirties/forties…,二十多岁/三十多岁/四十多岁……10的倍数的复数形式可用于表达近似的、非确定的数量,与所有格形容词(my等)连用时表示大约的年龄:
My aunt Jennifer is in her late thirties/early forties, but she often appears on the stage as a young girl.
我的姑妈詹妮弗已接近四十岁/四十出头,但她却常在舞台上扮演小姑娘。
5.Frank smiled when he remembered his hard early years and the long road to success. 弗兰克回想着他早年的艰难经历和走过的漫长的成功之路,微笑了。
(1)hard意思很多,在这里指“艰难的”、“困苦的”:
She lived a hard life in those years.
那些年她的生活很艰难。
(2)one's early years指某人的早年(生活),意义相近的表达方式为early in one's life。
(3) the long road to success是一种比喻的说法,因为success是抽象名词。to在这里表示方向、目的地,意义为“朝”、“往”、“向”等,这个短语的字面意义为“通向成功的漫漫长路”。
新概念英语第2册Lesson32课文详注
1.People are not so honest as they once were. 人们不再像以前那样诚实了。
(1)“not so + 形容词+ as”引导的是比较状语从句,表示较低的程度,通常译为“不如……那样……”。(cf.本课语法)
(2)once表示“以前”、“曾经”时只能与动词的过去式连用:
He once worked at a large company.
他曾经在一家大公司工作过。
2.The temptation to steal is greater than ever before…偷窃的诱惑力比以往任何时候都更强烈……
(1)不定式 to steal为 temptation的定语,说明是什么样的诱惑。
to引导不定式和to作为介词的区别很大:
The temptation to smoke is strong for him.
对他来说吸烟有很强的诱惑力。(to smoke为不定式)
The cake on the table is a great temptation to the child.
桌上的蛋糕对那孩子是个极大的诱惑。(to the child为介词短语)
(2)ever用于表示比较的从句中时意义为“曾经”、“以往任何时候”。在这句话中,省略的成分比较多,与ever before相比的是隐含的时间now,从句中省略成分为 it was(在 ever之前)。大多数含有比较状语从句的句子都可以省略句中的成分。
3.on Monday mornings,在星期一上午。
morning用复数形式是表示经常性的情况,它前面有修饰词Monday,所以介词要用on。
4.One Monday, there were fewer people in the shop than usual when the woman came in, so it was easier for the detective to watch her. 有一个星期一,当这位妇女走进这家商场时,里面的人比往常少,因此,侦探比较容易监视她。
(1)one在此处表示“某一个”,不能用a 代替。
(2)这个句子较长,there were引导的是主句,when引导的是它的时间状语从句,so引导的是结果状语从句,在主句和结果状语从句中又分别隐含比较状语从句。在结果状语从句 中,it为先行词,真正的主语是不定式短语for the detective to watch her。不定式短语往往较长,作主语时通常要用先行词it作为形式主语:
It is easy for you to help me.
你帮助我是很容易的。
5.as quickly as possible,以最快的速度。
as…as possible为固定短语,表示“尽可能”:
He went home as soon as possible.
他尽快回了家。
I have sent you as many books as possible.
我已经把书尽可能多地给你送来了。
6.Then the woman simply took the parcel and walked out of the shop without paying. 然后,那妇女拿过包就走出了商场,根本没有付钱。
simply表示“仅仅”、“只”,有加强语气的作用。连词and表示动作的连续,相当于 and then。withoug paying可以当成是整个句子的方式状语,即那妇女没有,……就……paying为动名词。
7.The girl‘gave’her mother a free dress once a week! 那姑娘每星期“送”她母亲一件免费的衣服!
(1) gave加引号,表示姑娘不是真正给,而是偷。
(2) free在这里的含义为“免费的”、“不要钱的”:
Children under five years old travel free.
5岁以下儿童免费旅行。
Tom gave me two free tickets.
汤姆给了我两张免费的票。
(3)“once a+ 表示时间的名词”可以表示频率:
He comes to the office once a day.
他每天来办公室一次。
Frank writes to his mother once a month.
弗兰克每个月给他母亲写一次信。
新概念英语第2册Lesson33课文详注
1.Nearly a week passed before the girl was able to explain what had happened to her. 几乎过了一个星期,那姑娘才能讲述自己的遭遇。
(1) 这句话有两个从句。before一直到结尾是句子的时间状语从句。在这个从句中,explain又有自己的宾语从句,what为这个从句的主语。
(2) before在引导时间状语从句时,有时不一定译为“在……之前”,虽然表达的是这个意思,如文中的这句话。类似的情况有:
It will be months before he can come back.
要过好几个月他才能回来。
He ran off before his mother could stop him.
他母亲还没来得及阻止他,他就跑掉了。
2.One afternoon she set out from the coast in a small boat and was caught in a storm. 一天下午,她乘小船从海岸出发,遇上了风暴。
(1) 我们已经学过 set out表示“出发”:
Captain Alison will set out at eight o'clock.
艾利森船长将于8点钟启航。
set out from表示“从……出发”。
(2) be caught in表示某人“(突然)遇到/上(风暴等)”:
He was caught in a heavy rain on the way home.
他在回家途中遇到了大雨。
3.Then she swam to the shore after spending the whole night in the water. 她在海里游了整整一夜才游到岸边。
介词after的宾语是动名词spending及这个动名词的宾语、状语,这个结构在意义上等于 after she had spent the whole nightin the water。
4.During that time she covered a distance of eight miles. 在那段时间里,她游了8英里。
(1)that time指上句话中提到的the whole night。
(2)cover可以笼统地表示“行过(一段路程)”,根据上下文可具体译为“走过”、“飞过”、“游过”等:
The bird covered the distance in three minutes.
这只鸟用3分钟飞完了全程。
(3)表示具体的距离可以用“a distance of+ 具体长度”这个结构。
5.high up on the cliffs,在高高的峭壁上。
up为形容词,表示“在上面的”、“高高的”、“在较高处的”,high为副词,修饰up。
6.On arriving at the shore, the girl struggled up the cliff towardsthe light she had seen.
到达岸边后,姑娘朝着她看到的灯光方向挣扎着往峭壁上爬去。
(1)“on+ 动名词”相当于 as soon as或 when 引导的时间状语从句:
On reaching the airport, he was arrested by the police.
他一到机场就被警察逮捕了。
(2)she had seen为 the light的定语从句,关系代词 that/which省略了。
(3)up 在此处为介词,表示“沿着……往上”。
7.That was all she remembered. 她所记得的就是这些。
that指前面(从第2句话开始)描述的内容。she remembered为all 的定语从句,关系代词that(不能用which)被省略了。