Te xt A
The Language of Uncertainty
模糊语言
Study of the Text
1 .“Atomic War , ”declared a recent editorial in the London Times, “ is likely to destroy forever the nation that wages it. ”英国伦敦的《泰晤士报》近期发表一篇社论称“ 原子战争有可能永久性毁灭进行核战的国家”。
1 )declared 这里是谓语动词前置, 它的主语是a recent editorial in the London Times。
2 )likely 在这里是形容词, 意思是“ 很可能的”, 后面可接不定式。
Are you likely to be in Beijing this years？今年你可能在北京吗？
She doesn’t seem likely to get it from you. She will get it from me.
她似乎不可能从你处得到它, 她要从我这里得到。
likely 后还可接that 引导的从句。
It’s not likely there will be much difficulty. 不可能有很大困难。
It’s likely that he will do very well. (He is likely to do very well)他可能会干得很好的。
3 )wage 在这里是个及物动词, 意思是“ 进行(战争, 斗争)”。
England and Spain wa ged war for many years.
英国和西班牙进行了数年的战争。
The North wa ged war on (against)the South.
北方对南方发起了战争。
2.Lacking any standard for estimating the probability, we are left with the judgement of the editorial writer.由于缺少对这种可能性进行估量的标准, 我们也就只能听任社论作者的这种判断。
1 )Lacking any standard for estimating the probability 是现在分词短语, 在句中作原因状语。现在分词短语作状语时, 通常都表示主语正在进行的另一动作, 来对谓语表示的主要动作加以修饰或作为陪衬；除表示原因外, 还可以表示时间表示结果等等。
Being so poor in those da ys, we couldn’t afford to send the boy to hospital. 那时我们那样穷, 没有能力送孩子上医院。
Not knowing her a ddress, we couldn’t get in touch with her.
由于不知道她的地址, 我们没法和她联系。
Hear ing the news, they all jumped with joy.
听到这消息他们都高兴得跳了起来。
Be careful when crossing the street. 过街时要当心。
His wife died in 1942, lea ving him with five children.
1942 年他妻子死了, 给他丢下了五个孩子。
2 )be lefe with 给留下, 被剩下..
He wa s left with the child to look after.他有一个小孩要照顾。
If I pay the bill, I shall be left with only five pence.
如果我支付账单, 我就只剩下五便士了。
3.Words like many, often, soon, which are also quantifiable but denote not so much a condition of uncertainty as a quantity imprecisely known. 如“ 许多”、“ 经常”、“ 不久”等词语。该类词语也可以量化, 但所表达的意义与其说是某种不能肯定的状态, 不如说是一个已知而不精确的数量。
Not so much.as.与其..不如..
His success is not so much by talent a s by hard work.
他的成功与其说是由于他有才能, 倒不如说是他努力的结果。
The great use of a school education is not so much to teach you things a s to teach you the art of learning. 学校教育最大的效用, 与其说是教你一些知识, 不如说是教你学习的方法。
4.We have been trying to pin down by experiments what people mean by these expressions in specific contexts, and how the meanings change with age.
1 )have been trying.现在完成进行时。它的构成是由have (has)+ been + 现在分词。主要表示现在以前这一段时间里一直在进行的一个动作, 这动作可能仍然在进行, 也可能停止了一会儿。
All these years, they have been fighting heroically for independence.
这些年来他们一直为独立而英勇战斗。
How ha ve you been getting on with your work？工作进行得怎么样？
I ’ve been hoping I’d have a chance to see the film.
我一直盼望有机会看这部电影。
2 )pin down 明确说出It was difficult to pin down exactly what it was in her that pleased him to much. 难以准确说出她自身的什么东西可以如此地使他这么愉悦。
The leakage of the information seems without doubt to have come from this department, but it cannot be pinned down to any particular person. 毋容置疑好像是这个部门走漏了风声, 但不能明确说出具体是哪位。
3 )介词with 在这里的意思是“ 随着..(情况发生某种变化)”
With the approach of Christmas the weather turned colder.
随着圣诞节的到来, 天气变得更冷了。
It changes with the season. 随着季节的变化而变化。
5.We compare the number he takes when he is alone with the number when one or more other children are present and.
我们将只有他自己在场所取的数量与他当着一个或多个小朋友的面所拿的数量作个比较..
1 )辨异: alone, lonely
alone 可用作副词和形容词。lonely 作形容词用。独自一个没有同伴的人可说是alone (单独, 独自), 但alone 的人未必就lonely(孤独的, 寂寞的)。lonely 指心理状态, 有这种心理的人总感到孤单, 渴求别人的友情。
At heart, I’m a lonely man-yes, a lonely man.
在内心里, 我是一个孤独的人--对, 一个孤独的人。
He is extremely lonely. 他极其寂寞孤单。
I am very anxious about leaving Jimmy a lone in the house.
把吉米一人留在家我非常不安。
We are not a lone in thinking that. 不只是我们那样认为。
My mother was siting a lone when we came in.
我们进来的时候, 妈妈独自一个坐着。
2 )present 在这里是个形容词, 意思是“ 出席, 在场”。
Irvin insisted that he be present. 欧文坚持要在场。
How many people were present at the meeting？
有多少人出席这次会议？
He was pleased at seeing so many people present？
他很高兴看到这么多的人来了。
3 )compare.with.把..同..进行比较
Compa re this with tha t, and you will see which is better.
把这个和那个比较一下, 你就可以看出哪个比较好了。
He began compa ring himself with the workers.
他开始把自己和工人们进行比较。
6.Among children between six and fourteen years old, the older the child, the fewer glass balls he will take. 在6 到14 岁的少儿组里, 年龄越大, 玻璃球反而拿得越少。
该句中的the older., the fewer. 是英语中形容词(副词)比较级的特殊形式。它的构成是the + 形容词或副词比较级..,
the + 形容词或副词的比较级通常前者相当于一个程度状语分句。后者为主句, 意思是“越..就越..”。
The quicker you get ready, the sooner we’ll be able to leave.
你准备得越快, 我们就能越早离开。
The more grain we produce, the grea ter will be our achievement.
我们生产的谷物越多, 我们的成就就越大。
The sooner, the better. 越快越好。
7.In place of a long test we could merely ask the subject to give numerical values to expressions such as nearly always and very rarely in a given context. 我们可以不作长期测试, 只需让被试者在特定的语境下对“ 差不多一直”和“ 几乎没有”两词语赋值。
1 )in place of 代替, 用..而不用..
The grown-ups had coffee but the children wanted milk in pla ce of
coffee. 成年人喝咖啡而小孩不喝咖啡而喝牛奶。
The Chinese use chopsticks in pla ce of knives and forks.
中国人用筷子而不用刀子和叉子。
2 )subject 在这里是个名词, 意思是“ 受试验者, 受治疗者”。
They used mice as subjects in the experiments.
在试验中他们把老鼠用作试验品。
He was treating a medical subject. 他正在治疗一位内科病人。
Te xt B
It Never Rains but It Pour s!
不雨则已, 一雨倾盆
Study of the Text
1.An hour before midnight is worth two a fter or so my mother used to tell me as I sat down to breakfast after a particularly late night.
过去, 每当我头天晚上熬夜熬得特别晚, 第二天坐下吃早饭时, 母亲常对我说:“ 子时前半最宜睡, 胜却后半长酣眠。”
1 )An hour before midnight is worth two after or so.即为an hour before midnight is worth two hours after midnight. or so.。
2 )or so 约莫, 左右
But for half an hour or so for lunch I am here all day.
除了大约半小时吃午饭外..我整天都在这里。
There will be twenty or so people at the party.
晚会上将有20 人左右。
2.At the time, like most young people, I regarded this proverb as an old wife..s tale with no relevance to my own life. 那时候的我与大多数年轻人一样, 把这句成语看作笑谈, 觉得跟自己生活没有关系。
1 )at the time 那时候
I tell you a t the time I thought you were very stupid.
我告诉你那时我认为你很蠢。
2 )regard 在这里是个及物动词, 意思是“ 认为..”, 与as 连用, 意思是“以为..是”。