书城外语英语口语900句袋着走
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第21章 校园(20)

所有人都知道他的数学不及格。

02

How did you do on the last quiz

最后一次小考你考得怎么样?

03

I doubt I won't pass the exam.

我估计我考试不及格。

04

I hear some people cheated.

我听说有人作弊。

05

Please don't tell anybody.I'm so embarrassed that I failed.

请不要告诉任何人。实在太难堪了,我考试没通过。

06

I must be the only person in the class to have failed.

我一定是全班唯一一个没有通过的人。

07

I'm sorry to hear that.I'll keep it to myself.

听到这事我很难过。我会守口如瓶的。

2、对话

May I Borrow Your Notebook

Jim:May I borrow your notebook

Jasmine:For what

Jim:You know the exam is coming.

Jasmine:I don't think it's useful.The final exam only accounts for 30% of the total grade.Even if you get a full mark, you still cannot pass.

我可以用一下你的笔记本吗?

吉姆:我可以用一下你的笔记本吗?

茉莉:干什么用?

吉姆:你知道,考试快到了。

茉莉:我觉得那没用,期末考试只占总分的30%。就算你得了满分,你还是不及格。

Notes 注释

account for (在数量方面)占;说明(原因等);对……负责

total a.全部的;完全的 n.总数(计) v.合计

3、文化加油站(心灵鸡汤)

How I've Been Enriched by Beggars

Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a seemingly ancient woman on crutches waited beside the door with her hand outstretched.Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met.She never failed to return my smile, my grasp, and my sin chau greeting.

On the last day of our visit, I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel.Bicycles and motorbikes careened in front of me.We had been advised to walk straight through the teeming traffic without looking right or left.Let them avoid us.

But tonight I was by myself and felt inadequate to face the torrent of vehicles.As I hesitated on the curb, I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend looking up at me.She nodded her head toward the street, indicating that she would take me across.Together, we moved slowly into the chaos as she gently prodded me forward.

When we reached the center of the crossing, I looked down at her again, and couldn't resist exclaiming,"You have the most beautiful smile."

She obviously knew little English, but must have recognized the tone, for she threw both arms and crutches around me in a big hug, while the traffic streamed by us on both sides.

Then we precariously moved on toward the sidewalk, where she pulled my face down to hers, kissed me on both cheeks, and then limped away, still smiling and waving back to me.

I had not given her a single coin.We had shared something vastly more important-a warming of hearts in friendship.

This experience remained me of something Mother Teresa once said:"If you cannot do great things, you can do small things with great love."

To look beggars in the eye and smile, thus acknowledging their existence, is a small thing.Putting your hand into another's outstretched hand and grasping it firmly for a moment is also a small thing.Learning to use a greeting in the local language is not too difficult.But these are important.

Traveling in poorer nations, I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars.The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere.I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance.A few may hastily drop a few coins into a beseeching palm, and then execute a quick getaway in hopes that another 20 ragged pursuers won't immediately appear on the scene.

But I feel it's worthwhile to try to live by the words of English author John Cowper Powys:"No one can consider himself wholly civilized who does not look upon every individual, without a single exception, as of deep and startling interest."

I once spotted a legless man sitting by a road at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India.I was returning to my tent after recording the exotic music of the dancing men of Pushkar and was replaying the music on my tape recorder.When the man's smile lured me to join him, we began to communicate in the kind of sign language and laughter one learns while vagabonding around the world.

After mimicking the whirling skirts and sticks, I showed him how my tape recorder worked.He motioned for me to give it to him.I hesitated, but only for a moment.After examining it carefully, he began to sing a hauntingly beautiful song, indicating that he wanted me to record it and take it home as a memory of our time together.

Moments before, we had been total strangers; suddenly, we were cemented in a momentary friendship born of our common existence in this world.His eyes shone as we exchanged names.My experience with Vidur confirmed the truth of the Scandinavian proverb:"In every man there is a king.Speak to the king, and the king will come forth."

I've learned that those considered the world's most hopeless are so often rich in humanity, with hearts yearning to be affirmed-and ready to respond.

My life continues to be enriched by connecting with everyday humanity.Each time I do this, I rediscover that what I have been given is far beyond monetary value.And I reaffirm that everyone is worthy and worth knowing.

疑难解析

seemingly ['si:mili] adv.看来似乎;表面上看来

crutch [krt] n.拐杖;支柱;依靠;胯部 vt.用拐杖支撑;支持

outstretched ['autstrett] adj.伸开的;扩张的 v.伸出;扩大;伸展得超出……的范围(outstretch的过去分词形式)

grasp [ɡrɑ:sp,ɡrsp] n.抓住;理解;控制 vt.抓住;领会 vi.抓

sin [sin] n.罪恶;罪孽;过失 vi.犯罪;犯过失 vt.犯罪

careen [k'ri:n] vi.倾侧,倾斜 vt.使倾侧,使倾斜 n.船的倾侧

teeming ['ti:mi] adj.多产的,丰富的;热闹的 v.充满(teem的现在分词)

inadequate [in'dikwit] adj.不充分的,不适当的

torrent ['trnt,'t:-] n.奔流;倾注;迸发;连续不断

vehicle ['vik()l] n.[车辆] 车辆;工具;交通工具;运载工具;传播媒介;媒介物

curb [k:b] n.抑制;路边;勒马绳 vt.控制;勒住

elbow ['elbu] n.肘部;弯头;扶手 vt.推挤;用手肘推开

prod [prd] n.刺针;刺棒;签子 vt.刺,戳;刺激 vi.刺;捅

exclaim [ik'skleim] vi.呼喊,惊叫;大声叫嚷 vt.大声说出

streamed [stri:m] n.溪流;流动;潮流;光线 vi.流;涌进;飘扬 vt.流出;涌出;使飘动

precarious [pri'kεris] adj.危险的;不确定的

limp [limp] adj.柔软的,无力的;软弱的 vi.跛行,一拐一拐地走;缓慢费力地前进 n.跛行

vastly ['va:stli] adv.极大地;广大地;深远地

poverty-stricken ['pvti,strikn] adj.为贫穷所困恼的,为贫穷所困扰的;非常贫穷的

annoyance ['nins] n.烦恼;可厌之事;打扰

hastily ['heistili] adv.匆忙地;急速地;慌忙地

beseeching [bi'si:ti] adj.恳求似的 v.哀求;请求(beseech的ing形式)

getaway ['ɡet,wei] n.起步;逃走 adj.逃跑用的

rag [rɡ] n.破布;碎屑 vt.戏弄;责骂 vi.变破碎;穿着讲究