新概念英语 第二册 第53课

部分单词的注释

hot  adj. 带电的，充电的

hot的这个解释是在文中的引申意义，一般没有“带电的，充电的”这层意思。hot可以解释为“热的”、“热门的”、“辣的”，如：hot weather，热的天气；hot line，热线；hot topic热门话题；hot news，热点新闻；hot wings，辣鸡翅；等等。

fireman  n. 消防队员

hydrant，消防栓；fire extinguisher，灭火器。

cause  v.；n. 引起；原因

cause sb. to do sth. 导致某人做某事，如：

Illness caused him to lose his temper. 疾病导致了他发火。

examine  v. 检查

check，检查，核对（错误）；examine，检查（身体状况、机械运行状况等）。如examine a patient，检查患者；check the clock，对一下钟。

accidentally  adv. 意外地，偶然地

unexpectedly，出乎意料地（强调与事先的想法不一样）；accidentally，意外地，偶然地（强调偶然性，事先没准备）。

snatch  v. 抓住

catch，抓住，捕捉；seize，抓住（用力）；snatch，抓住，抓起来（动作有突然性）。

部分课文的注释

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. 消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。

（1）at last，最后，终于，往往表示经过一番努力之后。

（2）put out可以表示“扑灭”、“熄灭”、“关掉”等含义，如：

Please put the light/fire out. 请把灯关掉／把火灭掉。

（3）forest虽然是名词，但在句中起形容词的作用，修饰fire。

… they have been trying to find out how the fire began. ……他们一直试图找出起火的原因。

（1）短语动词find out表示经过研究、努力等“发现”、“找出”、“查出”，如：

I'll try and find out the name of the person who saved my life yesterday. 我将设法查出昨天救我命的那个人的姓名。

（2）how the fire began是find out的宾语，它是一个由疑问词how引导的名词性从句。

broken glass，碎玻璃。过去分词作定语，有被动的含义。

cigarette ends，烟头。

They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. 他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。

（1）start作及物动词时可以表示“使……发生”、“引起”。

（2）be sure后面跟的是宾语从句。that引导的这个名词从句也可以写成that the fire was not started by a cigarette end。但这里强调的是引起火灾的原因（不是烟头），所以用烟头作主语。

… a fireman accidentally discovered the cause. ……一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。

discover本身含有偶然发现（某个已经存在的东西）的含义，如：

I don't know who discovered America. 我不知道谁发现美洲的。

在discover前面加上accidentally更加强了“偶然”、“意外”的含义。

He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. 他发现了缠绕在16,000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。

（1）the remains表示“尸体”、“残骸”，必须用复数形式，如：

The villagers were surprised to see the remains of an aeroplane near the lake. 村民们惊讶地发现湖边有一架飞机的残骸。

（2）wound为wind的过去分词。wind在这里不表示“蜿蜒”，而表示“卷在……上”、“缠绕”，常与around/round连用，如：

Did you wind this piece of wire round the tree? 是你把这根铁丝缠在树上的吗？

（3）wire指具体的电线、铁丝等，line在这里指“线路”，含义比wire广。

in this way，就这样。

When it did so …，当它这样做时……。

so常用于一些动词之后，代指前面提过的某个动作／某件事，以免重复，如：

Has Susan got into university? I believe/think so. 苏珊上大学了吗？我想是的。

关键句型

一般过去时、现在完成时与现在完成进行时

在29课和52课的关键句型中，我们已分别比较了一般现在时与现在完成时以及现在完成时与现在完成进行时。一般过去时通常与一个表示确切的时间的状语连用，现在完成时则有时与表示一段时间的状语连用，有时不需要时间状语，而现在完成进行时则有时与表示一段时间的状语连用，有时与all+表示时间的名词连用。现在完成时与一般过去时中既可以用状态动词（表示存在、拥有、感情、思想、需求等的动词）也可以用行为动词，现在完成进行时则通常与行为动词连用，如：

I stayed at this hotel five years ago. 五年前我在这家酒店住过。（一般过去时有确切的时间状语）

Have you ever stayed at this hotel? 你曾在这家酒店住过吗？（现在完成时可以没有确切的时间状语）

I have been staying at this hotel for three weeks. 我已在这家酒店住了三个星期了。（现在完成进行时与表示一段时间的状语连用）

He stayed there for two days and then he left. 他在那里呆了两天，然后就走了。（一般过去时还可以与表示过去一段时间的状语连用）

How long have you been an art teacher? 你当美术教师有多久了？（表示状态的动词用于现在完成时）

I've been teaching art for a long time. 很长时间以来，我一直在教美术。（行为动词teach用于现在完成进行时）

I lent my suitcase to Tom last week and he hasn't returned it yet. 我上周把手提箱借给了汤姆，他还没有还我。（一般过去时中用具体时间，现在完成时中用not … yet）

难点

throw

throw作及物动词主要含义为“投”、“掷”、“抛”、“扔”。当它与不同的介词或副词连用时，其意义会稍有变化。throw to表示扔给（某人）；throw at表示对准某一目标扔；throw away则表示“扔掉”、“丢弃”。如：

Forest fires are often caused by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. 森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手仍掉的烟头引起。

He threw the ball to me and I caught it. 他把球扔给我，我接住了。

The boy threw a stone at the window and broke it. 男孩向窗户扔了一块石头把玻璃打碎了。

quite与quiet

由于发音和词形都很相似，这两个单词往往容易搞混，其实区别很大。

（1）quite为程度副词，表示“完全”、“相当”、“很”等含义，如：

They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. 他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。

That hat is quite pretty. 那顶帽子很漂亮。

（2）quiet可作形容词，表示“安静的”、“平静的”、“静止的”、“寂静的”等，如：

The class kept very quiet during the lesson. 上课时全班都很安静。

The sea was very quiet this morning. 今天上午大海很平静。

cause与reason

（1）cause作名词时最重要的含义是“原因”、“起因”，如：

A fireman discovered the cause of the fire. 一个消防队员发现了起火的原因。

Do you know the cause of the war? 你知道这场战争的起因吗？（cause通常与of连用）

cause作动词时可以表示“使……产生／发生”、“引起”，如：

What caused the fire? 什么原因引起了这场大火？

Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or cigarette ends. 森林火灾时常由碎玻璃或香烟头引起。

（2）reason作名词时最重要的含义是“理由”、“原因”，如：

Give me your reasons for going there. 请告诉我你去那里的理由。

作“原因”讲时，reason与cause可以互相交换使用，但reason与介词for连用，而cause则与介词of连用，如：

What was the reason for the delay? 延迟的原因是什么？

What was the cause of the delay? （译文同上）

reason后面通常跟why引导的从句，如：

That is the reason why he left. 那是他离开的缘由。

reason作动词时表示“推理”、“劝导”、“说服”等，如：

I reasoned with him for hours, but I couldn't persuade him to change his mind. 我劝了他几个小时，但我没能说服他改变主意。

drop与fall

drop既可作及物动词又可作不及物动词，表示“（使）掉下”、“（使）落下”、“放下”，如：

A bird had dropped the snake on to the wires. 一只鸟吧蛇扔到了电线上。

As he walked past the tree, an apple dropped from it. 当他走过那棵树时，一个苹果从树上掉了下来。

He dropped the bag on the floor. 他把包放在地板上。

fall通常为不及物动词，表示“落下”、“（雨、雪）下”、“降”、“跌倒”、“摔倒”，如：

He fell down the stairs and broke his leg. 他从楼梯上摔下来，断了一条腿。

Please hold the vase and don't let it fall. 请拿住这花瓶，别让它倒了。

When leaves fall in autumn, I'll come back. 秋天叶落时，我就会回来。

摘要写作

Now that firemen have put out a big forest fire in California, they have been trying to discover its cause. There was no evidence that it was started by broken glass or a cigarette end. However a fireman has just solved the mystery. He noticed the remains of a snake which had been dropped by a bird on to the electric wires. In winding itself round the electric wires, the snake had sent sparks to the ground and this caused the fire.  (82 words)

作文

I was smoking in bed when I went to sleep. I suddenly woke up because the sheet was burning. I jumped up then put the fire out, but there was already a big hole in the street.

书信写作

                                                                                                                                            28 Qinhuaihe Rd.,

                                                                                                                                            Nanjing,

                                                                                                                                            Jiangsu,

                                                                                                                                            China.

                                                                                                                                            4th November, 2009

Dear Mrs. Steele,

关键句型

A  

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.

B  

At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire.

C  

Jack_looked at his watch for the twentieth time. Suddenly Jill arrived.

‘I've been waiting for over an hour,’ he said angrily. ‘You never come on time.’

‘Oh, is that so?’ Jill answered. ‘Were you here at 2.30?’

Jack went red. ‘Well,’ he said,
‘I got here five minutes late myself, but you weren't here.’

‘I came here at exactly 2.30,’ Jill said,
‘and I waited for five minutes, but you didn't come.’

‘What have you been doing since then?’ Jack asked.

‘I've just been to the hairdresser's,’ Jill answered brightly.

难点

She threw away her old skirts.

The boy threw an apple to his sister.

He threw the chalk at the blackboard.

Your handwriting is quite good.

The children were very quiet at that moment.

Did you know the cause of their fight?

The heavy rain caused the flood.

He told me the reason for his absence.

She reasoned with him several times and he took her advice at last.

I dropped the vase when I carried it.

The book fell off the shelf.

多项选择题

理解

1  Firemen examined the ground carefully because they ______.

(a) were looking for cigarette ends

(b) were looking for broken glass

(c) wanted to find out what had caused the fire

(d) were looking for a snake

(c)

2  The fire had been caused by ______.

(a) a bird which flew on to the wires

(b) a snake which climbed on to the wires

(c) a bird which was eating a snake

(d) a snake which had been dropped on to the wires by a bird

(d)

句型

3  The firemen have been examining the ground ______ yesterday.

(a) since
       (b) for
       (c) ago
       (d) by

(a)

4  Broken glass often ______ fires.

(a) is causing
       (b) has caused
       (c) causes
       (d) is caused by

(c)

5  They were quite sure it wasn't a cigarette end. They were ______.

(a) almost certain
       (b) fairly certain
       (c) completely certain
       (d) nearly certain

(c)

6  He was able to solve the mystery. He ______.

(a) could if he wanted to
       (b) could but he didn't want to

(c) succeeded in solving it
       (d) didn't succeed in solving it

(c)

7  The bird had snatched the snake from the ground. The snake had been ______ the ground.

(a) at
       (b) from
       (c) over
       (d) on

(d)

词汇

8  Firemen have put out the fire. They have ______.

(a) controlled it
       (b) checked it
       (c) extinguished it
       (d) turned it off

(c)

9  Firemen discovered the cause ______.

(a) today morning
       (b) today in the morning

(c) in the morning today
       (d) this morning

(d)

10  They discovered the cause of the fire accidentally. They discovered it ______.

(a) by chance
       (b) chancily
       (c) fortunately
       (d) luckily

(a)

11  In this way he was able to solve the mystery. ______ he did it.

(a) That's so
       (b) Like this
       (c) That's how
       (d) So

(c)

12  The bird had snatched up the snake from the ground. It had ______ it.

(a) taken
       (b) pulled
       (c) seized
       (d) carried

(c)

句子结构

When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground.