Lesson 36 A chance in a million 百萬分之一的機(jī)遇

1、Lesson 36 A chance in a million 百萬分之一的機(jī)遇Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。What was the chance in a million?    We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers w

2、ith a series of coincidences - most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And s

3、o on. Modern readers would find such naive solution totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.    When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German t

4、axi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stooped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he

5、might be his brother. Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Busssman fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to the workm

6、an to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man's name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive. After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent

7、 to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourh

8、ood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.New words and expressions 生詞和短語         credulousadj. 輕信的   

9、60; improbableadj. 不大可能的     obscureadj. 不起眼的     maidservantn.   女仆，女傭     presumev.   假定     wickedlyadv. 心眼壞地，居心叵測(cè)地     plotv.   密謀     downfalln.&

10、#160;  倒臺(tái)，垮臺(tái)     naiveadj. 天真的     unacceptableadj. 不能接受的     conspirev.   （事件）巧合促成     incredibleadj. 難以置信的     scornn.   嘲弄，挖苦     acquaintv.  

11、 使了解     reunitev.   使團(tuán)聚     assumev.   假定，認(rèn)為參考譯文    我們不再像以往那樣輕易相信別人了。在19世紀(jì)，小說家常在小說結(jié)尾處給讀者準(zhǔn)備一系列的巧合大部分是牽強(qiáng)附會(huì)，極不可能的。當(dāng)時(shí)的讀者卻愉快地接受這樣一些事實(shí)，一個(gè)低賤的女傭?qū)嶋H上是主人公的母親；主人公一位長期失散的兄弟，大家都以為死了，實(shí)際上一直活著，并且正在策劃暗算主人公；如此等等，現(xiàn)代讀者會(huì)覺得這種天真的結(jié)局完全無法接受。不過，在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，

12、有時(shí)確實(shí)會(huì)出現(xiàn)一些巧合，這些巧合除了19世紀(jì)小說家外誰也不會(huì)相信。    當(dāng)我是個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，我祖父給我講了一位德國出租汽車司機(jī)弗朗茲。巴斯曼如何找到了據(jù)信已在20年前死去的兄弟的事。一次，他與妻子徒步旅行。途中，停下來與一個(gè)工人交談，接著他們繼續(xù)往前走去。巴斯曼夫人說那工人與她丈夫相貌很像，甚至猜測(cè)他可能就是她丈夫的兄弟。弗朗茲對(duì)此不屑一顧，指出他兄弟已經(jīng)在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中陣亡了。盡管巴斯曼夫人熟知這個(gè)情況，但她仍然認(rèn)為自己的想法仍有百萬分之一的可能性。幾天后，她派了一個(gè)男孩去問那人是否叫漢斯.巴斯曼。不出巴斯曼夫人所料，那人的名字真是漢斯.巴斯曼，他確實(shí)是弗朗茲失散多年

13、的兄弟。兄弟倆團(tuán)聚之時(shí)，漢斯說明了他活下來的經(jīng)過，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)即將結(jié)束時(shí)，他負(fù)傷被送進(jìn)醫(yī)院，并與部隊(duì)失去聯(lián)系。醫(yī)院遭到轟炸，漢斯步行回到了西德。與此同時(shí)，他所在部隊(duì)被擊潰，他的所有檔案材料全部毀于戰(zhàn)火。漢斯重返故里，但他的家已被炸毀，左鄰右舍誰也不知原住戶的下落，漢斯以為全家人都在空襲中遇難，于是便在距此50英里外的一座村子里定居下來，直至當(dāng)日。New words and expression 生詞和短語學(xué)習(xí)詞匯時(shí)僅知道漢語語義是不夠的，要把單詞放在語句中體會(huì)其應(yīng)用學(xué)習(xí)關(guān)鍵句結(jié)構(gòu)是則要把它放在段落結(jié)構(gòu)或文章里credulous      adj.輕信的

14、improbable    adj.不大可能的obscure  adj.不起眼的maidservant  n.女仆，女傭presume v.假定wickedly adv.心眼壞地，居心叵測(cè)地plot v.密謀downfall n.倒臺(tái)，垮臺(tái)naïve  adj.天真的unacceptable adj.不能接受的conspire v.(事件)巧合促成incredible  adj.難以置信的resemblance  n.相似scorn      n.嘲弄，挖

15、苦acquaint v.使了解reunite   v.使團(tuán)聚assume   v.假定，認(rèn)為 credulous adj.輕信的        (多修飾人)區(qū)分  credible:可信的,可靠的,多修飾事物 eg. The story he told us is credible.   incredulous / incredible  反義詞believable以已知事實(shí)為根據(jù) eg. He demanded for believa

16、ble explanation. (反)unbelievable improbable adj.不大可能的    obscure     adj.1)不起眼的，不出名的 eg. The bus stopped at an obscure little town.2)令人費(fèi)解的 not clearly An obscure figure can be seen through the fog. 模糊不清的通過大霧我們可以看到模糊不清的身影.vague:多用于比喻意,指不明確說明而造成的模糊不清  eg. w

17、hat he said is vague. maidservant n.婦女仆,女傭 presume v.假定 take sth. as true   經(jīng)常用的表達(dá)方式presume that根據(jù)過去的經(jīng)驗(yàn)或感覺作出推斷 assume 與事實(shí)不相符合 eg. Let us assume that your words are fact.suppose 最普通的用詞猜想陳述自己的看法 I suppose that it was my fault. wickedly adv.心眼壞地,居心叵測(cè)地 plot v.密謀 一人或多人秘密謀劃傷害

18、他人.  eg. The criminals were plotting to rob the bank.conspire 眾多人合謀做重大的犯法勾當(dāng) 猶指反叛scheme 某人暗中設(shè)計(jì)狡詐的手段來謀求自己的私利  eg. The man is scheming for power.圖謀奪權(quán).本文中conspire指事件巧合促成  eg. The weather and car trouble conspire to spoil our vacation. downfall n.倒臺(tái),垮臺(tái) naive adj.天真的unacceptable a

19、dj.不能接受的conspireincredible resemblance n.相似的like ness   bear a strong resemblance to sb. or sth.   have a close resemblance to sb. or sth.eg. The girl bears a strong resemblance to her sister.such a resemblanceresemblelikeness最普通的用語,比resemblance意味要強(qiáng)resemblance 特別是指外觀或外在性質(zhì)的相似

20、similarity 性質(zhì)物色程度的相似similar to sth. sb. scorn n.嘲弄,挖苦  短語  pour scorn on   pour contempt on    pour ridicule onpour heap   eg. He poured scorn on his wife's suggestion.look down upon 瞧不起，蔑視辨析： think scorn ofcontempt:蔑視,強(qiáng)烈譴責(zé)某人或某事低賤卑鄙,語氣強(qiáng)于scorndesp

21、ite 語氣較弱,表示嘲弄 His suggestion was dismissed with scorn.His face showed the scorn/despite he felt. acquaint v.使了解 be acquainted with sth. eg. I have been acquainted with the secret.acquaint sb. with sth.   acquaint sb. of sth.make a person acquainted with sb :介紹某人同另一個(gè)人認(rèn)識(shí)Let me make. acq

22、uainted with you.acquaintance 熟人 reunite n使團(tuán)聚assume v.假定,認(rèn)為 Text 課文a chance in a million   one chance in a thousand可能性小eg. It is a chance in a million to meet you here.在這兒見到你可真是不容易呀-He let out a scream that must can be heard in Peru.典型的夸張,目的是加強(qiáng)語氣 We are less credulous than we use

23、d to be.這是明顯現(xiàn)在與過去的對(duì)比 eg. We are less credulous than we used to be. 我們不再像以前那樣輕信于人了。are 表示現(xiàn)在的情況 / used to be 過去的情況eg. We are not so honest as we used to be.我們不像過去那么誠實(shí)了.謂語動(dòng)詞是be動(dòng)詞的時(shí)候用used to be,而不用used to 謂語動(dòng)詞是使役動(dòng)詞的時(shí)候用used toeg. He works less hard than he used to. In the nineteenth century, a novel

24、ist would bring his story to a conclusion be presenting his readers with a series of coincidences most of them wildly improbable.19世紀(jì)的小說家通過給讀者們提供一系的巧合事件結(jié)束.破折號(hào)后面的語句是對(duì)前作者的一個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。Them 指一系列的巧合 而其中大部分的巧合事件發(fā)生的機(jī)率是極小的bring sth. to a conclusion 結(jié)束  eg. They decided to bring the meeting to a conclusion.bri

25、ng sth. to a close (比較正式的)  eg. It was .who brought meeting to a close.present sb. with sth. 給某人提供present sth. to sb.    Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maid-servant was really the heros mother. Along-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the

26、 time and wickedly plotting to bring about the heros downfall.wickedly plotting to -居心叵測(cè)的密謀把這個(gè)英雄搞下臺(tái)來bring about:產(chǎn)生,引起  eg. Modern science has brought about great changes in life.And so on. Modern readers would find such naïve solutions totally unacceptable.現(xiàn)在的讀者已經(jīng)不愿意接受這樣的結(jié)尾find such naive

27、solutions totally unacceptable 覺得這種解決辦法很天真不能夠被接受find sth. interesting    覺得什么有意思find sb. beautiful      覺得某人漂亮 Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find inc

28、redible. *牢記此句do加強(qiáng)語氣,reallyA German taxi-driver, Franz Bussman , recently found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.who was thought.   who 所引導(dǎo)的定語從句修飾brother While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on , M

29、rs. Bussman commented on the workmans close resemblance to here husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.he was on a walking tour.省略了hecomment on sth 就.作出評(píng)論評(píng)價(jià)-remark onBussman夫人對(duì)工人作出評(píng)價(jià)說長得和他的兄弟很像，甚至暗示說就是他的兄弟eg:I can't explain how it is that he is still here.be separated from &

30、#160; make one's way Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Bussman was fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. .她認(rèn)為有百萬分一的機(jī)會(huì)證明她所說的是正確的.  

31、;A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say , the mans name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franzs long-lost brother. When the brothers were re-united, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.explained how it was.漢斯解釋說他依舊活著是怎

32、么一回事。 After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot.Make ones way力盡艱辛. Meanwhile , his unit was lost and all records of him had bee

33、n destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air-raid,  Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since. a

34、ll records of him had been destroyed.他所有的資料都被毀掉了 become of :happen to :發(fā)生遭遇不幸的事件,多用于疑問句,主語必須是what或whatever   eg. Whatever became of that girl?Please explain what became of you yesterday.用assuming,而不用presuming:主觀上的臆斷無事實(shí)根據(jù)的 Multiple choice questions 多項(xiàng)選擇1、 What would a modern reade

35、r find totally unacceptable in a novel today?答案dHaving for a hero a man once presumed dead.根據(jù)課文內(nèi)容知道現(xiàn)在的讀者是不能接受一些巧合的事件2、 When Mrs. Bussman suggested that the workman might be Franzs brother答案cFranz was so sure his brother was dead he did not take her seriously.3、 What did Hans Bussman do immediately a

36、fter the war was over?答案cHe inquired after his familys where abouts but found no trace of them.背熟 (打探某人的情況,但是沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)任何蹤跡)4、 -his readers with a series of coincidenceswildly improbable.(lines 3-6)答案bwhich would be most5、 A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, had not in fact died andto bring a

37、bout the heros downfall.(lines 8-12)答案dhad been wickedly plotting.6、 He stopped(line 25)答案ain order to talk to a workman7、 She sent a boy to ask the workman(lines 25-26)答案bwhat he was called8、 Meanwhile his unit was lost and had been destroyed. (lines 31-32)答案bevery record of his   (他所有的記錄

38、都被毀掉了)9、 -who was thought to have been killed twenty years(lines 18-19)答案dpreviously  previously: before 同義 完成時(shí)的標(biāo)志10、Mrs Bussman told her husband that he and the workman(lines 20-21)答案clooked very alikelook表示人的外貌長相應(yīng)該采用復(fù)數(shù)形式look alike 看起來像10、         &

39、#160;    -there was the chance she might be right.(lines 24-25)答案aremotestremote 既表示"遙遠(yuǎn)偏僻的",也表示"微弱的",特別用來修飾chance 11、              -how it had that he was still alive. (lines 28-29) *答案dcome aboutcome

40、 about: happen多用于疑問句,尤其是How does it come about that?結(jié)構(gòu)中 補(bǔ)充：一、詞組標(biāo)題：a chance in a million      one chance in a thousand可能性小less credulous                        &

41、#160;  not so gullible 不怎么輕信于人(殆無可能)we used to be                            we were 像我們往常那樣bringto a conclusion:bring  to an end     &

42、#160;    to a close  把告一結(jié)束presenting(sb.) with                 offering (sb.) with 給（人）以a series of                  

43、60;              a train of 一系列wildly improbable                      extremely absurd 荒誕不經(jīng)，十分荒唐was presumed    

44、60;                      was supposed 人們以為all the time                        &#

45、160;       all the while 一直plotting to                                 conspiring to 圖謀bring about (one's ) dow

46、nfall=bring about(one's) failure 把（人）搞垮，叫別人日子不好過and so on                                  and so forth,等等，諸如此類的事conspire to bring about

47、 conspire towards不期而然地發(fā)生，導(dǎo)致許多事湊在一起，引起了，合力促成was thought to have                  原來人們認(rèn)為已經(jīng)was believed to haveon a walking tour                

48、;     徒步旅行 on a walking excursionstopped to talk to                      停下來然后向講話=stopped walking and talked to commented on        

49、60;                  made observations on 置評(píng)，評(píng)論close resemblance to                 great likeness to 酷像poured scorn on   

50、60;                          scoffed at 嘲笑pointing out that                    &

51、#160; indication clearly that明白指出，說道killed in action                         fallen in battle陣亡was acquainted with            

52、0;     熟知，熟悉 was familiar withneedless to say                         不用說 it goes without saying , it is a matter of coursehow it was that    怎么會(huì)怎么搞的=how(跟

53、主語) came 或how it came that(be) wounded                            be injured 受傷was separated from  隔絕，失去聯(lián)系 was out of touch with, lost touch (contact) withmade his w

54、ay back into=went his way back into/to  返回on foot                                      by walking 步行family home

55、60;                                  old home, home town 老家in the neighbourhood                在街坊鄰里 in the residential di