English Intensive Reading 吉林大学远程教育学院    
Introduction
Text
Language Points
Grammar
 
  Lesson 3    Language Points  ( Page 7)
   
         
   
…through which flowed a stream scarcely visible from the valley’s rim.
Meaning: … there was a stream flowing through the meadow, but it could hardly be seen from the edge of the valley.
…上面流淌着一条小溪，不过从山谷边缘几乎看不到它。
Here “which flowed a stream” is in an inverted order. It can be written as “through which a stream flowed”. The phrase “scarcely visible from the valley’s rim” is an attributive phrase modifying “a stream”.
注： “which flowed a stream” 是倒装语序，可以写成 “through which a stream flowed”。
Comparing the following words:
barely, hardly, scarcely
都表示“几乎不，刚刚”。这三个词后都可接any 和ever 表示“几乎不”和“几乎从不”，也可与at all 连用，表示“几乎没有”。
1. We’ve hardly(或scarcely, barely) any money left. 我们几乎一个钱不剩。
2. We hardly (或scarcely, barely) got wet at all. 我们几乎没有淋湿。
此三词后也都可接when，表示“刚…就…”，这些词语置于句首时，句子要部分倒装。
1. Hardly have we started when it began to rain.
我们刚出发，就开始下雨了。
2. Scarcely have we started when it began to rain.
我们刚出发，就开始下雨了。
barely (adv.): 勉强地，刚刚，表示正好达到某种程度。表示否定的语气较弱。
1. We have barely enough money to last the weekend.
我们的钱只能勉强维持到周末。
2.We barely had time to catch the train. 我们几乎来不及赶火车。
hardly (adv.): 接近最低限度，几乎不，没有 富余，很难，简直不。否定语气较强，多用语正式文体中。
1. Hardly anybody came. 几乎没有什么人来。
2. I hardly know her. 我不怎么认识她。
scarcely (adv.): 强调数量或程度不足，简直不，不太够， 几乎不。否定语气较强，多用语正式文体中。
1. She spoke scarcely a word of English.
她几乎连一个英文单词都不会讲。
2. There were scarcely a hundred people present.
出席的不足一百人。
in extent：in length/area 长度，面积，范围
1. The new race track is nearly six miles in extent.
这条新跑道将近六英里长。
2. The garden is 200 square kilometers in extent.
这花园方圆200平方公里。
phrases: to a certain extent 在一定程度上
to some extent 在某种程度上
to the extent of 在…的程度上
Its green was more vivid than that of the enclosing forest.
Meaning: The green color of the meadow is brighter than that of the trees surrounding it.
它那绿茵茵的颜色比周围树林的绿色鲜亮得多。
vivid (adj.): (of colour) intense, bright, strong
鲜艳的，鲜亮的
1. She has a vivid green skirt.
她有一条鲜绿色的超短裙。
2.He was walking slowly across a vivid green lawn.
他正缓步穿过一块碧绿的草地。