第二十八讲
Warm-up questions
1. Have you got any experience of flying? If you have, how do you feel about it?
2. Why do you think some people prefer traveling by train to traveling by air?
Text Explanation
Para. 1
I knew it was going to be a bad day when, on the way to the airport, the taxi driver told me he was lost.
Language Points:
1. Explanation of Difficult Sentences
2. Important Words
1) on the/one’s way to … when traveling to a place 在去……的路上
eg: I usually stop by the supermarket on my way home.
在我回家的路上，我经常在超市停一下。
Para. 2
I had booked my flight over the telephone, so when we finally arrived, I had to rush to the reservations desk to pay for my ticket. The woman at the desk told me that my name was not on the passenger list. It took fifteen minutes for her to realize that she had spelled my name incorrectly. She gave me my ticket and told me I’d better check in my luggage quickly or I’d miss my flight.
Language Points:
Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1) It took fifteen minutes for her … incorrectly.
Analysis: This sentence can also be written as “It took her fifteen minutes to realize … incorrectly”. It is the formal subject of the sentence, and the actual subject is the infinitive clause for her to realize with her as the logical subject of the verb realize, whose object clause is the introduced by that.
Translation: 花了15分钟她才搞清楚是把我的名字搞错了。
Example: It took several hours for me to understand that I was wrong.
2）She gave me my ticket and told me I’d better check in my luggage quickly, or I’d miss my flight.
Analysis: I’d better check in my luggage quickly, or I’d miss my flight is an object clause of the verb told with that omitted. Or is a conjunction meaning “if not”, or “otherwise”. It is used after a suggestion to show what the result will be if the suggestion is not follow.
Translation: 她把票给了我，说最好快点办理托运行李，否则就会耽误了班机。
Example: He looked at me and told me I’d better apologize to Jane, or she would be very happy.
2. Important Words
1)reservation: n. a booking (of a room, seat, etc); a doubt in one’s mind 预定，保留
e.g. My travel agent has made all the reservations for my journey.
旅行社已经为我的旅程做好了所有的预定。
I have some reservations about the truth of his story.
我对他的故事的真实行持保留态度。
2) check in v. to report one’s presence or arrival (as at a hotel, an airport etc.) 办理( 旅馆入住、登机等) 手续
e.g. We must check our luggage in immediately. 我们必须立即办理行李托运。
You must check in at the airport an hour before your plane leaves.
你必须在飞机起飞前一个小时办理登记手续。
3) flight n. the act of flying; a trip by plane 飞行；航班
e.g. Flight 586 will arrive on schedule. 586航班将准时抵达。
He will take the 10:15 flight to Boston. 他会坐10：15的航班去波士顿。
Para. 3
I was the last person to get on the plane.
Para.4 I found my seat and discovered that I was sitting next to a four-year-old boy who had a cold. I sat down and wondered if anything else could go wrong
Language Points:
1. Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1) I found my seat and discovered that I was sitting next to a four-year-old boy who had a cold.
Analysis: That introduces an object clause. In this object clause, who introduces a restrictive relative clause modifying boy; next to is a preposition meaning “beside”.
Translation: 她把票给了我，说最好快点办理托运行李，否则就会误了班机。
Example: He looked at me and told me I’d better apologize to Jane, or she would be very angry.
2. Important Words
1) next to: prep. Close beside; almost 贴近，靠近，几乎
e.g. I’d like a seat next to the window. 我想要靠窗的位子。
He earns next to nothing 他几乎一分都赚不到。
2）go wrong：to make a mistake; to stop working properly 出错，出毛病
e.g. The sum isn’t right and I can’t see where I went wrong.
总数不对，我找不出我哪里出错了。
Something has gone wrong with the computer. 计算机肯定出问题了。