第四十六讲
Passage II A Little About Me
Text-Related Information
1. The British Climate
The climate in Britain is very changeable. Sometimes it can be cold, rainy, windy and sunny——all in the same day. Generally, it rains quite a lot, especially in the north and the west. Most of the time, the weather is quite mild ——never too hot nor too cold. In the summers, it is usually warm. The south of Britain is generally warmer than the north.
2. Here is a letter to The Times from Mrs. G. L. Thompson, from which we can learn how a British native looks at the weather in Britain.
Dear Sir,
I’ve been interested to read your letter on the Englishman’s fascination with the weather and many of our visitors from abroad find it amusing. It is true that talking about the weather is a constant topic of conversation in this country, but the reason for this is not only climatic but social.
Greeting people with expressions such as “lovely day, isn’t it?” or “What terrible weather we’re having, aren’t we?” is our way of being friendly or starting a conversation. It may have very little to do with the state of the weather as such. We expect the other person to say: “Yes, it is.”or “Yes, we are.” In the same way that we expect a person to say “Hullo!” when we say “Hullo!” This custom can be very puzzling to foreigners.
Of course, this way of making a conversation is closely related to the variability of our weather. There must be few places in the world where the weather changes quite so much from day to day. No wonder we take a daily interest in it! But I do think we are much too fond of running down our own climate, which is not half as bad as some people make out. It seems that our interest is more on speaking ill of it than the weather itself.
Yours faithfully,
(Mrs.) G. L. Thompson
Text Explanation
Para. 1
The most important thing to remember about the weather in Britain is that it often changes. You can wake up to a beautiful blue sky and then it starts raining during breakfast. Similarly, you may decide not to go for a picnic because it’s too wet — then later it’s fine. Because long periods when the weather stays the same day after day aren’t very common in Britain, the kind of weather you get will depend not only on the time of year, but also on luck.
Language Points:
1.Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1) The most important thing to remember about the weather in Britain is that it often changes.
Analysis: The post modifier of the sentence subject
Introduces the complement clauses.
Translation:关于英国的天气，需要记住的最重要的一点就是它多变。
Example: The worst problem to solve about the city is that it is desperately short of water.
Para. 2
Weather in Britain may explain a lot about what you find here. For example, the opportunities for people to meet outside depend a lot on the weather, so you won’t see people meeting and spending time together outdoors as much as you do in hotter countries. This may give some visitors the idea that the British are not very friendly. The weather helps to explain eating customs too; a large hot breakfast, for example, is a good idea on a cold dark morning.
Language Points:
1.Explanation of Difficult Sentences
Because long periods when the weather stays the same day after day aren’t very common in Britain, the kind of weather you get will depend not only on the time of year, but also on luck.
Analysis: introducing a relative clause
relative clause, “that” is omitted
Translation: 因为天气在几天长的时间都保持不变的时候在英国不是很常见,所以会遇上什么样的天气不仅取决于是一年中的什幺时候, 而且取决于运气。
Example: Because the time when he will return home is not set, the welcome party (that ) we are going to give him is not prepared yet.
2. Important Words
1) opportunity: n. a favorable moment or occasion (for doing something) 机会，时机
Opportunity knocks at the door, but only those who are well-prepared can seize it.
China’s entry to WTO brings us many wonderful opportunities.
I never missed an opportunity to play football.
2) outdoors: ad. in the open air 在户外
Children like playing outdoors no matter what the weather is like.
They prefer walking outdoors to sitting indoors.