第四十二讲

    Text Study
    Para. 7 I said, “Oh yeah, that’s interesting.” But I was thinking: That’s stupid. What does he know?

    Para. 8 Years later, I took a course in ecology. Reading a book, I found there were parasites called pseudoscorpions that look like lobsters. My father was bang on. I realized he had been a tremendous observer of nature —far more acute than I. And I realized how ignorant I was.

    Translation
    Para. 7 我嘴上说，“哦，是吗？真有趣。”但心里却在嘀咕，“真蠢，他懂什么呀？”

    Para. 8 几年后，我学了生态学这门课程。我读到一本书，了解到确实有一种叫拟蝎的寄生虫长得像龙虾。 父亲完全正确。我这才意识到父亲一直是一位优秀的自然界观察者——远比我观察敏锐。我意识到了自己是多么的无知。

    bang on
    （英式俚语）完全正确；非常好
    e.g.
    a. To our surprise, the boy’s answer is bang on.
    令我们惊讶的是，那男孩的答案完全正确。
    b. I had been to my hometown for holiday, and I think it was bang on.
    我去家乡度过了假期，我认为过得好极了。
    Para. 8
    6. I realized he had been a tremendous observer of nature—far more acute than I. (Para. 8)

    我这才意识到父亲一直是一位优秀的自然界观察者——远比我观察敏锐。此句完整的结构应为： I realized that my father had been a tremendous observer of nature. And he was far more acute than I was.

    1) tremendous: adj. 在数量、范围或程度上非常大的；精彩的，奇妙的
    e.g.
    a. That is a tremendous task for a new graduate.
    对一个刚毕业的人来说那是一项艰巨的任务。
    b. We had a tremendous night at the theater last night.
    我们昨天晚上在剧院度过了一个美妙的夜晚。
    2) far more...than: 比······得多，far是程度副词，用在形容词或副词的比较级前，表示程度高。
    e.g.
    The film was far more interesting than we had imagined.
    这部电影比我们想象的精彩得多。
    observer
    n. 观测者；观察员； 遵守者
    e.g.
    a. The old man was sent along as an observer.
    那个老人被派作观察员。
    b. The passage of a celestial body across the observer's meridian.
    凌日，一个天体经过观测者的最高点。

    acute
    adj. 敏锐的；[ 医] 急性的
    e.g.
    a. He is an acute observer.
    他是个敏锐的观察家。
    b. They think his mother's illness is acute rather than chronic.
    他们认为他母亲的病是急性的, 不是慢性的。

    ignorant
    adj. 无知的，没有学识的；不知道的
    e.g.
    a. Wise men become wiser as they grow older, ignorant men more ignorant.
    智者临老更聪明；蠢人老去更昏庸。
    b. Custom is the guide of the ignorant.
    习俗是无知者的向导。