Unit 1
? L2-3. My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that big house, gracefully touched with the laughter and tears of four generations. – brief as it was: although it was brief (short) – gracefully: in an attractive way
– be touched with: have a certain amount of a quality
– laughter and tears: happiness and sadness, joys and sorrows
I spent my childhood, although it was so short, in that big house, in which four generations had lived harmoniously and experienced both happiness and sadness.
I spent all my time, although it was so short, in that big house, which had seen/witnessed the joys and sorrows of the four generations of my family.
? L20-21. It’s that special place in your heart that makes them so. – It is/was … that…: an emphatic structure
What makes them so beautiful is nothing but that special place in your heart.
? L22-23. I planted these roses a long, long time ago — before your mother was even a dream.
I planted these roses a long, long time ago — before we thought about having a daughter / long before your mother was born. ? L30-31. All I could think of was that the last thing I said to him in his life was goodbye. – all I could think of: all that / what I could think of
The only thing that I could remember was that, before he left for the war, I said goodbye to him, and these were the last words I said to him in his life.
? L32-33. Don’t ever give in to the sadness and the loneliness of that word. I want you to remember
instead the joy and the happiness of those times of that word.
? Instead of being overcome by the sadness and the loneliness of that word, I want you to remember
the joy and the happiness of those times of that word. L34-36. Take that special hello and lock it away within you — in that place in your heart where summer is an always time.
Remember that special hello and keep it to yourself / bear it in your mind / fasten it firmly in your mind / imprint it on your mind so that you will always be filled with the joy and happiness of summer.
Remember that special hello and keep it deep in your heart where there is always sunlight and warmth / in your heart which is always filled with joy and happiness.
? L36-37. When you and your friends must part, I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello.
When you and your friends must leave each other, I want you to get to the bottom of your heart and recall that first hello. / …, I want you to think deeply and recall the friendly occasions on which you met your friends and said hello to them for the first time.
? L43. When it came to my turn, I noted how tired he looked. When it was my turn (to say my goodbye), I noticed how tired he looked.
? L49-50. I was standing by his rosebush when an uncle came to tell me that my grandfather had
died.
– use ―when‖ to say that just at a certain time a particular event suddenly occurred（ …正在此时，
忽然…）:
…(main clause indicating a certain time) + when … (adverbial clause indicating a sudden event)
While I was standing by his rosebush, an uncle suddenly came to tell me that my grandfather had died.
? L50-51. Remembering Grandpa’s words, I reached deep within me for those special feelings that had made up our friendship.
Remembering Grandpa’s words, I tried to bring back to my mind the joy and happiness that I had shared with him.
grammar
? simple past, past progressive, past perfect ? verbs of perception
? special word order with as and though
? present participle phrases used as adverbials simple past, past progressive, past perfect
? simple past tense: verb + -ed or irregular verbs
1) completed action in the past:
– I planted these roses a long, long time ago… (L22)
– A year and a half later, my grandfather became gravely ill. (L38)
2) habits or facts in the past:
– It was my way of saying thank you to God. (L24) – I used to watch him pick roses for his mother. (L25)
3) duration in the past:
– For a moment he just stared off into the apple trees. (L10)
4) past tense of verbs such as want, wonder, hope is used for polite inquiries.
– I wondered how you liked the film.
? past progressive tense: was/were + v.-ing (present participle)
1) interruption in the past: Use the Past Progressive to indicate a longer action in the past that was interrupted.
– I was standing by his rosebush when an uncle came to tell me… (L49)
2) In 1), described above, the Past Progressive is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
– Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
*In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Progressive, a specific time only interrupts the action.
– Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner. — I started eating at 6 PM.
– Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. — I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process
of eating dinner.
3) parallel actions: two or more actions happening at the same time
– I was studying while he was making dinner.
– They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
4) atmosphere: a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past
– When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the
phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.
5) repetition and irritation with “always”: expressing the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past
– I didn’t like them because they were always complaining.
6) “when” vs. “while”: “when” is most often followed by the Simple Past, whereas “while” is usually followed by the Past Progressive.
– I was studying when she called. – While I was studying, she called.
? past perfect tense: had + v.pp. (past participle)
1) completed action before sth. in the past:
– My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that big old house, … (L2)
– I saw my grandfather’s tears. I had never seen him cry before. (L26) – …an uncle came to tell me that my grandfather had died. (L49-50)
– I reached deep within me for those special feelings that had made up our friendship. (L50-51) – I knew what he had meat about never saying goodbye… (L51-52)
2) duration before sth. in the past:
– We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
– They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
3) a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time: the Past Perfect should be used rather than the simple past.
– She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. √ – She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. ×
verbs of perception
? verb of perception + object + infinitive without to (as the object complement)
1) Suddenly I felt a hand rest on my shoulder.(L5-6) 2) I used to watch him pick roses for his mother. (L25) 3) I had never seen him cry before. (L26) cf.
4) I looked up to see my grandfather. (L6)
5) I see something soft and beautiful, Grandpa. (L18-19) 6) I saw my grandfather’s tears. (L26)
? Verbs of perception are a set of verbs denoting the use of one of the physical senses. Some verbs of perception see, look at, hear, listen, and feel, along with watch and sense can be used with objects followed by verbs in -ing form, -ed form and infinitive (without to) form.
– I heard him shout at her just now. (emphasis on my hearing)
– I heard him shouting at her when I passed his office. (emphasis on his shouting)
– John has never heard the piece played before. (emphasis on the passive voice of play)
*infinitive with to in passive:
– She was seen to dance in the garden. – (We saw her dance in the garden.)
special word order with as and though
? In an adverbial clause of concession (concessive clause) introduced by though or although, the complement or the adverbial can be placed at the beginning of the sentence. The formula for the inversion is:
complement/adverbial + as/though + subject + predicate verb or: adj./adv. + as/though + n. + predicate verb v. + as/though + n. + auxiliary verb
– My whole life, brief as/though it was, had been spent in that big old house. (L2-3) – Unlikely as/though it might seem, I’m tired too.
– Try as/though she might / Hard as/though she tried, Sue couldn’t get the door open.
Present participle phrases used as adverbials
? Present participle phrases can be used as adverbials to express reason, condition, time, result and attending circumstances.
– Turning around, she saw an ambulance driving up. (time) – Knowing English well, he can read Shakespeare. (reason)
– Working still harder, you will succeed. (condition)
– Their car was caught in a traffic jam, thus causing the delay. (result) – He sat at the window eating. (attending circumstances)
? ing-clause indicating attending circumstances
– …I ran to the haven of the small back porch and sat alone, shuddering, as tears welled up
from my heart. (L4-5)
– I looked at the flower, not knowing what to say,… (L18)
– Remembering Grandpa’s words, I reached deep within me for those special feelings that had
made up our friendship. (L50-51)
1) _________________, the teacher came into the hall. 2) ___________ the teacher, the children came into the hall.
3) ____________ the young people, the elderly woman felt very happy. 4) She stood there for more than an hour, ________ them at play. 5) _________________ the other day, I saw a bird building a nest.
6) He put the big box down on the floor, ________ heavily and _______ exhausted.
Unit 2
L5-7. … it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to — on a screen, …
– awfully: adv. [spoken] very
– funny: adj. amusing, making you laugh – (keep/lie/stand…) still: adj. not moving – were supposed to: ought to, should
… it was very amusing to read words that were motionless instead of moving the way they ought to — on a screen, …
? L7-8. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
And then they turned back to the page they had read, they were surprised to find the same words there.
? L10-11. Our television screen must have a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more.
– must: very likely (used to draw a logical conclusion) – good for: capable of providing
Surely there are a million books on our television screen which is capable of providing more.
? L19-20. What’s there to write about school? There is nothing at all to write about school.
(This is a rhetorical question, which calls for no answer. A positive rhetorical question is negative in meaning.)
? L26-29. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, ...
– had hoped…but…: used to express an unfulfilled wish – knew how all right: knew very well how to put it together
– or so: about, suggesting vagueness or uncertainty about quantity
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