英语分站

 一、【Text】课文

　　It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants. Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called 'The Gables'. She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited The Gables when I was boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names. Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.

　　Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency. In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook. She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'. After being absent from the Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner. No only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. When she came in with the last course -- a huge pudding -- she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force. Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk. The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement. The poor girl was dismissed instantly. After her departure, Aunt Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie's wardrobe. They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!

　　二、【New words and expressions】生词和短语

　　●rambling adj. 杂乱无章的

　　●sentimentally adv. 感情上，多情地

　　●lavishly adv. 慷慨地，大方地

　　●immaculate adj. 清洁的，无污点的

　　●parquet n. 镶木地板

　　●gleam v. 发亮，闪光

　　●preside v. 指挥

　　●invisible adj. 看不见的，无形的

　　●scrub v. 擦拭，刷洗

　　●enlightened adj. 开明的

　　●fickleness n. 变化无常

　　●unrelenting adj. 不屈不挠的，不松懈的

　　●disillusion v. 使幻想破灭

　　●industriousness n. 勤奋

　　●qualification n. 资格，能力

　　●mirth n. 欢笑，高兴

　　●stack v. 整齐地堆放

　　●cellar n. 地窖

　　◆rambling adj. 杂乱无章的

　　ramble vi.

　　1. 闲逛，漫步

　　stroll

　　go for a walk / have a walk

　　go for a stroll / have stroll

　　They rambled through the ferast.

　　2. 漫谈，聊开

　　Eg: The old lady began to ramble about her youth.

　　3. 植物的蔓延生长

　　Eg: The wild roses ramble over the fance.

　　◆sentimentally adv. 感情上，多情地

　　sentiment n.

　　sentiments 情操

　　The sentiments of pity: 恻陷之心

　　emotion 感情(总称)

　　out of sentiments: 出于同情

　　sentimental adj. emotional

　　◆◆◆lavishly adv. 慷慨地，大方地

　　lavish adj. 慷慨的，大方的

　　eg: Are you lavished to your friend.

　　extravagant 挥霍的，奢侈的

　　lavish money on sth. /sb.

　　lavish praises on sb.

　　grudge 舍不得给

　　Eg: Do you lavish praises on your friends? 你总是大肆吹捧你的朋友吗?

　　lavish care on sb. 过度的关心或庞爱

　　generous 慷慨大方的

　　liberal: 开明的

　　prodigal: 浪费的，挥霍无度的

　　wasteful

　　反义词：thrifty, economical, frugal, not wasteful

　　◆immaculate adj. 清洁的，无污点的

　　spotless

　　◆parquet n. 镶木地板

　　◆gleam v. 发亮，闪光

　　◆preside v. 指挥

　　vi. preside at

　　Eg: Who will preside at the party?

　　Yesterday my friend visited me so I preside at tea. 招待

　　◆invisible adj. 看不见的，无形的

　　visible

　　◆scrub v. 擦拭，刷洗

　　polish: 润色

　　◆enlightened adj. 开明的

　　◆fickleness n. 变化无常

　　◆unrelenting adj. 不屈不挠的，不松懈的

　　strong-minded

　　continuous

　　◆disillusion v. 使幻想破灭

　　◆industriousness n. 勤奋

　　◆qualification n. 资格，能力

　　◆mirth n. 欢笑，高兴 (书面化，文学中或诗歌中)

　　happiness, joy, merriment, fun, amusement, entertainment, delight, rapture

　　◆stack v. 整齐地堆放

　　◆cellar n. 地窖

　　三、【课文精析】

　　Key sentence:

　　If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants.

　　air one’s views on sth. / sb. 对......发表意见

　　Key sentence:

　　lived in that leisurely age when

　　Key sentence:

　　She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death.

　　attach to

　　Key sentence:

　　she persisted in living there long after her husband's death.

　　persist in doing sth.

　　long after

　　short after

　　long before

　　short before

　　Key sentence:

　　even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust.

　　Key sentence:

　　She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.

　　refer to / regard sb. as

　　Key sentence:

　　While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.

　　carry on

　　During that time

　　put sb. in charge of 安排某人负责

　　in addition to

　　act the role: play the role

　　be absent from: be away from

　　not only 位于句首，引导完整的语句，部分倒装

　　below, above常用的修饰词是well

　　bump into: knock oneself into / onto

　　reluctantly came to the conclusion that...

　　come to the conclusion

　　draw a conclusion

　　arrive at conclusion

　　reach conclusion

　　jump to conclusion

　　have a difficult time doing sth. : have trouble / difficulty in doing sth

　　Key sentence:

　　They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!