Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What incident began the series of traffic accidents?

    We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. What invariably happens is that a great number of things choose to go wrong at precisely the same moment. It is as if a single unimportant event set up a chain of reactions. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this marks the prelude to an unforeseen series of catastrophes. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, smashing half your best crockery and cutting himself in the process. You hang up hurriedly and attend to baby, crockery, etc. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to reduce you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
    Things can go wrong on a big scale, as a number of people recently discovered in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney. During the rush hour one evening two cars collided and both drivers began to argue. The woman immediately behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly got into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her brake hard. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the windscreen and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden. The lorry was loaded with empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the vehicle and on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the lorry driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two stray dogs benefited from all this confusion, for they greedily devoured what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!

New words and expressions 生词和短语

     prelude
n.   序幕，前奏

     unforeseen
adj. 意料之外的

     series
n.   系列

     catastrophe
n.   大祸，灾难

     crockery
n.   陶器，瓦器

     suburb
n.   郊区

     collide
v.   猛撞

     learner
n.   初学者

     panic
n.   惊慌，恐慌

     windscreen
n.   （汽车的）挡风玻璃

     alongside
prep.在……的旁边，与……并排

     slide (slid, slid)
v.   滑

     stray
adj. 迷失的，离群的

     confusion
n.   混乱

     greedily
adv. 贪婪地

     devour
v.   狼吞虎咽地吃

参考译文

    我们大家都有过事事不顺心的日子。一天开始时，可能还不错，但突然间似乎一切都失去了控制。情况经常是这样的，许许多多的事情都偏偏赶在同一时刻出问题，好像是一件无关紧要的小事引起了一连串的连锁反应。假设你在做饭，同时又在照看孩子。这时电话铃响了。它预示着一连串意想不到的灾难的来临。就在你接电话时，孩子把桌布从桌子上扯下来，将家中最好的陶瓷餐具半数摔碎，同时也弄伤了他自己。你急急忙忙挂上电话，赶去照看孩子和餐具。这时，饭又烧糊了。好像这一切还不足以使你急得掉泪，你的丈夫接着回来了，事先没打招呼就带来3个客人吃饭。
    就像许多人最近在悉尼郊区帕拉马塔发现的那样，有时乱子会闹得很大。一天傍晚交通最拥挤时，一辆汽车撞上前面一辆汽车，两个司机争吵起来。紧跟其后的一辆车上的司机碰巧是个初学者，她一惊之下突然把车停了下来。她这一停使得跟在后头的司机也来个急刹车。司机妻子正坐在他身边，手里托着块大蛋糕。她往前一冲，蛋糕从挡风玻璃飞了出去掉到马路上。此时，一辆卡车正好从后边开到那辆汽车边上，司机看见一块蛋糕从天而降，紧急刹车。卡车上装着空啤酒瓶。成百只瓶子顺势从卡车后面滑出车外落在马路上。这又引起一场唇枪舌剑的争吵。与此同时，后面的车辆排成了长龙，警察花了将近一个小时才使车辆又开起来。在这段时间里，卡车司机不得不清扫那几百只破瓶子。只有两只野狗从这一片混乱中得到好处，它们贪婪地吃掉了剩下的蛋糕。这就是事事不顺心的那么一天！

New words and expression 生词和短语

prelude   n. 序幕，前奏

prelude与介词to搭配表示“……的前奏”

a prelude to serious trouble 麻烦事的前奏

introduction   n. 导言，绪论 （连to）   introduction to the book

preface  n. 序，前言  （连to） foreword   n. 序 （连to）    

unforeseen   a. 意料之外的

foresee    v. 预见，预知

foresee = see before hand / in advance    I foresee a bright future for you.

foreseeable  a. 可预见的   foreseeing   a. 预料之中的   unforeseeing  a. 意料之外的

foretell    v. （普通用词）预言（主语可用人和物）

predict  v. 预言，预示（语气比foretell强 主语是人）

He predicts that it would happen in ten years.

forecast  v. 预测，预报  Timely snow foretells bumper harvest. 瑞雪兆丰年。

 

series  n. 系列

series 单复数同行

常见搭配a series of       

We’ve got a series of good harvest. 我们取得了一连串的大丰收。

chain  n. 连串 连锁

a chain of 一系列    a chain of reaction   a series of reaction

chain store  连锁店

chain reaction  连锁反应

chain smoker  吸烟很严重的人

succession   侧重指时间的顺序，强调时间的连续没有间隔开

a succession of failures 一系列的失败

We’ve got a succession of successes. 我们取得了一次又一次的成功。

string   连续不断相似的事件

a string of cars 一连串的汽车

train  一个接一个发生的事   a train of thoughts /ideas 一个个的想法

 

catastrophe    n.. 大祸，灾难

这个词强调严重，波及范围广的灾难

worldwide ~  世界范围的灾难

national ~ 波及全国的灾难

disaster  n. 灾难，不幸 （比catastrophe 弱的多说明灾难，不幸的程度是可以忽略的）

calamity  n.灾害，不幸事件（指令人痛心的，个人或社会的损失，往往指产生持久的广泛忧伤痛苦）

nature calamity 自然灾害

 

panic   n. 惊慌，恐慌

panic = uncontrollable quickly spreading fear or terror

get into a panic 陷入惊慌之中   He suddenly got into a panic and stopped his car.

be seized/struck  with panic 惊慌失措

He was seized with panic. 他突然地感到惊慌失措。

terror  n. 惊骇   horror  n. 恐惧   fright  n. 害怕   alarm  n. 惊恐

 

stray  a. 迷失的 = lost   vi. 迷失（通常与介词form 连用）

The dog strayed from home.

 

confusion  n. 混乱  confusion = condition out of order

in order   秩序井然   out order   混乱

in confusion 乱七八糟     fall into confusion 陷入混乱状态

be covered with confusion 局促不安   throw sb. into confusion  使某人惊慌失措

 

devour    v. 狼吞虎咽地吃

有三种意思：

1. eat like an animal 狼吞虎咽   The dog devours the cake.

2. destroy  吞灭，席卷   The flame devours the whole building. 火把整幢楼都吞没了

3. take in eagerly with eyes, ears, or mind 贪婪地看、听

His eyes devoured the scene. 他两眼贪婪的看着这美丽的风景。

 

Text 课文  背出全文

 

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong .

我们都曾经历过诸事不利的日子。

when 引导的定语从句修饰days

Every dog has its day. 每个人都有飞黄腾达的日子。

 

A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control.

有时一天开始时可能还算顺利，但是突然间一切似乎都不可收拾了。

get out of control = uncontrollable = beyond control 失控

everything seems to get out of control = everything seems to be uncontrollable / beyond control

 

What invariably happens is that a great number of things choose to go wrong at precisely the same moment.

事情总是这样发生的：很多事情偏偏在同一时间出乱子。

由what引导的主语从句。

invariably = always

What happened yesterday was that he couldn’t deal with the hot potato. 昨天发生的事就是他没能应付这个棘手的人。

precisely = exactly

 

It is as if a single unimportant event set up a chain of reactions.

似乎一件小事情就会导致一连串的连锁反应。

a chain of reactions = a series of reactions

it is as if     似乎看起来

it seems as if    似乎看起来

it looks as if    似乎看起来

set up = cause    引起，导致，造成

What set up the accident / trouble?

set up（= create）  创立，建立

set up a world record    创立一个世界记录

The unimportant event is the prelude to trouble. 不重要的事情是麻烦事的前奏。

 

Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time.

让我们假定你正在烧饭，同时又照看着孩子。

keep an eye on the baby    照料孩子

keep an eye on = look after = take care of

Please keep an eye on my house while I am out.

keep one’s eyes open   睁大眼睛

When I am out, please keep your eyes open.

have an eye to   （如果用动词have就一定要跟介词to搭配）

keep an eye to the baby = keep one’s eyes on the baby

eye for eye    以牙还牙

have eyes only for    只要，只爱

I have eyes only for you.

look sb. in the eyes    两眼直视某人

Don’t look me in the eyes. 不要直直地盯着我看。

eye to eye with sb.    与某人看法完全一致

I invariably eye to eye with my sister. 我总是与我的姐姐看法一致。

turn a blind eye to sth. 对……视而不见

He even turns a blind eye to me.

make eyes at sb. 含情脉脉地看着某人

The boy is making eyes at his girlfriend.

 

While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, smashing half your best crockery and cutting himself in the process.

当你在接电话时，小孩把台布拉了下来，把最好的陶器打碎了一半，同时手又被割破了。

on the phone = answer the phone

注意与介词off搭配的动词词组的意思：

pull off  拉下来           pick off   取下来   knock off  碰落下来

smash half  摔成两半   in the process  在这个过程中

 

You hang up hurriedly and attend to baby, crockery, etc.

你连忙挂上电话，去照顾孩子，收拾陶器等等。

hang up = put on the receiver 挂断电话

attend to = look after = deal with 照顾，处理

Please attend to my baby. 请照料我的孩子。

Excuse me, I have something urgent to attend to. 请原谅，我有一件急事要处理。

 

As if this were not enough to reduce you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

似乎这一切还不足以使你气恼得流泪，你丈夫回来了，出乎意料地带着三个客人来吃饭。

重点句型。这是个虚拟语气。

reduce you to tears    迫使你流下眼泪

You almost reduce me to tears. 你快要让我流下眼泪来了。

His comforting words almost reduced his wife to tears.

他安慰的话语让他的妻子几乎掉下了眼泪。

His answer almost reduced me to silence. 他的回答几乎让我沉默了。

The bomb reduced to the city to ruins. 这枚炸弹将这个城市化为废墟。

 

We can draw a conclusion :

Everything seems to get out of control suddenly and a great number of things choose to go wrong at precisely at the moment.

Troubles never come single. 祸不单行。

 

Things can go wrong on a big scale as a number of people recently discovered in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney.

正如许多人最近在悉尼郊区的帕兰马塔见到的那样，搞糟的时期功能可能规模很大。

on a big scale = to a great degree = to great extent   

as 引导非限定性定语从句

as we know    众所周知

As we know,  the earth is round.

As Brane pointed out, giving up smoking is the easiest thing to do in the world.

As the headmaster mentioned, one is never too old to learn.正如这位校长所提及的，活到老，学到老。

as，which都可以引导非限定性定语从句。但 as 重点突出整个句子的含义 ，而which有可能指代主句当中某个词的含义，也有可能指代整个句子的含义。

As 引导非限定性定语从句，可以用于主句之前，as和主句之间要有一个逗号分隔开来。

As we expected, John was admitted to the university. 正如我们所预料的，John被这所大学入取了。

As 引导非限定性定语从句，也可以用在主句之后，这时就相当于which

She married him, which was unexpected.

She married him as was unexpected.

但是在as所引导的非限定性定语从句中，如果运用的是被动语态结构，被动词可以省略。

She married him as unexpected. （was省略）

The material is elastic as shown in the figure. 如图显示，这种材料是富有弹性的。

在这种情况下，shown之前省略了谓语动词，这时就不能把as换成which . 如果要用which 则要补上谓语动词。

The material is elastic, which is shown in the figure.

 

During the rush hour one evening two cars collided and both drivers began to argue.

一天晚上，车辆最拥挤的时候，两辆车相撞了。两位开车人争论起来。

during the rush hour 上下班的高峰期

 

The woman immediately behind the two cars happened to be a learner.

原句 = it happened that the woman behind the two cars was a learner.

紧跟在两辆车后的那位女士又碰巧是个初学开车的人（实习司机）。

happen to   恰巧

I happen to hear the news . 我恰巧听说了这个消息。

It happened that I heard about it the day before yesterday. 很凑巧，我是昨天听说这个事的。

 

This made the driver following her brake hard.

这使得她后面的司机紧急刹车。

Following 现在分词作定语修饰driver

 

As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the windscreen and landed on the road.

当她由于惯性向前一冲的时候，蛋糕被甩出了挡风玻璃，落到马路上。

副词right作状语，相当于straight

 

Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry-driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden.

一个货车司机正在超车上来，看到一块蛋糕从空中掠过，于是他把车刹住。

draw up = pull up    停车

all of sudden = suddenly

 

The lorry was loaded with empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the vehicle and on to the road.

这辆货车满载着空啤酒瓶，几百只瓶子从车子后面滑到了地上。

was loaded with = was filled with

vehicle这里指的是truck，lorry

 

This led to yet another angry argument.

这又导致了另外一次激烈的争吵。

lead to = cause 导致

 

Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind.

同时后面的车辆全停下了，堵塞了交通。

meanwhile = at the same time = at the same moment = in the meantime    与此同时

 

Tt took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again.

警察花了近一个小时才使交通重新通畅。

get the traffic on the move   使得车辆开动起来

on the move = move from place to place    在移动之中（介词on和名词搭配表示处于某种状态或者某种动作正在进行之中）

on the rise   正在上升   on the boil   正在沸腾   on the go    正在忙碌中

on the watch   正在监视中   on the turn   正在转变中   on the run   正在逃跑中

on the fly   正在飞行中   on the increase   正在增加   on the decrease   正在减少

 

Only two stray dogs benefited from all this confusion, for they greedily devoured what was left of the cake.

只有两条野狗从一片混乱中得到好处，因为他们贪婪地吞噬了剩下的蛋糕。

benefit from   从……得益   You can benefit a lot from your reading.

 

Multiple choice questions 多项选择

1．  C

2．  B  省略as的虚拟条件句

As there had been a more experienced driver behind the two cars. 假如在这两辆车后面是一位有经验的司机

3．  A

4．  B

that is…是定语从句修饰event

a single unimportant event

that is of no importance是修饰event，而set up是整个句子的谓语部分

5．  D

典型的现在分词做状语。为了使现在分词做状语比较明确，可以在现在分词前面加上while

6．  A

7．  A  如果介词短语提前到句子前面，那么句子必须采用倒装形式

8．  C  spending (time) doing sth.

9．  C  and连接的前后两个词相呼应

10．B

get into a panic 陷入慌乱之中   in panic  在恐慌（惧）中

in terror  在恐慌（惧）中   in fear  在恐慌（惧）中   in horror   在恐慌（惧）中

11． A

slid over    躲过  He slid over the question without answering it.

slip off    滑落

12． D 剩余的蛋糕

remain表示所剩余的部分，除此以外也表示遗体，遗址。

C选项leftover通常采用复数形式leftovers，表示吃剩的东西。

The leftovers of the meal were fed to the dog.