A German taxi-driver, Franz Bussman , recently found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.

who was thought…….   who 所引导的定语从句修饰brother

 

While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on , Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman’s close resemblance to here husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.

he was on a walking tour………..省略了he

comment on sth 就...作出评论\评价--remark on

Bussman夫人对工人作出评价说长得和他的兄弟很像，甚至暗示说就是他的兄弟…

eg:I can't explain how it is that he is still here.

be separated from   make one's way

 

Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Bussman was fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.

…..她认为有百万分一的机会证明她所说的是正确的……..

 

 A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say , the man’s name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz’s long-lost brother. When the brothers were re-united, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.

……explained how it was…..汉斯解释说他依旧活着是怎么一回事。

 

After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot.

Make one’s way…力尽艰辛……….

 

Meanwhile , his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air-raid,  Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.

………all records of him had been destroyed….他所有的资料都被毁掉了

 

become of :happen to :发生遭遇\不幸的事件,多用于疑问句,主语必须是what或

whatever   eg. Whatever became of that girl?

Please explain what became of you yesterday.

用assuming,而不用presuming:主观上的臆断\无事实根据的

 

Multiple choice questions 多项选择

1、 What would a modern reader find totally unacceptable in a novel today?

答案d—Having for a hero a man once presumed dead.

根据课文内容知道现在的读者是不能接受一些巧合的事件

2、 When Mrs. Bussman suggested that the workman might be Franz’s brother

答案c—Franz was so sure his brother was dead he did not take her seriously.

3、 What did Hans Bussman do immediately after the war was over?

答案c—He inquired after his family’s where abouts but found no trace of them.背熟

 (打探某人的情况,但是没有发现任何踪迹)

4、 -his readers with a series of coincidences…wildly improbable.(lines 3-6)

答案b—which would be most

5、 A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, had not in fact died and…to bring about the hero’s downfall.(lines 8-12)

答案d—had been wickedly plotting.

6、 He stopped…(line 25)

答案a—in order to talk to a workman

7、 She sent a boy to ask the workman…(lines 25-26)

答案b—what he was called

8、 Meanwhile his unit was lost and …had been destroyed. (lines 31-32)

答案b—every record of his   (他所有的记录都被毁掉了)

9、 -who was thought to have been killed twenty years…(lines 18-19)

答案d—previously  previously: before 同义 完成时的标志

10、Mrs Bussman told her husband that he and the workman…(lines 20-21)

答案c—looked very alike

look表示人的外貌\长相应该采用复数形式

look alike 看起来像

10、              -there was the …chance she might be right.(lines 24-25)

答案a—remotest

remote 既表示"遥远\偏僻的",也表示"微弱的",特别用来修饰chance

11、              -how it had …that he was still alive. (lines 28-29) *

答案d—come about

come about: happen

多用于疑问句,尤其是How does it come about that?结构中

 

补充：

一、词组

标题：a chance in a million      one chance in a thousand可能性小

less credulous                           not so gullible 不怎么轻信于人(殆无可能)

we used to be                            we were 像我们往常那样

bring……to a conclusion:

bring……  to an end

          to a close  把……告一结束

presenting(sb.) with                 offering (sb.) with 给（人）以

a series of                                 a train of 一系列

wildly improbable                      extremely absurd 荒诞不经，十分荒唐

was presumed                           was supposed 人们以为

all the time                                all the while 一直

plotting to                                 conspiring to 图谋

bring about (one's ) downfall=bring about(one's) failure

把（人）搞垮，叫别人日子不好过

and so on                                  and so forth,等等，诸如此类的事

conspire to bring about conspire towards

不期而然地发生，导致……许多事凑在一起，引起了，合力促成

was thought to have                  原来人们认为已经was believed to have

on a walking tour                     徒步旅行 on a walking excursion

stopped to talk to                      停下来然后向……讲话=stopped walking and talked to

commented on                           made observations on 置评，评论

close resemblance to                 great likeness to 酷像

poured scorn on                              scoffed at 嘲笑

pointing out that                      indication clearly that明白指出，说道……

killed in action                         fallen in battle阵亡

was acquainted with                  熟知，熟悉 was familiar with

needless to say                         不用说 it goes without saying , it is a matter of course

how it was that    怎么会……怎么搞的……=how(跟主语) came 或how it came that……

(be) wounded                            be injured 受伤

was separated from  隔绝，失去联系 was out of touch with, lost touch (contact) with

made his way back into=went his way back into/to  返回

on foot                                      by walking 步行

family home                                    old home, home town 老家

in the neighbourhood                在街坊邻里 in the residential district

what had become of  变为什么样子，变成什么样的一种现状（命运，结果）= what had happened to (或befallen)

assuming that                           presuming that 料想

settled down                              定居 established one's residence

ever since                                 打那以后 the whole period from some specified time.

二、关于conspire to

(有一种这样的含意：许多事，情况或人凑在一起造成了……) 后接V

1) Events conspire to bring about great difficulties for government

2) They conspire to bring about the meeting of the two people.

3) They conspire to make it a success.

4) The bad weather conspired with a dirty hotel to make my holiday a resounding failure.

三、表达法对比

a) Hans explained    how it was that he was still alive.

                   how things happened that he was still alive.

                   the whole story of his being still alive.

b) conspire to bring about 可写成 conspire towards(合力促成)

                             conspire against(凑在一起反对)

例：一切事情都和我作对

All things conspire against me.

一切因素都促成那种结果。

All things conspire towards that result.

 

c) a例所示 how it was,是说“原委”，“事情之究竟”。所以我们说“原来是这样”，就可写成So that's how it is.

上一页 [1] [2]