大学英语综合教程第四单元重难点.doc

unit 4 The Watery Place It was just an error, a stupid error, the kind anyone could make. Only now Earth is never going to have another visitor from space. Not ever. The Watery PlaceIssac Asimov 1 Were never going to have visitors from space. No extraterrestrials will ever land on Earth - at least, any more. 2 Im not just being a pessimist. As a matter of fact, extraterrestrials have landed. I know that. Space ships are crisscrossing space among a million worlds, probably, but they will never come here. I know that, too. All on account of a ridiculous error. 3 Ill explain. 4 It was actually Bart Camerons error and youll have to understand about Bart Cameron. Hes the sheriff at Twin Gulch, Idaho, and Im his deputy. Bart Cameron is an impatient man and he gets most impatient when he has to work up his income tax. You see, besides being sheriff, he also owns and runs the general store, hes got some shares in a sheep ranch, hes got a kind of pension for being a disabled veteran (bad knee) and a few other things like that. Naturally, it makes his tax figures complicated. 5 It wouldnt be so bad if hed let a taxman work on the forms with him, but he insists on doing it himself and it makes him a bitter man. By April 14, he isnt approachable. 6 So its too bad the flying saucer landed on April 14, 1956. 7 I saw it land. My chair was backed up against the wall in the sheriffs office, and I was looking at the stars through the windows and wondering if I ought to knock off and hit the sack or keep on listening to Cameron curse real steady as he went over his columns of figures for the hundred twenty-seventh time. 8 It looked like a shooting star at first, but then the track of light broadened into two things that looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came down without a sound. 9 Two men got out. 10 I couldnt say anything or do anything. I couldnt choke or point; I couldnt even bug my eyes. I just sat there. 11 Cameron? He never looked up. 12 There was a knock on the door. It opened and the two men from the flying saucer stepped in. I would have thought they were city fellows if I hadnt seen the flying saucer land. They wore gray suits, with white shirts and dark red-brown ties. They had on black shoes and black hats. They had dark complexions, black wavy hair and brown eyes. They had very serious looks on their faces and were about five foot ten apiece. They looked very much alike. 13 God, I was scared. 14 But Cameron just looked up when the door opened and frowned. He said, What can I do for you, folks? and he tapped his hand on the forms so it was obvious he hadnt much time. 15 One of the two stepped forward. He said, We have had your people under observation a long time. He pronounced each word carefully and all by itself. 16 Cameron said, My people? All I gots a wife. Whats she been doing? 17 The fellow in the suit said, We have chosen this locality for our first contact because it is isolated and peaceful. We know that you are the leader here. 18 Im the sheriff, if thats what you mean, so spit it out. Whats your trouble? 19 We have been careful to adopt your mode of dress and even to assume your appearance. We have also learned your language. 20 You could see the light break in on Cameron. He said, You guys foreigners? Cameron didnt go much for foreigners, never having met many outside the army, but generally he tried to be fair. 21 The man from the saucer said, Foreigners? Indeed we are. We come from the watery place your people call Venus. 22 Cameron never blinked an eye. He said, All right. This is the U.S.A. We all got equal rights regardless of race, color, or nationality. Im at your service. What can I do for you? 23 We would like to have you make immediate arrangements for the important men of your U.S.A., as you call it, to be brought here for discussions leading to your people joining our great organization. 24 Slowly, Cameron got red. Our people join your organization. Were already part of the U.N. and God knows what else. And I suppose Im to get the President here, eh? Right now? In Twin Gulch? Send a hurry-up message? He looked at me, as though he wanted to see a smile on my face, but I couldnt as much as fall down if someone had pushed the chair out from under me. 25 The saucer man said, Speed is desirable. 26 You want Congress, too? The Supreme Court? 27 If they will help, sheriff. 28 And Cameron really went to pieces. He banged his income tax form and yelled, Well, youre not helping me, and I have no time for wise guys who come around, especially foreigners. If you dont get the hell out of here straight away, Ill lock you up for disturbing the peace and Ill never let you out. 29 You wish us to leave? said the man from Venus. 30 Right now! Get the hell out of here and back to wherever youre from and dont ever come back. I dont want to see you and no one else around here does. 31 The two men looked at each other. 32 Then the one who had done all the talking said, I can see in your mind that you really wish, with great intensity, to be left alone. It is not our way to force ourselves or our organization on people who do not wish us or it. We will respect your privacy and leave. We will not return. We will put a warning around your world and none will enter. 33 Cameron said, Mister, Im tired of this garbage, so Ill count to three - 34 They turned and left, and I just knew that everything they said was so. I was listening to them, you see, which Cameron wasnt, because he was busy thinking of his income tax, and it was as though I could hear their minds, know what I mean? I knew that there would be a kind of fence around earth, keeping others out. 35 And when they left, I got my voice back - too late. I screamed, Cameron, for Gods sake, theyre from space. Whyd you send them away? 36 From space! He stared at me. 37 I yelled, Look! I dont know how I did it, he being twenty-five pounds heavier than I, but I heaved him to the window by his shirt collar. 38 He was too surprised to resist and when he recovered his wits enough to make like he was going to knock me down, he caught sight of what was going on outside the window and the breath went out of him. 39 They were getting into the flying saucer, those two men, and the saucer sat there, large, round, shiny and kind of powerful, you know. Then it took off. It went up easy as a feather and a red-orange glow showed up on one side and got brighter as the ship got smaller till it was a shooting star again, slowly fading out. 40 And I said, Sheriff, whyd you send them away? They had to see the President. Now theyll never come back. 41 Cameron said, I thought they were foreigners. They said they had to learn our language. And they talked funny. 42 Oh, fine. Foreigners. 43 They said they were foreigners and they looked Italian. I thought they were Italian. 44 How could they be Italian? They said they were from the planet Venus. I heard them. They said so. 45 The planet Venus. His eyes got real round. 46 They said it. They called it the watery place or something. You know Venus has a lot of water on it. 47 But you see, it was just an error, a stupid error, the kind anyone could make. Only now Earth is never going to have another Venusian visit us. That dope, Cameron, and his income tax! 48 Because he whispered, Venus! When they talked about the watery place, I thought they meant Venice! Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto水星 金星 火星 木星 土星 天王星 海王星 冥王星Part II Text AText Organization 1.PartsParagraphsMain IdeasPart OneParas 1-3The narrator claims that no extraterrestrials will ever land on earth.Part TwoParas 4-48The narrator gives an account of his encounter with extraterrestrials, making it clear why he claims thatthey will return no more.2.SectionsParagraphsMain PlotsSection OneParas 4-5(before the E.T.s arrival)Bart got quite irritable be-cause of his complicated tax form.Section TwoParas 6-11(the landing of the flying saucer) The narrator wasshocked at the sight of a flying saucer landing on Earth and two men getting out of it, while Bart didnt notice it at all.Section ThreeParas 12-34(the meeting with the E.T.) Unaware of the guests identity and caught up with his tax form, Bart talked to the guests with an impatient and sarcastic tone and turned down their request rudely. Their conversation ended with the guests promise of not coming back.Section FourParas 35-48(after the E.T.s departure) After the E.T. left, the narrator got mad at Bart because of his irrational atti-tude to the guests. Bart didnt realize his stupid error until it was too late. 难句解疑1、It looked like a shooting star at first,but then the track of light broadened into two things that looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came down without a sound.(L24L26)-一开始像一颗流星，后来那轨迹越来越亮，变成两个光点，就像是火箭喷射出的气流，那个东西无声无息的着陆了。【注释】主干：It looked like,but then。 that looked like rocket exhausts 为定语句修饰two things.exhaust既可以做动词又可以做名词，用作动词时意为“使筋疲力尽，用尽”；用作名词，表示“排出的废气”。Exhaust在本句中用作名词。 the thing came down without a sound 中，the thing 指前面提到的 it2.I can see in your mind that you really wish ,with great intensity ,to be left alone.(L84L85)-看来您确实非常不愿意受到打扰。【注释】主干：I can see that you really wish to be left alone 。句子中to be left alone 是动词不定式的被动结构。动词不定式的被动结构可以做动词的宾语。该结构有自己的逻辑主语，形成一定的主谓关系。这种逻辑主语通常也就是其在主句的主语，不必表示出来。在本句中动词不定式的被动结构的逻辑主语是它所在的宾语从句的主语 you。如：He hoped to be invited.=He hoped that he would be invited .他希望被邀请。此外，如果要表示动作发生在谓语动词前面，要用动词不定式被动结构的完成式，即 to have been done 结构。如：He is believed to have been killed on the way home.人们认为他在回家的路上被杀害了。动词不定式（包括不定式的被动语态）还可以起连接作用，如它可以用在only后面表示一个令人失望的结局。如：He suevived the crash only to be killed by his partner.他在那次坠机事故中幸存下来，却被合伙人杀害。3、I dont know how I did it,he being twenty-five pounds heavier than I,but I heaved him to the window by his shirt collar.(L100L101)-我到现在都搞不清楚是怎么一回事，他比我重25镑，可我竟然扯着他的衣领把他拽到了窗前。【注释】主干 :I dont knowbut I heaved him。句子中的he being twenty five pounds heavier than I是个独立主格结构。独立主格结构称独立结构。这是一种具有逻辑主谓的从属结构，或者说是独立于句子主要成分之外的结构。这种结构形式上是名词（或代词）短语，实际上是一个主谓复合结构，前面的名称（或代词）是后面部分的逻辑上的主语，意义上相当于一个从句。-The meal over,they resumed their talking.晚饭后，他们接着聊天。4.H