练习材料:
The Westhaven Express Part-2
开往威斯特海温的快车
Neither was I surprise when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder, It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page. It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
ˈnaɪðə wɒz aɪ səˈpraɪz wɛn ðə treɪn stɒpt æt Widley, ə ˈtaɪni ˈsteɪʃən ə fjuː maɪlz əˈlɒŋ ðə laɪn. ˈiːvən ə ˈmaɪti ɪksˈprɛs treɪn kæn biː hɛld ʌp baɪ ˈsɪgnlz. bʌt wɛn ðə treɪn ˈdɔːdld æt ˈsteɪʃən ˈɑːftə ˈsteɪʃən, aɪ bɪˈgæn tuː ˈwʌndə, ɪt ˈsʌdnli dɔːnd ɒn miː ðæt ðɪs ɪksˈprɛs wɒz nɒt ˈrɔːrɪŋ daʊn ðə laɪn æt ˈnaɪnti maɪlz ən ˈaʊə, bʌt ˈbeəli ˈʧʌgɪŋ əˈlɒŋ æt ˈθɜːti. wʌn ˈaʊər ænd ˈsɛvnˈtiːn ˈmɪnɪts pɑːst ænd wiː hæd nɒt ˈiːvən ˈkʌvəd hɑːf ðə ˈdɪstəns. aɪ ɑːskt ə ˈpæsɪnʤər ɪf ðɪs wɒz ðə Westhaven ɪksˈprɛs, bʌt hiː hæd nɒt ˈiːvən hɜːd ɒv ɪt. aɪ dɪˈtɜːmɪnd tuː lɒʤ ə kəmˈpleɪnt æz suːn æz wiː əˈraɪvd. tuː ˈaʊəz ˈleɪtə, aɪ wɒz ˈtɔːkɪŋ ˈæŋgrɪli tuː ðə ˈsteɪʃən ˈmɑːstər æt Westhaven. wɛn hiː dɪˈnaɪd ðə treɪnz ɪgˈzɪstəns, aɪ ˈbɒrəʊd hɪz ˈkɒpi ɒv ðə ˈtaɪmˌteɪb(ə)l. ðeə wɒz ə nəʊt ɒv ˈtraɪəmf ɪn maɪ vɔɪs wɛn aɪ təʊld hɪm ðæt ɪt wɒz ðeər ɪn blæk ænd waɪt. ˈglɑːnsɪŋ æt ɪt ˈbriːfli, hiː təʊld miː tuː lʊk əˈgɛn. ə ˈtaɪni ˈæstərɪsk kənˈdʌktɪd miː tuː ə ˈfʊtnəʊt æt ðə ˈbɒtəm ɒv ðə peɪʤ. ɪt sɛd: ðɪs ˈsɜːvɪs hæz biːn səsˈpɛndɪd.'
火车开出几英里即在一个小站威德里停了下来。对此,我不觉得奇怪,因为即便是特别快车也可能被信号拦住。但是,当火车一站接着一站往前蠕动时,我便产生了怀疑。我突然感到这趟快车并没以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进,而是卟哧卟哧地向前爬行,时速仅30英里。1小时17分过去了,走了还不到一半路程。我问一位乘客,这是不是开往威斯特海温的那趟快车,他说从未听说过有这么一趟快车。我决定到目的地就给铁路部门提意见。两小时后,我气呼呼地同威斯特海温站站长说起此事。他说根本没有这趟车。于是我借他本人的列车时刻表,我带着一种胜利者的调子告诉他那趟车白纸黑字。明明白白印在时刻表上。他迅速地扫视了一眼,让我再看一遍。一个小小的星形符号把我的目光引到了那页底部一个说明上。上面写着:“此趟列车暂停运行。”
任务配置:L0、L3、L4
知识笔记:
单词与短语
mighty express train特别快车
begin to do sth开始做某事/产生了某种感觉
dawn on感到
roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进
barely chugging along at thirty卟哧卟哧地向前爬行,时速仅30英里
covered half the distance走了不到一半路程
lodge a complaint提意见
deny sth's existence说没有某物
triumph/ˈtraɪəmf /the act, fact, or condition of being victorious or triumphant; victory; conquest.
in black and white白纸黑字
Glancing at扫视
asterisk/ˈæstərɪsk /a small starlike symbol (*), used in writing and printing as a reference mark or to indicate omission, doubtful matter, etc.
footnote/ ˈfʊtnəʊt/an explanatory or documenting note or comment at the bottom of a page, referring to a specific part of the text on the page.
感悟:终于有wifi了,可以无障碍上传作业了。今天突然对英语发音的声调有了不同的感觉。
网友评论