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精读原文
The facts
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their readers with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the president's palace in a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to publish it. The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the president's palace'. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them.Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a fax from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.
精读笔记
The facts
fact:[C] a piece of information that is known to be true事实；真相。在本文中，the facts指the exact number of steps and the height of the wall，即台阶的确切阶数和围墙的高度
确切数字
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremesto provide their readers with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the president'spalacein a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to publishit. The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the president's palace'. The editor at once sent the journalist afax instructing him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
editor['edɪtə]:the person who is in charge of a newspaper or magazine, or part of a newspaper or magazine, and decides what should be included in it〔报纸、杂志的〕主编，编辑
statistics[stə'tɪstɪks]:quantitative data on any subject, esp data comparing the distribution of some quantity for different subclasses of the population 统计数据
go to extremes:走极端，采取极端手段。注意extremes要用复数形式。如：Why does she always go to extremes? She's either glorously happy or hopelessly sad, never in between. 她为什么总是走极端？要么高兴得不得了，要么陷入绝望悲伤，从来没有中间状态。
provide:to give something to someone or make it available to them, because they need it or want it提供，供应，供给；表示“向某人提供某物”，常用搭配是：provide sb. with sth. 或provide sth. for sb.，如The hotel provides a shoe-cleaning service for guests. 该宾馆为客人提供擦鞋服务。或者The project is designed to provide young people with work. 该计划旨在为年轻人提供工作。【固定搭配】
journalist[ˈdʒɜ:nəlɪst]: someone who writes news reports for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio新闻工作者；新闻记者
had been instructed by...过去完成时的被动语态：表示过去某时刻完成的动作；构成“had+been+过去分词”，为强调后来发生事件而使用的过渡性用法。如：The task had been finished before 12:00 yesterday.本文多处出现该语法点，注意留意用法【语法小学堂】
palace['pælɪs]:the official home of a person of very high rank, especially a king or queen – often used in names王宫；宫殿；〔官位极高者的〕府邸〔常用于名称中〕;如：Buckingham Palace 白金汉宫
publish ['pʌblɪʃ]:to arrange for a book, magazine etc to be written, printed, and sold出版〔书刊等〕；如：The first edition was published in 1765. 第一版于1765年出版。
fax[fæks]:a letter or message that is sent in electronic form down a telephone line and then printed using a special machine传真件
send: 1)发送，寄：She sent me a card yesterday.（她昨天给我寄张卡片。）2)派遣，打发：The government sends troops to suppress the rebellion.（政府派遣军队去镇压那场叛乱。）3)召唤：I’ll send for the police.（我叫警察了。）【小词活用】
instructing him to...现在分词短语作状语，表目的
报刊杂志的编辑常常为了向读者提供成立一些无关紧要的事实和统计数字而走向极端。去年，一位记者受一家有名的杂志的委托写一篇关于非洲某个新成立共和国总统府的文章。稿子寄来后，编辑看第一句话就拒绝予以发表。文章的开头是这样的：“几百级台阶通向环绕总统的高墙。”编辑立即给那位记者发去传真，要求他核实一下台阶的确切数字和围墙的高度。
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but the took a long time to send them Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a fax from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.
take:1)拿、取：Don’t forget to take your umbrella.（别忘了带伞。）；2)占用（地盘），花费（时间）：It may take them several weeks to get back.（他们得用几周的时间才能返回。）【小词活用】
was getting impatient:get是系动词，impatient作补语，对主语作补充说明。
go to press:付印
yet another:又，更；如：Yet another one is a direct child of . 而另一个元素是的直接子元素。
informing the journalist that...现在分词短语作状语。
fire ['faɪə]:to force someone to leave their job开除，解雇。如：be/get fired：She didn’t want to get fired. 她不想被解雇。
originally[ə'rɪdʒɪn(ə)lɪ]:in the beginning, before other things happened or before other things changed原先，最初。如：The family originally came from France. 这个家族最初来自法国。
Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well.not only...but also...不仅……而且……（强调的是后者）；not only用于句首，需要倒装语序;
However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading tothe fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.本句in which引导定语从句，in不能省略，相当于in the fax;while表示arrest和count两个动作同时发生；leading to...为现在分词短语，作定语后置修饰steps.
否定词用于句首时的倒装句：never/rarely/seldom/little等+助动词（be/do/have/can/must等）+主语+句子的其他成分，用以加强语气，如：Never shall I watch such a boring film again.【语法小学堂】
记者立即出发去核实这些重要的事实，但过了好长时间不见他把数字寄来，在此期间，编辑等得不耐烦了，因为杂志马上要付印。他给记者先后发去两份传真，但对方毫无反应。于是他又发了一份传真，通知那位记者说，若再不迅速答复，将被解雇。但记者还是没有回复。编辑无奈，勉强按原样发稿了。一周之后，编辑终于接到记者的传真。那个可怜的记者不仅被捕了，而且还被送进了监狱。不过，他终于获准发回了一份传真。在传真中他告诉编辑，就在他数通向15英尺高的总统府围墙的1，084级台阶时，被抓了起来。
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