Stardust --C4

“Can I Get There by Candlelight?”

单词和句段

1.had the privilege of eating

• privilege
  搭配：
  • it is a rare/great/special privilege to do sth
  • grant sb. the privilege of doing sth.
  • Cafés, restaurants and bars will also be permitted this huge privilege.

2. be certain of sth
be bound to do sth

3. ……become harder to discern

• become harder to do sth
• discern
  • discern between right and wrong
  • discern no difference between the two policies

discern／distinguish／discriminate比较

• What we discern we see apart from all other objects (to discern the lighthouse beaming on the far shore).
• Distinguish requires making even finer distinctions among things that resemble each other even more closely (unable to distinguish the shadowy figures moving through the forest). Distinguish can also refer to recognizing by some special mark or outward sign (the sheriff could be distinguished by his silver badge).
• To discriminate is to perceive the differences between or among things that are very similar (to discriminate between two painters' styles).

4.Just hide it from us, lure us off of it...

• lure
  • to lure [somebody] into doing [something]
  • to lure [somebody] into a trap

tempt／lure 比较

• When we are under the influence of a powerful attraction, particularly to something that is wrong or unwise, we are tempted.
• If someone lures us, it suggests that we have been tempted or influenced for fraudulent（欺骗的） or destructive purposes or attracted to something harmful or evil (lured by gang members).

5. ……his breathing labored……

• labored
• labored breathing
• labored to no avail
• labored under the mistake／ misconception／delusion

6. ……on closer inspection……

• make an inspection of
• on closer inspection

7. I was soon to face my true love’s scorn

• face sb's scorn (注意搭配)
• scorn
  • scorn lying／to lie
• think scorn of

8. ……hoping to pacify whoever was sitting beneath the hazel tree

• pacify
• Government forces have found it difficult to pacify the rebels.
• ...the pacification of the country.

9. ……comprehension dawning.

• 这个用法第一次见，mark

10. …… I shall do whatever is in my power to frustrate your plans and devices.

• ** to frustrate one's plans／efforts**
• If someone or something frustrates a plan or attempt to do something, they prevent it from succeeding. 挫败
• The government has deliberately frustrated his efforts to gain work permits for his foreign staff.

Summary

The part of the book tells us three apparently independent stories about Tristran, the three brothers, and Brevis.
The three brothers set out their internal power struggle, Septimus used a chambermaid who had sex with Tertius and killed him by a poisoned wine. Then Septimus flees away and Primus looks for the fallen star on his own.
Brevis, a poor guy, who sold his family’s goat to a witch woman. The woman has obsession with matched pairs so she turns Brevis into a goat just for her sick obsession.
Tristran went through a lot. He met the man who was achieved by his father many years ago in the Faerie Market. The man is wise and perceived Tristran’s gift and magical power on the direction of location. When they went their separate ways， the man gifted Tristran a Candlelight and told him that the candle would help him to find the fallen star.
At last, he met a girl who was crying under a tree. The girl’s leg was broken which means she is the star.
Can Tristran get her out of there and back to the Wall safely? What about the Brevis-goat? And what happened to the two brothers?

感悟

本来看第一章时，那个神秘男子我以为只是个龙套，这一章中又重新出现，而且说了很多非常隐晦的话，说话也比较犀利毒舌，比如I’d tell her to go shove her face in the pig pen, and go out and find another one who’ll kiss you without askin’ for the earth.让我觉得他是一个比较重要的人物。所以这一章中，对Brevis以及杀死Tertius的侍女多多留意了一下。
语言方面，还是主要对“声音”、“眼神”的描写比较留意，如：stared up at him with eyes like beads of jet；in a voice like musky brown honey（对比她下面的举动，真的打寒战）；said a voice, all raw and gulping；gazed up at Tristran with a scowl of complete unfriendliness。
现在非常好奇Tristran能和星星女之间发生什么，预感他们是官方cp，毕竟小说里的爱情并不开始于互相喜欢和爱慕（真·都是套路。