课文

Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths. He has just bought a new house in the city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with cars and their owners. When he returns home at night, he always finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate. Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once. Jasper has put up' No Parking' signs outside his gate, but these have not had any effect. Now he has put an ugly stone head over the gate. It is one of the ugliest faces I have ever seen. I asked him what it was and he told me that it was Medusa, the Gorgon. Jasper hopes that she will turn cars and their owners to stone. But none of them has been turned to stone yet!

rare
adj. 罕见的，稀有的
rare species 稀有物种
it is rare to do sth.
It is rare to find such an interesting group of people.
steak:牛排
blue rare →只有外面一层是熟的
rare →75%是生的
medium rare →50%是生的
medium →25%生的
medium well →基本全熟了
well done →全熟了

ancient
adj.古代的，古老的
the ancient civilizations：古代文明
ancient myth：古代神话
antique：adj. 古董的
an antique rosewood desk：古董红木桌子

myth
n. 神话
myth and fairy-tale：神话故事和童话故事
mystery：n. 迷，神秘事物
a mystery phone call / lover …

trouble
n. 麻烦
'Trouble is a friend but trouble is a foe.'
foe
n. 敌人, 仇敌
have trouble doing sth.
I never have any trouble getting to sleep.
get into trouble
Don't copy my paper or we'll both get into trouble.
be in trouble with
My son's in trouble with the police again.
the trouble with …：过错，不足
*The trouble with you is that you have no sense of humor. *
v. 麻烦
Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.
May I trouble you?
Sorry to trouble you

effect
n. 效果，结果，影响
have an effect on：对 … 产生影响
put / bring sth. into effect：落实计划
It won't be easy to put the changes into effect.
in effect：实际上；事实上
effective：adj. 有效的
affect：v. 影响
How do you think the changes will affect you?

课文讲解

Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths.
定语从句，定语后置
先行词：定语从句所修饰的词
关系词：引导定语从句的词

There is a young man who likes adventure.
这里关系词who做了主语
I like the people who I work with.
这里的关系词who做了介词的宾语
做宾语的关系词可以省去
The flowers that I love best are roses. = The flowers I love best are roses.

He has just bought a new house in the city, but ever since he moved in, he has had trouble with cars and their owners.

ever since：自从（语气比since强烈）
have trouble with：与 … 有纠纷，起摩擦
I have trouble with one of my roommates.

When he returns home at night, he always finds that someone has parked a car outside his gate.

in the morning
in the afternoon
at night

Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once.
because & because of
I couldn't go out because I had a cold.
because：连词，后跟句子(a subject and a verb)
I couldn't go out because of my cold.
I couldn't go out because of having a cold.
because of：介词短语，后跟名词性质的成分 / 动名词

Because of this, he has not been able to get his own car into his garage even once.

even once - even 起强调作用

It is one of the ugliest faces (that )I have ever seen.

It's one of the + 最高级 + 要修饰部分 + I have ever ...
这是我所见 / 听 / 遇到过的最 … 之一
He's one of the most interesting boys I've ever met.

Jasper hopes that she will turn cars and their owners to stone.

hope (that) …
hope to do sth.
hope for sth.
I hope you're coming to the party.
Catherine's hoping to study Law at Harvard.
I hope so. 希望如此。
turn A to B：把A变成B
The handsome prince was turned to a frog.

句型演练

What has happened? - 现在完成时
主语 + 助动词have / has + 动词过去分词
标志词：
just, already, recently, yet, so far, since, etc.

作文

My wife drives a car. She has driven a car for many years and she says that women drivers do not deserve their bad reputation（坏名声）. Yet, on the road, she often criticizes other women drivers.

*To draw water with a sieve. *
draw 提取, 汲取, 领取
sieve /sɪv/滤网
竹篮打水一场空