Do it yourself Part-3
自己动手
练习材料：
Inevitably the repair job was not quite so simple. The mower firmly refused to mow, so I decided to dismantle it. The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn mower. But I was extremely pleased with myself. I had traced the cause of the trouble. One of links in the chain that drives the wheels had snapped. After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again. I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that I was left with several curiously shaped bits of metal which did not seem to fit anywhere. I gave up in despair. The weeks passed and the grass grew. When my wife nagged me to do something about it, I told her that either I would have to buy a new mower or let the grass grow. Needless to say our house is now surrounded by a jungle. Buried somewhere in deep grass there is a rusting lawn mower which I have promised to repair one day.
ɪnˈɛvɪtəbli ðə rɪˈpeə ʤɒb wɒz nɒt kwaɪt səʊ ˈsɪmpl. ðə ˈməʊə ˈfɜːmli ˌriːˈfjuːzd tuː maʊ, səʊ aɪ dɪˈsaɪdɪd tuː dɪsˈmæntl ɪt. ðə ˈgɑːdn wɒz suːn ˈlɪtəd wɪð ʧʌŋks ɒv ˈmɛtl wɪʧ hæd wʌns meɪd ʌp ə lɔːn ˈməʊə. bʌt aɪ wɒz ɪksˈtriːmli pliːzd wɪð maɪˈsɛlf. aɪ hæd treɪst ðə kɔːz ɒv ðə ˈtrʌbl. wʌn ɒv lɪŋks ɪn ðə ʧeɪn ðæt draɪvz ðə wiːlz hæd snæpt. ˈɑːftə ˈbaɪɪŋ ə njuː ʧeɪn aɪ wɒz feɪst wɪð ði ˌɪnsə(ː)ˈmaʊntəbl tɑːsk ɒv ˈpʊtɪŋ ðə kənˈfjuːzɪŋ ˈʤɪgˌsɔː ˈpʌzl təˈgɛðər əˈgɛn. aɪ wɒz nɒt səˈpraɪzd tuː faɪnd ðæt ðə məˈʃiːn stɪl ˌriːˈfjuːzd tuː wɜːk ˈɑːftər aɪ hæd ˌriːəˈsɛmbld ɪt, fɔː ðə ˈsɪmpl ˈriːzn ðæt aɪ wɒz lɛft wɪð ˈsɛvrəl ˈkjʊərɪəsli ʃeɪpt bɪts ɒv ˈmɛtl wɪʧ dɪd nɒt siːm tuː fɪt ˈɛnɪweə. aɪ geɪv ʌp ɪn dɪsˈpeə. ðə wiːks pɑːst ænd ðə grɑːs gruː. wɛn maɪ waɪf nægd miː tuː duː ˈsʌmθɪŋ əˈbaʊt ɪt, aɪ təʊld hɜː ðæt ˈaɪðər aɪ wʊd hæv tuː baɪ ə njuː ˈməʊər ɔː lɛt ðə grɑːs grəʊ. ˈniːdlɪs tuː seɪ ˈaʊə haʊs ɪz naʊ səˈraʊndɪd baɪ ə ˈʤʌŋgl. ˈbɛrid ˈsʌmweər ɪn diːp grɑːs ðeər ɪz ə ˈrʌstɪŋ lɔːn ˈməʊə wɪʧ aɪ hæv ˈprɒmɪst tuː rɪˈpeə wʌn deɪ.
事实上，修理工作远不是那么简单。修完后割草机还是纹丝不动。于是，我决定把它拆开。一会儿工夫，割草机便被拆成一个个金属零件，乱七八糟地堆在花园里。但我却非常高兴，因为我找到了毛病所在。驱动轮子的链条断了一节。我买来一根新链条后，面临的就是如何把这些令人眼花缭乱的拼板重新组装起来。等我装完后，那台割草机仍然一动不动，对此我倒并不感到吃惊。原因很简单，因为还剩下几个形状奇特的零件似乎哪里也装不上去。我无可奈何，只好罢休。几个星期过去了，草长了起来。妻子喋喋不休让我想点办法。我告诉她，要么买一台新割草机，要么让草长下去。不用说，我家现在已被丛林包围。深草丛中的某个地方有一台正在生锈的割草机，那就是我曾答应某日要修理的割草机。
任务配置：L0、L3、L4
知识笔记：
单词与短语
dismantle /dɪsˈmæntl/to disassemble or pull down; take apart:
be pleased with myself我非常高兴（对...高兴）
trace the cause of sth找到了毛病所在
I was not surprised to find that ....,for the simple rea
son对某事不感到吃惊，原因很简单，因为
in despair 无可奈何
either...or要么...要么
练习感悟：一天把两天的复述做完，感觉很节省时间。
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