课文

Mrs Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest after two men. They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees. Mrs Sterling got so angry that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but she continued to run. When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were going through the contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The men got such a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away. 'The strap needs mending,' said Mrs Sterling later, 'but they did not steal anything.'

risk

1. n. 危险，冒险
   the risk of …：冒着 … 的危险
   take / run a risk：冒险
   at the risk of doing sth.：冒险做某事
2. v. 冒险
   risk doing sth.
   Are you prepared to risk travelling all by yourself?
   risky：adj.
   whisky 威士忌
   whisker 指动物的胡须，或男性络腮胡

picnic
n. 野餐
have a picnic / go for a picnic
be no picnic 不是一件轻松的事情
Taking hundreds of staff to have a trip will be no picnic.

strap
n. 带，皮带
a watch strap
strapless：adj. 没有带子的
strapless gown：露肩晚装

possession
n. 所有物，财产
in possession of sth. 拥有，占有某物
possess：v.
possessed：adj.
sb. is possessed：着魔，鬼迷心窍
take possession of sth.：拥有，占有某物

breath
n. 气息
bad breath：口臭
You have a bad breath.
be out of breath：上气不接下气
take a big / deep breath：深呼吸
hold your breath：屏住呼吸
take your breath away：使目瞪口呆，大吃一惊
breathe：v. 呼吸
breathe deeply：take a deep breath
breathing：n. 呼吸（强调呼吸的过程）

content

1. n. 内装物品
   contents：容纳的东西（具体）
   table of contents=contents：目录
   contents page：目录页
2. n. 文章内容（抽象）
   The content of your article is great, but the style is a little bit serious.
   content：adj. happy and satisfied
   be content to do sth.
   be content with sth. / sb.
   be satisfied with sth. / sb.

mend
v. 修理
mend & repair & fix
mend：v. 缝补，修补(used for clothing, relationships … )
repair：v. 修理（感觉有种技术在里面）
fix：v. 固定，确定
fix a time / a place
fix your hair