HannahLin的ScalersTalk第四轮新概念朗读持续力

Lesson 74 Out of the limelight

An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of famous actors and actresses got off. Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special precautions so that no one should recognize them. But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too perfect.

 'This is a wonderful place for a picnic,' said Gloria Gleam.

' It couldn't be better, Gloria,' Brinksley Meers agreed. 'No newspaper men, no film fans! Why don't we come more often ?'

Meanwhile, two other actors, Rockwall Slinger and Merlin Greeves, had carried two large food baskets to a shady spot under some trees. When they had all made themselves comfortable, a stranger appeared. He looked very angry.

'Now you get out of here, all of you!' he shouted: ' I'm sheriff here. Do you see that notice? It says" No Camping" in case you can't read!'

' Look, sheriff, 'said Rockwall,' don't be too hard on us. I'm Rockwall Slinger and this is Merlin Greeves.'

' Oh, is it ?' said the sheriff with a sneer. 'Well, I'm Brinksley Meers, and my other name is Gloria Gleam. Now you get out of here fast!’

ˈlɛsən 74 aʊt əv ðə ˈlaɪmˌlaɪt 

ən ˈeɪnʧənt bʌs stɑpt baɪ ə draɪ ˈrɪvər bɛd ənd ə ˈpɑrti əv ˈfeɪməs ˈæktərz ənd ˈæktrəsɪz gɑt ɔf. 

drɛst ɪn dɑrk ˈglæsəz ənd oʊldkloʊðz, ðeɪ həd ˈteɪkən ˈspɛʃəl priˈkɔʃənz soʊ ðət noʊ wʌn ʃəd ˈrɛkəgˌnaɪz ðɛm. 

bət əz ðeɪ sun dɪˈskʌvərd, dɪsˈgaɪzɪz kənsəmˈtaɪmz bi tu ˈpɜrˌfɪkt. 

 ðɪs ɪz ə ˈwʌndərfəl pleɪs fər ə ˈpɪkˌnɪk,' sɛd ˈglɔriə glim. 

' ɪt ˈkʊdənt bi ˈbɛtər, ˈglɔriə,' Brinksley ˈmiərz əˈgrid. noʊ ˈnuzˌpeɪpər mɛn, noʊ fɪlm fænz! waɪ doʊnt wi kʌm mɔr ˈɔfən?' 

ˈmiˌwaɪl, tu ˈʌðər ˈæktərz, Rockwall ˈslɪŋər ənd ˈmɜrlɪn Greeves, həd ˈkærid tu lɑrʤ fud ˈbæskəts tʊ ə ˈʃeɪdi spɑt ˈʌndər səmtriz. 

wɛn ðeɪ həd ɔl meɪd ðɛmˈsɛlvz ˈkʌmfərtəbəl, ə ˈstreɪnʤər əˈpɪrd. hi lʊkt ˈvɛri ˈæŋgri. 

naʊ jʊ gɛt aʊt əv hir, ɔl əv ju!' hi ˈʃaʊtəd: ' aɪm ˈʃɛrəf hir. 

dʊ jʊ si ðət ˈnoʊtəs? ɪt sɛz" noʊ ˈkæmpɪŋ" ɪn keɪs jʊ kænt rid!' 

' lʊk, ˈʃɛrəf, sɛd Rockwall,' doʊnt bi tu hɑrd ɑn ʌs. aɪm Rockwall ˈslɪŋər ənd ðɪs ɪz ˈmɜrlɪn Greeves.' 

' oʊ, ɪz ɪt ?' sɛd ðə ˈʃɛrəf wɪð ə snɪr. 

wɛl, aɪm Brinksley ˈmiərz, ənd maɪ ˈʌðər neɪm əz ˈglɔriə glim. 

naʊ jʊ gɛt aʊt əv hir fæst!’

任务配置：

L0+L4

知识笔记：

1. An ancient bus stopped by a dry river bed and a party of famous actors and actresses got off.

river bed: 

Your bed is the piece of furniture you sleep on at night. One of a babysitter's most important tasks is telling kids when it's time to get into their beds.

The bed you get into at bedtime is different from the garden bed you dig each spring, preparing to plant seeds. Another kind of bed is the one made of straw or hay that's tucked inside a barn and intended for animals to sleep on. A truck also has a bed — the open rear part you can fill with goods. To bed, or "bed down," is to put someone to bed or climb into bed yourself.

[C] an area of ground in a garden / yard or park for growing flowers, vegetables, etc.

• 花坛；苗圃；菜园:

 »flower beds  花坛

【IDIOMS】

◘(not) a bed of' roses

• (not) an easy or a pleasant situation

• (并非)轻松的境况,令人愉快的情况:

»Their life together hasn't exactly been a bed of roses.

  他们在一起的生活并不十分幸福。

◘get out of bed on the wrong side

(BrE)(NAmEget up on the wrong side of the bed)

• to be bad-tempered for the whole day for no particular reason

• (无缘由地)一起牀就整天情绪不好

a party of

[C + sing. / pl.v.]a group of people who are doing sth together such as travelling or visiting somewhere

• (一起旅行或参观等的)群,队,组:

 »The school is taking a party of 40 children to France.

  学校将带领一个 40 人的儿童团队前往法国。

 »The theatre gives a 10% discount to parties of more than ten.

  剧场给十人以上的团体打折 10%。

2. Dressed in dark glasses and old clothes, they had taken special precautions so that no one should recognize them.

precaution:

A precaution is a careful action you make in advance. You might want to take the precaution of bringing lots of water and sunblock if you're going on a desert hike.

Precaution means exactly what it sounds like. The prefix pre- means before, and caution means carefulness in the face of danger. People use glasses when they're on a computer as a precaution because there are links to long hours on a computer and vision damage. A fire drill is a precaution so that you know what to do in case of a real fire. Someone who is always careful exhibits precaution.

3. a shady spot 阴凉的地方

[usually before noun] (informal) seeming to be dishonest or illegal

• 可疑的；鬼祟的；非法的:

 »a shady businessman / deal

  行为可疑的商人；一宗有问题的交易

Any place that's protected from the glare and heat of the sun is shady, as in a "shady nook." But as its darkened nature implies, shady has the equally popular meaning of "suspicious, dangerous, or deceitful." A "shady character" is up to no good.

The metaphorical meaning of shady has long been embraced by slang. Since at least the 1950's, the phrase "got it made in the shade" means having a great and easy life or job (picture eastern sultans being shaded by servants holding giant leaves). The rap sultan Eminem calls his evil alter-ego "Slim Shady," conjuring up a devilish suggestion of the Prince of Darkness himself — someone who definitely lives in a shady neighborhood.

A spot is a particular place or a small, round mark. You might pick a nice, shady spot in the woods for a picnic. But if you spot a better place by the lake, get moving!

Spots on your face might be pimples—or maybe mosquito bites you got walking in a swampy spot. Another kind of spot is a small part of something, like the bright spot in your miserable day, or the bald spot on someone’s head. Spot is also shorthand for "spotlight" and slang for money, as in "He handed me a ten spot." To spot something is to see it: "When you spot the ice cream truck, call me!"

4. Don't be too hard on us.

Hard is the opposite of "easy." If you're just beginning an exercise routine, don't push yourself too hard in the beginning, to avoid injury.

Hard can mean "difficult," but it can also mean "rigid." A hard surface is one that doesn’t give way, like stone. If things are tough for you, you might tell someone you’re having a hard day. If someone gives you hard liquor, watch out — that’s the strong stuff. If you’re a teacher, you want to make your examinations hard enough to be challenging, but not impossible. If you’re stubborn, people might call you hardheaded.

5. sneer

If your smile is contorted with contempt or your upper lip curled with distaste and disdain, you're probably sneering. And you should stop, because it isn't nice.

Many things can elicit a sneer: a terrible red carpet outfit, a disgusting plate of food, a stupid joke told for the third time. But sneers aren't just meant to show disgust. They're mean-spirited, mocking and often downright snooty. So now that you know the definition of sneer inside and out, resist the temptation to sneer at those who don't!

6. out of limelight

To be in the limelight is to be at the center of public attention. It might make you a little jealous if your best friend's acting career suddenly puts her in the limelight.

When a newly popular musician finds himself in the limelight, he might be surprised at all the attention. Someone who's in the limelight is constantly being talked about, interviewed, and photographed. In the early 1800's, theater stages were lit by heating a cylinder of the mineral called lime — the result was an intensely bright white light. The word limelight came to have its figurative meaning of "at the center of attention" in 1877.

»to steal / hog the limelight (= take attention away from other people)

  把公众的注意力吸引过来

练习感悟：

I'm reshaping my English pronunciation, so no rush, detail is everything.

tr的音，如果没有多练习，还是有点偏差，Th+r的音，多多练习~~

在动车上学习学习，时间很快就过去了呀。

今天的朗读练习没有好好做。

好好照做别发挥，脚踏实地总不会错，等坚持365天了再说。