Vicky的ScalersTalk第六轮新概念朗读持续力训练Da

练习材料：

A chance in a million Part-1

ə ʧɑːns ɪn ə ˈmɪljən pɑːt-1

          百万分之一的机遇

    We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences -- most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers would find such naive solution totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.

    When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stoped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.

wiː ɑː lɛs ˈkrɛdjʊləs ðæn wiː juːzd tuː biː. ɪn ðə ˈnaɪnˈtiːŋθ ˈsɛnʧʊri, ə ˈnɒvəlɪst wʊd brɪŋ hɪz ˈstɔːri tuː ə kənˈkluːʒən baɪ prɪˈzɛntɪŋ hɪz ˈriːdəz wɪð ə ˈsɪəriːz ɒv kəʊˈɪnsɪdənsɪz -- məʊst ɒv ðɛm ˈwaɪldli ɪmˈprɒbəbl. ˈriːdəz ˈhæpɪli əkˈsɛptɪd ðə fækt ðæt ən əbˈskjʊə ˈmeɪdˈsɜːvənt wɒz ˈrɪəli ðə ˈhɪərəʊz ˈmʌðə. ə lɒŋ-lɒst ˈbrʌðə, huː wɒz prɪˈzjuːmd dɛd, wɒz ˈrɪəli əˈlaɪv ɔːl ðə taɪm ænd ˈwɪkɪdli ˈplɒtɪŋ tuː brɪŋ əˈbaʊt ðə ˈhɪərəʊz ˈdaʊnfɔːl. ænd səʊ ɒn. ˈmɒdən ˈriːdəz wʊd faɪnd sʌʧ nɑːˈiːv səˈluːʃən ˈtəʊtli ˌʌnəkˈsɛptəbl. jɛt, ɪn rɪəl laɪf, ˈsɜːkəmstənsɪz duː ˈsʌmtaɪmz kənˈspaɪə tuː brɪŋ əˈbaʊt kəʊˈɪnsɪdənsɪz wɪʧ ˈɛnɪwʌn bʌt ə ˈnaɪnˈtiːŋθ ˈsɛnʧʊri ˈnɒvəlɪst wʊd faɪnd ɪnˈkrɛdəbl.

wɛn aɪ wɒz ə bɔɪ, maɪ ˈgrændˌfɑːðə təʊld miː haʊ ə ˈʤɜːmən ˈtæksi ˈdraɪvə, frænz Bussman, faʊnd ə ˈbrʌðə huː wɒz θɔːt tuː hæv biːn kɪld ˈtwɛnti jɪəz bɪˈfɔː. waɪl ɒn ə ˈwɔːkɪŋ tʊə wɪð hɪz waɪf, hiː stuːpt tuː tɔːk tuː ə ˈwɜːkmən. ˈɑːftə ðeɪ hæd gɒn ɒn, Mrs. Bussman ˈkɒmɛntɪd ɒn ðə ˈwɜːkmənz kləʊs rɪˈzɛmbləns tuː hɜː ˈhʌzbənd ænd ˈiːvən səˈʤɛstɪd ðæt hiː maɪt biː hɪz ˈbrʌðə.

    我们不再像以往那样轻易相信别人了。在19世纪，小说家常在小说结尾处给读者准备一系列的巧合——大部分是牵强附会，极不可能的。当时的读者却愉快地接受这样一些事实，一个低贱的女佣实际上是主人公的母亲；主人公一位长期失散的兄弟，大家都以为死了，实际上一直活着，并且正在策划暗算主人公；如此等等，现代读者会觉得这种天真的结局完全无法接受。不过，在现实生活中，有时确实会出现一些巧合，这些巧合除了19世纪小说家外谁也不会相信。

    当我是个孩子的时候，我祖父给我讲了一位德国出租汽车司机弗朗兹。巴斯曼如何找到了据信已在20年前死去的兄弟的事。一次，他与妻子徒步旅行。途中，停下来与一个工人交谈，接着他们继续往前走去。巴斯曼夫人说那工人与她丈夫相貌很像，甚至猜测他可能就是她丈夫的兄弟。

任务配置：L0、L4

知识笔记：

单词与短语

credulous/ ˈkrɛdjʊləs/willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence; gullible

gullible:easily deceived or cheated.

resemblance/rɪˈzɛmbləns/a likeness, appearance, or semblance of something

obscure/əbˈskjʊə/(of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain:not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive:

感悟：查音标，记短语，发语音，最低也要20分钟，现在完成一次作业至少要40分钟。要合理安排时间。