精读12：Life on a desert island

第12篇精读

1：精读原文和译文摘自新概念英语；每周更新一篇；

2：新概念英语精读系列旨在通过精读经典教材，夯实英语基础（词汇、长难句、语法点），积攒原汁原味的表达；

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精读原文

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Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.

Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day，and, as one of them put it 'ate like kings'. When a passing tanker rescued them five days later, both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.

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精读注解

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Life on a desert island

desert /'dezət/:a large area of land where it is always very dry, and there is a lot of sand沙漠，荒漠，如：This area of the country is mostly desert. 该国的这一地区大部分是沙漠。

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荒岛生活

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Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.

unrealistic /,ʌnrɪə'lɪstɪk/：unrealistic ideas or hopes are not reasonable or sensible不现实的，不切实际的，如：Some parents have totally unrealistic expectations of teachers. 有些家长对老师抱着完全不切实际的期望。

imagine…to be…：想象……是……，设想……是……，如：Tony imaged Mary to be his best match. 托尼猜想玛丽是他的最佳搭档。

a sort of：一种；有点，如：a sort of an encyclopaedia一种百科词典

paradise /'pærədaɪs/: a place or situation that is extremely pleasant, beautiful, or enjoyable极乐（世界）；至美，至福；天堂、乐土，如：A home near the sea is my idea of paradise. 靠近海边的家是我理想中的天堂。

you never have to work：用否定词never，表示出“根本／完全无需”的意思

【熟词僻义】opposite /'ɒpəzɪt/:①介词:在……对面，如：There is a tree opposite my house.②名词：相反的人或物，对立面，对立物，如：He isn’t a bag guy, he is just the opposite. ③形容词：对面的；截然相反的，全然不同的，如：We have opposite opinions.

wretched /'retʃɪd/: someone who is wretched is very unhappy or ill, and you feel sorry for them极不愉快的；病得很重的；极不幸的；可怜的；艰苦的，如：the poor, wretched girl 极其不幸的可怜姑娘

either…or…: used to begin a list of two or more possibilities 或者…或者〔用以引出两个或多个可能的事物〕，如：You add either one or two cloves of garlic. 你加入一两瓣大蒜。; used to say that if one thing does not happen then something else will have to 要么…要么〔表示非此即彼〕，如：It’s your choice! Either she leaves or I will! 你看着办吧！ 要么她走，要么我走！此外，谓语采取就近原则：Either she or you are to blame.不是她的错就是你的错。

starve /stɑːv/ : to suffer or die because you do not have enough to eat挨饿；饿死，如：starve to death饿死

Robinson Crusoe: the hero of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe (1719), who survived being shipwrecked on a desert island 鲁滨逊·克鲁索; 《鲁滨逊漂流记》的主人公

element /'elɪm(ə)nt/：The different elements of something are the different parts it contains. 组成部分，成分

opportunity /ˌɒpəˈtju:nətɪ/: An opportunity is a situation in which it is possible for you to do something that you want to do. 机会，如：I had an opportunity to go to New York and study.我曾有过一个去纽约学习的机会。搭配：have the opportunity to do／of doing sth. 有机会做某事

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我们许多人对于荒岛生活有一种不切实际的想法。我们有时想象荒岛是阳光终日普照的天堂。在那里，生活简单又美好。成熟的水果从树上掉下来，人们根本无需劳动。另一种想法恰恰相反，认为荒岛生活很可怕，要么饿死，要么像鲁滨孙那样，天天盼船来，却总不见船影。也许，这两种想象都有可信之处。但很少有人能有机会去弄个究竟。

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Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands toMiami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobsterand fish every day，and, as one of them put it 'ate like kings'. When a passingtanker rescued them five days later, both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.

coral /'kɒr(ə)l/: Coral is a hard substance formed from the bones of very small sea animals. It is often used to make jewellery. 珊瑚

【语法小学堂】…wished they had stayed there longer:本句中wish引起的宾语从句常用虚拟语气，其虚拟语法的时态搭配：①过去时态表示现在，如I wish I were a boy. ②过去完成时态表示过去：I wished you had let me know earlier. ③与would和could连用时表示一般愿望或未来：I wish you could come tonight.

Virgin Islands /'vɝdʒɪn 'aɪləndz/ ：维尔京群岛

Miami：迈阿密（美国美国佛罗里达州东南部港市）

【语法小学堂】…to have it repaired使用动词have的用法：①have sb do sth，不定式作宾补，表示：让／使某人做某事，如：My mother has my youger sister to wash the desk. ②have sb/sth ding，现在分词作宾补，表示：让／使某人／某物处于某种状态，如：Don’t have the dog barking.别让狗叫个不停。③have sb/sth done，过去分词作宾补（含被动含义，表示动作不是由主语发出），表示：让／使某人／某物被干某事，遭受某事，如：I have my bike repaired.我要维修单车了。（并非“我”来修）

dinghy /'dɪŋɡi/: a small open boat used for pleasure, or for taking people between a ship and the shore〔玩乐用的〕小游艇；〔载人往返于大船与岸边的〕小艇

load…with…把……装／摆到……，如：Mike loads the bag with many books.

【熟词僻义】match: A match is a small wooden stick with a substance on one end that produces a flame when you rub it along the rough side of a matchbox or a matchbook. 火柴，如：a pack of cigarettes and a book of matches.一包香烟和一包火柴。

Caribbean /kərɪbiən/：The Caribbean is the sea which is between the West Indies, Central America and the north coast of South America. 加勒比海

spear gun /'spɪə gʌn/：A speargun is an underwater fishing implement designed to fire a spear at fish.捕鱼枪

lobster /'lɒbstə/：a sea animal with eight legs, a shell, and two large claws龙虾

as one of them put it 'ate like kings'：①as one of them put it正如其中一位所说的，其中it代指后文的'ate like kings'；②as正如，像，在本处引导方式状语从句；③eat like a king吃得像国王一样好，拓展：eat like a bird吃得非常少；eat like a horse吃得非常多

tanker /'tæŋkə/：a vehicle or ship specially built to carry large quantities of gas or liquid, especially oil油罐车；油船，油轮，如：A Greek oil tanker has run aground. 一艘希腊油轮已经搁浅了。

genuinely /'dʒenjuinli/:真诚地；诚实地；由衷地，如：They must genuinely like one another, and work well together. 他们必须真诚地喜欢对方，并且能一起有效地工作。

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最近有两个人在一座珊瑚岛上呆了5天，他们真希望在那儿再多呆一些日子。他们驾着一条严重损坏的小船从维尔京群岛去迈阿密修理。途中，船开始下沉，他们迅速把食物、火柴、罐装啤酒往一只救生筏上装。然后在加勒比海上划行了几英里，到了一座珊瑚岛上。岛上几乎没有一颗树，也没有淡水，但这不算什么问题。他们用像皮艇蓄积雨水。由于他们随身带了一支捕鱼枪，因此，吃饭不愁。他们天天捕捉龙虾和鱼，正如其中一位所说，吃得“像国王一样好”。5天后，一条油轮从那儿路过，搭救了他们。这二位不得不离开那个荒岛时，还真的感到遗憾呢！

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Summary writing：(last paragraph)

用不多于80个单词描述两名男子的五天荒岛生活。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）

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As the two men’s boat was damaged, they were taking it to Miami when on the way it began to sink. After loading a rubber dinghy with food, matches and beer, the two men rowed a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There they collected rainwater in the dinghy and caught fish and lobster with a spear gun. For five days, they 'ate like kings' until they were rescued by a passing tanker.

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精读：Life on a desert island