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Lesson 5 The Day I was Fat

I.Language Points in the Text
A. 词汇(Vocabulary)
1. shape: n. 1) outer form 形状;外形;样子 Houses are built in all shapes and sizes. 房屋有各种形状与大小。 She made the cake in the shape of a heart. 她把蛋糕做成心形。 2) condition 状况;情况 Our garden is in good shape after the rain. 雨后我们的花园状况良好。 3) the figure or outline of the body of a person 体形,身段 She’s not beautiful, but she’s got a good shape. 她长得并不漂亮,但她身段极好。
2. plump: adj. pleasantly fat 丰满的 She isn’t fat; she is just plump and I find her very attractive. 她并不胖;她只是很丰满,我觉得她很有魅力。 The baby has nice plump cheeks. 这婴儿的脸蛋胖乎乎的。
3. elegant: adj. beautiful in appearance, in moving, etc.; well-made; fashionable 优美的;优雅的;精致的;时髦的 She wore an elegant dress and walked in a very elegant way. 她身穿一件雅致的连衣裙,走起路来优美极了。 She was leading a life of elegant ease. 她过着风雅的生活。
4. maintain: vt. keep 维持;维护 Food is necessary to maintain life. 维持生命必须要有事物。 It is a policeman’s job to maintain law and order. 警察的工作就是维护法律和社会秩序。
5. respectable 和respectful 的区别 这两个词的意思不一样,前者是作“值得尊敬”或“可敬的”讲,含有被动的意味;后者是作“恭维人的”或“尊敬人的”讲,含有主动的意味。例如: How dare you talk to a respectable lady like this? 你怎么敢对一位受人尊敬的太太这样说话呢? It is not respectable to be drunk in the street. 喝醉了酒在大街上疯疯癫癫的有失体统。 He is respectful to the aged. 他对老年人非常尊敬。 Let’s wait in respectful silence for him to speak. 让我们安安静静地等他发言。
6. tease: vt. make fun of (sb) playfully; worry with question, etc.; annoy 取笑;逗弄 At school the other children always teased me because I was fat. 因为我长得胖,学校里的孩子都总是取笑我。 It’s wrong to tease a person because he can’’t speak properly. 笑人嘴笨是不对的。 The wicked girl teased the dog by pulling its tail. 那个淘气的女孩 拉那条狗的尾巴来逗弄它。
7. slim 和slender 的区别 这两个形容词都是表示“苗条”。前者既可以修饰女人,也可以修饰男人,但后者只能修饰女人和儿童。例如: She won’t eat because she wants to stay slim. 她不愿吃东西,因为她想保持苗条的身材。 He has a fine slim muscular build. 他身材修长,肌肉健美。 She has a beautiful slender body. 她的身材苗条秀美。
8. head: vi. move directly, esp. over a longer distance (朝……)前 进(尤指较长距离) ——Where were they heading? 那些人去什么地方? ——The men were heading for the town when we met them. 我们遇见他们时,他们正往城里走。
9. tail: vt. vi 1) follow close behind 尾随;跟踪 Some boys tailed after the parade. 有些孩子尾随在游行队伍之后。 The thief was tailed by a policeman. 贼后面有一名警察在跟踪。 2) become smaller in number, size, etc. 变小;变少;消失 The path tailed off into the woods. 小径逐渐消失在树林中。
10. glare和stare 的区别 这两个动词都是不及物动词,都表示“看”,但前者是“怒 目而视”,而后者则是“凝视”。例如: He glared at me like a bull at a red rag. 他对我怒目而视,就象 牛怒视着红布。 The little girl was staring at the starry sky through the window. 那 个小女孩透过窗户凝望着星空。
11. sting: vt. vi 1) cause sharp pain to 刺痛;使……感到疼痛 The whip stung him. 鞭子的抽打使他感到火辣辣般痛。 The rain was stinging my eyes. 雨水刺痛我的眼睛。 2) prick with a sting 用刺蜇痛 An insect stung me. 一只昆虫蜇了我一下。
12. plain: adv. clearly; entirely 清楚地;完全地 The little child is learning to speak plain. 这个小孩学着把话说清 楚。 He’s just plain stupid. 他简直愚不可及。
13. commit: vt 1) make oneself responsible; bind oneself 承诺;答应负责;保证 He has committed himself to the work; he must now do it. 他已答应做这件工作,现在就必须去做。 They were reluctant to commit themselves to any definite proposals. 他们不愿负责提出任何明确的建议。 We have committed ourselves to helping them. 我们已经答应过要帮助他们。 2) send 送交;交付 They have committed him to a mental hospital; he is not right in the head. 他们把他送进了精神病院;他的头脑不正常。 He committed the letters to the flames. 他把这些信烧掉了。
14. shed: vt. 1) cast or moult 脱落;蜕(皮);换(羽) The snake shed its skin. 那条蛇蜕了皮。 The dog is shedding hair everywhere. 那条狗到处脱毛。 The trees are shedding their leaves. 这些树正在落叶。 2) give out 发出;放射 That lamp sheds a good light. 那盏灯发出明亮的光。
15. rigorous: adj. 1) severe; painful 严峻的;严酷的;痛苦的 He did not enjoy the rigorous hardships of the journey. 他对旅途中的种种艰辛感到没有乐趣可言。 2) careful and exact 认真的;严密的;精确的 He made a rigorous study of the plants in the area. 他对该地区的植物做了周密的考察。
16. confident: adj. sure (esp. of one’s own or someone’s abilities, good intentions, etc.) 确信的;有信心的;有把握的;自信的(尤指确信自己或某人的能力、好意等) She was confident that she would win. 她确信自己会赢。 He had a confident look on his face. 他脸上的神色很自信。
17. endure: vt. bear (pain, suffering, etc.) 忍耐;忍受;容忍 Be quiet! I can’t endure that noise a moment longer. 安静点!这种噪音我再也忍受不了了。 She could never endure being/to be treated unkindly. 她不能容忍别人待她不好。
B. 短语、句型(Set Phrases and Sentence Patterns)
1. be in good shape: be in a good condition 处于良好状态;健康状态良好 The ancient silk painting is still in good shape. 这幅古代绢画依然完好无损。 Ali is in good shape for his forthcoming fight. 阿里的身体状况甚佳,足以应付即将来临的比赛。
2. settle down: become established (in a new way of life, new work, etc.) 立身;安定下来 She was married and settled down. 她已成家安居下来。 He settled down to do his work when all his guests had gone. 客人们走后,他开始定下心事做他的事情。 The family settled down in Guangzhou. 全家都在广州定居。
3. have an effect on: influence 影响;起作用 Economic globalization will have an effect on Chinese economy. 经济全球化将对中国经济产生影响。 Our arguments had no effect on them. 我们的论据对他们不起作用。
4. out of question和out of the question 的区别 out of question 这个短语作“没问题”讲,相当于undoubtedly,是肯定的,现在这个短语已不常用,多半用beyond question 来代替;out of the question这个短语则是 “不可能”的意思,相当于impossible,是否定的。例如: Mike is out of question the greatest authority in this field. 迈克无疑是这个领域最大的权威。 He is out of question the best player in our team. 毫无疑问,他是我们队里最优秀的运动员。 Then he rested his chin upon his hand, and opened his eyes so wide that it appeared quite out of the question that he could ever close them any more. 然后他用手支住下巴,把眼睛睁得大大的,看来是休想把它们闭上了。 I have so much work to do that a holiday for me this year is out of the question. 我有那么多的活要干,今年的假期是不可能过了。
5. give birth to: bring into the world; (fig) produce 生产;(喻)产生, 造成 Mrs. Johnson gave birth to twins. 约翰逊夫人生下了一对双胞胎。 Religious differences have given birth to many sects. 宗教上的分歧产生了许多教派。
6. pull in: (of a train) enter (a station);(of a motor-vehicle or boat)move in towards (指火车)进站;(指车辆或船)移向;驶向 The train was just pulling in when we got to the station. 我们到达车站时,火车正在进站。 The boat pulled in to the shore. 小船靠岸了。 The car pulled in at the garage. 汽车在修理站门前停了下来。
7. get sth./sb. out of one’s mind: forget 忘掉 You must try to get that out of your mind. 你应该尽量别想这件事。
8. put on weight: (of a person) become heavier (指人)体重增加;长胖 You have put on weight. 你发福了。 He didn’t want to put on more weight. 他不想再长胖了。
9. have the heart to: (usu. used in the negative or interrogative) be hard-hearted or unsympathetic enough to (通常用于否定句或疑问句)忍心 I don’t know how you can have the heart to say no to the poor child. 我不知道你怎么能忍心拒绝那个可怜的孩子。 How can you have the heart to drown the kittens? 你怎能忍心把小猫溺死?
B. 难句理解(Sentence Comprehension)
1. As a child, I was always called “plump”. ——When I was a child, people always called me “plump”. 小时侯,人们总是喊我“小胖子”。 在很多社交场合下,plump 常常被用作委婉语,它隐含的意思是“fat”。
2. I could never sit Indian-style the way other kids did. ——I could never sit on the ground with my legs crossed and back straight as other children did. 我从来不能象其他孩子那样挺直腰板盘腿而坐。 sit Indian-style 是指印度人在地上挺直腰板,盘腿而坐的姿势,也就是佛教徒打坐的姿势。 the way other kids did 是方式状语从句,意思是“象其他孩子一样”。又如:He doesn’t speak the way I do. 他不象我那样说话
3. Although I maintained a respectable weight through high school, there was always a fat person inside of me just waiting to burst onto the scene. ——Although I was not so fat in high school, there was a obvious tendency to become fat. 整个中学阶段我的体重还说得过去,但我随时都可能变胖起来。 respectable 在这里的意思是“还说得过去”;burst onto the scene 是“突然出现”的意思。
4. I blew up. ——I became fat in a short time. 我一下子变胖了起来。 blow up 的本意是“给(轮胎、气球等)充气”,在这里比喻一个人突然胖了起来,是一种形象的说法。
5. The fat lady had finally arrived… ——I finally became fat lady… 我终于变成了一个胖太太… 这里the fat lady 指的是作者自己,为一种幽默的说法。
6. You are too pretty to be so heavy. ——You are so pretty that you do not look heavy. 你这么漂亮,一点也不显得胖。 母亲不想直接指出女儿显得胖,说话时非常委婉。不仅这个句型用得好,而且用词也很讲究。用heavy 而不用fat,是委婉的表达方法,因为heavy是中性词,不象fat指肥胖。
7. I just didn’t care enough about myself to stop my eating. ——I did not worry too much about my figure and still ate as much as I liked. 我并不注意自己的体形,还是不停地吃。 not …enough to do sth. 这个句型表示“不够……而不能做某事”。例如: This lecture hall is not big enough to hold one thousand listeners. 这个报告厅不够大,不能容纳一千听众。 The kind of metal is not strong enough to resist the great pressure in the depth of ocean. 这种金属还不够坚固,不能抗拒深海中的巨大压力。
8. One summer afternoon in 1988, as I was headed to the pool with my sister-in-law and our children, I got into an argument with a teenager who was driving fast and tailing our car. ——One summer afternoon in 1988, as I was going to the pool with my sister-in-law and our children, I quarreled with a teenager who was driving fast and following our car. 1988年夏天的一个下午,我、嫂子和我们的孩子一起去游泳池,路上一个十几岁的男孩把车子开得飞快紧紧地跟在我们后面,我跟他吵了起来。 be heading to/for 的意思是be going to。本句中was headed to 是美式英语中的表达方法,表达同样的意思。又如: We set sail at dawn and headed straight for Shanghai. 我们在黎明时分起航,直朝上海驶去。 Though their situation seemed almost desperate, they remained calm and were headed to Taihang Mountain. 虽然他们的处境看来几乎绝望,但他们仍然保持镇静向太行山前进。
9. “Don’t worry about that boy!…” ——“Don’t be annoyed with that boy!…” “不要因为那个男孩而不高兴了!……” worry about 的本来意思是“为……而烦恼;为……而担心”,这里根据上下文应是“因……而生气”。
10. But I couldn’t get his words out of my mind. They stung like a whip. ——But his words hurt me so deeply that I couldn’t forget them at all. 但他的话就象鞭子打在我的身上,我怎么也忘不掉这些话。 get sth. out of one’s mind 请参阅短语部分第7个注释。stung like whip 是比喻用法,使描写更加形象生动。
11. The hideous 18-year-old idiot had spoken the words that none of my loved ones had had the heart to say even though they were true. ——My loved people didn’t want to hurt me, so they never told me that I was fat. But the 18-year-old ugly fool told me the truth. 那个丑恶的18岁的白痴所说的,正是我的亲人谁都不愿说破的话,尽管那都是些实话。 have the heart 的用法请参阅短语注释9;句中they 指前面提到的the words。
12. From then on, I was committed to shedding the weight and getting into shape. ——From then on, I made up my mind to lose weight and become slender. 从那时起,我就决心减肥,塑造一个好身材。 be committed to doing sth. 是commit oneself to doing sth. 的被动形式,表示“承诺做某事”,例如: I have been committed to going. 我已经答应去了。 Nobody was committed to offering a definite answer. 谁也不肯负责作出明确的答复。 shed the weight 是“减肥“的意思,我们通常用lose weight; get into shape 是“定形”的意思,在这里表示“塑造一个好身材”。
13. I joined a gym and managed to make some friends who are still my workout buddies. ——I attended a gymnastic class and made some friends who are still my partners in physical training. 我加入了一个健美操班,在那里还结识了一些朋友,他们今天仍然是我健身时的伙伴。 workout buddies 是非常口语化的表达方法,意思是“健身伙伴”。
14. However, in the past seven years, I’ve done more than lose weight: I’ve reshaped my attitude, my lifestyle, and my self-image. ——However, in the past seven years, I’ve not only lost weight but also changed my attitude, my way of living, and my self-image. 然而,在过去的七年中,我不仅仅是减轻了体重,而且还改变了处世态度,生活方式和自我形象。 more than do sth. 表示不只是做了某事,而且还做了其它的事情;reshape 的意思是“改变;重新塑造”。
15. Now, I read everything I can about nutrition and health. ——Now, I read all the books that I can lay my hands on about nutrition and health. 现在关于营养和健康方面的书只要能找到的我都看。 I can 是定语从句,修饰everything, can 的后面省略了read, 因为它与前面的read 重复。下面再举一个使用这种句型的例子: He found Mark Twain’s novels he could. 他把马克 吐温的小说能找到的都找到了。
16. Health and fitness have become essential to our household and our lives. ——Health and fitness have become important to my family members and our lives. 健康与健美对于我的家人和我们的生活来说,已经变得非常重要。 fitness 是“健康;健身;健美”的意思,下面再举一个例子: This is helpful to the national fitness campaign. 这有利于全民健身运动。 household 在这里是指“全家人”,相当于family members。
II.Translation of the Text
骂我肥的那天
我的身材一向不苗条。小时侯,人们都说我“丰满”。我从来不能象其他孩子那样挺直腰板盘腿而坐。八年级时,我之所以能当上学校的拉拉队队员,是因为我有一副大嗓门,笑得好看,而不是因为我会劈叉或是会做出漂亮的侧手翻。尽管整个中学阶段我的体重还说的过去,但隐藏在我身体内的那个胖墩却一直在等着登场呢。
长大成人,结婚,过安定生活,这一切对我的体重产生了很坏的影响:我一下子像吹气一样鼓了起来。那位胖太太终于来到门口,看着写有“欢迎”字样的蹭脚垫,就径直走了进去。我的家里人没有谁说我胖。他们知道我长胖了,我知道我长胖了,我也知道他们知道我长胖了。但要谈论这个问题简直是不可能的。有一次,妈妈说:“你这么漂亮,不显得胖。”这还真是我听到的最接近说我胖的话。后来,长沙发已经容不下我丈夫和我两个人同时躺下,他于是取笑了我一句,我伤心得哭了好久。后来他再也不敢提这个事了,但我还是没有节制饮食。
我那时刚生下第一个孩子,体重至少超过正常标准五十磅。然而,我记得那段时间是我一生中最美好的日子。我有可爱的小宝宝,崭新的家具,体贴的丈夫,漂亮的房子,还要什么呢?噢,我知道我还想要别的什么:那就是,要苗条和健康。但我就是太不注意自己的身体,总是不停地吃。我每天都试着减肥,但总是开始不了。早上决心节食,到了午饭又大吃起来,结果变得一天比一天胖。
1988年夏天的一个下午,我、嫂子,还有我们的孩子驾车去游泳池,路上我与一个十几岁的男孩吵了起来,因为他开车太快,还紧紧地跟在我们的车后面。有一回他差一点把我们挤出了马路,我转过头去瞪着他,表示我的不满以及对我的安全的担心。突然,我们互相骂了起来。他大约十八岁,一副丑陋红肿的脸孔,几颗牙齿又黄又烂。他跟着我们一直跟到游泳池。当他随着我们把车开进停车场时,我们的争吵变得激烈起来。
“你到底要干什么,你这个泼妇?”他叫嚷道。
“你这个白痴,你怎么开车的?就是要为这事和你评一评理,明白了吗?”
我下了车,走到车的另一边去抱小孩下车,这时,他笑着对他的朋友说:“啊,你看看她,简直就是一个肥婆!去死吧,你这头肥猪!”骂完,他们开车走了。
进了游泳池的大门,嫂子叫我不要去想刚才发生的事。
“好了,”她说:“别为了那小子不高兴啦!你没看到他的牙吗?那是个下三烂的家伙。”
它们就象鞭子抽在我身上。“看来我是胖,”我心想。“而且不仅仅是长胖了一点点。要把体重降下去可能对我不是件容易的事。我明显地就是胖。”以前从没有谁说过我胖,那男孩的话让我非常伤心。但他说的是实话。
就是在那一天,当我坐在游泳池旁,暗自希望千万别让人看到我穿泳衣的样子时,我对自己发誓以后再也不能让人喊我肥婆了。那个丑恶的十八岁的白痴所说的,正是我的亲人谁也不愿说破的实话。我的确是够胖的。
从那时起,我就下定决心减肥,重塑体形。第二天,我就开始了严格的跑步和节食计划。随后的几个月里,我参加了一个健美操班,在那儿结识了一些朋友,他们今天仍然是我健身的伙伴。然而,在过去的七年中,我的收获不仅仅是减轻了体重。我的处世态度变了,生活方式变了,对自己的看法也发生了变化。现在,有关营养和健康方面的书,能找到的我都看。我甚至还在考虑是不是当一名健美操教练。我做的菜都是低脂肪的——鸡、鱼、瘦肉、蔬菜。我为我的家人准备的都是富含蛋白质、有营养、有利健康的食物。我和孩子们经常步行去学校,经常骑自行车,溜旱冰,还有跑步。对于我的家人和我们的生活来说,健康和健美已经变得非常重要。不过令我感到最为高兴的是,在1988年那个重要的日子以后不知什么时候开始,我的自我感受变了,我不再关注我的外在形象,而是注重我的内心感受。我感到精力充沛、健康、自信、强壮、漂亮。真是没想到,在停车场受到的辱骂不仅使我重新有了苗条的身材,还使我恢复了自尊心。现在我的体形很棒,精神面貌更棒!
但愿在游泳池旁骂我的那个男孩现在已把牙治好了,因为我相信他的那副牙是他苦恼的根源之一。如果我再次见到他,我不会告诉他是他以这样一种特别的方式改变了我的生活,我也不会让他知道他的一句实话等于送给了我一份最丰厚的礼物,我更不会让他知道他骂我肥婆的那天是我生活中最重要的一天而让他感到得意。
III.Keys to the Exercises
Questions on the Text
1. We would say she was plump when she was a child and all through high school. We wouldn’t call her fat then. 2. She began to gain a lot of weight, when she became an adult, got married and settled down. No, they didn’t. Once her mother said she was too pretty to be so heavy. 3. Yes, she did. She thought herself a very happy person because she was satisfied with her life: she had a beautiful new baby, new furniture, a great husband, and a lovely house. 4. She wanted to be slim and healthy. 5. She was at least fifty pounds overweight. Yes, she did. She never managed to lose heavy because she did not really make up her mind and was unable to get started. 6. She got into an argument with an ugly boy because he was driving fast and tailing her car, nearly running them off the road. 7. He laughed to his friend and said, “Ah, look at her. She’s fat! Go to hell, fat bitch.” His abuse hurt her deeply. He could not get out of her mind because they had stung like a whip. 8. After that she made up her mind to shed the weight and get into shape. She succeeded. 9. In the past seven years, she has done more than lose weight: she has reshaped her attitude, her lifestyle and her self-image. 10. Yes, she has. This can especially be seen in the first sentence of the last paragraph: I hope that the kid from the pool has had his teeth fixed because I’m sure they were one source of his misery. 11. She meant that she had reshaped her body and more importantly had regained her self-esteem. 12. We learn from the author’s experience that each coin has two sides and that in some cases something bad can turn into something good.
Vocabulary Exercises
1. 1) neighbourhood 附近,邻里 falsehood 谎言 boyhood 少年时期 bachelorhood 独身 motherhood 母性 2) theoretic 理论的 apologetic 道歉的 phonetic 语音的 2. 1) (1) It is understandable that girls all want to be in good shape. (2) When he came back from abroad, he decided to settle down in his hometown. (3) I remember locking the door last night. To my surprise, I found it was open this morning. (4) If you keep eating like this, it is out of the question to lose weight. (5) At that time they showed great concern for the future of their motherland. (6) She didn’t have the heart to tell the bad news to her daughter. (7) From then on, he helped me a lot in many ways. (8) I was putting on weight by the day, so he advised me to jog for half an hour every morning. (9) The government has committed itself to developing vigorously the education of the nation. (10) I think we’d better have the roof repaired before the rainy season sets in. 2) (1) I told the news to everyone in the room. (2) Mother bought a new shirt for me. (3) My parents sold the house to a stranger. (4) Can you lend your dictionary to me? (5) The teacher gave a pencil to each child. 3. 1) spent 2) takes 3)cost 4)spent 5)took, spent 6)cost, cost 7)spent 8)cost 9)Except for 10)except 11)forget to look 12)putting 13)remembered to lock, forgot to turn off 14)forget meeting 4. (1) lose (2) attack (3) less (4) willpower (5) where (6) take (7) do (8) diet (9) slim (10) recognize
Grammar Exercises 1. 1) It is a waste of time to play computer games all day. 2) It saves a lot of time to communicate by E-mail. 3) It is faster and cheaper to travel by tube than by taxi, especially during the rush hours. 4) It makes me uneasy to see old people standing on the bus. 5) It is difficult for me to learn two languages at the same time.
1) I consider it impolite to put your tongue out in front of people. 2) I don’t think it right to treat one’s own parents like that. 3) I think it impossible to finish such a big project in two years. 4) We consider it our duty help them. 5) I find it hard to give up smoking. 2. 1) It is impossible to rebuild that tower. 2) This is the only way to deal with the people like him. 3) I always have a lot of housework to do at weekends. 4) Please be quiet. I have something important to say. 5) You are the first person to tell me the news. 6) It is more comfortable to watch TV at home than see a film in a cinema. 7) Many people who don’’t have the chance to go to university are studying on their own. 8) It is unusual to have such cool weather here in June.
IV.Grammar
不定式(III)
不定式还有一些其它的形式,比如它们还可以: 1. 带有自己的主语(逻辑主语),不管它们在句中是用作主语、宾语还是目的状语, 例如: I stayed home and waited for the phone to ring. 我呆在家里等着电话响。 It is quite necessary for us to read more and have more practice. 我们多读一些,多做一些练习是非常必要的。 I have bought the book for you to read over the weekend. 我买了一些书给你周末读。 不定式的主语用for 来引导。 2. 带有疑问词 No man is fit to be a naturalist who does not know how to take care of specimens. 不知道怎样保护标本的人不适合当一名博物学家。 The question is where to get the money for the project. 问题是到哪里去为这个项目弄到资金。 I don’t know what to do next. 我不知道下一步该怎么办。 3. 带有there 的结构 there to be We wouldn’t want there to be another war between the two countries. 我们不想这两个国家之间再发生战争。 I hate there to be any delay. 我讨厌有任何耽搁。 4. 形成复合谓语 Under the threat of persecution, he was not to think such thoughts. 在迫害的威胁下,他不可以这样想。 Galileo was unable to suppress his ideas. 伽利略不能压制自己的想法。 5. 为避免重复,采取省略形式 I would like to fix the tape-recorder myself, but don’t know how to. 我想自己把录音机修好,但不知道怎么修。 I don’t skate now, but I used to when I was a kid. 我现在不溜冰了,但小时候经常溜。 如果不定式是be ,have,或have been ,通常不能省略。 —— Are you the Dean’s secretary? 你是系主任秘书吗? —— No, and I don’t want to be. 不是,我也不想当。
—— I haven’t done my homework yet. 我还没做家庭作业呢。 —— Well, you ought to have. 噢,你应该做好了。
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