《新概念英语》第三册Lesson 37 The Westhaven Express

Lesson 37 The Westhaven Express

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

What was the mistake the author made? 

We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables. Ships may be delayed by storms; flights may be cancelled because of bad weather, but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services. It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong. The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs.

After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven. It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted mere hour and seventeen minutes. When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well. At the time, this did not strike me as odd. I reflected that there must be a great many local people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprise when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder, It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page. It said: 'This service has been suspended.'

New words and expressions

生词和短语 

express [ɪkˈspres]  n.   快车；adj. 高速的

ex 出 + press 挤压；逼迫 → 把〔思想〕挤出来 → 表达

Teenagers often have difficulty expressing themselves.

十来岁的孩子在表达思想方面常常有困难。

punctual [ˈpʌŋktʃuəl] adj. 准时的

punct （point）点；变尖 + ual 形容词后缀 → 卡在点上 → 准时的

She has been reliable and punctual.

她一直可靠守时。

condition v.   使习惯于

unshakable  adj. 不可动摇的

faith  n. 信任

cancel  v.   取消

exceptionally  adv. 例外地

dislocate[ˈdɪsloʊkeɪt]  v.   打乱（计划等）

dis 不，没有 + loc 地方 + ate 表动词 → 没在位置上 → 移位

He dislocated his shoulder in the accident.

他在事故中肩膀脱臼了。

blame  v.   责怪

consult  [kənˈsʌlt] v.   请教，查阅

con 强调 + sult=call 召唤 → 召集意见 → 请教

If the pain continues, consult your doctor.

如果疼痛持续不消退，要请医生诊治。

direct  adv. 径直地

odd [ɑːd] adj. 奇怪的，异常的；奇数的

There's something odd about that man.

那个人有点儿怪。

reflect  v.   细想

advantage  n.   优势

mighty  adj. 强大的，有力的

dawdle  [ˈdɔːdl]  v.   慢吞吞地动或做

来自古英语方言daddle, 游荡，比较doodle，doddle, totter, toddle.

Stop dawdling! We're going to be late!

别磨蹭了，咱们快迟到了！

chug [tʃʌɡ] v.   咔嚓咔嚓地响

拟声词，模仿引擎发动的声音。

The boat chugged down the river.

小船突突地沿江而下。

lodge  [lɑːdʒ]  v.   提出

词源同leaf，lobby。

All visitors should report to the porter's lodge.

所有来访者都应先到传达室报到。

complaint  n.   抱怨

triumph [ˈtraɪʌmf]  n.   胜利

词源：

凯旋式是古罗马人庆祝军队凯旋归来的一种十分隆重的庆祝仪式，是军事将领所能获得的最高荣誉。要想获得这种礼遇，必须符合一系列条件，包括：必须是军队的“统帅”并且拥有国家的统治大权、对外战争获得重大胜利等。获得凯旋式礼遇的将领被称为“凯旋者”。在仪式上，凯旋者头戴花环，脸被涂红，身穿特制长袍，乘坐金色战车，从专为凯旋式而设的城门中进入罗马城内。他的身旁紧跟着一名奴隶，不断在他耳旁低语：“记住，你只是一名凡人。”

参加凯旋式的还有凯旋者的部分军队。他们扛着标语，赶着满载战利品的大车，参加游行。队伍中往往还有被俘的俘虏以及用来祭祀的牺牲品。游行队伍按规定路线到达终点后，将处死一名战俘，将其他俘虏转卖为奴隶。在向朱庇特神奉献牺牲后，仪式结束，宴会开始，所有人开始豪饮狂欢。

在古拉丁语中，“凯旋式”叫做triumphus，可能来自古希腊语thriambos，意为“给酒神狄奥尼索斯的赞歌”。英语单词triumph（凯旋）就来源于此。

one of the greatest triumphs of modern science

现代科学最重大的成就之一

asterisk[ˈæstərɪsk]  n.   星号（*）

aster 星，同star，isk 小词后缀。

I've placed an asterisk next to the tasks I want you to do first.

我在要你首先完成的任务旁边标上了星号。

conduct  v.   引向，引导

参考译文 

我们已经习惯于相信火车总是准点的。经过多年的适应，大多数人对火车时刻表产生了一种不可动摇的信念。轮船船期可能因风暴而推延，飞机航班可能因恶劣天气而取消，唯有火车必然是准点的。只有非同寻常的大雪才可能暂时打乱铁路运行。因此，一旦铁路上真出了问题，人们便不加思索地责备铁路当局。事实上，差错很可能是我们自己，而不是铁路当局的。

我查看了列车时刻表，满意地了解到有一趟去威斯特海温的快车。这是趟直达车，旅途总共才需1小时17分钟。上车后，我不禁注意到许多当地人也上了车。一开始，我并不感到奇怪，我想除我之外，想利用快车之便的也一定大有人在。火车开出几英里即在一个小站威德里停了下来。对此，我不觉得奇怪，因为即便是特别快车也可能被信号拦住。但是，当火车一站接着一站往前蠕动时，我便产生了怀疑。我突然感到这趟快车并没以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进，而是卟哧卟哧地向前爬行，时速仅30英里。1小时17分过去了，走了还不到一半路程。我问一位乘客，这是不是开往威斯特海温的那趟快车，他说从未听说过有这么一趟快车。我决定到目的地就给铁路部门提意见。两小时后，我气呼呼地同威斯特海温站站长说起此事。他说根本没有这趟车。于是我借他本人的列车时刻表，我带着一种胜利者的调子告诉他那趟车白纸黑字。明明白白印在时刻表上。他迅速地扫视了一眼，让我再看一遍。一个小小的星形符号把我的目光引到了那页底部一个说明上。上面写着：“此趟列车暂停运行。”

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