B1U7课文及语言点

新世纪大学英语综合教程第一册   

B1U7 Text A课文

A string of badthings kept the writer’s family from thinking positively. However, a flowerfrom an American sailor in a far from ideal restaurant brought cheers and joyto their hearts, and led to a chain reaction which warmed the hearts of allthose present on Christmas Eve. Read the following text to find out more abouthow a positive small gesture can start a benevolent circle of a warmrelationship even among strangers.   

A Sailor’sChristmas Gift

By William J. Lederer

1     Last year at Christmastime my wife, three boys, and I were inFrance,on our way from Paris toNice. For five wretched days everything had gone wrong. Our hotels were “tourist traps”;our rented car brokedown; we were all restless and irritable in the crowded car. On Christmas Eve, when we checked into a shabby hotel inNice, there was no Christmas spirit in our hearts.

2     It was raining and cold when we went out to eat. We found a boring looking little joint carelessly decorated for the holiday. It smelled greasy.Only five tables in the restaurant were occupied.There were two German couples, two French families, and an American sailor, by himself. In the corner a piano player monotonously played Christmas music.

3     I was too stubborn and too tired and miserable to leave. I looked around and noticed that the other customers were eating in stony silence.The only person who seemed happy was the American sailor. While eating, he was writing a letter, and a half-smile lighted his face.

4     My wife ordered our meal in French.The waite rbrought us the wrong thing. I scolded my wife for being stupid. She began to cry. The boys defended her,and I felt even worse.

5     Then,at the table with the French family on our left, the father slapped one of his children for some minor fault, and  the boy began to cry.On our right, the German wife began scolding her husband.

6     All of us were interrupted by an unpleasant blast of cold air. Through the front doorcame an oldFrenchflowerwoman.She wore a dripping,ragged overcoat, and dragged herself in on wet, rundown shoes.Carrying her basket of flowers,she went from one table to another.

7     “Flowers, monsieur? Only one franc.”

8   No one bought any.       

9     Wearily she sat down at a table between the sailor and us.To the waiter she said, “A bowl of soup.I haven’t sold a flower all afternoon.” To the piano player she said hoarsely, “Can you imagine, Joseph,soup on Christmas Eve?”

10    He pointed to his empty “tipping plate”. The young sailor finished his meal and got up to leave. Putting on his coat,he walked over to the flower woman’s table.

11    “Happy Christmas,” he said, smiling and picking out two flowers.“How much are they?”

12  “Two francs, monsieur.”

13    Pressing one of the small flowers flat,he put it into the letter he had written, then handed the woman a twenty-franc note.

14    “I don’t have change,monsieur,” she said. “I’ll get some from the waiter.”

15    “No, ma’am,” said the sailor, leaning over and kissing the ancient cheek. “This is my Christmas present to you.”

16    Straightening up, he came to our table, holding the other flower in front of him.“Sir,” he said to me, “may I have permission to present this flower to your beautiful daughter?” In one quick motionhe gave my wife the flower, wished us a Merry Christmas,and departed.

17    Everyone had stopped eating. Everyone had been watching the sailor. Everyone was silent. A few seconds later, Christmas exploded throughout the restaurant like a bomb. The old flower woman jumped up, waving the twenty-franc note. Hobbling to the middle of the floor she did a lively folk dance and shouted to the piano player, “Joseph, my Christmas present! And you shall have half, so you can have a feast, too.”

18    The piano player began to sing loudly “Good King Wenceslaus,” beating the keys with magic hands, nodding his head in rhythm.

19    My wife waved her flowerin time to the music. She was radiant and appeared twenty years younger. The tears had left her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up in laughter.She began to sing, and our three sons joined her, bellowing the song with uninhibited enthusiasm.

20    “Gut! Gut! ” shouted the Germans. They jumped on their chairs and began singing the words in German. Thewaiter embraced the flower woman. Waving their arms, they sang in French. The Frenchman who had slapped the boy beat rhythm with his fork against a bottle. The lad climbed on his lap, singing merrily too.

21    The Germans ordered winefor everyone. They delivered it themselves,hugging the other customers. One of the French families called for champagne—madethe rounds, kissing each of us on both cheeks. The owner of the restaurantstarted “The First Noel”, and we all joined in, half of us crying.

22    People crowded in fromthe street until many customers were standing. The walls shook as hands andfeet kept time to the Christmas carols.

23    The miserable evening in a dull restaurant ended up being the very best Christmas Eve we had ever experiencedjust because of a young sailor who had Christmas spirit in his soul. He released the love and joy that had been smotheredwithin us by anger and disappointment.He gave us Christmas.

参考译文

水手的圣诞礼物

威廉·J·莱德勒

1   去年圣诞期间，我、妻子和三个儿子在法国，从巴黎前往尼斯。一连五天都很倒霉，没有一件事顺心。入住的旅馆尽是些“宰客的黑店”，租用的汽车也坏了，一家人挤在车上，个个显得烦躁不安。圣诞节前夜，我们住进了尼斯一家邋遢的旅店，心里没有半点圣诞感觉。

2   我们外出就餐时，天正下着雨，天气寒冷。我们找到了一家小餐馆，这小店看着很乏味，只是随便装饰了一下来应节。餐馆散发着一股油腻的味道。里面只有五张桌子坐了人：两对德国夫妇，两户法国家庭和一名独自用餐的美国水手。在餐厅的一个角落里，钢琴师在无精打采地弹奏着圣诞乐曲。

3   我情绪低落，加之疲惫不堪，执意不愿离开这儿去找别的餐馆了。我环顾四周，只见顾客们都默默地在吃着饭，唯一一个显得开心的是那位美国水手。他一边吃着，一边写信，脸上闪耀着淡淡的微笑。

4   妻子用法语点了菜，服务员给我们端来的却是别的东西。我骂妻子愚蠢，她哭了起来。孩子们护着妈妈，我的情绪变得更加糟糕。

5   继而，坐在我们左侧餐桌上的那位法国父亲因为一点小事打了其中一个孩子一记耳光，小男孩大哭起来。我们的右边，那个德国妇女开始喋喋不休地数落她的丈夫。

6   一阵令人不快的寒风吹了进来。从前门进来一个卖花的法国老太太。她穿着一件湿淋淋的破旧大衣，穿一双水淋淋的旧鞋拖着腿进来。她提着花篮，沿桌叫卖。

7   “买花吗，先生？只要一个法郎哩。”

8   谁也没有买。

9   她疲惫不堪，在水手和我们之间的那张餐桌旁边坐了下来，对服务员说：“请来碗汤吧。一下午连一朵花也没卖掉。”接着，她用嘶哑的声音对钢琴师说，“你能想象吗，约瑟夫，圣诞节前夜就喝点汤？”

10  钢琴师指了指身旁的那只空空如也的“小费盘”。年轻的海员已吃完，起身准备离开。他穿上外套，走到卖花老太太的桌前。

11  他笑着说了声“圣诞快乐！”，一边挑出两朵小小的花，“多少钱？”

12  “两个法郎，先生。”

13  他把其中的一朵花压平，放进已经写好的信里，然后将一张20法郎面额的钞票递给了老妇。

14  “我没有零钱找您，先生。”她说，“我去跟服务员换一点来。”

15  “不用了，夫人。”说着，水手俯身吻了吻那张老迈的脸，“这是我送给您的圣诞礼物。”

16  他直起身，朝我们的餐桌走来，那另一朵鲜花举在他的胸前。“先生，”他对我说，“我可以将这花作为礼物送给您漂亮的女儿吗？”说着，他迅速地将那朵花塞到我妻子的手中，道了声“圣诞快乐”，就离去了。

17  人们都停止吃饭，大家一直关注着水手的一举一动，整个餐厅鸦雀无声。几秒钟后，圣诞的欢乐激情像炸弹似地爆炸开来。卖花老妇腾身站起，挥动着她手中的那张20法郎的钞票。她蹒跚着走到餐厅的中央，欢快地踏起了舞步，冲着钢琴师嚷道：“约瑟夫，我收到圣诞礼物了！我也让你分享一半，让你也能吃上一顿丰盛的圣诞晚餐。”

18  钢琴师急速地弹起了《好国王温西斯劳斯》舞曲，魔力十足的双手敲击着琴键，头和着乐曲的旋律频频点动。

19  我的妻子也随着音乐的节奏挥动着那朵鲜花。她容光焕发，仿佛一下子年轻了20岁。泪水不见了，嘴角上绽出笑容。她启动歌喉，放声歌唱，我们的三个儿子随声和了起来，纵情高歌。

20  “好！好！”德国人高声喝彩。他们跳到椅子上，并用德语唱起这支歌。服务员上前拥抱着卖花的老太太，两人挥舞手臂，用法语唱了起来。那个打了儿子一巴掌的法国男子用餐叉敲击着酒瓶打起了拍子，那男孩爬上他爸爸的膝盖，欢快地唱起歌来。

21  德国人请在场的每个人喝酒。人们自斟自饮，相互拥抱。其中的一家法国人要来了香槟---到每张桌上给人敬酒，亲吻每个人的双颊。饭馆老板带头唱起《第一个圣诞节》，我们大家都跟着唱，其中有半数人是含泪唱的。

22  人们络绎不绝地从街上向餐馆涌来，后来连位子都不够了，一些顾客只好站着。人们和着圣诞歌的节奏手舞足蹈，声音震动了餐厅的四壁。

23 原本是在一家简陋的小餐馆里的一个凄凉的夜晚，结果竟变成我们一生中最最美好的圣诞前夜。这全亏那位灵魂中闪烁着圣诞精神的年轻海员。是他释放了我们心中那被愤懑和失望压抑的爱心和快乐。他赐给了我们圣诞的欢乐。

Unit 7Useful Expressions

Good Usage  (Para. 1)

on our way from Paris to Nice

everything had gone wrong

broke down

on Christmas Eve

we checked into a shabby hotel

no Christmas spirit in our hearts

Good Usage  (Paras. 2-3)

carelesslydecorated for the holiday

five tablesin the restaurant were occupied

by himself

in the corner

monotonouslyplayed Christmas music

Good Usage  (Paras. 4-6)

ordered our meal in French

I scolded my wife for beingstupid.

defended her

felt even worse

on our left

slapped one of his children forsome minor fault

were interrupted by

an unpleasant blast of cold air

dragged herself in

went from one table to another

Good Usage  (Paras.7-9)

sit down at atable

Can you imagine…?

Good Usage  (Paras.10-12)

pointed to

got up to leave

walked over tothe flower woman’s table

Good Usage  (Paras.13-16)

pressing one of thesmall flowers flat

handed the womana twenty-franc note

leaning over

straightening up

may I havepermission to

to present thisflower to your beautiful daughter

in one quickmotion

Good Usage  (Paras.17-18)

Christmasexploded throughout the restaurant like a bomb

jumped up

hobbling to themiddle of the floor

shouted to thepiano player

beating the keyswith magic hands

nodding his headin rhythm

Good Usage  (Paras.19-20)

in time tothe music

the cornersof her mouth turned up

in laughter

jumped ontheir chairs

embraced theflower woman

beat rhythmwith his fork against a bottle

climbed onhis lap

singingmerrily

Good Usage  (Paras.21-22)

ordered wind foreveryone

called forchampagne

made the rounds

kissing each ofus on both cheeks

joined in

people crowdedin from the street

kept time to theChristmas carols

Good Usage  (Para.23)

ended up beingthe very best Christmas Eve

a young sailorwho had Christmas spirit in his soul

released thelove and joy

smothered withinus by anger

Key Words and Expressions for Text  A

onone’s way to

in the process of coming, going, ortraveling to  去…的途中  

e.g.  1. I’ll buysome bread on my way home.

2. We were already on the way to the airport when we realized we’dforgotten our passports.

我们已经在去机场途中了，突然意识到忘记带护照了。

 Usage: phrases with “way”

all the way 一路上；彻底地	by the way 顺便说一下	by way of 途经
in a way; in one way; in some ways 某种程度上	in a big (small) way 大（小）规模	in the way 造成不便或障碍
one way or another 考虑到各个方面	the other way round 相反	out of the way    偏远
to my way of thinking 在我看来	under way    已经开始并进行着

gowrong 

1. experienceproblems or difficulties 不如意，不对头；遇到麻烦

e.g.  1. The partywas going well until my parents arrived; then everything went wrong.

2. Their marriage started to go wrongwhen he got a job abroad.

他得到一份在国外的工作, 他们的婚姻就在那时开始出现问题。

 2. makemistakes at a particular stage in a process 犯错

   e.g. Check your work again and see ifyou can spot where you went wrong.

trapn. 

a plan for deceivingand tricking a person（人的）计谋，策略，陷阱

e.g.  1. His pleasant conversation was justa trap to make her say more than she should.

     他愉快的谈话不过是个策略，诱使她多说些她本不该说的话。  

2. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking out a loan you cannotafford.

很容易就钻进陷阱，背上你偿还不起的贷款。

collocations:

lay/set a trap  be/get caught in a trap    fallinto/walk into a trap

rent vt.

    esp. AmE pay money for the use of (a car, boat, etc.)for a short time 〖尤美〗租用（汽车、船只等）

e.g. 1. Hong Kong is one of the most expensivecities in the world to rent space in.

2. Will you rent a car while you’re inSpain?

你在西班牙期间会租辆车吗？

word choice: rent, hire, lease
租房子用rent，如: We rented an apartment together.
在美式英语里，租车,租电器产品也可以用rent，如: The TV is rented.
而在英式英语里，虽然也可以说rent a car， 但是经常说的是hire a car，如: You can hire a car at the airport.
长时间地租房子，租车或租设备，尤其是用于商业目的，可以用lease，如: If you upgrade computers regularly, it maywork out cheaper to lease them.

breakdown

1. (esp. of machinery) stop working; fail （机器）停止运转；坏掉

e.g.  1. We’re sorry to arrive late, but the bus broke down soon after we setoff.

2. The telephone system has broken down.

电话系统失灵了。

2. fail;collapse 失败；崩溃；瓦解；垮

e.g. Negotiations between the two sides have broken down.

双方谈判已经破裂。

3.(of sb’s health) become very bad; collapse （指某人健康状况）变得恶劣；垮

 e.g. Her health broke down under the pressureof work.

工作的压力把她的身体弄垮了。

4.lose control of one’s feelings 感情失去控制

e.g. Hebroke down and wept when he heard the news.

他听到这个消息时不禁痛哭起来。

irritable a. 

tending to get angry at small things; easily annoyed易怒的，急躁的

e.g.  1. The long drive home from work lefthim feeling tired and irritable.

下班回家长长的车程让他感到又累又急。

2. He had been waiting for over an hour and was beginning to feelirritable.

已经等了一个多小时他开始急了。

occupy vt.

use a place 占用 

e.g.  1. Many patients who are occupyinghospital beds could be transferred to other places.

许多现在正占用床位的病人可以转到其他地方。

2. The bathroom’s occupied. I think John’s in there.

厕所有人。我想约翰正在里面。

 (all) by oneself

alone, without help 单独地，独自地

e.g.  1. He was sitting by himself, looking very sad.

2. David spent Christmas all by himself.

戴维一个人过的圣诞节。

miserablea. 

very unhappy 极不愉快的，痛苦的  

e.g.  1. Thechild is cold, hungry, andtired; of course he’sfeeling miserable.

2. I spent a miserable weekend alone at home.

单独一个人呆在家里，我过了一个很不开心的周末。

scold vt. 

old-fashspeak angrily andcomplainingly to (someone who has done something wrong) 〖过时〗责骂；斥责（做错事的人）

e.g.  1. Later she scolded her daughter for having talked to her father likethat.

2. He neverraised his voice or scolded me unfairly.

他从来不提高嗓门或不分青红皂白地责骂我。

defendvt. 

usearguments to support, protect, or show the rightness of 为…辩护

e.g. 1. How canyou defend the killingof animals for scientific research?

2. Students should be ready to explain and defend their views.

学生应该勇于解释自己的观点并为之辩护。

minor a.

lesseror smaller in degree, size, number, or importance when compared with others 较少（小）的；低级的，次要的

e.g.  1. Heleft most ofhis money tohissons;his daughter received onlyaminor share of

hiswealth.

2. There may be some minor changes to the schedule.

时间表可能有些小的改动。

antonym: major

interrupt vt.

 break the flow of speech or action of (someone) by saying or doingsomething 打断（某人的）讲话；中断（某人的）行动；打扰

e.g.  1. She’sstudying for an examtomorrow, soyou’d better not interrupther.

2. Will you stop interrupting me when I’m talking!

我说话的时候请不要打断我！

straighten up 

get upfrom a bent-over position 直起身来，挺起身来

e.g.  1. He straightens up, combs his hair,and walks into the meeting.

2. Straighten up slowly, then repeat the exerciseten times.

慢慢直起身，然后重复这个练习10次。

permission n. 

[U]an esp. formal text of allowing, written or spoken agreement 许可，准许；批准

e.g.  1. They can not leavethe country withoutpermission.

2. You must ask permission before taking any photographs inside thechurch.

你必须取得同意才能在教堂里拍照。

collocations:

ask/request/applyfor permission
give/grant permission
get/obtain/receive permission
have permission (to do something)
refuse/deny (somebody) permission
with/without (somebody’s) permission
special/written permission
注意: 
不能说apermission或者the permission。

depart vi. 

fml or lit leave;go away, esp. when starting a journey〖正式或文〗离开

e.g.  1. The 12.15 train to Atlanta will depart from Platform16.

       12点15分去亚特兰大的列车在16号站台乘车。

2. The ship was due to depart at any moment.

船随时都会出发的。

lean vi.   (leant/lent/, leant orleaned, leaned)

slopeor bend from an upright position 倾斜；弯斜，屈身

e.g.  1. Last summer vacationI went to Italyand visited the LeaningTowerofPisa.

2. A man was leaning out of the window.

一个男的把身子探出窗外。

ancienta.

 1. usu.humor (of people or objects) very old; in or of times long ago〖一般幽〗老掉牙的；古代的

e.g.  1. Ilook rather ancient inthis photo.

2. I feel pretty ancient when I see how the younger generation behaves.

看到年轻一代的举止行为, 我觉得我太老了。

2. belonging to times long past 古代的；远古的

e.g. Rome is famous for its ancient monuments suchas the Coliseum.

    罗马因其古老的建筑物而闻名，如斗兽场。

enthusiasm n. 

a strong active feeling of interest and admiration 巨大的兴趣，热情，热心，热忱

e.g.  1. The play he watched last night aroused his enthusiasm for acting.

2. Employers showed little enthusiasm for the new regulations.

用人单位对新规定没有多大热情。

collocations:

with enthusiasm

great/much/considerable/enormous enthusiasm
little enthusiasm
lack of enthusiasm
full of enthusiasm
show (great/considerable/little) enthusiasm
lose enthusiasm
share somebody’s enthusiasm
fire somebody with enthusiasm 
generate enthusiasm
dampen somebody’s enthusiasm
boundless/unbounded enthusiasm

deliver vt. 

1. take (goods, letters, etc.) to people’s houses or places of work 递送，传送

e.g.  1. Letters are delivered to the small town every other day.

2. Unfortunately the package was delivered to the wrong address.

不幸的是，包裹投递错了地方。

2. give(a lecture, sermon, speech, etc) 授（课）; 讲（道）; 讲（话）

e.g. She delivered a talk onphilosophy to the society.

她给学会作了一次有关哲学的讲话。

release vt.

1. express a feeling that onehas been trying not to show  释放，放出

e.g.  1. He punched the pillow in an effortto release his anger.

       他击打枕头来发泄怒火。

2. Physical exercise is a good way of releasing stress.

体育锻炼是一种很好的释放压力的方式。

2. makesth. available to the public 发布（新闻等）；发行（影片等）

e.g.1. The latest developments have just been released to the media.

最新的进展情况已向大众传播媒介发表。

2. Thenew model has now been released for sale to export markets.

新型号的产品现已向出口市场出售。

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