英语泛读1~3

Unit 1
II. difficult points of the Text
1. What was Holmes doing (L 26)
He was shooting at the living-room wall in such a way that the bullet holes would form the letters VR on the wall.
2. Why wasn’t Gregson very informative? (L 58)
Because he didn’t bring any news from the police headquarters. He thought the robbery of the busts of Napoleon wasn’t a serious case worth mentioning to Holmes.
3. Why did this action of Holmes’ show? (L79)
It showed that Holmes became interested in the case.
4. What did Dr. Watson mean? (L 132)
He meant that a mad man was capable of crazy things.
5. What’s the implication of the sentence? (L 144)
The breaking of the three plaster casts seemed to be a small thing, but many important cases have begun with the smallest matters, so he couldn’t take the matter lightly.
6. What does “one” refer to? (L 174)
One refers to a news story.
7. Why did he stare? (L 245)
He stared because he didn’t think Holmes seriously believed the madman story. He was surprised to hear Holmes asking him to tell Mr. Marker about a dangerous madman with a prejudice against Napoleon.
8. What did Mr. Hudson mean? (L 269)
He meant that he was quite satisfied with Beppo while the latter was working in his shop.
9. What was the idea? Why did he laughed at the idea? (L 297)
The idea was that someone would commit robbery for the busts.
He laughed at the idea because the busts were very cheap.
10. Why didn’t Holmes want the manager to tell Beppo’s cousin about their investigation? (L 319) Because Holmes was afraid that the cousin would notify Beppo of their investigation, which would alert Beppo.
11. Whom did Holmes want to sent a letter for? For what purpose? (L 387)
He wanted to sent a letter to Mr. Josiah Brown, telling him to cooperate to capture the criminal in the act.
12. What did the man do? (L 420)
He broke the bust of Napoleon that he had stolen from Mr. Josiah Brown’s home.
13. What did Holmes try to find? (L 430)
He tried to find the famous black pearl of the Borgias. But he didn’t find it.
14. Whose blood was that? (L 439)
It was Tom Rippy’s blood. Beppo killed Rippy the previous night with that knife in a fight.
15. Explain the sentence. (L 486)
The sentence means that at last we saw an intact bust of Napoleon. The other five we saw were all broken into small pieces by Beppo.
16. Paraphrase the sentence. (L 515)
…but could not explain the case.
17. What does the sentence mean? (L 574)
Holmes had recovered from his pleasure in being admired and respected by others. He became his usual self again, cold and practical.
III. Translation
1.一个思维如此缜密、外表如此优雅的男人，对周围环境的整洁状况竟是如此的不在意，
这总是让我感到奇怪。

2.但在我看来，与其说这是我们的案子，还不如说是华生医生的一个病例。

3.（至少是谋杀未遂，）否则是不会让这些伦敦送信男童这么感兴趣的。

4.我建议你按你的思路调查，我按我的思路调查。

5.只有在这种时候，他才有片刻时间不再是推理机器，而显示出被人崇拜和尊敬时常人所
有的快乐来。

IV. Keys to questions
1.The six Napoleons were six busts of Napoleon.
The criminal who stole them broke them into pieces because he was trying to find the famous black pearl of the Borgias that he had hidden in one of them before his arrest.
2.The name of the murdered man was Tom Rippy, one of the most dangerous murders in
London.
He and his sister stole the black pearl of Borgias, but the pearl fell into Beppo’s hand, who kept it for himself. Rippy followed Beppo, trying to get the pearl back, but was killed by Beppo in a fight.
3.Holmes put a wrong clue in Mr. Harker’s newspaper story so that the murderer would not
think he was suspected and would not be followed. He would go after the other busts. Then Holmes could catch him in the act.
4.It was Beppo’s photo.
The murdered man carried his photo so that he could show it to people when trying to track Beppo down.
Unit 2 Part one The Pen of My Aunt
I. Background Information
The Pen of My Aunt
In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed from 10 May, 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb (Case Y ellow), German armored units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and surround the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and many French soldiers were however educated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo. In the second operation, Fall Rot (Case Red), executed from 5 June, German troops outflanked the Maginot Line to attack the larger territory of France itself. Italy declared war on France on 10 June. The French government fled to Bordeaux and Paris was occupied on 14 June. After the French Second Army Group was forced to surrender on 22 June, France calculated on 25 June. For the Axis, the campaign was a spectacular victory.
France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north and west, a small Italian occupation zone in the southeast and a collaborationist rump state in the south, V ichy France .France remained under German occupation until after the Allied landings in 1944, the Low Countries would be liberated in 1944 and 1945.
The surrender of France in June 1940 was a major blow to many French people in terms of their pride. Many believed that the government had let the people down. The creation of a Nazi-approved Vichy government, primarily in the center and south of the country, was, in the minds of many, further proof that politicians had let down France. The resistance movement developed to provide the Allies with intelligence, attack the Germans when possible and to assist the escape of the Allied airmen.
2. Further information on Text-related details
The Pen of My Aunt
1. Gorgon Daviot (戈登。

戴维欧，1896-1952)：well-known Scottish mystery writer and playwright. Her real name was Elizabeth Mackintosh and, in the persona of Gordon Daviot, she wrote a series of plays. Her another pseudonym is Josephine Tey. Her most famous novel is The Daughter of Time
Lord Byron’s Love Letter
2. Tennessee Williams (田纳西。

威廉姆斯，1911-1983)：one of America’s greatest playwrights, and certainly the greatest ever from the south. Tennessee Williams wrote fiction and motion picture screenplays, but he is acclaimed primarily for his plays. When The Glass Menagerie hit Broadway in 1945, it not only changed Tennessee Williams’s life, it revolutionized American theater. A Streetcar Named Desire, The Night of the Iguana and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are among his other masterpieces. Among his many awards, Williams won two Pulitzer Prizes and four New Y ork Drama Critics Circle A wards.
3. Lord Byron (Gorge Gordon, 1788-1824):British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Among his best known works are narrative poems Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and Don Juan. The latter remained incomplete on his death. He was regarded as one of the greatest European poets and remains widely read.
4. Mardi Gras: a traditional holiday celebrated in many of the southern states of the USA. The most famous celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The people there enjoy this celebration by going to parades where they catch “beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets” that are all thrown from floats. They have masquerade balls and dress up in costumes for these events. King Cakes are eaten during this holiday. Mardi Gras is known as the “biggest free show on earth.” Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage in 1699. Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday’ and of course is celebrated on that day of the week. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Lunar calendar, used by the Catholic Church to determined the date of Easter. Mardi Gras always 47 days before Easter Sunday.
5. Shelley (Percy Bysshe Shelly, 1792-1822): one of the major English Romantic poets and widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. He is perhaps most famous for such anthology pieces as Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, and The Masque of Anarchy. However, his major works were long visionary poems including Alastor, Adonais, The Revolt of Islam, Prometheus Unbound and the unfinished The Triumph of Life.
6. John Keats (1795-1821): one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement. During his short life, his work received constant critical attacks from the periodicals of the day, but his posthumous influence on poets such as Alfred Tennyson has been immense. Elaborate word choice and sensual imagery characterize Keats’s poetry, including a series of odes that were his masterpieces and which remain among the most popular poems in English literature.
Keats’s letters, which expound on his theory of aesthetics of “negative capability,”were among the most celebrated by any men of letters.
III . Difficult points of the text
1.What does it specifically refer to (L13)?
It refers to barbarism, or put it more specifically, bad manners such as entering the house without asking for permission, speaking loudly or walking hastily.
2.What does the sentence mean (L61)?
It means that a servant should always keep his presence of mind and behave calmly.
3.what does the stranger mean (L78)
He is being satirical that the Germans demand so many papers. If he carries all the papers on him, he can do nothing.
4.What appearance do you suppose the stranger had (L90)?
He must have looked very haggard, dirty, with his clothes crumpled or even torn.
5.What do the collared conquer and the collarless conquered refer to respectively (L115)?
What is the implication of the sentences?
The collared conqueror refers to the German invaders, while the collarless conquered refers to the French.
It implies that although France is losing the war at present, it will finally triumph.
6.Paraphrase the sentence (L135)
That I demand to see his papers does not mean that you have done anything wrong.
7.What does he mean by a remarkably quick adoption (L212)
A remarkably quick adoption means that Madame accepted the stranger as her nephew in such a short time.
8.What is the implication (L232)?
The implication is that Madame’s nephew is a real collaborator with the Germans.
9.What do you think cloak means here (L241)
10.What does he mean (L350)?
11.What is the connotation of the remark (L446)?
12.What does the sentence tell you about his aunts (L505)?
Lord Byron’s Love Letter
13.Why does she look up in annoyance (L170)
14.What does the action show about the old woman (L189)?
Ⅱ。

T ranslation
1.法兰西也许是一个被占领的国家，一个被毁了的民族，一个被征服的种族，但是，
请记住，我们仍将保持文明礼数。

2.经历了过去几个月，我不会再把士兵从大路那边过来看做是什么了不起的事情。

3.习俗让让他们无法容忍，顺从是天大的罪恶。

哪怕是一个衣领，也是对他们的自由
的冒犯，是自由惯了的脖子不能忍受的约束。

4.就好像我在盛满牛奶的浅碗中将笔尖润湿一样，天空的蓝色是那样柔和。

5.那女人跟着到了门口，用手遮挡住外面的光线，朝那个太太的背影望去。

Unit 3 Peter Two
I. Background Information
Many people think that television can both entertain and inform. However, many TV programs may have an undeniably negative influence on childhood behavior and values.
Nowadays, violence and sexual images are as much a part of today’s television fare as peanut butter ads and infomercials. It is reported that about 60% of all American TV programming contains violence. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a child who watches three to four hours a day of noneducational TV will see about 8,000 small-screen murders by the time he or she completes grade school.
That’s unsettling news for parents and pediatricians alike. A survey found that more than four out of five parents are concerned that their children are exposed to too much televised sex and violenc e—yet millions of youngsters are still enthusiastically watching hours of TV daily, with little or no supervision. American children spend an average of 6 hours, 32 minutes each day watching TV or using other media (including the Internet, videotapes, video games, and radio). That’s more time than they devote to any other activity except sleep, according to the AAP.
Y oungsters may become less sensitive to the terror of violence, accept violence as a way to resolve life’s difficulties, or even imitate the violence they have seen. A recent study by New Y ork University School of Medicine researchers concluded that preschool children who frequently watch violent TV programs or play violent video games are 11 times more likely to engage in aggressive and antisocial behavior than children not frequently exposed. A study at the National Institute on Media and the family, published in 2002, found that third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children who watch media violence are more likely to treat their peers with rudeness and mean behavior.
II. Further information on text-related details
1.forty-five: .45(11.4mm)口径的半自动手枪
The .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol M1911A1 is a recoil-operated hand weapon. It is a magazine-fed semiautomatic weapon, which fires one round each time the trigger is squeezed, once the hammer is cocked by prior action of the slide or thumb. This design is referred to as “single action only”. The thumb safety may only be activated once the pistol is cocked. The hammer remains in the fully cocked position once the safety is activated.
2.FBI: 美国联邦调查局
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and domestic intelligence agency.
3.Cape Cod:科德角
Cape Cod (or simply the Cape) is an arm-shaped peninsula nearly coextensive with Barnstable County, Massachusetts and forming the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States.
III. Difficult points of the text
1.What was the impolite noise?
It’s the noise of grinding the seeds.
2.Why did they laugh?
The boy who was called “Peter the Great” is the smallest boy in class. It’s funny to call him Peter the Great.
3.What does that refer to?
That refers to the fact that his father and all his uncles were six feet tall.
4.Why could arms like that mean the difference?
In a fight or battle, a person with strong arms has more chance to win and survive.
5.Why does the author say so?
Because in a fierce fight if one does not have quick reflexes before the crucial moment, he or she would be killed.
6.Why was he sorry for that?
Because at that time he was very frightened. He hoped that his parents were with him at home.
7.What did the sentence imply?
The sentence implied that Mrs. Chalmers was really frightened and wanted Peter to let her in.
8.What did Peter decide to do?
He decided to open the door to see what was happening outside.
9.How did he feel while moving toward the door?
He felt quite weak. He was very nervous.
10.Explain the underlined part.
It means that Mrs. Chalmers spent a lot of money buying clothes.
11.What does the sentence show of Peter?
Peter was so frightened that he could not speak clearly.
12.Why was it hard to tell?
Because in the city it was quite noisy, even during the night. There might be some noises that sounded like shots.
13.Explain the sentence.
Why did Peter have such a feeling?
Peter felt that the policeman was going to arrest him.
He thought Mr. Chalmers might have killed Mrs. Chalmers during the night and he had something to do with the murder because he failed to help Mrs. Chalmers.
Ⅴ. Translation
1.勇敢的、赤手空拳的演员扑向手握。

45口径手枪的歹徒；思维敏捷、英俊无畏
的年轻人把无辜少女的生命从刀下挽回。

2.如同在电视上，每人携带两只枪的间谍从未能阻挡联邦调查局的人员一样，体
重120磅的布雷斯戴尔也没能阻止彼得。

3. 3. 他觉得长大后他会成为一个危险人物，但弱者和那些被无辜追杀的人可以放
心地来寻求他的帮助。

4.直到最近，他还不太喜欢黑暗，他总是走到哪儿都开灯。

但他得锻炼胆量，就
像锻炼其他任何本领一样。

Ⅵ. Key to text-related questions
1.In his class there were three other boys with the same given name “Peter”. The
history teacher called them Peter one, Peter Two, Peter Three and Peter the Great.
2.After the fight for Peter the Great’s cap, for the first time in his life, Peter Two had a
conscious feeling of confidence and pride in himself. He thought he was fearless..
3.Peter Two thought he had this quality a person should have to be a defender of the
week is to be fearless.
Y es, he thought he had this quality. After the fight for Peter the Great’s cap, Peter Two became quite confident of himself. He thought the fight with Blaisdell proved that he had got the quality of being fearless.
4.After the Chalmbers’ incident, Peter did not think he was fearless any longer. He felt
weak and frightened when he was facing Mr. Chalmbers, who had a gun with him.
He was not brave enough to help Mrs. Chalmbers, and let her into his apartment. 5.After the Chalmers’ incident, Peter no longer believed the fearless actors in the TV
programs. He thought those programs made by the adults were just for naïve kids.。