大二英语课文解析

|Language Point 1 | My brother, Jimmy, did not get enough oxygen during a difficult delivery, leaving him with brain damage... (Para. 1)| Meaning: When my brother Jimmy was born, he had difficulty getting enough oxygen, which caused some damage to his brain...

|Language Point 2 | My father, a saint, simply held the house together with his patience and understanding. (Para. 2)|Meaning: My father, who was very good and kind, kept the family together with his patience and understanding.

| | Cultural tip: |In Christianity, "saint" is the title given to someone after they have died, because they have been very good and holy. The word is used here to emphasize the father's patience.

|Language Point 3 | I was in charge outside where I administered justice by tracking down the parents of the kids who picked on my brother, and telling on them. (Para. 2)| Meaning: I was responsible for protecting my brother in the neighborhood, where I would find the parents of the kids who treated my brother unkindly and tell them what their children had been doing.

|Language Point 4 | He didn't adjust to going to work without my father right away... (Para. 6)| Meaning: At first, he didn't get used to going to work without my father...

|Language Point 5 | This hit home a few days after the September 11th disaster on Jimmy's 57th birthday. (Para. 8)| Meaning: I understood this to be true a few days after the disaster on September 11th, the day of Jimmy's 57th birthday.

|Language Point 6 | ...and they were still reckoning with the sheer terror the disaster had brought. (Para. 8)| Meaning: ...and they still had to deal with the absolute terror that the September 11th disaster had brought.

| | Note that the phrase "much less" is often used after a negative statement, to indicate that the statement is more true of the person, thing, or situation that you are going to mention. |

|Language Point 7 | I called on my faithful friends to help make it a merry and festive occasion, ignoring the fact that most of them were emotionally drained and exhausted. (Para. 8)| Meaning: I asked my close friends to help make Jimmy's party a happy and joyful occasion, ignoring the fact that most of them were emotionally tired.

|Language Point 8 | W e ended up reminding ourselves instead. (Para. 11)| Meaning: In place (of reminding Jimmy), we finished up reminding ourselves (that there would always be people who cared about us).

|Language Point 9 | ...we were reminded that the constant love and support of our friends and family would get us through whatever life might present. (Para. 12)| Meaning: ...we were reminded that continual love and support of our friends and family would help us overcome all the hardships in life.

|Language Point 10 | The simplicity with which Jimmy had reconciled everything for us should not have been surprising. (Para. 12)| Meaning: The simple way with which Jimmy had helped us to accept reality should not have been surprising.

|Language Point 1 |A shiver in the air inspired a fire on the Franklin stove. (Para. 1)|Meaning: It was so cold in the air that we shivered. Therefore we made a fire in the Franklin stove.

|Language Point 2 |He was not much of a pianist... (Para. 1)|Meaning: He wasn't good at playing the piano...