大学英语综合教程第一单元知识点

Unit 1 Growing Up

Detailed Reading

I. Difficult Sentences

1.Until then I’d been bored by everything associated with English courses. (Para. 1)

What can we infer from this sentence?

(Up to then, Baker had had no interest in things related to English courses.)

2.I hated the assignments to turn out long, lifeless paragraphs that were agony for teachers to read and for me to write. (Para. 1)

Paraphrase the sentence.

(I found it painful to write long, boring essays as required by teachers; neither did teachers enjoy what I wrote.)

3.another cheerless year in that most tedious of subjects (Para. 2)

What can we learn from this phrase?

(We can know from this phrase that before Mr. Fleagle became Baker’s English teacher, all English courses were dull.)

4.I prepared for an unfruitful year with Mr. Fleagle and for a long time was not disappointed. (Para. 3)

What does the author really mean when he says “I ... was not disappointed”?

(He means that his expectation was right that Mr. Fleagle’s lessons were dull.)

5.I took the list home and did nothing until the night before the essay was due. Lying on the sofa,

I finally faced up to the unwelcome task, took the list out of my notebook, and scanned it. (Para. 3)

1) What can we infer from these sentences?

(Baker was unwilling to write his essay.)

2) List phrases to support your inference.

(did nothing until … the essay was due; faced up to the unwelcome task.)

6.This title produced an extraordinary sequence of mental images. (Para. 4)

Paraphrase the sentence and translate it into Chinese.

(At the sight of the title I saw an unusual series of pictures in my mind’s eye. 这个题目在我脑海里唤起了一连串不同寻常的图像。)

7.Vivid memories came flooding back of a night in Belleville when all of us were seated around the supper table — Uncle Allen, my mother, Uncle Charlie, Doris, Uncle Hal — and Aunt Pat served spaghetti for supper. (Para. 4)

Analyze the structure of the sentence.

(在这个长句中，came flooding back 是谓语，其余的都是主语。为了使句子结构平衡，避

免头重脚轻，作者运用了割裂修饰法，把谓语前移，主语中心语的修饰成分后置，使谓语紧接主语。例如：

- A list has been drawn up of words we have learned so far.

- All is not gold that glitters.)

8.Neither Doris nor I had ever eaten spaghetti, and none of the adults had enough experience to be good at it. (Para. 4)

What is the relationship between Baker and Doris? Why?

(Doris was Baker’s sister or his female cousin. Two reasons for that:

- Doris is a female name;

- The author mentioned “none of the adults ...” which shows that they were still children, not adults.)

9.I was preparing myself for a command to report to Mr. Fleagle immediately after school for discipline when I saw him lift my paper from his desk and knock for the class’s attention. (Para. 6)

1) Paraphrase this part of the sentence: I was prepared … for discipline.

(I was ready for Mr. Fleagle’s order to see him soon after school for the purpose of punishing me ...)

2) Why did Baker think he would be punished?

(Because to his mind, this time he had violated the rules of formal composition.)

3) What’s the function of the word “when” in the sentence?

(The word “when” here doesn’t mean “at or during the time that” (当…时). Instead, it means “and then” (在那时).

More examples:

- He had just drifted off to sleep when the bell rang.

-I was about to ask after his wife when I suddenly remembered that they were getting a divorce.)

10.In the eleventh grade, at the eleventh hour as it were, I had discovered a calling. (Para. 9) Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(就在十一年级，可谓是最后的时刻，我找到了一件今生想做的事。)

II. Words & Expressions

off and on (or on and off):from time to time; now and again; irregularly

- It has been raining on and off for a week. That’s why the clothes feel damp.

-As her patient slept soundly during the night, Nurse Betty was able to doze off and on in a bedside chair.

take hold:become established

- The idea of one child has taken hold in many Chinese families.

-老习惯是很难摆脱的。这就是为什么你要在习惯养成前戒烟。(Old habits die hard. That’s why you should stop smoking before the habit takes hold.)