Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.
One night, however, our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o’clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.
‘Whatever are you doing up here Bill?’ asked the vicar in surprise.
‘I’m trying to repair the bell,’ answered Bill. ‘I’ve been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.’
‘You certainly did give me a surprise!’ said the vicar. ‘You’ve probably waken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I’m glad the bell is working again.’
‘That’s the trouble, vicar.’ answered Bill. ‘It’s working all right, but I’m afraid that at one o’clock it will strike thirteen times and there’s nothing I can do about it.’
‘We’ll get used to that, Bill,’ said the vicar. ‘Thirteen is not as good as one, but it’s better than nothing. Now let’s go downstairs and have a cup of tea.’
equal: v. / n. / adj.
be / stand head and shoulders above sb = be much better than others
equality
- He equaled the world record.
- Nobody equals him in strength.
- Nobody matches him in strength.
- In English she has no equal in her class.
- In computer programming, Susan is head and shoulders above the rest of us.
- Susan is much better than we are in this subject.
- Women demand equal pay for equal work.
- A is equal to B.
- racial equality
- sexual equality
- We wish to inform you that we specialize in garments for more than twenty years, and shall be pleased to establish business relations with you on the basis of equality and mutal benefits.
raise: v./n.
rise
arise arose arisen
arouse
- raise one’s hand
- raise one’s voice
- raise one’s hat to sb
- raise one’s glass to sb.
- raise the roof
- raise pigs
- He has a big family to raise.
- We are raising a fund for orphans.
- The Sun Also Rises — Ernest Hemingway
- Problems arose.
- arouse one’s pity / anger …
- W: You look happy today.
- M: Yes. I got a raise.
- We pay two thousand Yuan monthly to start. It’s our policy to hire on a trial basis. If you work out all right after three months you will be put on the permanent payroll and be given a raise.
1A. Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired.
- be always doing sth
- be forever doing sth
- be constantly / continually doing sth
- keep (on) doing sth
- do sth all the time
- He is always being late.
- People are always talking about the problems of youth.
- W: Mary is always complaining about her job.
- M: Maybe if you try typing letters every day, you’d see what it’s like.
- Q: What does the man mean?
- A: The woman would understand if she did Mary’s job.
- He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and gentle pace of living.
- The boys are constantly / continually arguing.
- Your behavior reflects on me, and I can’t do my job if you’re constantly humiliating me.
- Constantly? Aside from today, give me one example.
- From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home.
- In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.
- W: I thought the doctor said you should stay off your foot until the swelling goes down.
- M: She did. It just makes me uncomfortable to ask my friends to wait on me all the time.
- Q: What does the man mean?
- A: He doesn’t like to bother people.
- Sam is always messing up the kitchen.
- Peter is constantly trying to show me he’s smarter than me.
- Why do you keep making the same mistakes?
- Jane forgets to give me my phone messages all the time.
cause
- One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.
one … or another
- He is always asking me for money for one cause or another.
- Beginners will err at one time or another.
- Everyone can contribute to society in one way or another.
one .. after another
- one day after another
- encounter one difficulty after another
- achieve one success after another.
have sth. done
- I’m going to have my hair cut this weekend.
- … people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
- King Charles I had his head cut off.
- The house had its window broken in the explosion.
Sentence opening is very important to create sentence variety. – inanimate subject (无灵主语/物称主语)
- The sea bed was scoured with powerful nets and there was tremendous excitement on board when a chest was raised from the bottom.
- People on board were very excited.
- When the news came, there was tremendous excitement in the studio.
- He lost his confidence.
- Confidence deserted him.
- I couldn’t sleep that night.
- That night sleep eluded me.
- We only travelled half the distance at sunset.
- Sunset met us halfway.
- Many foreigners …
- The past few years witnessed the great influx of foreigners to China, for traveling, studies or business.
My little daughter is always complaining of one illness or another, but she has never managed to get permission to be at home.
1B. The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.
used to do
be / become / get used to n. / doing
be accustomed to (doing) sth
- I used to get up early.
- I’m used to getting up early.
- ‘We’ll get used to that, Bill,’ said the vicar.
- Life is not fair, get used to it. — Bill Gates
- For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinner and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have been very hard indeed.
strike the hours
strike twelve
- It would strike twelve in twenty minutes.
ever since: adv. / prep. / conj. (with complete tense)
- There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.
- You know how she feels about you. It’s been the same way ever since we were kids.
Lao Wang who used to work hard day and night was laid off two years ago and has been lazy ever since.
2A. One night, however, our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours!
wake (up)
The doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead.
start: n.
She woke from the dream with a start.
with + n. = adv.
- The officer went through the case with great care. (very carefully)
- He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
- Then I added with a smile. (smilingly)
- His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease.
- She faced the difficulty with calmness.
- She faced the difficulty calmly.
- I looked at her curiously.
- I looked at her with curiosity.
- She spoke to me tenderly.
- She spoke to me with tenderness.
- I greeted Philip enthusiastically.
- I greeted Philip with enthusiasm.
2B. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o’clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.
非谓语(doing, done, to do) 作状语时， 一般情况下隐含的主语应该与主句的主语保持一致。
x Looking at his watch, it was one o’clock.
before的译法
强调主句的时间比预期的长时，“才”
强调主句的时间比预期的长时，“就”
- It will be a long time before we meet again.
- I hadn’t waited long before he came.
2C. Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on.
arm sb. with sth
sb carry sth.
go on | happen | occur | come up | come about：突发
take place：计划的事情发生
strike: 不幸的事情突然发生
coincide (with …)
- What’s going on?
- The funeral will take place on Monday.
- Most people were fast asleep when the earthquake struck.
- When I came, he was just about to leave.
- My arrival coincided with his departure.
2D. In the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.
catch sight of …
catch a glimpse of …
glimpse …
- A farm worker, who stayed up all night, claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
- One of the most colorful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764.
recognize … as …
- I recognized her as one of my classmates.
grocer | grocery
3A. ‘Whatever are you doing up here Bill?’ asked the vicar in surprise.
on earth | in the world | in God’s / heaven’s name
- What on earth has happened to trouble you so?
- What in the world are you doing here at seven in the morning?
- What in God’s name was that huge bang?
- Where in heaven’s name have you been?
3B. ‘I’m trying to repair the bell,’ answered Bill. ‘I’ve been coming up here night after night for weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.’
have been doing
night after night | night by night | every night | one night after another
for weeks, hours, months, years, centuries
- Oceans apart, day after day, and I slowly go insane.
was / were hoping … 表达一种试探性的、委婉的语气
- I was hoping if you could marry me.
3C. ‘You certainly did give me a surprise!’ said the vicar. ‘You’ve probably waken up everyone in the village as well. Still, I’m glad the bell is working again.’
emphatic positive
在肯定句和祈使句中，在谓语动词前加助动词do以加强语气。 只用于一般现在时do, does和一般过去时did中。
- I do need a car.
- He does speak English well.
- So you did come after all.
- Do come in.
- Do shut up!
as well:
as well as …
still | nevertheless | nonetheless | all the same | just the same: 尽管如此， 还是。。。
- The girl is not beautiful. Still, I like her very much.
I’m glad that … 形容词补足语
I’m afraid at one o’clock it will …
3D. ‘That’s the trouble, vicar.’ answered Bill. ‘It’s working all right, but I’m afraid that at one o’clock it will strike thirteen times and there’s nothing I can do about it.’
there is nothing I can do about it.
- The telephone is out of order, and there is nothing I can do about it.
- I know you are not satisfied, but there is nothing I can do about it.
- We apologize for this, but there is nothing we can do about it.
as good as = almost
- The injured man is as good as dead.
- Everything is as good as settled.
- As far as I could see, it needed only a minor adjustment: a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new.