练习材料:
L36-1:A chance ina million
We are lesscredulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bringhis story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series ofcoincidences -- most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted thefact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lostbrother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedlyplotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers wouldfind such naive solutions totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life,circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyonebut a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.
When I was a boy,my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brotherwho was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walkingtour with his wife, he stooped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on,Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband andeven suggested that he might be his brother.
ə ʧɑːns ɪn ə ˈmɪljən
wiː ɑː lɛs ˈkrɛdjʊləs ðæn wiː juːzd tuː biː. ɪn ðə ˈnaɪnˈtiːŋθ ˈsɛnʧʊri, ə ˈnɒvəlɪst wʊd brɪŋ hɪz ˈstɔːri tuː ə kənˈkluːʒən baɪ prɪˈzɛntɪŋ hɪz ˈriːdəz wɪð ə ˈsɪəriːz ɒv kəʊˈɪnsɪdənsɪz -- məʊst ɒv ðɛm ˈwaɪldli ɪmˈprɒbəbl. ˈriːdəz ˈhæpɪli əkˈsɛptɪd ðə fækt ðæt ən əbˈskjʊə ˈmeɪdˈsɜːvənt wɒz ˈrɪəli ðə ˈhɪərəʊz ˈmʌðə. ə lɒŋ-lɒst ˈbrʌðə, huː wɒz prɪˈzjuːmd dɛd, wɒz ˈrɪəli əˈlaɪv ɔːl ðə taɪm ænd ˈwɪkɪdli ˈplɒtɪŋ tuː brɪŋ əˈbaʊt ðə ˈhɪərəʊz ˈdaʊnfɔːl. ænd səʊ ɒn. ˈmɒdən ˈriːdəz wʊd faɪnd sʌʧ nɑːˈiːv səˈluːʃən ˈtəʊtli ˌʌnəkˈsɛptəbl. jɛt, ɪn rɪəl laɪf,ˈsɜːkəmstənsɪz duː ˈsʌmtaɪmz kənˈspaɪə tuː brɪŋ əˈbaʊt kəʊˈɪnsɪdənsɪz wɪʧ ˈɛnɪwʌnbʌt ə ˈnaɪnˈtiːŋθ ˈsɛnʧʊri ˈnɒvəlɪst wʊd faɪnd ɪnˈkrɛdəbl.
wɛn aɪ wɒz ə bɔɪ, maɪ ˈgrændˌfɑːðə təʊld miː haʊ ə ˈʤɜːmən ˈtæksi ˈdraɪvə, frænz Bussman, faʊnd ə ˈbrʌðə huː wɒz θɔːt tuː hæv biːn kɪld ˈtwɛnti jɪəz bɪˈfɔː. waɪl ɒn ə ˈwɔːkɪŋ tʊə wɪð hɪz waɪf, hiː stuːpt tuː tɔːk tuː ə ˈwɜːkmən. ˈɑːftə ðeɪ hæd gɒn ɒn, Mrs. Bussman ˈkɒmɛntɪdɒn ðə ˈwɜːkmənz kləʊs rɪˈzɛmbləns tuː hɜː ˈhʌzbənd ænd ˈiːvən səˈʤɛstɪd ðæt hiːmaɪt biː hɪz ˈbrʌðə.
任务配置:L0+L4
知识笔记:
单词:1、credulous:轻信的,耳根软,2、coincidence:巧合,巧事,3、improbable:不可能的,难以置信,4、obscure:朦胧,晦涩,无名,5、maidservant:女仆,6、presume:假设,假定,7、wickedly:邪恶地,8、plot:情节,阴谋,策划,计谋,9、downfall:倒台,落下,10、naïve:幼稚的,老实,天真的,11、conspire:合谋,图谋,共谋,密谋,12、walking tour:徒步旅行,13、comment:评论,注解,议论,解说,14、resemblance:相似,类似点,相似性,15、
音标:
练习感悟:虽然读得有点拗口,有些地方错了,但是起码时间上达标了,最近实在是任务重,稍微放点水了