文章原文：
Mostof us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. Wesometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun alwaysshines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and younever have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Lifeon a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live likeRobinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is anelement of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunityto find out.
Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there
longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami
to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly
loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for
a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island.
There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did
not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As
they had brought a spear gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught
lobster and fish every day，and,as one of them put it 'ate like kings'. When a passing tanker rescued them fivedays later, both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.
精读笔记：
1.Mostof us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island.
(1)form:to
start to exist, or make something start to exist, especially as the result of a
natural process，强调潜移默化的过程。
例句：I
formed the impression that she didn't really wanttocome.
(2)unrealistic:havinga wrong idea of what is likely to happen or of what you can really do; notbased on facts.
例句：Ithink these sales forecasts are unrealistic, considering how slow sales are atpresent.
2.Wesometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun alwaysshines.
(1)imagine:toform a picture or idea in your mind about what something could be like.
常用句型imaginethat…
例句：Imaginethat you have just won a million pounds.
(2)where
the sun always shines是定语从句，对paradise起到修饰作用。
3.Theother side of the picture is quite the opposite.
the
other side of the coin:a different way of considering a situation, making it
seem either better or worse than it did originally，写作时可以使用。
例句：Ilike having a white car, but the other side of the coin is that it soon getsdirty.
4.Lifeon a desert island is wretched.
wretched:extremely
bad or unpleasant.
例句：Iwas shocked to see their wretched living conditions.
5.Youeither starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat whichnever comes.
(1)starve:to(cause someone to) become very weak or die because there is not enough food toeat,
常用短语：starveto death
例句：Theyoung elephants must eat several times daily, or they will starve to death.
starvedfor:badly in need of being given (something needed for one's emotionalwell-being)
例句：Thosechildren are starved for attention.
starve的名词形式是starvation:thestate of having no food for a long period, often causing death.
例句：Theanimals died of starvation.
(2)either...or:usedfor showing two or more possibilities or choices.
例句：Whenthere’s a crisis, they either do nothing or do something totally useless.
6.Perhapsthere is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had theopportunity to find out.
element:oneof the parts of something that makes it work, or a quality that makes someoneor something effective.
例句：Havinga second income is an important element for most home buyers.
anelement of sth:a small amount of an emotion or quality.
例句：Therewas certainly an element of truth in what she said.
7.Twomen who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed therelonger.
who
recently spent five days on a coral island是定语从句，修饰twomen.
8.Theywere taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have itrepaired.
have
something done:we use have + object + -ed form when we talk about someone doing
something for us which we ask or instruct them to do. It emphasises the
process/action rather than who performs it.强调的是完成动作的过程而不是强调具体由谁完成的。
例句：We’rehaving the house painted next week. (We are not going to paint the houseourselves. Someone else will paint it. The emphasis is on the fact that thehouse is being painted rather than who is doing it.)
9.Theyquickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer androwed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coralisland.
load:(alsoload up)to put a large quantity of something into a vehicle or container.
例句：Sheloaded up the car with camping gear.
此外，还有另外一个意思toput a necessary part into something in order to make it work, for examplebullets into a gun or film into a camera.
例句：Didyou load it with 200 or 400 film?
10.Therewere hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did notprove to be a problem.
prove:toshow after a time or by experience that something or someone has a particularquality.
proveto be something
例句：Thedesign proved to be a success.
prove这个词在第一课中还出现过：Thesearch proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in themorning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
The
task proved difficult也可以写为Thetask proved to be difficult.
11.They
caught lobster and fish every day，and,as one of them put it 'ate like kings'.
put:to expresssomethingin words
例句:He
has difficulty putting his feelingsintowords.
12.Whena passing tanker rescued them five days later, both men were genuinely sorrythat they had to leave.
(1)rescue:tohelp someone or something out of a dangerous, harmful, or unpleasant situation.
例句：Thelifeboat rescued the sailors from the sinking boat.
(2)genuinely:reallyand sincerely.
例句：I'mgenuinely sorry for what I said.
genuinely还有另外一个用法usedfor emphasizing a particular quality.
例句：Matisseis a genuinely popular artist.
