练习资料：

By heart——Part2

One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me'. And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter with he proceeded to read to the prisoner.

wʌn naɪt, ðə ˈʤeɪlə dɪˈsaɪdɪd tuː pleɪ ə ʤəʊk ɒn hɪz ˈkɒliːg tuː faɪnd aʊt ɪf, ˈɑːftə səʊ ˈmɛni pəˈfɔːmənsɪz, hiː hæd ˈmænɪʤd tuː lɜːn ðə ˈkɒntɛnts ɒv ðə ˈlɛtə baɪ hɑːt. ðə ˈkɜːtn wɛnt ʌp ɒn ðə ˈfaɪnl ækt ɒv ðə pleɪ ænd rɪˈviːld ði ˈærɪstəkræt ˈsɪtɪŋ əˈləʊn bɪˈhaɪnd bɑːz ɪn hɪz dɑːk sɛl. ʤʌst ðɛn, ðə ˈʤeɪlər əˈpɪəd wɪð ðə ˈprɛʃəs ˈlɛtər ɪn hɪz bændz. hiː ˈɛntəd ðə sɛl ænd prɪˈzɛntɪd ðə ˈlɛtə tuː ði ˈærɪstəkræt. bʌt ðə ˈkɒpi hiː geɪv hɪm hæd nɒt biːn ˈrɪtn aʊt ɪn fʊl æz ˈjuːʒʊəl. ɪt wɒz ˈsɪmpli ə blæŋk ʃiːt ɒv ˈpeɪpə. ðə ˈʤeɪlə lʊkt ɒn ˈiːgəli, ˈæŋkʃəs tuː siː ɪf hɪz ˈfɛləʊ ˈæktə hæd æt lɑːst lɜːnt hɪz laɪnz. ðə ˈnəʊbl steəd æt ðə blæŋk ʃiːt ɒv ˈpeɪpə fɔːr ə fjuː ˈsɛkəndz. ðɛn, ˈskwɪntɪŋ hɪz aɪz, hiː sɛd: ðə laɪt ɪz dɪm. riːd ðə ˈlɛtə tuː miː. ænd hiː ˈprɒmptli ˈhændɪd ðə ʃiːt ɒv ˈpeɪpə tuː ðə ˈʤeɪlə. ˈfaɪndɪŋ ðæt hiː kʊd nɒt rɪˈmɛmbər ə wɜːd ɒv ðə ˈlɛtər ˈaɪðə, ðə ˈʤeɪlə rɪˈplaɪd: ðə laɪt ɪz ɪnˈdiːd dɪm, ˈsaɪə, aɪ mʌst gɛt maɪ ˈglɑːsɪz.' wɪð ðɪs, hiː ˈhʌrɪd ɒf ðə steɪʤ. mʌʧ tuː ði ˈærɪstəkræts əˈmjuːzmənt, ðə ˈʤeɪlə rɪˈtɜːnd ə fjuː ˈməʊmənts ˈleɪtə wɪð ə peər ɒv ˈglɑːsɪz ænd ðə ˈjuːʒʊəl ˈkɒpi ɒv ðə ˈlɛtə wɪð hiː prəˈsiːdɪd tuː riːd tuː ðə ˈprɪznə.

  一天晚上，狱卒决定与他的同事开一个玩笑，看看他反复演出这么多场之后，是否已将信的内容记熟了。大幕拉开，最后一幕戏开演，贵族独自一人坐在铁窗后阴暗的牢房里。这时狱卒上场，手里拿着那封珍贵的信。狱卒走进牢房，将信交给贵族。但这回狱卒给贵族的信没有像往常那样把全文写全，而是一张白纸。狱卒热切地观察着，急于想了解他的同事是否记熟了台词。贵族盯着纸看了几秒钟，然后，眼珠一转，说道：“光线太暗，请给我读一下这封信。”说完，他一下子把信递给狱卒。狱卒发现自己连一个字也记不住，于是便说：“陛下，这儿光线的确太暗了，我得去眼镜拿来。”他一边说着，一边匆匆下台。贵族感到非常好笑的是：一会儿工夫，狱卒重新登台，拿来一副眼镜以及平时使用的那封信，然后为那囚犯念了起来。

任务配置：L0、L1、L3、L4

知识笔记：

单词与短语

decide to do sth决定做某事

find out if... 看看是否...

manage to do sth做成某事

Just then这时

looked on eagerly急于想了解...

stared at sth for a few seconds盯着某物看了几秒钟

squint/skwɪnt/：Look at someone or something with one or both eyes partly closed in an attempt to see more clearly or as a reaction to strong light.

in an attempt to想达到某目的

With this一边...一边

Much to the sb's amusement让某人感到非常好笑

a few moments later一会儿工夫

音标

/w/发音要点：发音时舌后部向软腭抬起，但不要抵住；双唇收圆并向前突出；声带振动；为半元音，不能单独成音，不可延长。

/h/发音要点：发音时气流自由逸出口腔，只在通过声门时发生轻微摩擦；口型随后面元音变化；为清辅音，声带不振动，送气大。

练习感悟：最好能安排在早上练习，一天轻松，另外，背确实效果很好，背前半篇，后半篇做L3复述时，可以脱口来出之前背的短语。