【同舟学院学习内容】 第一期
The Man and the Wooden God
人和木神
【英语原文】
In the old days men used to worship sticks and stones and idols, and prayed to them to give them luck. It happened that a Man had often prayed to a wooden idol he had received from his father, but his luck never seemed to change. He prayed and he prayed, but still he remained as unlucky as ever. One day in the greatest rage he went to the Wooden God, and with one blow swept it down from its pedestal. The idol broke in two, and what did he see? An immense number of coins flying all over the place.
【中文翻译】
以前，人们曾经崇拜棍棒、石头和神像，并向他们祷告，希望能给自己带来好运。碰巧有一个男人经常向他从父亲那里得到的木神像祈祷，但他的运气似乎从未改变。他一次又一次祈祷，但他仍然像往常一样倒霉。一天，他怒火中烧，来到木神面前，一下将它从基座上扫落。神像摔成了两半，他看到了什么？无数的钱币如天女散花，满地都是。
【重点词汇词组】
1. used to do sth. 过去常常做某事（而现在不做了）
例：She used to love dancing, but she doesn't do it anymore.
她曾经喜爱跳舞，但现在已经不跳了。
【常见搭配】
① be/get used to sth./sb. 习惯于......
例：I just can't get used to getting up early.
我就是不习惯早起。
② used... 用过的/二手的......
例：I could only afford a used car (= one that has already been owned by others).
我只买得起二手车。
2.pray to sb. 向某人祈祷
例：Martha prayed to God for help.
玛莎向上帝祈求帮助
【常见搭配】
pray for sth. 祈求某物
例：Let us pray for peace.
让我们祈求和平。
3. It happens/happened that...
偶然，碰巧...
例：Fortunately it happened (that) there was no one in the house at the time of the explosion.
幸运的是，爆炸发生时，屋子里碰巧没有人。
【常见搭配】
① happen to sb./sth. 发生在（某人）身上；作用于......
例：I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him.
我不知道一旦他出了事我该怎么办。
② happen to do sth. 偶然/碰巧做某事
例：She happens to like cleaning.
正巧她就是喜欢打扫卫生。
4. from/off the pedestal 从底座（掉落/倒下）
例：In the riot, the statues were toppled from their pedestals.
在暴乱中，雕像从底座上被推了下来。
【相关俚语】
① knock sb. off their pedestal 使（某人）威信扫地；使某人跌落神坛
例：This recent scandal has really knocked the president off his pedestal.
最近的丑闻确实让总统威信扫地。
② put/place sb./sth. on a pedestal 把......当作偶像；盲目崇拜......；把......视为完美
Stephen has been putting classic literature on a pedestal ever since college.
史蒂芬自从上大学以来就一直盲目崇拜古典文学。
5. immense adj. 巨大的，无限的
【常见搭配】
① an immense number/amount of... 大量的......
例：They spent an immense amount of time getting the engine into perfect condition.
他们花费了大量时间使发动机运转完美
② immense wealth/asset/value 巨大的财富/资产/价值
例：In the ancient world, a trained memory was an immense asset, particularly in public life.
在古代，训练有素的记忆是一笔巨大的财富，尤其是在公共生活中。
③ an immense desire for... 对......的巨大渴望
例：Perhaps we are born with an immense desire for knowledge, which can be obtained from books.
或许我们天生就有一种对书籍知识的巨大渴望。
长难句解析
It happened that a Man had often prayed to a wooden idol he had received from his father, but his luck never seemed to change.
解析：It happened that...为固定搭配，意为“碰巧...”。that后面的从句整体上是并列句，由but 并列 a Man had often prayed to a wooden idol和his luck never seemed to change这两个核心句子。he had received from his father是省略that的定语从句，修饰先行词（定语从句所修饰的名词）idol；此处that可省略的原因是：that代指先行词idol在定语从句中充当had received的宾语，that代指先行词在定语从句中作宾语时，that可省略。
句子翻译：
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【学习步骤】
❶先泛读文章的英文原文，尽量去catch大意。
❷再看翻译，核对和自己的理解文章差异。
❸认真学习【重点词汇词组】和【长难句分析】
❹最后再翻译长难句和朗读录音到同舟学院群。
