一条贵重的宝贝猫

【New words and expressions】 生词和短语

★dear

adj. 亲爱的，可贵的;昂贵的

I can't afford the car because it's too dear.

The cat is dear to me.

cost somebody dear

★kidnapper

n. 绑架者，拐骗者

kidnap v.

★considerable

adj. 相当大的

a considerable business

He has got a considerable success.

considerably

It's considerably colder today than yesterday.

considerate

be considerate to somebody

Are you considerate to your wife?

considered

It's my considerered opinion.

all things considered

就各方面而言

All things considered ,he finished the work well.

considering

Considering his age,the little boy reads very well.

considering that

He studies English well,considering.

★wealthy

adj. 富的，有钱的

★orderly新概念英语答案

adj. 有规律的

★disappearance

n. 失踪

★anonymous

adj. 匿名的

★ransom

n. 赎金

pay ransom to somebody

The old lady paid a ransom of one thousand pounds to the kidnapper.

hold somebody to ransom

They kidnapped the boy and held him to ransom.

★cardboard

n. 硬纸板

★withdraw(withdrew, withdrawn)

v. (从银行)取钱

★punctually

adv. 准时地

punctual adj.

punctuality n.

★astound

v. 使吃惊

语意程度比surprise要强得多

astonish amaze astound 语气一个比一个强

He was ashounded to hear of her death.

They were amazed to find the lazy girl came very early.

surprising surprised

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

听录音，然后答复以下问题。

Why was Rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?

Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. Rastus leads an orderly life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. One evening, however, he failed to arrive. Mrs. Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.

There days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter. The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of $1,000. Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. At first she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. She withdrew $1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions. The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening. He looked very well though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done. She explained that Rastus was very dear to her. Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!

参考译文

绑架者很少对动物感兴趣。最近，绑架者却盯上了埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太的猫。埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太是一个非常富有的老妇人，北京速记公司，多年来，一直同她养的猫拉斯一起住在一所公寓里。拉斯特斯生活很有规律，傍晚常常出去散步一会儿，并且总是在7点钟以前回来。可是，有一天晚上，它出去后再也没回来。拉姆齐太太急坏了，四处寻找，但没有找着。

拉斯特斯失踪3天后，拉姆齐太太收到一封匿名信。写信人声称拉斯特斯安然无恙，只要拉姆齐太太愿意支付1,000 英镑赎金，可以立即将猫送还。他让拉姆齐太太把钱放在一个纸盒里，然后将纸盒放在门口。一开端拉姆齐太太打算报告警察，但又畏惧再也见不到拉斯特斯——这点，录音整理，信上说得十分明确——于是便转变了主意。她从银行取出1,000 英镑，并照绑架者的请求做了。第二天凌晨，放钱的盒子不见了。但拉姆齐太太确信绑架者是会履行诺言的。果然，当天晚上7点正，拉斯特斯准时回来了。它看上去一切正常，只是口渴得很，喝了半瓶牛奶。拉姆齐太太把她所做的事告诉了警察，警察听后大为吃惊。拉姆齐太太解释说她心疼她的猫拉斯特斯。想到她所花的那笔钱，她的心疼就具有双重意义了。

【课文讲解】

seldom take interest in

took great interest in

share something with somebody

I share the room with my friend.

for a long time.

disciplined regular

take a short walk goes for a stroll

however

look for find

after可以和名词搭配Three days after～arrival

state: 非常正式的声明

instruct: order be instructed to do something

The journalist was instructed to obtain...

fearing现在分词做原因状语

make it clear to somebody that.

The teacher has made it clear to us that we must read English aloud every day.

keep his promise word表现诺言时，要采用单数情势

keep his word break his word give somebody one's word

as good as one's word 表现守信用，着重点在于强调一个成果

go back on one's word

sure enough

I said it would happen ,and sure enough it did happen.

half a bottle of milk

in many ways

双重意义：dear

【Special difficulties】

The comma

三个或三个以上的词、短语或句子只用一个并列连接词来连接，他们之间就要用逗号，并列连接词前也要用逗号

插入语或同位语前后必须用逗号离开

状语从句位于句首时也要用逗号和主句分隔开来，放在句尾则不需要

非限定性定语从句必须用逗号离开

语次转变词也应当用逗号将其和句子其他成分离开

介词短语和分词短语位于句首时也必须加逗号加以分隔

【Multiple choice questions】

1. A正确could would

2. on what conditions B正确

3. A正确

4. for a great many years B正确

5. D正确