1. Just let me wipe your table and then I'll take your order.我把桌子擦一擦就来写菜单。

　　1)wipe有"擦;擦干;擦净"的意思,常和away,off,out等连用。例如:

　　The rain wiped away all the dust.雨把所有的灰尘都冲刷掉了。

　　I'm afraid this paint won't wipe off.恐怕这种涂料是擦不掉的。

　　The earthquake wiped out the town.地震摧毁了那个城市。

　　2)order可作名词,意思是"点的饭菜";作动词意思是"叫(饭菜、饮料等)"。take one's order意思是"写菜单;菜单"。例如:

　　He ordered a dinner from the restaurant.他在餐馆定了一桌晚宴。

　　Let me take your order, sir.先生,请您点菜吧。

　　order还可以作"定货"解,同样可以作动词或名词。例如:

　　They received a large order for winter clothes.他们收到了一大笔冬季服装的定货。

　　The CAAC has ordered some new types of computers from Legend Company.中国民航向联想公司定购了一些新型电脑。

　　2. It is thought that one billion people, that is half the world's workers, earn their living by farming.据认为有十亿人,也就是全世界劳动人口的一半,是靠务农谋生的。

　　It is thought that是一个固定结构,相当于People think that...。其中it是形式主语,that引导的是一个主语从句,作真正的主语。在本单元Lesson 15 中It has been proved that the way to produce the most food is to let farmers grow crops either to feed their family or to sell...也是同样的句型。

　　一般说来,在不便或不必指明某看法、说法、消息等的来源时,往往用It is said / reported / believed / hoped / supposed / thought / expected / suggested / known that...结构。例如:

　　It is thought that China will be the strongest country in the 21st century.人们认为中国将是21世纪的强国。

　　It is known to all that light travels faster than sound.众所周知,光比声传播得快。

　　It is reported that no one was killed in the earthquake.据报道,这次地震没有造成人员死亡。

　　这个句型常可简化成含有to do形式的简单句。例如:It is reported that no one has been killed in the earthquake.此句可简化成:No one is reported to have been killed in the earthquake.

　　[原题再现]

　　①It is believed that if a book is ________ , it will surely ________ the reader.

　　A. interested; interest

　　B. interesting; be interested

　　C. interested; be interesting

　　D. interesting; interest

　　②Visitors ________ not to touch the exhibits.

　　A. will request B. request

　　C. are requesting D. are requested

　　①②题答案分别是D。

　　3. For one thing, two thirds of the earth's surface is water, although this does provide a lot of food in the form of fish. 首先,地球表面的三分之二是水,尽管水的确提供了大量可作食物的鱼类。

　　1) for one thing意思是"首先",有时后跟for another(thing),作"其次"解。例如:

　　We had to delay our journey. For one thing, the weather was terrible.我们不得不推迟旅行,首先是因为天气坏透了。

　　I'll not buy the coat. For one thing, I don't like the color, for another it's too expensive.我不想买这件上衣,首先是我不喜欢这颜色,再就是价钱也太贵。

　　2) in the form of的意思是"以……形式",后接名词或动名词。例如:

　　The lesson he gives is often in the form of talking about the pictures.他经常以看图说话的形式授课。

　　(文/王振杰；英语辅导报高三版2003-2004学年第4期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)