新浪首页 > 新浪教育 > 拍案惊奇——评《胡敏读故事记单词》丛书

拍案惊奇——评《胡敏读故事记单词》丛书
http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/11/08 10:03  新航道学校—胡敏

  拍案惊奇

  ——评《胡敏读故事记单词》丛书

  北京读者 何畅

  第一次看到《胡敏读故事记单词》是在北京图书大厦的专架上。作为一个曾经被单词折磨得近乎变态的我,没想到这种boring的东西还可以用如此轻松的方法来记。惊奇有四:

  惊奇之一:螺丝壳中作道场,语境里面记单词。把爱听的故事与不爱记的单词结合起来,

  让枯燥的单词变得生动,让沉闷的学习变得有趣是本丛书的一大特点。一段笑话、一种经历、一个场景,当你面带笑容看完故事之后,发现那些从前面目可憎的单词,居然是一群有血有肉、有生命力的朋友,故事演绎篇幅适当,精力集中恰到好处。

  惊奇之二:“词汇表”成“剧目表”,单词排队演故事。本书中所有词汇在故事当中都是按照正规词汇表的出场顺序出现的,单词们在自然的流露中,再现一个个生动的场景。在强化记忆的过程中丝毫不显牵强之意。

  惊奇之三:范围紧扣大纲,考试也变轻松。丛书从小学、初中、高中、大学四级、六级、托福、雅思直到GRE,步步紧扣考试大纲,针对性强,词汇难度与阅读深度呈阶梯深入。不同年龄段的学生都能从中找到适合自己的“故事”,而且还能在记单词的同时学语法、练阅读,习写作,感受其中的妙趣与惊奇效果。

  惊奇之四:趣味故事解惑英美文化。即使把所有基础英语学习的因素都去掉,这些故事中所表述的思想与文化也值得一看。所有故事都是由具备深厚文化底蕴的英美专家撰写,国内顶级高手翻译。不但保留了语言风格的原汁原味,更使读者在潜移默化中了解了西方文化与思维差异。

  总之,看《读故事记单词》的过程就好像参加了一场盛馔佳肴的满汉全席,单词是原料,故事是调料,思想和文化是个中滋味,纯正英美发音磁带是饭后的水果,你只管尽情享用!

  

  《读故事记单词》——考研英语词汇

  

  21. My Paper Route

  我的送报历程

  deserve→discard

  Since I was young, my parents have been telling me “hard work builds character”. What they mean is that by working hard, a person can learn skills that differentiate him from other people, and earn for himself whatever he desires.

  I learned what they meant at a very young age. When I was fourteen, I had my first big dilemma. There was a computer game that I wanted to have. My parents would not buy it for me. I was very angry, stormed around the house, trying not to despise my parents. They wanted me to work! What a disaster! Later I was able to detach myself from that desolate mood. Like a good diplomat, I asked my parents what I should do. “I diagnose you with a case of laziness” my mother said. She knew the cure, a job.

  So, that year I got a paper route. Before school I would ride my bicycle around my neighborhood along whatever route the newspaper office would designate as mine, delivering papers to my neighbor’s houses. Every little detail of those mornings is still clear to me. I would set out in the dim light of the rising sun and watch the morning fog diffuse as the sun came up. Through the summer, and as fall began to deteriorate into winter, I would devote about an hour per day to my little job. Soon I had earned enough money to buy the game that I wanted. When I carried it home from the store, I begun to detect in myself a new feeling. I had a sense of accomplishment, because I had worked hard to deserve the new game as a reward for my efforts. My parents never wanted to dictate where I spent my wages, and never said anything when they saw me playing my new game. However, I saw them smile at each other that day, and I knew they were proud.

  For many years I kept that job. Nothing could detain me or make me deviate from my morning route. Years later, my interest in computer games started to diminish, and I chose to discard that first game. However, this dimension of hard work enabled me to use the money I earned to buy other small things. I only left the job after I had gotten my high school diploma and was leaving for college. Now that I am older and have children of my own, I have started to teach them the important lesson, “hard work builds character.”

  从我小时候起,父母就一直告诫我“勤劳塑造性格” 。他们的意思是,通过辛勤的劳动,一个人可以学到使他与众不同的技巧,这样无论他想要什么都可以得到。

  我懂得父母的用意是在我很小的时候。14岁那年,我遇到了人生第一个大难题。我想买一个电脑游戏盘,可父母不给买。我非常生气,在家里暴跳如雷,我努力不鄙视父母,但做不到。他们就是想让我工作!我太不幸了!过了一会儿我才从痛苦的心情中摆脱出来。像机敏的外交家那样,我问父母我该做些什么。“我诊断出你患了懒惰病。”母亲说。她知道办法医治——去工作。

  所以,那年我就开始了我的送报历程。去上学之前,我骑着自行车穿梭在我家周围,沿着报纸发行办公室给我指定的路线把报纸送到邻居家里。早晨送报的每个细节至今仍记忆犹新。伴着黎明微弱的阳光我就出发了,一路上看着太阳升起、大雾散去。整个夏天过去了,随着秋天开始渐渐退去,冬天来了,每天我要把大约一小时时间用在这个差使上。不久我就挣够了钱,买了自己想要的电脑游戏盘。当我把它从商店搬回家时,我开始发现自己身上多了一种感觉。我有一种成就感,因为我努力了,应该得到那个电脑游戏盘,这是对我付出的一种奖励。父母从不想强制规定我把钱花在什么地方,他们看到我玩新游戏什么也不说。然而,那天我看到他俩对视着笑了,我知道他们为我而自豪。

  那个工作我干了很多年。没什么可以阻挡我或使我离开早晨的送报路线。多年以后,我对电脑游戏的兴趣开始减弱,于是决定扔掉我的第一个游戏软件。然而,性格中这种勤劳的成分使我能够自己挣钱去买其他的小东西。直到拿到高中毕业文凭要去上大学了,那个工作我才不做了。现在我已经长大,有了自己的孩子,我开始教他们这重要的一课——勤劳塑造性格。

  记单词

  deserve v. 应得, 值得

  deserving a. 该受赏的, 有功的; 值得的 (of); 值得帮助的, 应受经济援助的

  designatev. 指明, 标明, 指定, 指派

  designation n. 标志, 表明; 名称, 命名

  desire n./v. 愿望, 欲望, 要求

  desirable a. 值得想望的; 可取的, 有利的

  desolate a. 荒芜的, 不毛的; 孤独凄凉的, 可怜的

  v. 使荒芜; 使不幸, 使悲惨

  desolation n. 破坏, 蹂躏; 荒芜, 凄凉

  despise v. 鄙视, 藐视, 看不起

  detach v. 拆卸, 使分开, 使分离 (from)

  detache a. 独立的, 分离的; 公正的; 冷淡的

  detail n. 细节, 详情 v. 详述, 列举

  go into~(s) 详细叙述, 逐一说明

  in~详细地; 一部分一部分地

  detain v. 留住, 耽搁; 拘留, 扣押

  detect v. (当场) 发现 (某人在干坏事); 查明, 测出, 发现

  detective n. 侦探, 私人侦探 a. (关于) 侦探的; 侦查 (用) 的

  detector n. 探测者, 探测器

  deteriorate v. (使) 恶化, (使) 变坏, (使) 退化;解体

  deterioration n. 恶化, 变坏, 衰退

  deviate v. 背离, 偏离

  deviation n. 背离, 偏离

  devote v. 将…献给 (to) ;把…专用于 (to)

  ~oneself to 献身于, 致力于, 沉溺于

  ~oneself to reading 专心于阅读

  ~oneself to amusement 沉溺于娱乐

  devoted a. 献身的, 专心的

  devotion n. 献身, 忠诚, 专心

  diagnose v. 诊断, 判断

  diagnosis n. [复-ses] 诊断 (结论), 判断 (结论)

  dictate v. 口授, 使听写; 命令, 发号施令地规定

  dictation n. 口授, 听写; 命令, 支配

  dictator n. 口授者, 口述者; 独裁者, 专政者

  differentiate v. 使不同, 使有差别; 区分, 区别

  diffuse v. 扩散 (气体、液体等); 传播; 散布 a. 弥漫的, 四散的; (文章等) 冗长的, 漫无边际的

  diffusion n. 扩散, (知识等的) 传播

  the~of news over radio and TV 无线电和电视的新闻传播

  dilemma n. (进退两难的) 窘境, 困境

  dim a. (dimmer, dimmest) 暗淡的, 模糊的

  dimension n. [常作~] 尺寸, 大小, 规模; [亦作~s] 范围, 主要性; 维, 维数度;特点,特性;方面

  diminish v. 减少, 降低; 削弱…的权势, 贬低

  diploma n. [复-mas 或-mata] 毕业文凭, 学位证书

  diplomat n. 外交家, 外交官; 圆滑的人

  diplomatic a. 外交的, 从事外交的; 有手腕的, 圆滑的, 婉转的

  disaster n. 灾难, 火灾, 大不幸; 彻底的失败

  disastrous a. 灾难性的, 极不幸的; 很糟的

  discard v. 丢弃, 抛弃

  28. Fashion Show

  

时装表演

  

  extravagant→fault

  读故事

  In April the annual spring fashion show came round again, and the students were once again plunged into the extravagant business of designing and making new clothes. Of course, there’s much more to fashion design than merely being able to draw. Marcia, for example, had an eye for fabric, whereas Helen had a great facility for choosing accessories and Uma excelled at making fancy fake jewelry. David, on the other hand, as the only boy in the faculty, tended to be extreme in his designs. Leather seemed to fascinate him and he often experimented with leaving clothes under a sunray lamp until the material suffered fatigue and the colors started to fade.

  On the day of the show itself, people came from afar to watch. Marcia had let her fantasy run wild and had made a long, flowing robe in faint pink with a silk scarf that acted as a frame for the model’s face. Helen had designed an extremely elaborate set of accessories, but with Uma to facilitate the implementation she was able to complete them on time. David, on the other hand, had labored to fabricate a curious patent leather trouser suit. Marcia was concerned about how her design would fare, but she needn’t have worried. As soon as the model stepped onto the catwalk a murmur of admiration rippled through the audience. Helen’s offering was equally well received, though unfortunately the model slipped on a joint in the catwalk and took a rather heavy fall, which wasn’t the poor girl’s fault. David’s design, however, proved problematic. His patent leather trouser suit had been made in such a hurry that he had no time to sew up the seams and had relied, instead, on glue to hold them together. This was fatal. No sooner had the model started up the catwalk than the glue started to fail. She hadn’t gone far when the front of the jacket fell off, then the seat of the trousers fell out, and in no time at all the poor model was standing in front of the audience in her underwear with a face as red as a beetroot. David, however, was thinking on his feet. He hastily snatched up a nightdress, leapt onto the catwalk and handed it to the model. “Ladies and gentlemen”, he said, “I give you the ultimate in high-technology clothing. As soon as you enter your bedroom, it undresses you automatically.” Then, turning to the model, he thanked her profusely and ushered her backstage.

  4月,一年一度的春季时装表演又到了,学生们再一次投入到奢侈的新衣服设计与制作工作中。当然,设计时装如果只会画画是远远不够的。比如,玛西娅对织物的质地很有鉴赏力,而海伦在挑选饰品方面很有技巧,乌马擅长做别致的伪造珠宝。另一方面,大卫作为系里唯一的男孩,设计的作品往往会走极端。他好像被皮革迷住了,经常做试验把衣服放在紫外线灯下,直到料子经受疲劳,开始褪色。

  表演当天,人们从远方赶来观看。玛西娅任凭自己的想象自由驰骋,做了一件松垂的淡粉色长礼服,搭配的丝绸头巾当作模特儿脸部的轮廓。海伦设计了一套极其精美的饰品,但因为有乌马帮忙,她得以按时完成。另一方面,大卫努力制作了一套奇特的、别出心裁的皮革裤套装。玛西娅担心她的设计是否会获得成功,可她没有必要担心。模特儿一踏上T台,观众当中就轻轻荡漾起赞许声。海伦奉献的作品同样受到了好评,虽然模特儿不幸在T台的接合处滑倒了,重重地摔了一跤,这不是那个可怜的女孩的错。然而,大卫的设计结果出了问题。他那别出心裁的皮革裤套装赶制得太匆忙,来不及把线缝缝上,却靠胶水把它们粘在一起。这样做是致命的。模特儿上T台后不久,胶水就开始失灵了。她还没走远,夹克的前面就掉下来了,接着裤子的臀部脱落,立刻这位可怜的模特儿就穿着内衣站在观众面前,脸羞得像甜菜一样通红。但是大卫思维敏捷。他匆匆抓起一件睡衣,跳上T台,把它递给模特儿。“女士们,先生们,”他说,“我给你们展示的是最尖端的高科技衣服。你一走进卧室,它就自动帮你脱衣服。”接着,他转向模特儿,对她一再致谢,把她送到了后台。

  记单词

  Extravagant a. 奢侈的, 铺张的,浪费的; 过分的, 过度的

  Extravagance n. 奢侈, 浪费; 过度, 无节制

  extreme a. 末端的, 尽头的; 极度的, 极端的 n. 极端; 极度 (状态); 极端行为

  in the~极端, 极度, 非常

  eye n. 眼睛; 视力, 眼力; 鉴赏力; [常作~s] 观点, 见解 v. (eyed; ey (e) ing) 看, 注视

  catch sb.抯~被某人看到, 引起某人注意

  keep an~on 照看, 留神, 密切注意

  eyebrow n. 眉毛

  eyesight n. 视力; 视野

  fabric n. 织物, 织品; 结构, 构造;(织物的)质地

  fabricate v. 建造, 制造,制作; 捏造, 编造 (谎言、借口等)

  fabrication n. 建造, 制造; 虚构的东西, 捏造的东西

  face n. 脸, 面孔; 面容, 面部表情; 正面, 表面; 面子, 尊严 v. 面朝, 面向; (勇敢地) 对待, 正视

  ~to~面对面地, 面对着的 (with)

  ~up to 勇敢地对付 (或接受)

  in (the) ~of 在…面前; 不顾

  make a~(或~s ) 做怪相, 做鬼脸

  facilitate v. 使变得 (更) 容易, 使便利; 促进, 助长; 帮助,援助

  facility n. 容易, 方便; 熟练, 灵巧; 技巧,技能; [常作facilities] 设备, 设施

  faculty n. 官能, 能力, 技能; (大学的) 系、科、院; (学校或系的) 全体教学人员

  fade v. (颜色) 褪去; (声音等) 变微弱; (光等) 变暗淡; 逐渐消失

  fail v. 失败, 衰退; 不及格; [后接不定式] 不能; 使失望; 失灵,失去作用

  ~of 不能获得 (成功等); 不能达到 (目的等); 不履行 (职责等); 缺乏

  without~必定, 务必

  failure n. 失败, 失败的人 (或事); 故障, 失灵; 不履行, 未做到

  faint a. 不清楚的, 模糊的, 微弱的, 暗淡的 v. 昏倒

  fake v. 伪造, 捏造; 伪装, 假装 n. 假货, 赝品 a. 假的, 伪造的, 冒充的

  ~sb. out [美口] (在比赛中) 以假动作迷惑某人

  ~up 伪造, 捏造, 编造

  fakery n. [口] 欺骗, 弄虚作假; 伪造物

  fall v. (fell ,fallen) 跌落, 下降; 变成, 成为; 降临, 到来 n. [主美] 秋天, 秋季

  ~apart 破裂, 崩溃

  ~back 后退, 退却

  ~back on (或 upon) 借助于, 依靠

  ~behind 落后

  ~in with 偶然遇到; 同意, 赞成; 符合, 与…一致

  ~off 从…落下; 减少, 降低; 衰退, 减弱; 疏远, 脱离

  ~out 掉出, 跌落; 吵架, 不和; 结果, 证明

  ~through 失败, 成为泡影; 不能践约, 失约

  fancy n. 想像力; 幻想, 幻觉; (尤指一时的) 爱好, 迷恋 v. 想像, 幻想 a. 花式的, 别致的; 想像出来的

  fantasy n./v. 想象, 幻想

  fantastic a. 想象出来的; 奇异的, 古怪的; 荒诞的, 不现实的; 极大的, 难以相信的; [口] 极好的, 了不起的

  far a. /ad. 远的 (地), 遥远的 (地), 久远的 (地)

  as~as / so~as 远至, 到…程度

  by~[修饰比较级或最高级, 强调数量、程度等] …得多, 最…; 显然

  ~from 远离; 远远不, 完全不, 非但不

  so~迄今为止

  fare n. 车费, 船费, 飞机票价; 伙食, 饮食 v. 吃, 进食; 过活, 生活; 进展, 成功

  fascinate v. 强烈地吸引, 迷住, 使神魂颠倒

  fascinating a. 迷人的, 有极大吸引力的

  fascination n. 魅力; 迷恋, 入迷

  fashion n. 方式, 样子; 流行式样, 时尚, 时装

  come into~开始风行

  in (the) ~合于时尚

  out of (the) ~不合时尚

  set the (或a) ~树立新榜样, 开创新时尚

  fashionable a. 流行的, 时髦的

  fatal a. 致命的, 毁灭性的; 决定命运的

  fatigue n. 疲劳, 劳累

  fault n. 缺点, 毛病; 错误, 过失

  at~出毛病, 有故障; 靠不住; 有过错, 有责任

  find~找岔子, 抱怨

  find~with 找…的岔子, 挑剔, 批评

  faulty a. 有错误的, 有缺点的, 不完善的

  

  《读故事记单词》——高中词汇

  

  The Paper Pilferer

  偷报纸的人

  neglect→noise

  读故事

  I have been doing this since nineteen ninety-nine, which makes this the ninth month and next month the tenth. I stole the neighbor’s new newspaper and was reading the news. They never knew I took their newspaper and nobody ever caught me taking it. I would be sitting outside reading the paper when the neighbors would walk by and give me a nod to say hello. They were nice people but just not very bright.

  They told me they stayed up all night to see who was stealing their paper but the thief never came. I remembered that I happened to be in the next town for a week on business. They also told me they were planning on setting up a net to catch the person but neither of them knew how to do such a thing. They always came to me with newer ideas of how to catch the thief. Their next idea is to do something so when the newspaper is taken, there will be some noise to wake them up. I would nod my head when they told me. They had no idea it was me who was taking their paper.

  I was neither nervous nor scared when I stole the paper. None of their plans were new to me and no plan of theirs ever worked that well.

  I couldn’t neglect the paper and neither could the neighbors. I tried to be noble and stop stealing but I’m not a noble and decided it was fun for me.

  This is why I am now in prison.

  从1999年开始我一直在做这件事,这已经是第九个月了,下个月就是第十个月了。我偷邻居新报纸,读报纸上的新闻。他们从不知道我偷了他们的报纸,也没有人当场逮住过我。我总是坐在外面看报纸,这时他们会走过来并向我点头问好。他们是人,只不过不是特聪明。

  他们告诉我他们曾整夜不睡觉等着抓偷报纸的人,但是那小偷就是没有出现。我记得那时我正好到邻近城市去出了一个星期的差。他们还告诉我他们正计划建立一个来擒住窃贼,但他们俩人都不知道如何实施这个计划。他们经常到我这里报告他们的捉贼新计划,下一个计划是报纸被偷时他们要采取措施,到时他们会被某种声弄醒。他们告诉我时我总是点头,他们根本不知道偷报纸的就是我。

  我偷报纸的时候既不紧张也不害怕,因为他们的计划没有一个对我来说是新鲜玩意儿,没有一个计划收到应有的效果。

  我不能忽略那份报纸,我的邻居也不能。我曾经试过高尚起来不再偷报纸,可我天生就不是一个高尚的人,我觉得偷报纸对我来说是件很好玩的事。

  这就是我现在蹲监狱的原因。

  记单词

  Neglect vt.忽视,忽略

  Neighbor n.邻居,邻人

  Neither a.[和单数名词或代词连用]两者都不是 conj.也不 ad.也不

  Nervous a.神经质的,紧张的

  Net n.网

  Never ad.从不,绝不

  New a.①新的②对…不熟悉的

  News n.新闻,消息

  Newspaper n.报纸

  Next a.下一个 ad.其次,然后n.下一个人(或物)

  nice a.好的,好看的

  night n.夜晚

  nine num.九

  nineteen num.十九

  ninety num.九十

  ninth num.第九

  no a.没有,决非,不许 ad.不,不是

  noble n.贵族 a.高贵的,高尚的,崇高的

  nobody pron.没有人

  nod v.点头 n.以点头示意…

  noise n.嘈杂声,响声

  Buried Treasure

    宝藏

    treasure→two

  读故事

  Tuesday the twelfth was my birthday. I expected a day of cake and presents but it turned into a day of mystery. Someone sent a tube with a letter and a treasure map inside. I didn’t know how I should have treated it. It said there was a treasure of over twenty million dollars. I didn’t know if it was a trick or if I should trust it. If it was true, it would be the best treat ever. I decided to try.

  Two of my friends came. We rented a truck for the twentieth. In truth, I thought about turning back twice during this trip, but I didn’t think it was fair to treat myself like this. I owed it to myself at least to try. I needed to give this trip twice the effort I had been putting in. This will take all my trust in order for me to find the truth.

  “The map says you have to turn when you see a large stone with a red circle,” said one of them.

  “What do we do after the turn?” I asked

  “It says we should see a tree. We are supposed to turn 20 meters north of it and dig.”

  We got there and dug. We had trouble at first digging but we got better and worked very quickly. My trousers were dirty but I kept digging until I hit something.

  It was a large metal box. We broke off the lock and looked inside. There was a letter.

  It read:

  The lesson you have learned will prove to be very valuable. If you applied as much energy in anything you do as you did in finding this letter, you will have found the key to making over 20 million dollars.

  This is a trick from my parents.

  12号星期二是我的生日。我原指望那天有蛋糕和礼物,可结果成了神秘的一天。有人给我寄了一根管子,里面有一封信和一张寻宝图,我不知道该如何处理这个东西。信上说有一个价值两千多万美元的宝藏。我不知道这是一个骗局还是我应该相信它。如果是真的,那将是一件最大的乐事。我决定试试。

  我的两个朋友来了。我们给20号那天租了一辆卡车。事实上,一路上我有两次回来,可想想又觉得这样对待自己太不公平了,我认为自己至少应该试一下。我需要加倍努力完成这次旅行,要弄清事实真相,我就要彻底相信这件事。

  “地图上说看到一块带红圆圈的大石头就得转弯。”一个朋友说道。

  “转弯之后该怎么办呢?”我问。

  “图上说我们会看见一颗树,我们应该再向北20米,然后就可以挖掘了。”

  我们到那里挖了起来。刚开始挖的时候我们遇到了一些麻烦,但我们很快扭转局面,结果动作变得干净利落。我的裤子弄脏子,可我还是不停地挖,直到碰到了一个东西。

  那是一个很大的金属盒,我们把锁打开,看里面有什么东西,结果找到了一封信。

  信上写道:

  你得到的教训将证明是很有价值的。如果你做任何事都像找这封信一样下功夫,你就找到了赚取两千多万美元的办法。

  这是我父母跟我搞的一次恶作剧。


发表评论

爱问(iAsk.com)

评论】【论坛】【收藏此页】【 】【多种方式看新闻】【下载点点通】【打印】【关闭


教育频道意见反馈留言板 电话:010-82628888-5747 欢迎批评指正

新浪简介 | About Sina | 广告服务 | 联系我们 | 招聘信息 | 网站律师 | SINA English | 会员注册 | 产品答疑

Copyright © 1996 - 2005 SINA Inc. All Rights Reserved

版权所有 新浪网
北京市通信公司提供网络带宽