自学新概念英语第三册笔记 Lessons 49

学以致用

　　Notes on the text课文注释

　　1  air one's views on…，作“对……发表意见”讲。

　　2  be attached to，喜爱，喜欢。

　　3  persist in doing sth，坚持做某事。

　　4  free from dust，一尘不染。

　　5  Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants…句中的preside over是“统辖”、“指挥”的意思。由于她雇用过许多仆人，人数之多已可称作一支队伍（army）；而由于她不断解雇又不断雇用，因此这支队伍在一定程度上也就变得无形了。

　　6  refer to them as，把他们称作……。

　　7  what was…, an enlightened policy，算得上是一项开明政策。in that是书面用语，作“因为”、“既然”讲。

　　8  While she always criticized…，

　　while作“虽然”讲，引导让步状语从句；to the end of her days，直到她去世前。

　　参考译文

　　我的姑妈哈丽特好多年前就去世了，这倒是件好事。如果她活到今天，她将不能就她热衷的话题“佣人”发表意见了。哈丽特生活在一个悠闲的年代，家务事都由雇来的佣人代劳。她在乡下有一幢巨大杂乱的房子，叫作“山墙庄园”。她对这幢房子在感情上难舍难分。房子实在太大了，但在丈夫去世多年后，她仍然执意长年住在那儿。哈丽特姑妈年轻时，喜欢大摆宴席，招待宾客。我小时候常去“山墙庄园”作客。不管去多少宾客，大房子里总是收抬得干干净净。镶木地板洁如明镜，擦得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜里，连姑夫的大量藏书也保存得很好，奇迹般地一尘不染。哈丽特姑妈统率着一支看不见的佣人大军，他们不停地擦拭、清扫、刷洗。她称这些佣人叫“流动人口”，因为他们来去匆匆，所以我甚至都没有机会知道他们的姓名。姑妈待佣人在当时算是开明的，从来不让佣人每天工作超过8小时，但他们很难使她称心如意。她一方面总批评人的本性朝三暮四，另一方面她又持之以恒地寻找一个理想的佣人。即使在贝西大大地伤了她的心之后，她还在找，一直到她死去。

　　贝西在哈丽特家干了3年。在此期间，她赢得了姑母的赏识，甚至当上了大管家。哈丽特不知该用什么言辞来赞扬贝西的勤奋与高效。贝西除了有各种本领以外，还是一个烹饪大师。她担任“理想仆人”角色3年之后，哈丽特终于发现了她有“小小的弱点”。一次，姑妈有一个星期没在“山墙庄园”住。一天下午，她出其不意地回来了，带来一大批客人，吩咐贝西准备晚饭。结果，不仅饭菜远不如平时做得好，而且贝西走起路来似乎东倒西歪。她撞到了家具上，嘴里还不断咕咕哝哝议论客人。当她端着最后一道菜——一大盘布丁——走进屋来时，在地毯上绊了一跤。布丁飞到半空，从姑母身边擦过，然后狠狠地砸在餐桌上。这件事引起了客人们的欢笑，但哈丽特却着实吓了一跳。她不得不认定贝西是喝醉了。客人们自然从贝西为他们开门那一刻起就看出来了，在好长一段时间里，即最后这个乱子发生前，他们努力克制才没笑出声来。贝西当即被解雇了。贝西走后，哈丽特姑妈发现在贝西以前用过的衣柜里整整齐齐地放着一堆堆形状各异、大小不一的酒瓶子。这些酒瓶神不知鬼不觉地从酒窖来到了这里。

　　Multiple choice questions 多项选择题

　　Choose the correct answers to the following questions.

　　Comprehension 理解

　　1  In the days when the writer used to visit‘The Gables’ ______ .

　　a．his aunt would employ a great many servants whenever she invited guests

　　b．he always found the house spotlessly clean

　　c．he never stayed long enough to learn the names of the servants

　　d．his aunt was hard to please if her staff only worked an eight-hour day

　　2  Bessie was made responsible for the domestic staff ______ .

　　a．as a result of her hard work

　　b．because she was loyal to my aunt

　　c．because she had such good qualifications

　　d．because my aunt trusted her

　　3  When the pudding crashed on the table, Aunt Harriet was horrified ______ .

　　a．to see how weak Bessie had become during her absence

　　b．because the guests all found the incident very amusing

　　c．because the pudding was not up to Bessie's usual standard of cooking

　　d．because it was only then that she realized how drunk Bessie was

　　4  After Bessie's dismissal, Aunt Harriet ______ .

　　a．still hoped to find a servant who would please her in every respect

　　b．was so disillusioned by Bessie that she gave up entettaining lavishly

　　c．found a great many bottles of wine in Bessie's wardrobe

　　d．could not understand how so many bottles had disappeared from her cellar

　　Structure 结构

　　5  ______ guests were present, the great house… (1. 9)

　　a．No matter the number of

　　b．Whatever many

　　c．Whoever the many

　　d．However many

　　6  Though my aunt pursued a policy, ______ , in those days, enlightened, in that she never allowed her domestic staff… (11. 14-15)

　　a．that it was

　　b．what was

　　c．which was

　　d．being

　　7  Bessie seemed ______ steadily. (11. 23-24)

　　a．impossible to walk

　　b．incapable to walk

　　c．incapable of walking

　　d．not possible for walking

　　8  ----came to the conclusion that Bessie had ______ . (11. 27-28)

　　a．been drinking

　　b．drunk

　　c．drank

　　d．some drinks

　　Vocabulary 词汇

　　9  ______ Aunt Harriet in her praise of Bessie's industriousness… (11. 19-20)

　　a．Not a word was said by

　　b．Words were lost on

　　c．Words failed

　　d．Word did not come to

　　10  ----could not find words to praise Bessie's ______ and efficiency. (11. 19-20)

　　a．factory

　　b．hard work

　　c．dusting

　　d．business

　　11  She ______ the carpet and the pudding went… (1. 25)

　　a．fell over

　　b．slipped on

　　c．trespassed

　　d．stumbled on

　　12  ----and, ______ the final catastrophe, the guests had had a difficult time… (11. 28-29)

　　a．far in front of

　　b．much behind

　　c．well before

　　d．long ahead of