新概念英語第二冊Lesson 95 A fantasy
First listen and then answer the question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Why was the Ambassador particularly lucky?
When the Ambassador or Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.
'What has happened?' she asked. 'How did your clothes get into such a mess?'
'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.'
'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you at the time?'
'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador. 'The fire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.'
The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat.
'And how can you explain that?' she asked.
'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. 'Someone fired a shot through my office window. Accurate, don't you think? Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
fantasy n. 幻想故事
ambassador n. 大使
Escalopia n. 艾斯卡羅比亞（虛構的國名）
frightful adj. 可怕的，令人吃驚的
fire extinguisher 滅火器
drily adv. 冷淡地，枯燥無味地
embassy n. 大使館
heaven n. 天，天堂
basement n. 地下室
definitely adv. 肯定地
post v. 派任
shot n. 子彈
參考譯文
當艾斯卡羅比亞國的大使回到家吃午飯時，把他的夫人嚇了一跳。他面色蒼白，衣服也搞得不成樣子。
“發(fā)生了什么事？”她問，“你的衣服怎么搞得一塌糊涂？”
“滅火器弄的，親愛的，”大使冷冷地回答，“今天上午大學生們放火點著了大使館。”
“天??！”他的夫人驚叫，“那你當時在什么地方？”
“我和往常一樣，在辦公室里，”大使回答說。“地下室突然著火，我當然馬上下去了。但那個傻瓜霍斯特把滅火器對準了我。他認為是我著火了。我一定要把那個家伙打發(fā)走。”
大使夫人繼續(xù)提出問題，她突然又發(fā)現(xiàn)丈夫的帽子上有個洞。
“那么你對那又作何解釋呢？”她問。
“那個嘛，”大使說，“有人向我辦公室窗戶開了一槍。真夠準的，是不是？幸虧我當時沒戴帽子。如果真戴著它，我現(xiàn)在就不能回家來吃午飯了。”
自學導讀
課文詳注 Further notes on the text
1．How did your clothes get into such a mess? 你的衣服怎么搞得一塌糊涂？
mess 表示“臟亂狀態(tài)”時通常與in連用或與 get into連用（cf．第54 課課文詳注）：
When she returned from the market, the children had got the room into a terrible mess.
她從市場回去后，孩子們已經把房間里弄得一塌糊涂。
Why was her hair in such a mess?
她的頭發(fā)怎么會那么亂？
2．University students set the Embassy on fire this morning. 今天上午大學生們放火點著了大使館。
set on fire 為固定短語，表示“使……燃燒”、“放火燒……”：
In 1834, someone set the Houses of Parliament on fire.
1834年，有人放火點著了國會大廈。
Have you found out who set my car on fire?
你們是否已經查出是誰燒了我的車？
3．The fire broke out in the basement. 地下室突然著火。
break out 可以指火災、戰(zhàn)爭等“突然發(fā)生”、“爆發(fā)”：
World War I broke out in 1914.
第一次世界大戰(zhàn)于 1914年爆發(fā)。
When the fire broke out in the ship, Sally was frightened out of her wits.
當輪船突然著火時，薩莉嚇得驚慌失措。
4．The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions…
大使夫人繼續(xù)提出問題……
go on+ 動名詞表示某個動作“繼續(xù)不停”：
We went on talking till after midnight.
我們繼續(xù)談話直到午夜以后。
go on+ 不定式則指做不同的事：
After making the bed, she went on to cook breakfast.鋪好床后，她接著便做早飯。
5．Someone fired a shot through my office window. 有人向我辦公室窗戶開了一槍。
fire 在這里是動詞，表示“發(fā)射（槍、彈等）”：
When the prisoner of war tried to escape, a guard fired a gun at him.
那戰(zhàn)俘試圖逃跑時，一名衛(wèi)兵向他開了一槍。
A young man fired on the British Ambassador to Japan.
一位年輕人向英國駐日本大使開了槍。
詞匯學習 Word study
1．aim
?。?）vt., vi.（把……）瞄準／對準：
He aimed a fire extinguisher at me.
他把滅火器對準了我。
He aimed at the dog but missed.
他瞄準了那只狗，但沒打中。
?。?）vi. 目標在于，志向：
What he aims for is money.
他追求的是金錢。
She aims to be a painter.
她想成為一名畫家。
?。?）n. 目的，目標，志向：
What is your aim in life?
你的生活目的是什么？
You've missed your aim again.
你又沒擊中目標。
2．post vt.
?。?）派任，委派（與人連用）：
I must definitely get that fellow posted.
我一定要把那個家伙打發(fā)走。（get…posted 為使役式）
Two months ago, Horst was posted to Paris.
兩個月以前霍斯特被派往巴黎。
（2）郵寄（與物連用，美國英語用 mail）：
He posted me a Christmas card last year.
去年他給我寄了一張圣誕卡。
Would you please post this parcel for me?
你替我把這包裹寄了好嗎？
練習答案 Key to written exercises
1．關鍵句型練習答案
A When she asked what had happened and how his clothes had got into such a mess, the Ambassador answered drily that a fire extinguisher had been responsible. He then told her that university students had set the Embassy on fire that morning. His wife was most surprised and asked him where he had been at the time. The Ambassador answered that he had been in his office as usual. When the fire broke out in the basement, he had gone down to investigate and a man called Horst had aimed a fire extinguisher at him. Horst thought the Ambassador was on fire. The Ambassador said that he must definitely get the fellow posted. His wife suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat and asked him how he could explain it. The Ambassador said that someone had fired a shot through his office window. The shot was accurate, but fortunately he had not been wearing his hat at the time. If he had, he would not have been able to get home for lunch.
B have just received…said…has broken…were demonstrating / demonstrated…broke…set…were protesting…has recently been imposed / was recently imposed…said… has been seriously affected… is said… was bravely defended…kept…announced…would be taken
2．多項選擇題答案
1d 2a 3b 4a 5d 6c
7d 8c 9a 10c 11d 12c
