英语口语教程（Oral Workshop）--初级 Lesson 31

 

 Lesson 31 

                                             Text A 

                                A Difficult Customer

    Dolores works in a shop selling gramophone¹ records. One afternoon a middle-aged² woman came in, sat on a stool³ in front of the counter, and smiled at her brightly.

    "I want a record, dear," she began. "One I heard on the radios this morning. " 

    "What was the record called?" Dolores asked, without much hope. The woman shook her head.

    "I don't remember. I should know it if I heard it , though. Perhaps if you play me a few records, I shall be able to pick it out. "

    She settled herself more comfortably on her stool. 

    "We have hundreds of records in stock, " Dolores pointed⁴ out. "It would take a very long time to play you even a little of each. Could you hum it to me?"

    The woman shook her head again. "I can't even sing the National Anthem⁵ in tune⁶. We should only get into a complete muddle⁷ if I were to start humming. " She looked quite depressed⁸, as if this reminder⁹ of her own lack of musical ability were the last straw. Then suddenly her face brightened. 

    "I've just remembered something," she said. "It comes from a play. There's a girl who speaks very badly, if you see what I mean. But after a time she learns to talk well.Some thing about -- what do you call it? Phonetics."

    This was enough for Dolores. "If you ask me, it's from 'My Fair Iady'," she said.

   "That's it, dear. If you'd thought of it sooner, we wouldn't have wasted so much time. I suppose you are new to the job." 

                                       TextB 

                                 That Hurts a Iot 

    Malc went to the Casualty¹⁰ Department of the hospital There he was examined by the doctor. 

DOCTOR:   Right. Just take off your jacket and shirt. And lie down on that bed over there...That's right... Now, just hold up your right arm, will you?... Does this hurt? 

MALC:   No. 

DOCTOR:   And this? 

MALC:   Yes. . . a bit. . . ouch !  

DOCTOR:   And do you feel anything when I do this?  

MALC:   Yes , that hurts quite a lot. 

DOCTOR:   And you don't feel any 'pain anywhere else? In you legs , for example? 

MALC:   No, nothing. 

DOCTOR:   Well , it's probably nothing serious. But I think we'd better have that shoulder X-rayed. We can't do the until the morning, though. So it'd be better if yo stayed in hospital for the night. . . 

Question Text B 

7. Read the following dialogue once. Underline the key words while reading and retell to your partner the dialogue in your own words. 

         At the Doctor's

Doctor   Good morning. How are you? 

Patient   I'm very worried , doctor 

Doctor   Oh? What are you worried about? 

Patient   I'm afraid that I'm very ill. 

Doctor   I'm sorry to hear that. Why do you think so? 

Patient   Because I feel tired all the time, even when I wake up in the morning. I find it very difficult to do any work. I have no appetite. My wife cooks  me deliciousmeals, but I can only eat a little. 

Doctor   How do you sleep? 

Patient   Very badly, doctor. 

Doctor   Do you find it difficult to get to sleep, or do you wake up early? 

Patient   Both, doctor. I never get to sleep until two o'clock and I always wake up at  five. 

Doctor   Are you worried about anything? 

Patient   Well , yes , I am. 1'm worried about my work. I've just taken a new job. I earned   a lot of money but it's difficult work. I'm always afraid of making a mistake. 

Doctor   I see. please take off your shirt and lie down on the couch¹¹. 

Patient   Yes, doctor.(The doctor examines the patient ) 

Doctor   Well, there's nothing very much wrong with you, I'm glad to say. You're working  too hard and worrying too much.Do you take much exercise? 

Patient   No, doctor. I never have enough time for exercise. I start work very early in the morning and finish late in the evening. Then I can't get to sleep. Can you give me some medicine to help me to sleep? 

Doctor   I can , but I'm not going to. You don't need medicine. You need advice. Don't  work so hard. Too much work is bad for you. Don't worry about your work.   It's silly to worry. Take regular exercise. 

Patient   But I may lose my job, doctor! It's hard to get a job like mine. 

Doctor   Then get an easier one, even if you earn less money. Which would you rather  have, health or wealth? 

Patient   You're right, doctor. It's more important to be healthy than wealthy. I'll  change my job. I'm grateful for your advice. 

Doctor   Come and see me again in a month's time. I think you'll be a different man! 

1 gramophone   

n.留声机，唱机

参考例句：

• The telephone and the gramophone were contemporary.电话和留声机是同一时代的产物。
• Gramophone records warp in very hot weather.天气太热时，唱片会弯翘。

2 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

3 stool   

n.凳子；粪便；根株；v.长出新枝，排便

参考例句：

• The stool is steady enough.这个凳子很稳。
• The boy was straining at stool.那个男孩在用力大便。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

10 casualty   

n.严重伤亡事故，伤亡人员，受害者

参考例句：

• Mr.Jones was the first casualty of the firm's cut-backs.琼斯先生在公司裁员中是第一个受害者。
• Casualty lists were published the day after the train accident.伤亡名单在火车意外事故的第二天就公布了。

11 couch   

n.睡椅，长沙发椅；vt.表达，隐含

参考例句：

• Lie down on the couch if you're feeling ill.如果你感觉不舒服就躺到沙发上去。
• The rabbIt'sprang from its grassy couch.兔子从草丛中跳出。