英语口语教程（Oral Workshop）--初级 Lesson 37

 

Lesson 37 

                                             Text A 

                                Do You Know Who I Am?

    Mr Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. He always likes to attend the various social functions because he wants to expand his circle of friend. Whenever he is invited , he goes, unless he is ill. 

    Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable banquet. Although he did not know the hostess, he accepted the invitation. He was secretly very pleased, because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing.

    When he arrived. at the banquet hall, he found that about one hundred people had been invited. He began to move around the hall. He spoke¹ to other guests whether he knew them or not. He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, although they seemed to know each other. 

    At dinner, he was seated beside a very dignified² woman. The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr Smith before. She spoke politely, whenever he spoke to her. Between the first and second course of the meal , she turned to Mr Smith and said, "Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? The one with the glasses. " 

    "Ah, yes. Who is he?" asked Mr Smith.

    "He's the Secretary of the Interior!" she replied.

    Mr Smith said: "So that's the Secretary of the Interior! I'm afraid that I find very little to admire about him, although he is the Secretary. "

    The woman stiffened³ and did not reply. Smith continued in spite of her coldness. "I really can't see how he received his appointment, unless he is perhaps a relative of the President. " 

    "It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary of not," she said. "He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. If he does the job well, you should have no complaint. "

    "That's just it,"persisted Smith. "No one does the things he does , unless he is a complete fool ! " 

    "Sir! "said the woman in all her dignity. "Do you know who I am?"

    "No," replied Smith.

    "I am the Secretary's wife, "she said coldly. Mr Smith was flabbergasted, but he went on in spite of his embarrassment⁴. "Madam, do you know who I am?"

    "No, I don't," the woman replied.

    "Thank goodness! "exclaimed Mr Smith, as he quickly left the table. 

                                              Text B 

                                           Hands Up! 

     This was the conversation in the expensive shop in London. A man and a woman walked in and . . . 

SALESMAN:   Can I help you? 

WOMAN:   Yes , we're looking for a watch. It's for me. 

SALESMAN:   I see. What price are you interested in? 

MAN:   The price doesn't matter. But it must be a gold watch. 

WOMAN:   And automatic. I must have an automatic watch! 

SALESMAN:   Hmm... something like this, perhaps. It's one of our best watches. Made in Switzerland. Fully⁵ automatic. With a calendar and... 

MAN:   It's nice .. . but haven't you got anything better? 

SALESMAN:   Better? Better than this? Well , we have some Orly de luxe watches...probably the best watch in the world. But I'm afraid they're far more expensive than this one. They cost. . . 

MAN:   Would you show us one, please? 

WOMAAN:   Yes , could we see one of them, please? 

SALESMAN:   They're in the manager's office. You see, we don't. . . 

MAN:   Could you possibly get one or two of them now? 

SAI.EsMAN:   Er. . . yes , of course. Would you wait here for a moment. Please? 

   (He goes to the manager'sd knocks on the door. ) 

MANAGEK:   Come in. 

SALESMAN:   Mr Crawford, I have two customers who.. 

WOMAN:   All right ! Hands up ! Stand over there! 

SALESMAN:   What in the world. . . 

MAN:   Shut up! And open that safe! Come on! Open it! 

MANAGER:   I. . . I can't open it. 

MAN:   What do you mean? You must open it. 

MANAGER:   You told me to put my hands up. How can I open the safe with my hands up? 

                                  Question on Text B 

7. Read the following passage once. Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner. 

    Henry D. Penrose was a dog with a pedigree. He lived in a fine stone house with white marble steps and red velvet⁶ drapes on every window.

    His owner, Professor Randolph Penrose, was quite rich. Each morning Henry was driven to Obedience⁷ School in a long black limousine⁸. " 

    Each afternoon he was fed two grilled⁹ lamb chops for lunch.

    Each evening he fell asleep in his fur-lined basket in front of the fireplace.

    On Saturdays he was groomed¹⁰ at Miss Fifi's Shop. And on Sundays he accompanied the professor to the park, where a classical orchestra played soothing¹¹ music and the grass was cool and fragrant¹². 

    Professor Penrose would stroke Henry's shiny coat and say, "You have the life, Henry my boy!"

    And Henry certainly had to agree.

    Then one day it all changed. Just like. That professor Penrose received a telegram offering him a chance to dig for dinosaur¹³ bones in Idaho. For one entire year.

    There was only one problem. The telegram stated quite firmly in the largest letters possible: NO PETS ALLOWED! 

    The cook, Mrs Washburn, agreed to take Henry to her home until the professor returned.

    Professor Penrose hated to send Henry to live on the other side of the city. There were no marble steps or red velvet drapes on Mrs Washburn's property.

    But Henry was buttoned into his red plaid coat and driven to the Washburn residence.

    Henry stepped out of the limousine. He was so shocked that his ears stuck out like two car doors. 

    Such an untidy home he had never seen. It was all he could do to maintain a sense of dignity.

    He was picking his way through the toys on the muddy front steps when a tumble of children spilled onto the porch, scooped¹⁴ him up, and before you could say"One-two"Henry was deposited in a sea of soap bubbles in the Washburn bathtub.

    Each time he tried to jump out, little hands pushed him back in. "Don't be too rough, children," said Mrs Washburn. "Henry isn't used to such fun. " 

    Dinner that evening was a big steamy ham bone. Bits of cabbage fell from it as one of the children tossed it from the pot to Henry. What! thought Henry. No plate?

    He wondered if he'd ever see a grilled lamb chop again.

    By bedtime, Henry was exhausted¹⁵. His fur-lined basket had been left behind. Where would he sleep? 

    Just then two of the children carried him off to a room with three bunk¹⁶ beds.

    "Henry's sleeping with me! " announced one child , pulling him to one bunk.

    "Oh no! Henry's sleeping with me!" protested another, yanking him toward another bunk.

    A third child elbowed his way in, and Henry flopped¹⁷ to the floor. 

    Before he could crawl under one of the beds, a pillow fight broke out.

    Thwack! A pillow smacked¹⁸ into Henry's face. He barked. Loud!

    Mrs Washburn came scurrying¹⁹ down the hallway. The children scattered²⁰ into their beds.

    "Why, Henry!" scolded Mrs Washburn. "You never barked like that before! Quiet down, or the children will never get to sleep!" 

    On Sunday there was no park or classical orchestra. No cool and fragrant grass. Just the Washburn's backyard with its dandelion clumps²¹ and creaky swings and a fort made out of empty cardboard boxes.

    The children wrestled²² with Henry. They scratched his ears and tied an old red Christmas ribbon around his neck. They tried to make him chase the cat next door. Baby Washburn even kissed him-a big, sloppy²³, wet, strawberry-lollipop kiss , right on the nose. 

    Later, when Baby toppled over onto Henry's tail, they both cried: 

"Yeeeeooooooow !"

    Mrs Washburn poked²⁴ her head out of the back door. "Don't hurt Baby, Henry. "

    Days, weeks, months passed.

    Henry learned to put up with pillow fights and strawberry kisses. He learned to ignore the neighbour's cat and to wriggle²⁵ Christmas ribbons off his neck. He even learned to eat steamy ham bones. 

    And then one day everything changed. Just like that.

    Professor Penrose returned. ,

    The long black limousine came to take Henry back to the professor's fine stone house.

    The Washburn children gathered on their front porch. Tears streamed down their cheeks. "Good-bye, Henry," they sniffled sadly. "Good-bye!" 

    That evening, after being groomed by Miss Fifi (who kept sighing over the tangles²⁶ in his coat) and after being fed two plump, perfectly²⁷ grilled lamb chops (in his own monogrammed dish), Henry climbed into his furlined basket in front of the fireplace.

    He yawned. He laid his head on his front paws. He closed his eyes.

    But he did not go to sleep. 

    Something was wrong. Everything was so quiet, so peaceful. Too quiet,too peaceful.

    Henry climbed out of his basket. He nudged open the front door and headed down the road to the Washburn house. At first he walked properly, as he had been taught. Then he ran.

    When he arrived, he scratched at the door. 

    Mrs Washburn opened it. "Why, it's you, Henry. Welcome home!" Henry dashed up the stairs and into the children's bedroom. It was dark.

    Thwack! A pillow smacked into his face.

    Henry ducked under one of the beds. He smelled the faint scent²⁸ of strawberry, and as he drifted off to sleep, he was thinking to himself; You have the life, Henry my boy. You have the life. 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

3 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

4 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

7 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

8 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

9 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

10 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

12 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

13 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

14 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

16 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

17 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

19 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

20 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

21 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

24 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 wriggle   

v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒

参考例句：

• I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
• Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。

26 tangles   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。
• Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

27 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

28 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。