英语博客:The Springhill Suites Hotel

 There has been a lot of activity just down the road from us, for the past year. A hotel has been built, and we have witnessed the process from start to finish. About a year ago, the construction crew 'broke ground' and started digging and moving earth. Then came the foundation. The big cement mixers came in to pour and pour until the amount of cement was just right. Each afternoon, driving my children home from school, I would deliberately¹ take a slightly longer route which leads right past the hotel site. My kids would ooh and aah at the machines, and the changes that were taking place. Soon the walls went up, stage by stage. Just opposite the building site is a restaurant with an outside seating area. We sat there on a few occasions, eating icecream and watching the progress: machines coming and going, the large crew of workmen nailing, hammering, carrying, and cutting. At least half of the time there was plenty of yelling going on, and most of the time it was in a variety of different languages. It would have been good to film the work from the beginning to the end consistently, and then show the film in fast motion. I'm happy to say that the ordinances³ or rules for new buildings here is that they must have good landscaping around them: trees, shrubs⁴, and grass. So, the hotel won't look like a big, boring, box of a place. It actually has an attractive design with some architectural interest, some natural stone, and now the landscaping. I'm sure that, in true American style, there will be a grand opening celebration. There will be balloons, free coffee, and perhaps a raffle⁵. Once, when a department store was having its grand opening, my husband and I happened to be in a parking lot nearby. Suddenly, there was the sound of explosions. I ducked, not knowing what on earth was happening. My husband just laughed at me and pointed⁶ to the building, "It's just the grand opening fire works, babe. I know," he admitted, "we tend to overdo⁷ it here."

Grammar notes.

Practicing the use of 'would' using related vocabulary: to break ground, building site, ordinance², to duck.

1. It would have been better to break ground in the Summer; the ground will be frozen soon.

2. I wouldn't mind the building site next door, if the crew wasn't so rude.

3. He memorized the ordinances and would always quote the rules.

4. You wouldn't have bumped your head if you had ducked.

 

1 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

2 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

3 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

4 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

5 raffle   

n.废物，垃圾，抽奖售卖；v.以抽彩出售

参考例句：

• The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets.这笔款子是通过出售购物彩券筹集的。
• He won a car in the raffle.他在兑奖售物活动中赢得了一辆汽车。

6 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。

7 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。