背诵为王 第 四 册 第 16 课

　　Lesson16 Learning English
We thought we knew the English language, having even translated a whole book from English into Russian, when we were in Siberia. I learnt English in prison from a self-instructor, but had never heard a single live English word spoken. Several years later when we arrived in London we found we could not understand a single word, and nobody understood us. At first this was very comical, but although my husband joked about it, he soon got down to the business of learning the language.
We started going to all kinds of meetings. We stood in the front row and carefully studied the orator²'s mouth. We went fairly often to Hyde Park, where speakers harangued⁴ the passing crowds on diverse themes. We were particularly keen on listening to one speaker of this kind. He spoke¹ with an Irish accent, which was easier for us to understand. Nearby a Salvation⁵ Army officer uttered hysterical⁶ shouts in appeal to God Almighty⁷, while a little further on a shop-assistant was holding forth⁸ on the hours of servitude of assistants in the big stores...
We learnt a great deal by listening to spoken English. Afterwards, by means of an advertisement, my husband found two Englishmen desirous of exchanging lessons, and began studying assiduously with them. He got to know the language fairly well.
Siberia 西伯利亚
orator 演讲者
harangue³ 对...高谈阔论
hold forth 滔滔不绝地表达，诉说
servitude 苦役, 苦役
desirous 渴望的
assiduously 勤勉地, 恳切地
学习英语
我们原以为我们是会英语的，在西伯利亚的时候，我们曾经把一整本书从英语翻译成了俄语。我是在监狱的时候通过自学教程学习英语的，但是从没有听到过有人讲一个活生生的英语单词。几年之后，我们来到了伦敦，却发现自己一个单词也听不懂，也没有人能听懂我们说的英语。开始的时候这非常滑稽。虽然我丈夫拿这个开玩笑，但他也很快开始认认真真地学起了这门语言。
我们开始去参加各种各样的会议。我们站在前排，仔细地观察讲话者的口型。我们经常去海德公园，那里演讲者会对着路过的人群就不同的主题高谈阔论。我们特别喜欢听其中一位演讲者。他说话带有爱尔兰口音，对我们来讲更容易听懂。离他不远，一位救世军军官在歇斯底里地呼唤着万能的主。再远一点，一位店员在滔滔不绝地讲着在大商店里做店员的奴役般的工作……。
通过听这些活生生的英语，我们学到了很多。后来，我丈夫通过做广告找到了两位希望交换学习的英国人，并开始勤奋地和他们一块儿学习。他把英语这门语言学得非常好。

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 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。

3 harangue   

n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话

参考例句：

• We had to listen to a long harangue about our own shortcomings.我们必须去听一有关我们缺点的长篇大论。
• The minister of propaganda delivered his usual harangue.宣传部长一如既往发表了他的长篇大论。

4 harangued   

v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He harangued his fellow students and persuaded them to walk out. 他对他的同学慷慨陈词说服他们罢课。 来自辞典例句
• The teacher harangued us all about our untidy work. 老师对于凌乱的作业对我们全部喋喋不休地训斥。 来自互联网

5 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

6 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

7 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。