常春藤生活英语【49】Murphy's Law 莫非定律

Candy signed up for a cooking class because she wanted to improve her cooking skills. After she browsed² through the list, she chose a baking class. Candy had often thought that becoming a pastry³ chef would be fun. However, she had always been too hesitant to try it. On the first day of class, Candy was all thumbs. It seemed the other students were better at baking than she was. She feared she might be the worst student in the class, but she decided⁴ to try her best.

The second day of class was going better and, although she was still anxious, Candy was feeling more confident. It seemed to her that mixing everything together was quite easy. When that was done, she poured the mixture into a cake pan. Then, she placed the pan in the oven. As the cakes baked, Candy and the others watched the teacher demonstrate how to properly decorate a cake.

Afterwards, it was time to take out the cakes. Unfortunately for Candy, something had gone wrong with hers. It looked and smelled terrible. After the teacher checked and tasted the cake, she said Candy had made several huge mistakes. Instead of using sugar, she used salt. Instead of only using egg whites, she used whole eggs. And last, instead of using cocoa, she used cinnamon. It was a disaster that only Murphy's Law could explain.

坎蒂想使厨艺进步，所以她报名上烹饪课。在她浏览过课程表后，她选了烘焙课。坎蒂常在想，当一位糕点师傅会很有趣。不过她一直因为太犹豫而没有尝试。上课的第一天，坎蒂弄得手忙脚乱。其它学生的烘焙技巧似乎都比她好。她害怕她可能会是班上最糟糕的学生，但她仍决定全力以赴。

第二天的课程进行得较为顺利，虽然坎蒂还是很不安，但她感觉比较有自信了。对她而言，把每样材料混合在一起似乎相当容易。混合好以后，她把面团倒进蛋糕烤盘中。然后她把烤盘放进烤箱里。蛋糕在烤的期间，坎蒂和其它学员看老师示范怎样正确地装饰蛋糕。

之后该是把蛋糕取出来的时候了。很不幸地，坎蒂的蛋糕出了差错。它看起来和闻起来都糟透了。老师检查并尝了蛋糕后，说坎蒂犯了好几个天大的错误。应该用糖，她却加了盐巴。应该只用蛋白，她则放了整颗蛋。最后，她用的不是可可粉而是肉桂。这样的失败只有用莫非定律才能解释得了。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.hesitant　a. 犹豫的，迟疑的
You will miss this chance if you are hesitant.
如果你犹豫的话，你就会错失这次机会。

2.pour　vt. 倒，灌，注
Alice poured some juice into a cup.
艾莉丝倒了一些果汁到杯子里。

3.demonstrate　vt. 示范
I'll demontrate how to use this machine later.
我待会儿会示范如何操作这台机器。

Phrases for Learning

1.sign up for...　　报名参加……（的课程）
Lisa signed up for a yoga class to stay fit.
莉萨报名上瑜珈课来健身。

2.browse¹ through...　　浏览……
I spent 30 minutes browsing⁵ through this magazine.
我花了三十分钟的时间浏览这本杂志。

3.be all thumbs　　笨手笨脚
I am all thumbs when I play the guitar.
我弹吉它时指法都很生涩。

参考字词

1.pastry chef　n. 糕点师傅
2.mixture　n. 混合物；混合料
3.egg white　n. 蛋白
4.cocoa　n. 可可粉
5.cinnamon　n. 肉桂
6.disaster　n. 失败；灾难

Grammar Check

...demonstrate how to properly decorate a cake.
（……示范怎样正确地装饰蛋糕。）

句中的"how to properly decorate..."称作名词词组，所谓名词词组乃由『疑问词 + 不定词词组（to + 原形动词）』组成。名词词组与名词子句一样，在主要子句中可作主词、受词或置于 be 动词后作主词补语。此处的"how to properly decorate a cake"即作动词 demonstrate 的受词。

We haven't decided where to go on vacation.
（我们还没确定要去哪里度假。）

1 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

2 browsed   

v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• I browsed through some magazines while I waited. 我边等边浏览几本杂志。 来自辞典例句
• I browsed through the book, looking at page after page. 我翻开了一下全书，一页又一页。 来自互联网

3 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》