早读英语精华本下册 Unit11

　　We thought we knew the English language, having even translated a whole book from English into Russian when we were in Siberia. I had learnt English in prison from a teach-yourself book, but had never heard a word of its spoken. Now that we were in London we found we could not understand a single word, and nobody understood us. At first this was very amusing², but although my husband joked about it, however he soon got down to learning the language.
We started going to all kinds of meetings, all we stand in the front row and carefully studying the speaker’s mouth. We went very often to Hyde Park, where speakers addressed the passing crowds on different subjects. We were particularly keen on listening to one man who spoke¹ with an Irish accent, which we found easier to understand. We learnt great deal by listening to spoken English. Afterwards, through an advertisement, my husband got in touch with two Englishmen who wanted to exchanging lessons, and he began studying with them. He got to know the language quite well.

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 amusing   

adj.有有趣的，好玩的

参考例句：

• The girl was amusing herself with a doll.那女孩在玩洋娃娃自娱。
• He related some amusing stories in his childhood to his children.他向孩子们述说了他少年时代的一些趣事。