英语博客：A Yard of Bubblegum.

 

 

 A Yard of Bubblegum

 

We had an interesting weekend this past Memorial¹ Day weekend. We went to the town of Monroe which is on the outskirts² of Seattle. My son had a baseball tournament³. It would have lasted for three days if they had won on both Saturday and Sunday. However, they didn't do so well on Sunday, so we were free to leave. There is a saying in England, 'A change is as good as a rest,' which I think applied⁴ to our weekend. We don't often get out of Wenatchee, and although Seattle is only three hours away, it is a totally different environment. The climate is much wetter, so the whole place is green, with trees everywhere. Being from England, it makes me feel quite at home. And it is obviously⁵ more populated than our small rural⁶ town, so there is a lot more to do. After the last baseball game, we headed into town to have lunch and do some shopping. There is a place that I always try and visit whenever I'm in Seattle. It's called World Plus Imports. The name gives away the theme of the store. It is a very colorful international shop, that has everything from food, to jewelery, to furniture. It's one place where none of my children get bored, so I have enough time to really look at everything. There are also English products that I cannot get in Wenatchee. So, I load up on them whenever I'm there: English style baked beans (the ones over here are really sugary), Digestive biscuits, and Maltesers. Some of you who have been to England, might have tried these. I told my kids, who were scampering⁷ everywhere like mice, that they could each choose something. Within a few seconds, one of them was waving a huge, plastic tube⁸ of bubblegum in my face, “Can I have this, Mum?” “No!” was my very plain but to the point answer. It was a whole yard of bubblegum. We're talking about three feet. They would never stop chewing⁹ if we had bought that! And, I'm sure, the dentist would have plenty to say at their next checkup. What will they think of next?

Grammar notes.

Practice of 'would have', 'could have', and 'should have'.

We could have saved time if we had taken the short cut.

I would have called you if I had known¹⁰ that you were in town.

They should have been here by now; I hope nothing has happened.

I couldn't have driven my car yesterday even if I had wanted to; I dropped my keys down the drain¹¹!

If we were able to, we would have helped him.

1 memorial   

adj.记忆的；纪念的；n.纪念碑，纪念堂

参考例句：

• We visited the Lincoln Memorial.我们参观了林肯纪念堂。
• He wrote a memorial of the late author.他写了一篇纪念这位已故作家的文章。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 tournament   

n.比赛，竞赛，锦标赛

参考例句：

• He was the best boxer in the tournament.他是本届联赛的最佳拳手。
• The Council resolved that the next tournament should be held in Shanghai.理事会决定下次比赛在上海举行。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

6 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

7 scampering   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A cat miaowed, then was heard scampering away. 马上起了猫叫，接着又听见猫逃走的声音。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• A grey squirrel is scampering from limb to limb. 一只灰色的松鼠在树枝间跳来跳去。 来自辞典例句

8 tube   

n.（英）地铁；管，软管，隧道；vt.把…装管，使通过管子

参考例句：

• You may get to the railway station by tube.你可以乘地铁到火车站。
• Take care not to break the test tube!当心别把试管打碎了！

9 chewing   

v.咀嚼，咬( chew的现在分词 )；（因为紧张等）咬住，不停地啃，（为尝味道）不停地咀嚼

参考例句：

• She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖，受到了告诫。
• cows chewing the cud 在咀嚼反刍食物的牛

10 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

11 drain   

n.排水沟，阴沟；消耗，负担；v.排去，放干

参考例句：

• Drain off the rest of the wine from this barrel.把桶里剩余的酒排出去。
• First,you have to drain the container of all the old oil.首先，你得从油箱中把所有的陈油都抽去。