Lesson 85 Never too old to learn

【New words and expressions】（14）

inform v. 告诉，通知

headmaster n. 校长

contribute v. 捐助，援助

gift n. 礼物，赠品

album n. 签名簿，相册

patience n. 耐心

encouragement n. 鼓励

farewell n. 告别

honour n. 敬意

coincidence n. 巧合

total n. 总数

devote v. 致力于

gardening n. 园艺

hobby n. 爱好，嗜好

★inform v. 告诉，通知

① vt. 通知，告知

inform sb. of sth. 通知某人......

Who informed you about/of this?

inform that... 通知......

he was informed that he would receive an extra thousand pounds a year.

tell sb. sth.

tell sb. that

② vi. 告发，检举（与against/on连用）

He used to inform against his classmates.

Several people have informed on him.

★devote v. 致力于

devote to + doing 致力于......（to 是介词）

I devote myself to teaching.

He devoted himself to making money.

object to + doing sth.

★farewell n. 告别

farewell n. 告别，再见；adj. 告别（比goodbye更正式）

Farewell! 再会！一路平安！

He said farewell to his mother and got on the plane.

When Frank retired, they held a farewell party.

★honour n. 敬意

guard of honour 仪仗队

in one's honour 为纪念某人，对某人表示尊重

We will give him a party in his honour.

We will give him a dinner in his honour.

It's my honour. 是我的荣幸

It's my honour to do sth. 做某件事情是我的荣幸

It's my honour to talk with you.

I'm honoured to do sth. 我感到荣幸

I'm honoured to talk with you.

I'm honoured to stand here and give you lessons.

I'm honoured to be your teacher.

【Text】

I have just received a letter from my old school, informing me that my former headmaster, Mr. Stuart Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster's home. We shall all remember Mr. Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr. Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.

参考译文

我刚刚收到母校的一封信，通知我说以前的校长斯图亚特.佩奇先生下星期就退休了。为了纪念这个日子，学校的学生--无论老同学还是新同学--将送他一件礼物。所有凑钱买此礼品的人都将自己的名字签在一本大签名簿上，签名簿将被送到校长的家里。我们不会忘记佩奇先生对我们既有耐心又充满理解，也不会忘记在我们不愿去上学时他给予我们的亲切鼓励。很多老同学都准备参加下星期四为他举行的告别宴会。佩奇先生退休的前一天正好是他执教满40年的日子，这真是奇妙的巧合。他退休后，将致力于园艺。对于他来说，这将是一种全新的爱好。但这没有关系，因为正如他常说的那样，人要活到老学到老。

【课文讲解】

1、I have just received a letter from my old school, informing me that my former

headmaster, Mr. Stuart Page, will be retiring next week.

former 前任的，以前的

will be doing 将来要做

2、Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion.

student 通指所有的学生；pupil 指中小学的学生

mark the occasion 纪念这一时候

mark n. 标记；v. 做标记，给......作记号/留痕迹；纪念

He marked all the foods which were forbidden with a red pencil.

send sb. sth. 送某人......

3、All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster's home.

contribute towards/to sth. 为......捐款，提供给......

Before his death, he contributed a large sum of money to the church.

A few of us contributed towards Mary's present on her birthday.

all those who ... will do sth. 所有那些人都......

All those who want to go on an excursion will sign their names. 想去郊游的人签名

All those who will take part in the sports meeting will sign their names.

present和gift都表示"礼物，赠品"，但gift相对要正式些：

She has just received a beautiful birthday present.

He made a gift of $60,000 to his old school.

4、We shall all remember Mr. Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school.

remember sb. for sth. 因为......记住某人，记得......的......

be willing to do sth. 心甘情愿做某事

We shall all remember him for his hard work

5、A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honour next Thursday.

in one's honour = in honour of sb. 为向......表示敬意，为纪念某人

Many people attended the party in honour of the new manager.

This is a farewell performance in her honour.

6、It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr. Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years.

It's is a curious coincidence that... 纯属巧合，......真是奇异的巧合

the day before 前一天 ；two days before 前两天

a total of 总共

The money she spent on the dinner party reached a total of $200.

7、After he has retired, he will devote himself to gardening.

devote oneself to... 致力于......，献身于，专心于（to为介词，后跟名词或动名词）

Mary devotes herself to helping the poor.

As a boy, Jim devoted himself to tennis.

8、For him, this will be an entirely new hobby.

entirely = completely 完完全全地

9、But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.

as +从句 正如...

As you know,... 正如你所知道的......

【Letter Writing】

一封信的结尾：

I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

Best regards,

Tom

可以用Best wishes，Yours或Love结尾。

【Special Difficulties】

Too and Enough

too adv. 太，过分

enough adv. 足够，十分

too和enough都可作程度副词，但too通常位于它所修饰的形容词/分词之前，enough则位于它所修饰的词之后。在含有不定式的句型里，too经常具有否定的含义，enough则表示达到必要的程度：

He is too heavy for me to lift.

The pear is ripe enough for me to eat.
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