§ Lesson 46 Do it yourself 自己动手

【New words and expressions】 生词和短语

●plead v. 找（借口），辩解

●ignorance n. 无知，不懂

●publication n. 出版物

●newlyweds n. 新婚夫妇

●gaily adv. 愉快地，高兴地

●leisure n. 空闲

●keen adj. 热心的，渴望的

●advisory adj. 咨询的

●novice n. 新手

●consumer n. 消费者，顾客

●assemble v. 装配，组装

●outlet n. 出路

●creative adj. 创造性的

●handyman n. 手巧的人，能工巧匠

●resourceful adj. 足智多谋的

●fuse v. 由于烧断保险丝而短路

●rickety adj. 要散架的，晃动的

●clog v. 堵塞

●delusion n. 错觉

●lawn mower 割草机

●adjustment n. 调整

●screw n. 螺丝钉

●dismantle v. 拆卸

●chunk n. （厚）块

●snap v. 绷断

●insurmountable adj. 不能克服的，难以对付的

●jigsaw n. 线锯

●nag v. 唠叨不休

●rust v. 生锈

◆plead v. 找（借口），辩解

plead ignorance: 一无所知

Eg: The authorities plead ignorance.

I pleaded that I was ill so I couldn't go to the party.

plead that...

pleadable 可辩护的

Eg: This is a pleadable case.

pleading n. 辩护，恳求

pleader n. 辩护人

beg vt. 肯求 （可怜地一再要求）

beg sb. not to do

ask 请求，要求（期待肯定的答复）

entreat: 请求（通过反反复复的请求，来说服、软化对方）

implore 要求（迫切地、痛苦地要求）

Eg: The poor man implored me for help.

◆ignorance n. 无知，不懂

◆publication n. 出版物

◆newlyweds n. 新婚夫妇

◆gaily adv. 愉快地，高兴地

◆◆◆leisure n. 空闲

spare time

leisure hours

at leisure 悠闲自得的，空闲的

Eg: I'm quite at leisure if you want to me to help you.

at one's leisure 在某人空闲的时候，在某人高兴的时候

Eg: Look me up, at your leisure.

drop in me, at your leisure.

At your leisure, please call me.

wait sb.'s leisure 等某人有空闲的时候

◆◆◆keen adj. 热心的，渴望的

eager, anxious

be keen about 迷上，喜欢上

The boy is keen about footfall.

be keen on sth. 迷上，喜欢上（口）

anxious （焦急的心情，因焦虑而渴望）

eager (因特别想得到或拥有某物而渴求)

Eg: What are you eager for?

keen (因为极大的兴趣和欲念而热衷于)

◆advisory adj. 咨询的

◆novice n. 新手

◆consumer n. 消费者，顾客

◆assemble v. 装配，组装

assemble vi. 众多人的集会

==fit, put the parts / pieces together

Eg: It took me three hours to assemble thy bicycle.

amass, accumulate, collect, gather, assemble, store up, hold up

◆outlet n. 出路

排水口，通风口

a way through which sth. may go out

an outlet for water 排水口

an outlet for air 通风口

Eg: This is an outlet for you to get success.

He wants an outlet for his anger.他需要一个出气筒。

outlet for

inlet 进口，入口

◆creative adj. 创造性的

inventive adj. 善于创造的，发明的

◆handyman n. 手巧的人，能工巧匠

◆◆◆resourceful adj. 足智多谋的

==witty 机智的，俏皮的，言辞巧妙的

wit 智慧，智谋

Eg: He's in trouble and he's witts ended.

wit: 智慧，智谋（通常用复数形式）

resource 资源；消遣，娱乐==entertainment, amusement

entertainment 为使某人开心而进行的娱乐和消遣== amusement

resource 消遣的目的是为了打发时间

◆fuse v. 由于烧断保险丝而短路

◆rickety adj. 要散架的，晃动的

◆clog v. 堵塞

◆delusion n. 错觉

◆lawn mower 割草机

◆adjustment n. 调整

adjust 指调整，调节，使之适应

◆◆◆screw n. 螺丝钉

screw vt. 1. 拧

screw down 用螺丝钉固定住；约束

screw up 固定住；把.....揉成一团

screw out 拧出来；勉强拿出，逼出

screw around 鬼混；闲逛

as he has a screw loose / missing

Eg: Don't have a chat with him as he has a screw loose. 不要跟他闲聊，他这个人疯疯颠颠的。

You must have your head screwed properly. 你必须保持头脑清醒。

◆dismantle v. 拆卸

take apart

He took a longmor apart.

◆chunk n. （厚）块

◆snap v. 绷断

猛咬（==bite）；拍快照

break suddenly

The chain snap suddenly.

snap one's fingers at sb. 弹响指

snap sth. up 迅速地抓住机会抢购

Eg: The cheapist dresses were quickly snapped up. 抢购一空

in a snap 立刻，马上

It is a snap. 很轻松，小菜一碟

◆insurmountable adj. 不能克服的，难以对付的

==cannot be overcome

surmount: 克服 surmount difficulty

Eg:They are faced with insurmountable difficulties.

vanquish: 克服

◆jigsaw n. 线锯

◆nag v. 唠叨不休

◆rust v. 生锈

【Text】

§ Lesson 46 Do it yourself 自己动手

Q： Did the writer repair his lawn mower in the end? Why / Why not?

So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingIy less dependent on specialized labour. No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer, for there are countless do-it-yourself publications. Armed with the right tools and materials, newlyweds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes. Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture. Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own computers. Shops cater for the do-it-yourself craze not only by running special advisory services for novices, but by offering consumers bits and pieces which they can assemble at home. Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy, but unfortunately not all of us are born handymen.

Some wives tend to believe that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything. Even men who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters, plumbers and me-

chanics. When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuumcleaners fail to operate, some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things right. The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes even men live under the delusion that they can do anything, even when they have repeatedly been proved wrong. It is a question of pride as much as anything else.

Last spring my wife suggested that I call in a man to look at our lawn mower. It had broken down the previous summer, and though I promised to repair it, I had never got round to it. I would not hear of the suggestion and said that I would fix it myself. One Saturday afternoon, I hauled the machine into the garden and had a close look at it. As far as I could see, it only needed a minor adjustment: a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new. Inevitably the repair job was not quite so simple. The mower firmly refused to mow, so I decided to dismantle it. The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn mower. But I was extremely pleased with myself. I had traced the cause of the trouble. One of the links in the chain that drives the wheels had snapped. After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again. I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that I was left with several curiously shaped bits of metal which did not seem to fit anywhere. I gave up in despair. The weeks passed and the grass grew. When my wife nagged me to do something about it, I told her that either I would have to buy a new mower or let the grass grow. Needless to say our house is now surrounded by a jungle. Buried somewhere in deep grass there is a rusting lawn-mower which I have prom-

ised to repair one day.

参考译文

现在我们自己动手做事的热情很高，结果对于专业工人的依赖越来越少了。由于出版了不计其数的教人自己动手做事的书报杂志，没有人再能说对某事一无所知。新婚夫妇找来合适的工具和材料，喜气洋洋地开始布置新房。特别是男人，常利用空闲时间安装壁炉、布置花园、建造车库、制作家具。有些热衷于自己动手的人甚至自己组装电脑。为了满足自己动手热的需要，商店不仅为初学者提供专门的咨询服务，而且为顾客准备了各种零件，供他们买回家去安装。这些东西为人们潜在的创造力提供了一个绝妙的用武之地。但不幸的是，我们并非人人都是能工巧匠。

妻子常常认为她们的丈夫无比聪明能干。甚至那些连一枚钉子都钉不直的男人都被认为是天生的电工、木匠、水管工和机械师。每当电灯保险丝烧断、家具榫头松动、管道堵塞、吸尘器不动时，有些妻子认为丈夫总有办法。自己动手的例子中最糟糕的是，有时甚至是男人尽管接连失败却还误以为自己什么都行，原因就是要面子。

今年春天，妻子让我请人检查一下我家的割草机。那台割草机去年夏天就坏了，尽管我答应修，但一直没抽出时间，我不愿听妻子的建议，说我自己会修。一个星期六的下午，我把割草机拉到了花园里，仔细检查了一番。在我看来，只需稍加调整即可。这儿紧紧螺丝，那儿固定一下，再加几滴油，就会像新的一样了。事实上，修理工作远不是那么简单。修完后割草机还是纹丝不动。于是，我决定把它拆开。一会儿工夫，割草机便被拆成一个个金属零件，乱七八糟地堆在花园里。但我却非常高兴，因为我找到了毛病所在。驱动轮子的链条断了一节。我买来一根新链条后，面临的就是如何把这些令人眼花缭乱的拼板重新组装起来。等我装完后，那台割草机仍然一动不动，对此我倒并不感到吃惊。原因很简单，因为还剩下几个形状奇特的零件似乎哪里也装不上去。我无可奈何，只好罢休。几个星期过去了，草长了起来。妻子喋喋不休让我想点办法。我告诉她，要么买一台新割草机，要么让草长下去。不用说，我家现在已被丛林包围。深草丛中的某个地方有一台正在生锈的割草机，那就是我曾答应某日要修理的割草机。

【课文讲解】

本文非常优秀，一是在句子结构上，二是在系列短语上

背诵：So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingIy less dependent on specialized labour.

此句的基本句型是so...that... 引导的结果状语从句，为了强调great这个词，把so great 提到句首，因此主谓语要倒装。

passion 热情

passion for doing sth.

be / become dependent on ≠ independent

less dependent = more independent

specialized == skillful

背诵：No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer,

plead ignorance of sth. 对......一无所知

Eg: He pleade ignorance of the accident.

countless 不计其数的

背诵：Armed with the right tools and materials, newlyweds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes.

armed with 佩戴上

L46-04 end 13'05"

Lesson46A end 48:31

Lesson46B begin 54:56

L46-05 begin (47-02) 13'58"

gaily == happily, cheerfully

embark on doing sth. 从事做（新的、难度大的事情）==start sth. (new or difficult)

lay out 安排，布置

go so far as to do: 竟然到了干......的地步

Eg: Oh, my god, he went so far as to refuse my demand.

She goes so far as to go shopping / with it shop every day.

keen: 感兴趣的，热心的

enthusiasm 热情

cater for 满足，迎合人们的需要== provide what is necessary

Eg: Our school tries to cater for students needs / demands.

do-it-yourself 合成形容词

craze== passion

bits and pieces 备件，零件

特点：重复介词使用

in dread of: 害怕

背诵：Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy,

provide an outlet for: 寻找......出路

pent up：被压抑的 ==oppressed

potential 潜在的

not all of us 部分的否定

none of us 全部的否定

born：生来就是

背诵：Some wives tend to believe that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything.

Some wives live under the illusion that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything.

tend to: 倾向于

tend to do sth. 有.....倾向

tend to sth. 照料，伺候==attend to (应付，对付==deal with)

背诵：Even men who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters,

be supposed to 一致公认

背诵：When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuumcleaners fail to operate, some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things right.

some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things right.

presume: 表示猜测，主观判断，有事实可以依据

assume: 主观武断的认为

L44: You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, meet interesting people and enjoy good food--always assuming, of course, that the sea is calm.

The worst thing is that...最糟糕的事情

delusion(语气强烈)==illusion

背诵：The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes even men live under the delusion that they can do anything, even when they have repeatedly been proved wrong.

背诵：It is a question of pride as much as anything else.

It is a question of pride...

as much as anything (else) 加强语气==very, very much

call in a man to look at sth.

break down: 坏掉了

fail to operate

get / come round to sth. 抽出时间做某事

make time to do sth. / spare time to do sth.

Eg: I got round to writing the letter after two days delay.

as far as I could see == as far as I knew / as far as I could find / discover 在我看来

minor≠major

it would be as good as new

as good as 几乎，差不多==almost, actually, virtually, nearly

Eg: He as good as turned me down. 他实际上就是拒绝了我。

inevitably 不可避免地

背诵：The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn-mower.

be littered with 放满了

make up 表示一种状态

assemble:强调动作

背诵：I had traced the cause of the trouble.

trace: 跟踪==find, discover

背诵：After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again.

be faced with 面对，面临

confusing == puzzling, perplexing

for the simple reason that: 出于这个简单的原因

背诵：Buried somewhere in deep grass there is a rusting lawn-mower which I have promised to repair one day.

buried somewhere in deep grass... 连接上下文，加强语气，修饰lawn mower

【Vocabulary】 P214

Explain the meanings of the following words and phrases as they are used in the passage: inreasingly(l.2); plead ignorance (l.3); gaily embark on the task (l.5); installing (l.7); novices (l.9); repeatedly (l.17)

increasingly: more and more

plead ignorance 找借口辩解说不知情（=get an excuse for not knowing）

gaily embark on the task: happily start the job

installing: fixing

novice: 新手 beginner / learner

repeatedly : 反反复复地，重复地 （=again and again; renewedly）

【Multiple choice questions】

Comprehension

1 Why did the writer's wife suggest calling in a man to look at the mower?

a. To get her husband to mend it, believing him to be a born carpenter.

b. She had forgotten that her husband had promised to mend it.

c. She suspected it would otherwise remain unrepaired and the grass uncut.

d. Her husband had repeatedly tried mending it already without success.

suspected (that )... / doubt whether...

remain unrepaired uncut

2 The writer decided to dismantle the mower because _____ .

a. it was a Saturday and he had the time to spare

b. he had discovered the cause of the trouble

c. he thought it was a sure way of roving it would not work

d. what repairs he had already carried out had not proved adequate

dismantle: take apart 拆开

adequate: enough

背熟：what repairs he had already carried out had not proved adequate

3 The writer's house is now surrounded by a jungle because _____ .

a. he lost several pieces of the mower in the process of dismantling it

b. by now the lawn mower is too rusty to cut the grass with

c. besides not having cut the grass, he has failed to cut down the trees

d. his wife was not prepared to let him buy a new lawn mower

be prepared to do

Structure

4 ★★★ ---- that we are _____ dependent on specialized labour as we used to be. (ll.1-2)

a. increasingly less b. becoming not so c. not nearly as d. becoming less

as...as

used to be

Eg: He doesn't work as hard as he used to.

5 Whatever it is, a fused light, _____ furniture, a clogged pipe, a broken-down vacuumcleaner, wives automatically assume... (ll.14-15)

a. shaked b. a shaken c. a shaky d. shaky

平行结构

6 ---- my wife said to me: 'Darling, _____ call someone in to look at the lawn mower?' (l.18)

a. why don't you b. why you don't c. would you be kind to d.do you kindly

suggest doing sth. ----Why don't you? Why not?

7 ---- which I have promised to get round _____ one day. (l.19)

a. to repair it b. to repairing c. repairing d. to repairing it

get round to doing / come round to doing

Vocabulary

8 To plead ignorance of a subject is no longer a _____ , for there are... (ll.2-4)

a. wise precauting b. literary discussion c. legitimate excuse d. reasonable allowance

precaution: 预防措施 take precautions

legitimate: reasonable

9 Men, _____ spend hours of their leisure time on do-it-yourself. (ll.6-7)

a. mostly b. especially c. rather d. specially

particularly, especially

10 Some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things _____ (ll.14-15)

a. in order b. well c. in straight d. correctly

L46-08 end 12'09"

L46-09 begin 0'37"

11 I was left with bits of metal which did not seem to _____ anywhere. (l.28)

a. fasten b. suit c. go d. fix

suit 指合乎要求，口味，性格

12 _____ , our house is now surrounded by a jungle. (ll.29-30)

a. As a matter of fact b. As you can imagine c. As a result d. As a last resort

【Key to Multiple choice questions】

1. C 2. D 3. D 4. C 5. D 6. A 7. B 8. C 9. B 10. A 11. C 12. B
关键字:新概念英语3册笔记
生词表: