大学英语（一）

1. Learning English is by no means easy. It takes great diligence and prolonged effort.

Prolonged adj. continuing for a long time

1. Nevertheless, while you cannot expect to gain a good command of English without sustained hard work, there are various helpful learning strategies you can employ to make the task easier.

2. But, in fact, it is not your memory that is at fault.

3. It pays to absorb as much as you can from reading and listening and then try to put what you have learned into practice through speaking and writing.

It pays to: It will be an advantage for you to absorb…; it is beneficial or worthwhile for you to absorb…

1. This is not necessarily the case, however.

2. Chichester did it all by himself, even after the main steering device had been damaged by gales.

Gale n. very strong wind

1. Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends' attempts to dissuade him. The second half of his voyage was by far the more dangerous part, during which he sailed round the treacherous Cape Horn.

Cape n. 海角

1. My wife didn't think I was crazy but she was somewhat worried.

Somewhat adv. 稍微，有点

1. Her husband had been made Mayor, and Myra herself had got a medal for her work for the aged.

2. Two years ago that was, and since then Myra had been to see her mother three times, but her husband never.

3. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks.

4. The old lady felt a pang of disappointment.

   Pang n. sudden, sharp pain

5. Slowly the old lady stooped to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.

   Stoop vi. bend the body forwards and downwards

6. It is well known that many of our problems—everything, in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of mental illness—are caused at least in part by failure to communicate.

7. At first glance, the idea of an hour without TV seems radical.

   Radical adj. extreme; very different

8. The truth is we had a ball.

   Have a ball: enjoy oneself, have a very good time

9. My parents' usual arguments only made her more inconsolable.

10. Half of the students nearly fell out of their chairs laughing.

11. A month later I received a contract, an advance on royalties and a request to start working on another book.

    Royalty n. 版税

12. I've written eight books. Four have been published, and three are still out with the publishers. One stinks.

13. Anyone can write a book if they want to.

    Anyone, everyone and someone are often followed by a plural pronoun, except in very formal speech and writing.

14. The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust-jacket（护封）is irresistible, although this method of selection ought not to be followed, as you might end up with a rather dull book.

15. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting: "Can I help you, sir?"

    Inevitable adj. 必然的，不可避免的

16. When I was still in elementary school, I liked to keep my socks in the upper left-hand drawer of my bureau, my underwear in the upper right drawer, shirts in the middle drawer, and pants, neatly folded, in the bottom drawer.

    Bureau n. chest of drawers for bedroom use

17. Most curious of all, there was no quality control whatsoever. No one inspected the final product of the factory. As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons, the collar, even a sleeve sometimes!

    Whatsoever adj. of any kind, at all；Shipment n. act of sending, carrying or delivering goods

18. There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly line who sewed on buttons.

    Assembly n. 组装，集会

19. If the management provides pleasant background music and beautifies the dull setting, the factory will be much more productive.

20. If excellent work results in frequent pay increases or promotions, the workers will have greater incentive to produce.

    Incentive n. 刺激

21. He also gave me a check for $100 and a box of shirts with his compliments.

    With his compliments: given as a present from him

22. If workers and management are seriously involved in the problem solving, change is not only possible, but inevitable.

23. All the time it was quite evident that he sincerely believed that he might eventually buy one of those puddings.

24. Probably he had come down in the world and this sampling was all that was left him from the time when he could afford to come and select his favorite pudding.

    Come down in the world: become poor; lose social position

25. In a burst of benevolence, I went up to him and said.

    Benevolence: the desire to do good

26. Somehow my mother had scraped together enough for a down payment and meant to surprise me with the bicycle on Christmas morning.

27. I was deeply moved by the discovery and yet sickened by the knowledge that, bursting into her room like this, I had robbed her of the pleasure of seeing me astonished and delighted on Christmas day.

28. I soon realized that, with my lack of acting talent, all of them were going to sound false at the critical moment when I wanted to cry out my love spontaneously from the heart.

    Spontaneously adv. happening in a natural way without being planned or thought about

29. I doubted I could cry on cue, so I began thinking about other expressions of speechless amazement.

    On cue: at exactly the right or expected moment

30. It's the thought that counts.

31. All right now, don't carry on about it. It's only a bicycle.

    Carry on: talk very excitedly and say a lot of unnecessary things

32. But it seldom is, for snow is a rarity in December.

33. Are there other hazards that you discovered in your studies?

    Hazard n. danger

34. Prof. Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?

    Zilch: zero or nothing

35. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.

    Fortify v. 增强；给…以勇气