[新概念英语第二册第一课]新概念英语第二册每日一篇:问心无愧

A clear conscience
　　问心无愧
　　The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost, together with a note which said: 'A thief, yes, but only 50 per cent a thief!' Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note: 'Only 25 per cent a thief now!' In time, all Sam's money was paid back in this way. The last note said: 'I am 100 per cent honest now!'
　　参考译文
　　整个村子很快知道，有一大笔钱丢失了。当地的屠户萨姆.本顿在把存款送往邮局的途中把钱包丢了。萨姆确信那钱包一定是被某个村民捡到了，可是却不见有人来送还给他。3个月过去了，后来在一天早晨，萨姆在自己的大门外发现了他的钱包。钱包是用报纸包着的，里面有他丢失的钱的一半，而且还附着一张纸条，上面写着：“一个小偷，是的，但只是一个50%的小偷!”又过了两个月，又有一些钱送还给了萨姆，又附了一张字条：“这回只是25%的小偷了!”很快，萨姆全部的钱都用同样的方式还了回来。最后的那张字条上写道：“我现在是一个100%的诚实人了!”
　　逐句精讲笔记：
　　1. The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money had been lost.
　　整个村子很快知道，有一大笔钱丢失了。
　　语言点1 the whole village指“全村的人”，后常接动词单数。常用表达还有：
　　the whole world全世界
　　the whole country全国
　　the whole society全社会
　　the whole class全班
　　语言点2 had been lost是过去完成时的被动语态。
　　2. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings to the post office.
　　当地的屠夫萨姆·本在把存款送往邮局的途中把钱包弄去了。
　　语言点1 the local butcher 为 Sam Benton 的同位语。
　　语言点2 while taking是一个省略形式(时间状语从句变成分词作状语)
　　这种情况必须具备两个条件：
　　这个动作的主语跟主句的主语一致;
　　这个动作一定是正在进行。
　　原句完整的形式应该是：Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while he was taking his savings to the post office.
　　3. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the villagers, but it was not returned to him.
　　萨姆确信那钱一定是被某个村民捡到了，可是却不见有人来送还给他。
　　语言点 must have done表示对过去发生事情的肯定推测;must have been done则是对过去肯定推测的被动语态。
　　4. Three months passed, and then one morning, Sam found his wallet outside his front door.
　　3个月过去了，后来在一天早上，萨姆在他家大门外发现了他的钱包。
　　语言点 表示一段时间以后另外一件事情发生的三种常用表达方式：
　　1) ...passed and then... (Lesson 9 )
　　2) some time later... (Lesson 27)
　　3) nearly... passed before... (Lesson 33)
　　5. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and it contained half the money he had lost, together with a note which said: “A thief, yes, but only 50 per cent a thief !”
　　钱包是用报纸包着的，里面有他丢的钱的一半，而且还附着一张纸条，上面写着：“一个小偷，是的，但只是一个50%的小偷!”
　　语言点1 half the money钱的一半;half an hour半个小时;half a year半年
　　语言点2 the picture said...图片上写着.…
　　the newspaper said...报纸上写着……
　　the note said...纸条上写着……
　　语言点3 together with( = with)介词短语作伴随状语。

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