Lesson 7: Too late
Key words and expressions
- detective 侦探
- expect 期待
- parcel 包裹
- diamond 钻石
- South Africa 南非
- steal 偷
- the Customs House 海关,可省略House
- keep guard 警戒,守卫
- precious 珍贵的
- sand 不可数名词。
- a grain of sand 一粒沙子
- a pile of sand 一堆沙子
Questions on the text
- Why were detectives waiting at the airport?
- Because they were expecting precious diamonds from South Africa.
- Where did two men take the parcel after the arrival of the plane?
- They took the parcel to the Customs House.
- What did detectives find in the parcel?
- They found parcel full of stones and sand.
Language points
- A few hours earlier , someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds.
- had told: 过去完成时
- 宾语从句:过去将来时。
- When the plane arrived, some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the airfield.
- While two detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel.
- My father is reading newspaper while my mother is cooking. (at the same time)
- He is hardworking while his brother is lazy. (whereas 表转折)
- Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it to the Customs House. off 离开
- He kicked the snow off his shoes before getting in.
- She took the painting off the wall.
- To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!
- To one's disappointment.令某人失望的是
- precious: very valuable
- be full of: 装满了。。。
Key structures and usage
- 过去进行时
- Detectives were waiting at the airport all morning.
- They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamonds from South Africa.
- When the planes arrived, some of the detectives were waiting inside the main building while others were waiting on the airfield.
- While two detective were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel.
- 介词用法
- waiting at the airport
- a valuable parcel of diamonds from South Africa
- waiting inside the main building
- waiting on the airfield
- took the parcel off the plane
- carried it into the Customs House
- keeping guard at the door.
Extension
cun·ning /ˈkʌnɪŋ/ adj.&n.
- ( disapproving ) able to get what you want in a clever way, especially by tricking or cheating sb狡猾的;奸诈的;诡诈的
SYN craftywily
• a cunning liar花言巧语的骗子
• He was as cunning as a fox.他像狐狸一样狡猾。 - clever and skilful灵巧的;精巧的;巧妙的
SYN ingenious
• It was a cunning piece of detective work.那是一篇构思巧妙的侦探作品。
out·wit v. /ˌaʊtˈwɪt/ ( -tt- )
VN \] to defeat sb/sth or gain an advantage over them by doing sth clever(智力上)超过,胜过 SYN outsmart • Somehow he always manages to outwit his opponents.他反正总能设法智胜对手。 hoax /həʊks/ an act intended to make sb believe sth that is not true, especially sth unpleasant骗局;恶作剧 • a bomb hoax炸弹骗局 • hoax calls恶作剧的电话 fraud n. /frɔːd/ 1. \[ UC \]the crime of cheating sb in order to get money or goods illegally欺诈罪;欺骗罪 • She was charged with credit card fraud.她被控告信用卡欺骗罪。 • property that has been obtained by fraud欺诈所得的财产 • a $100 million fraud1亿元数额的诈骗罪