新概念英语第二册09_A cold welcome

Lesson 9: A cold welcome

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Key words and expressions

• Town Hall 市政厅
• crowd 人群
• gather 聚集
• strike 敲，打
• the minute hand 分针
• refuse
• welcome
• laugh

Questions on the text

1. Where did people gather on the last evening of the year?
   1. The people gathered under the Town Hall clock.
2. What happed to the clock?
   1. The minute hand did not move.
3. How do you understand the title of the story 'A cold welcome'?
   1. A double meaning.

Language points

1. A large crowd of people had gathered under the Town Hall clock.
   1. Please gather round. 请大家聚拢过来。
   2. The tour guide gathered the visitors in the lobby. 大厅
2. It would strike twelve in twenty minutes' time.
   1. I will be back in five minutes.
   2. I'll be with you in a moment.
3. Fifteen minutes passed and then, at five to twelve, the clock stopped.
   1. pass / past
      1. The river passes through the city. v.
      2. He walked past that building. prep.
4. The big minute hand did not move.
   1. the face of a clock 钟的面盘
5. The big clock refused to welcome the New Year.
   1. refuse to do sth.: be unwilling to do sth.
   2. Politely he refused my request.

Key structures and usage

past / to 用在时间上

1. At five to twelve, the clock stopped.
2. It's two minutes past twelve.
3. ten to three
4. a quarter to nine
5. twenty-five minutes past four
6. a quarter past eleven
7. half past ten (不说 half to eleven)

anything 一般用在问句和否定句中。

1. Everything is fine.
2. There is something I want to tell you.
3. Nothing has changed.
4. Is there anything I can do for you?
5. He did not say anything. (He said nothing.)

Extension