二、课文精解

Text I

1．My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that big house, gracefully touched with the laughter and tears of four generations. （para. 1） 全句释义为：I spend my whole life, although it was so brief, in that big house, in which four generations had lived harmoniously and experienced both happiness and sadness.我的整个生活，尽管很简单，却是在那个很旧的大房子里度过的。这里留下了我们一家四代生活的酸甜苦辣。brief as it was是一个倒装句，在句中作让步状语。从属连词as引导的让步状语，要用倒装语序，相当于由连词although引导的句子，所以brief as it was可以写成although it was brief。这种倒装结构能表示一种鲜明的对照。laughter and tears在这里是一种借代的用法，laughter借指happiness，tears借指bitterness。比喻是用一种事物来比方另一种事物；而借代只有一种事物，不过没说出该事物的原来名称，另外借用一个名称来代替它。

2．Suddenly I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. （para.2） 动词feel在表示“感觉，感到”时用作及物动词，后面跟复合宾语，复合宾语中的宾语补足语可以是不带to的不定式，形容词，介词短语等。与feel的这种用法相同的词还有感官动词（see, hear, notice等），使役动词（make, let, have, get, keep等）。

3．“Grandpa,” I replied through my tears, “how can I ever say goodbye to you and all my friends?” （para. 3） 全句释义为：”Grandpa,” I replied with tears in my eyes, “how can I ever say goodbye to you and all my friends?”“爷爷”，我泪眼婆娑地回答道，“我怎么能和您还有我所有的朋友说再见呢？” 短语through one’s tears 的意思指“当某人哭时”，即when one is crying 或with tears in one’s eye / while shedding tears。

4．His eyes met mine again. “Billy, I planted these roses a long, long time ago---- before your mother was even a dream.” （para. 10） 全句释义为：His eyes met mine again. “Billy, I planted these roses a long, long time ago before your mother was born.”他的目光再一次和我交汇。“比利，我很久很久以前就种下了这些玫瑰——在你妈妈出生前很久。“before your mother was even a dream”此处的隐含义为“当你妈妈出生之前”“在我们打算要个女儿之前”

5．That boy’s name was Billy, just like yours. I used to watch him pick roses for his mother. （para. 10） used to do这一结构表示“过去常常作某事，现在不作了”；而be used to doing这一结构则表示“习惯于作某事”。used to现在归属为情态动词，其后跟不定式。used to的否定式是used not to，其疑问式是将used提前。be used to中的used是形容词，to是介词，其后必须跟名词，代词或动名词，整个词组表示“习惯，习惯于”的意思。其系动词be有时可换成get或become，以表示动作。

6．Take that special hello and lock it away within you—in that place in your heart where summer is an always time. When you and your friends must part, I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello. （para. 13） 全句释义为：I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello—I want you to get to the bottom of your heart and recall that first hello. / I want you to think deeply and recall the friendly occasions on which you met your friends and said hello to them for the first time.记住那个特别的问候，把它牢记在心里，这样你的内心深处就会永远像夏天一样快乐美好。当你和你的朋友不得不分离时，我希望你能从内心深处重新找回那第一次的问候。lock it away within you藏在记忆深处，保存在记忆里；lock away锁起来，藏起来。in that place in your heart where summer is an always time此处，很明显可以看出"where summer is an always time"一句使用了隐喻的手法。always 是副词，在这里作形容词使用，这里反映出这位老人可能受教育程度不高。

7．Remembering Grandpa’s words, I reached deep within me for those special feelings that had made up our friendship. （para. 20） reach deep within me for努力使自己回忆起;… make up构成，组成；编造；补偿, 例： How many countries make up the Common Market? （欧洲）共同市场由多少国家组成? I made up an excuse about having to look after the kids. 我找了个借口说必须要照顾小孩。You will have to make up the work you’ve missed while you were away. 你离开时落下的工作必须要补齐。该句中的分词短语remembering grandpa’s words在句中作状语，表示伴随状态，其逻辑主语和句中主语一致。若分词或分词结构的逻辑主语与句中主语不一致，即分词在句法上游离于主语之外，这种分词叫做“垂悬分词”或“无着落分词”。例如：Judging from her accent, she must be from Shanghai.

Text II

1．A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who insist that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a colonel who says that they haven’t. （para.2） spring up以一种很快的动作或一系列的动作作向上或前进动作，跳跃；to appear or come into being quickly出现或很快形成；涌现。该句中的jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse是一个以定语从句的形式组成的复合形容词，这种形式是英语新闻文体的一个典型特点，这种形式形象且上口，给人印象深刻，又能使句子简练，表达清楚。

2．And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of nerve control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what counts. （para. 3） Even though a man is also likely to jump on a chair at the sight of a mouse, he has at least the last bit of self-control to refrain himself from jumping up. And it is the self-control that matters. 男人可能也会有同样的反应，但与女人比起来，自控力还是略胜一筹。而正是这多出来的这点自控力起了作用。 单词nerve 在这里指：courage and control under pressure勇气，胆量，处于压力下的自制力；a sore point or sensitive subject---- 敏感处，敏感部位或疼痛处。lost one’s nerve at the last minute在最后一刻失去了勇气。

3．The American comes to with a start. （para.6） The American becomes aware of the potential danger with a sudden shock. 那个美国人猛地醒悟过来。这是个语法上比较松散的句子，因为come to这一词组被用来表示“开始意识到”之意，后面没有接宾语，而是直接接了一个介词短语作状语，表伴随状态。所形成的突然停顿的感觉，与文中所描述的情景：那个美国人心里突然意识到了到底发生了什么事的那种突然性极为吻合。