過去完成式與下列三種句型連用。
1 had been doing + when ··· +動詞簡單過去式：
本課：The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain.
例：I had been reading when I heard steps outside. 我一直在讀書之時，突然，我聽到外邊有腳步聲。
比較：I was reading when I heard steps outside. 我正在讀書之時，突然聽到外邊有腳步聲。
2 had been doing + before···+動詞簡單過去式：
本課：Fireman had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.
例：He had been working in a factory for years before he got this job. 在他得到這個工作之前，他一直在一家工廠里工作有多年了。
3 He had been working for that for the last ten years. 十年來，他一直受雇于那家公司。（講這句話時，是指五十年代，或六十年代的情況）
如：Empress Ci-Xi had been living in the Summer Palace for the last two months. 兩個月以來，西太后一直住在頤和園。（敘述過去情況）
上面兩句話不能用since代替for the last···
但可以說：He had been working for that firm for five years (since his marriage)
4 had lived···before he returned to··· 在回到······之前就曾經(jīng)住在······
例如：
1)No sooner had he gone to sleep than the telephone rang once more. (他剛睡著，電話鈴又響了。)
2)He had no sooner reached the door than he came back.(他剛走到門口就走回來了。)
3) He had hardly had time to realize what was happening when she pushed him out of the room.(他還來不及弄清發(fā)生了什么事，突然她把他推出房間去。)
4) He acted as if he had done something great.(他一舉一動好象他做了一件什么了不起的事似的。)
5) I had written him three letters before he wrote back.(在他回我信之前我曾寫給他三封信。)
6) They had lived in many countries before they settled in England.(在他們定居英國之前，他們曾在許多國家主過。)
7) I had hardly opened the door when he hit me on the head.(我剛開門他就一拳打在我的頭上。)
8) We had hardly arrive when it began to snow.(我們剛到就開始下雪了。)
9) Hardly had we arrived when we had to go back.(我們剛到就不得不返回。)
2.no sooner···than, 這個 than 很多人好象都喜歡寫 then , 似乎認為 then 比 than “說得通”。可是這畢竟是固定的搭配，不能一自己的想象來代替。
3. continually 與 continuously，前者是有間隙停頓的“不斷”，后者則是有連續(xù)性的“不斷”。例：
1)The baby is continually crying.嬰兒不斷地哭。
2)The river flows continuously.河水不斷地流。

----------------------VOCABULARY-------------------
get···under control 把···控制住
for miles around 方圓有五英里
rise up 升起
come on 臨近
threaten···with 以···相威脅；對···具有···的威脅
not only···but···as well 不但···而且(用到as well不能再用 but also，只能用 but)
be put out 被撲滅
special type of 特種的
in huge quantities 大量地
take root 扎根
in place of 代替
for centuries 有好幾個世紀了
patches of 一塊一塊的

==============《 After the Fire 》=============
___火災(zāi)之后____
Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.
{ 消防隊員在把火災(zāi)控制住之前一直與森林大火搏斗了近三個星期。}
A short time before,great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well.
{不久前，大樹覆蓋了這個鄉(xiāng)村方圓數(shù)英里的地方。現(xiàn)在，在一些荒蕪的小山上，灼熱的地面仍然冒著濃煙。冬天快到了，這些小山對周圍的村莊具有毀滅性的威脅，因為大雨將不僅沖走土壤，并將引起嚴重的水災(zāi)。}
When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.
{當火災(zāi)終于被撲滅后，森林管理當局定購了好幾噸特種速生草籽，飛機把這些草籽大量地撒在地面上。}
The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.
{飛機一直在播種草籽已近一個月，突然天開始下雨了。不過到天開始下雨前，在很多地方，草早已扎下了根。在那里一直生長了好幾個世紀的大樹雖被燒毀，但在這片被熏黑了的土地上，代之而起的卻是一塊塊綠色的草地。}