Lesson 10 A blessing in disguise因禍得福

一、詞匯部分

1.blessing /ˈbles.ɪŋ/ n. 福分，福氣
口語：God bless you.
文化：打噴嚏后說Bless you.

2.disguise /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ n. 偽裝
例句：Hard times are sometimes blessings in disguise. Let it go and let it make you better.

3.tiny /ˈtaɪ.ni/ adj. 極小的
詞匯：small/medium/large
口語：Can I have a medium Cappuccino?

4.possess /pəˈzes/ v. 擁有
5.cursed /ˈkɝːst/ adj. 可恨的
口語：blessing or curse 祝福還是詛咒
例句：I’m still trying to figure out if that's a blessing or a curse.

6.increase /ɪnˈkriːs/ v. 增加
詞匯：decrease 下降/ increase 增加

7.plant /plænt/ v. 種植
擴展：plant n.工廠

8.church /tʃɝːtʃ/ n. 教堂
9.evil /ˈiː.vəl/ adj. 壞的
10.reputation /ˌrep.jəˈteɪ.ʃən/ n. 名聲
詞根：re 反復＋ put 思考＋ation名詞后綴

11.claim /kleɪm/ v. 以......為其后果
12.victim /ˈvɪk.təm/ n. 受害者，犧牲品
13.vicar /ˈvɪk.ɚ/ n. 教區牧師
14.source /sɔːrs/ n. 來源
15.income /ˈɪn.kʌm/ n. 收入
16.trunk /trʌŋk/ n. 樹干

文章講解

The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased. The tree was planted near the church fifty years ago, but it is only in recent years that it has gained an evil reputation. It is said that if anyone touches the tree, he will have bad luck; if he picks a leaf, he will die. Many villagers believe that the tree has already claimed a number of victims. The vicar has been asked to have the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree cut down, but so far he has refused. He has pointed out that the tree is a useful source of income, as tourists have been coming from all parts of the country to see it. In spite of all that has been said, the tourists have been picking leaves and cutting their names on the tree-trunk. So far, not one of them has been struck down by sudden death!


文章精講：
1.The tiny village of Frinley is said to possess a 'cursed tree'. Because the tree was mentioned in a newspaper, the number of visitors to Frinley has now increased.

1)知識點1: be said to to …／It is said that…據說
例句：It is said that pretty girls’ academic performances in high school aren’t that good because there are so many boys are trying to hit on them.


2)知識點2: the number of 和 a number of 辨析
the number of ..表示…的數量；謂語動詞用單數。
A number of …表示很多，相當于many,后面接可數名詞復數，謂語動詞用復數。

例句：The number of mother-to-be in China who went to States to deliver their baby was 5 million last year.
例句：There are still a number of people who are aware of the importance of reading.

Why do Americans try to 'correct' everyone who uses non-American words?


In my experience far more Brits get prickly about this than Americans. For the most part Americans are curious about or amused by differences in accent, word usage, etc. Brits tend to get defensive. I remember a kid at my school who'd just moved from Bermuda getting yelled at in front of the whole class for spelling “colour” without a “u” — you know, like he'd have been taught his whole life up until then.

I get teased at work because the one American spelling that never sticks in my mind is “tire” (as in the rubber thing on a wheel — spelled “tyre” in British English) but it's never bad-natured. When Brits criticize American spelling or vocabulary there's always an undercurrent of resentment. Probably because the language is seen as “belonging to” the British Isles and yet the American form is culturally dominant globally.

Americans are more likely to seek clarification because for the most part they're less familiar with British idioms than Brits are with American idioms.