情景對話：

A: Has Mary passed the entrance examination to the university?

瑪麗考上大學了嗎？

B: No, her second failure in the exam rang the knell of her wish to be a college student.

她參考的第二次失敗使她想成為大學生的愿望徹底破滅了。

A: What will she do then?

那她打算怎么辦？

B: She wants to find a job first.

她想先找份工作。

1. 詞海識貝

ring the knell of

exp. To foreshadow, signal, announce, or proclaim the end or ruin of something. （宣布……的毀滅，宣告…….的毀滅）

e.g. The arrival of large supermarkets rung the knell of the local shop.

大型超市的落成宣告了當地小店的末日。

e.g. An uproarious applause rang the knell of slavery in this country forever.

一陣喧囂的喝彩聲宣告這個國家的奴隸制度永遠地結束了。

2. 語匯積累

1. failure in：……的失敗

e.g. His failure in the exam has knocked all the stuffing out of him.

他考試未及格便一蹶不振。

e.g. His failure in this transaction was due to nothing else than his own carelessness.

他在這筆交易中的失利完全是由于他自己的粗心大意。

e.g. The boss tore his failure in negotiation apart continuously.

老板不停地因他談判失敗而批評地。

2. entrance examination to：……的入學考試

e.g. Li Ming, when he finished his entrance examination to the university, was so tired and sleepy that he fell into bed and slept the clock round.

李明參加完高考又疲勞又困，一下子倒在床上睡了一整天。

e.g. You know, we are busy preparing for the entrance examination to college.

你知道，我們現在正忙著準備高考。