The facts
確切數(shù)字
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their reader with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the president's palace in a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refuse to publish it. The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the president's palace'. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them. Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written. A week later, the editor at last received a fax from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.

4. The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall which surrounds the president's palace'.
文章的開(kāi)頭是這樣的:“幾百級(jí)臺(tái)階通向總統(tǒng)府的高墻。”

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:這是一個(gè)直接引語(yǔ)的句式，用數(shù)字作主語(yǔ)非常大氣的描述了總統(tǒng)府的龐大規(guī)模。Which引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，修飾wall,強(qiáng)調(diào)是怎樣的高墻。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:hundreds of 表示“成百上千的”。

下面是與數(shù)字有關(guān)的表達(dá)總結(jié):

Tens of 幾十
Dozens of 幾十
Thousands of 成千上萬(wàn)的
Tens of thousands of 數(shù)十萬(wàn)的
Millions of 數(shù)百萬(wàn)的
Tens of millions of數(shù)千萬(wàn)的
Hundreds of millions of 數(shù)億的
Billions of 數(shù)十億的

例句支持:

Hundreds of millions of people are living in harmful environment in the world. 全世界有數(shù)億人仍然生活在有害的環(huán)境當(dāng)中。

5. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.

編輯立即給那位記者發(fā)去傳真，要求他核實(shí)一下臺(tái)階的確切數(shù)字和圍墻的高度。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析: instructing him find out… 為現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)，作目的狀語(yǔ)。And并列連接臺(tái)階數(shù)量和圍墻高度。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:at once表示“立刻，立即”。

6. The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them.

記者立即出發(fā)去核實(shí)這些重要的事實(shí)，但過(guò)了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間不見(jiàn)他把數(shù)字寄來(lái)。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析: to obtain these important facts為動(dòng)詞不定式短語(yǔ)，作目的狀語(yǔ)。But連接兩個(gè)并列句，表示轉(zhuǎn)折，說(shuō)明接下來(lái)的情況。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:注意區(qū)別以下重要的寫(xiě)作短語(yǔ):開(kāi)始做某事
（1） st out to do sth. 帶著某種特殊目的
（2） begin to do sth. 描述某種狀態(tài)的開(kāi)始，反義詞end
（3） start to do sth. 強(qiáng)調(diào)動(dòng)作，反義詞為stop

例句支持:

They set out to write a book on Chinese history. 他們開(kāi)始著手寫(xiě)一部關(guān)于中國(guó)歷史的書(shū)。

I begin to recover confidence. 我開(kāi)始漸漸恢復(fù)了信心。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)3:sb. take + 時(shí)間 + to do sth.=it takes sb.+ 時(shí)間 + to do sth.，意思是“某人花費(fèi)多少時(shí)間做某事”。

例句支持:

I took five hours to do my home work.(=It took me five hours to do my homework.) 我花了5個(gè)小時(shí)做家庭作業(yè)。