Lesson 54 Sticky fingers 粘糊的手指

1. 原文

After breakfast, I sent the children to school and then I went to the shops. It was still early when I returned home. The children were at school, my husband was at work and the house was quiet. So I decided to make some meat pies. In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry. At exactly that moment, the telephone rang. Nothing could have been more annoying. I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Helen Bates. It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later. At last I hung up the receiver. What a mess! There was pastry on my fingers, on the telephone, and on the doorknobs. I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead. This time it was the postman and he wanted me to sign for a registered letter!

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at exactly that moment，恰恰在此时

• exactly /ɪɡˈzæktli/ adv. 精确地，确切地；（用于强调）恰好，完全；（要求得到更多信息）究竟，到底；<非正式>正是如此，一点不错

What a mess！真是糟糕透了，真狼狈。

2. 参考译文

早饭后，我送孩子们上学，然后就去了商店。我回到家时，时间还早。孩子们在上学，我丈夫在上班，家里清静得很。于是我决定做些肉馅饼。不一会儿我就忙着调拌起了黄油和面粉，很快我的手上就沾满了粘粘的面糊。恰恰在此时，电话铃响了。没有什么能比这更烦人了。我用两个沾满面糊的手指捏起了话筒。当我听出是海伦·贝茨的声音时，非常丧气。我用了10分钟的时间才说服她过会儿再来电话。我终于挂上了话筒。真是糟糕透了！我的手指上、电话机上以及门的把手上，都沾上了面糊。我刚回到厨房，门铃又响了起来，响声足以把死人唤醒。这次是邮递员，他要我签收一封挂号信！

3. New words and expressions

★sticky adj. 粘的

• as sticky as glue

★finger n. 手指

• toe n. 脚趾
• thumb 大拇指；
• index f inger 食指；
• middle finger 中指；
• ring finger 无名指；
• little finger 小指

★mix

• ① vt. 使混和拌和mixture n. 混合物
  You can mix some salt into the flour.
• ② vi. 交往，相处
  I’m not going to mix with those people.

★annoying adj. 恼人的

• annoyed adj. 感到烦恼的(比anger的语气弱)

★dismay v. 失望, 泄气dismay sb.让某人感到失望

• dismaying adj. 令人失望；
• dismayed adj. 感到失望

★recognize

• ① vt. 辨出，认出，认识
• ② vt. 承认，确认，认可
  He recognized Dan as one of his best friends.

★persuade v. 说服, 劝说 表示劝说已经成功

• try to persuade 劝说
• reason with sb. 劝说，并不能说明是否劝说成功

★mess n. 乱七八糟

• 口语中a mess用来指“困境，窘境，一团糟”等含义
• What a mess! 真是糟糕透了！
• You are a mess!你真邋遢
• make a mess of sth. 把……搅得乱七八糟

★sign v. 签字signature n. 签名

• sign your name(s) here 在这签名 (许多人加 “s” )
• sign for 签收
• autograph 明星,名人的签名 (n. 亲笔签名；v. 签署)

★register v. 挂号邮寄

• a registered letter 挂号信

★enough n.& adj.& adv. 足够

• ① n. 足够I have/had had enough.
• ② adj. 足够的enough +n. / n. +enough 修饰名词
• ③ adv. 足以……修饰adj.或者adv.时放在被修饰词的后面enough to do sth. 足以用来做某事

4. 课文讲解

1、The children were at school, my husband was at work and the house was quiet.

• at school 在上学；at work 在上班；at home 在家休息school和work前都不加冠词，因为不是指具体那个学校或具体干什么工作，只是泛指他们在干什么。home为副词，所以也不加冠词。

2、In a short time I was busy mixing butter and flour and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry.

• be busy doing sth. 忙于做某事
• flour面粉, 不可数名词,发音于 “flower 相同, 但 “flower” 是可数名词, 一般会用复数 “flowers”
• be covered with… 盖满……

3、At exactly that moment, the telephone rang.

• at exactly that moment 就在那时，恰恰在此时
• exactly用于加强语气，表示“正、恰恰”：

4、Nothing could have been more annoying.

• No one could be/have been… 没有人……
• No one could be /have been fatter. 没有人更胖了
• Nothing could have been… 没有……更……
• Nothing could have been more exciting. No face could be uglier. 没有一张脸更丑了
• No books could be more interesting.

5、I picked up the receiver between two sticky fingers and was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Helen Bates.

• pick up the receiver 捡起话筒

6、It took me ten minutes to persuade her to ring back later.

• persuade sb. to do sth. 说服某人做某事
• persuade sb. into doing sth. 说服某人做……
• I persuaded him into giving up that plan.
• It takes sb. some time to do sth. ring back 回电话；再打电话

7、At last I hung up the receiver.

• hang up 挂起
• hang up the receiver 挂断电话

8、I had no sooner got back to the kitchen than the doorbell rang loud enough to wake the dead.

• no sooner…than… = hardly…when… 刚……就……(用于过去完成时)

5. Composition

2 Two hours had passed.I smelled something burning.(When) Two hours had passed when I smelled something burning.…(time)passed, and then…；…(time)passed, before…一般不会把 “when” 放在 “…(time)passed…” 之前, 这是习惯

6. Letter writing

在信的第一段里, 你应该提及你已经收到的一封信或促使你回信的某一事件
pleased to do sth. 非常高兴的/Thank you for +n.

7. Key structures

The, Some and Any

1、some和any可用于不可数名词及复数可数名词之前，some通常用于肯定句，any通常用于否定句或疑问句中。但在期待得到肯定答复的疑问句中也可以用some，而在肯定句中表示“随便哪个，任何一个”的含义时也可以用any。

• These are the only meat pies I have. Do you want some of them? Yes, please. Any meat pies will do.

2、有些形容词可以用于the之后(决不能用于a/an之后)，表示作为整体的群体，如the blind，the deaf，the living，the dead，the rich，the poor，the young，the old。这些形容词后要跟复数动词，不可用这些形容词本身来指个体:This is a special school for the deaf. 如果想指单数个体，则可以说：

• Sam is a young man with a lot of money.

3、当下列名词指其“主要目的”，即与其相关的动作时，要用零冠词(即名词前没有冠词)。这类名词有bed，church，class，college，hospital，market，prison，school，sea，university，work。
但在特指的东西面前要用the，泛指同类事物中的任何一个时则用a。

4、在形容词/副词的最高级前面要用the，但当most表示“大多数”时它前面则不加the。

• the most 最 most of the… 大部分的……