# 第三册 Lesson 5 The facts 确切数字

## 一、课文原文

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 refused 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 to 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 he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| editor | /ˈedɪtə/ | n. | 编辑 | edit v. 编辑 |
| extreme | /ɪkˈstriːm/ | n./adj. | 极端；极端的 | go to ~s 走极端 |
| instruct | /ɪnˈstrʌkt/ | v. | 指示，吩咐 | ~ sb. to do sth. 指示某人做某事 |
| journalist | /ˈdʒɜːnəlɪst/ | n. | 新闻记者 | journal 期刊；journalism 新闻业 |
| publish | /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ | v. | 出版，发表 | ~ing house 出版社 |
| fax | /fæks/ | n. | 传真 | send sb. a ~ 给某人发传真 |
| impatient | /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/ | adj. | 不耐烦的 | be ~ with sb. 对某人不耐烦 |
| press | /pres/ | n. | 新闻界，印刷 | go to ~ 付印 |
| reluctantly | /rɪˈlʌktəntlɪ/ | adv. | 勉强地 | reluctant adj. 不情愿的 |
| originally | /əˈrɪdʒɪnəlɪ/ | adv. | 原来，最初 | original adj. 原始的 |
| arrest | /əˈrest/ | v. | 逮捕 | ~ sb. for sth. 因某事逮捕某人 |
| prison | /ˈprɪzən/ | n. | 监狱 | be sent to ~ 被送进监狱 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 同位语从句（本课核心语法）

*the editor at once sent the journalist a fax **instructing him to find out the exact number of steps***

课文标题"The facts"即暗示本课核心语法——同位语/说明性从句。

| 概念 | 结构 | 功能 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|------|
| 同位语从句 | noun + that + clause | 解释名词内容 | The fact that he survived is amazing. |
| 定语从句 | noun + that/which + clause | 修饰名词 | The fact that he told us is true. |

**区分关键**：同位语从句中that不充当句子成分，只起连接作用；定语从句中that/which必须充当主语或宾语。

### 2. Not only... but... as well 倒装句

***Not only had** the poor man been arrested, **but** he had been sent to prison **as well**.*

not only置于句首时，其后的分句需部分倒装（助动词提前）。

| 正常语序 | 倒装语序 |
|----------|----------|
| He had not only been arrested but sent to prison as well. | Not only had he been arrested but sent to prison as well. |

### 3. 过去完成时的运用

*a journalist **had been instructed*** — 发生在"写文章"之前
*he **had been arrested*** — 发生在"收到传真"之前

过去完成时表示"过去的过去"，常与by the time, before, after等连用。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. "go to extremes to provide..."
- **句型**：go to extremes to do 走极端去做某事
- **仿写**：She went to extremes to prove her point.

### 2. "instructing him to find out..."
- **句型**：现在分词短语作伴随状语，表示传真的内容
- **仿写**：He sent me a letter asking me to attend the meeting.

### 3. "Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well."
- **句型**：Not only... but... as well 不但...而且...（倒装）
- **仿写**：Not only did she finish the report, but she also submitted it early.

### 4. "he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps"
- **句型**：while + 现在分词，省略主语和be动词（= while he was counting）
- **仿写**：He fell asleep while reading the book.

## 五、课文翻译

报刊杂志的编辑常常为了向读者提供无关紧要的事实和统计数字而走向极端。去年，一位记者受一家知名杂志委托写一篇关于某个新成立的非洲共和国总统府的文章。稿子寄来后，编辑看了第一句话就拒绝发表。文章开头是："几百级台阶通向总统府周围的高墙。"编辑立刻给记者发了一份传真，指示他查明台阶的确切数字和围墙的高度。

记者立即出发去获取这些重要事实，但过了好长时间才把数字寄来。与此同时，编辑等得不耐烦了，因为杂志马上要付印了。他又给记者发了两份传真，但没收到回音。他又发了一份传真通知记者，如果再不回信就被解雇。当记者再次没有回信时，编辑勉强按原稿发表了文章。一周后，编辑终于收到了记者的传真。这个可怜的人不仅被逮捕了，而且被送进了监狱。不过，他终于被允许发一份传真，在传真中他告诉编辑，他在数通往总统府围墙的1,084级台阶时被逮捕了。围墙高15英尺。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **讽刺叙事**：编辑执着于"确切数字"，记者为此竟被逮捕——极端追求事实的荒诞结果
2. **悬念与反转**：记者久不回信 → 被解雇威胁 → 仍无回音 → 原来被关进了监狱
3. **首尾呼应**：开头"go to extremes"，结尾的1,084级台阶精确到个位，讽刺编辑对数字的偏执

### 文化背景
1. **新闻业的精确性**：西方新闻学强调事实准确（fact-checking），但过度追求可能适得其反
2. **非洲政治环境**：课文暗示某些非洲国家政权对新闻自由的限制
3. **传真通信**：在互联网时代之前，传真（fax）是新闻机构的主要通信方式

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **同位语从句**与定语从句的辨析
2. **Not only... but... as well** 倒装句型
3. **过去完成时**的时间关系表达
4. **go to extremes** 等固定搭配

## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 要点 |
|------|------|
| 核心主题 | 编辑对确切数字的偏执追求及荒诞后果 |
| 重点语法 | 同位语从句、Not only倒装、过去完成时 |
| 核心词汇 | extreme, instruct, impatient, reluctantly, arrest |
| 写作特色 | 讽刺叙事、悬念反转、首尾呼应 |
| 难点 | 同位语从句与定语从句的区分 |