# 第三册 Lesson 33 A day to remember 难忘的一天

## 一、课文原文

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. What invariably happens is that a great number of things choose to go wrong at precisely the same moment. It is as if a single unimportant event set up a chain of reactions. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this marks the prelude to an unforeseen series of catastrophes. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, smashing half your best crockery and cutting himself in the process. You hang up hurriedly and attend to baby, crockery, etc. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to reduce you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

Things can go wrong on a big scale, as a number of people recently discovered in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney. During the rush hour one evening two cars collided and both drivers began to argue. The woman immediately behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly got into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her brake hard. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the windscreen and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden. The lorry was loaded with empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the vehicle and on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the lorry driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two stray dogs benefited from all this confusion, for they greedily devoured what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| prelude | /ˈpreljuːd/ | n. | 前奏，序幕 | marks the prelude to 标志着……的前奏 |
| unforeseen | /ˌʌnfɔːˈsiːn/ | adj. | 未预见到的 | unforeseen circumstances 预料不到的情况 |
| catastrophe | /kəˈtæstrəfi/ | n. | 大祸，灾难 | 比disaster更正式，语气更重 |
| crockery | /ˈkrɒkəri/ | n. | 陶器，瓦器 | 指餐具中的盘子碗碟等 |
| reduce | /rɪˈdjuːs/ | v. | 使陷入（某种状态） | reduce sb. to tears 使某人流泪 |
| collide | /kəˈlaɪd/ | v. | 碰撞 | collide with 与……碰撞 |
| panic | /ˈpænɪk/ | n. | 恐慌 | get into a panic 陷入恐慌 |
| windscreen | /ˈwɪndskriːn/ | n. | 挡风玻璃 | 美式英语为windshield |
| draw up | /drɔː ʌp/ | phr.v. | 驶近，停下 | 指车辆开到旁边停下 |
| pull up | /pʊl ʌp/ | phr.v. | 停车 | 突然停车 |
| devour | /dɪˈvaʊə/ | v. | 狼吞虎咽地吃 | devour food 贪婪地吃 |
| stray | /streɪ/ | adj. | 走失的，流浪的 | stray dogs 流浪狗 |
| pile up | /paɪl ʌp/ | phr.v. | 堆积，积压 | traffic piled up 交通堵塞 |
| slide | /slaɪd/ | v. | 滑落 | slide off 滑落 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 虚拟语气在as if/as though从句中

> It is as if a single unimportant event **set** up a chain of reactions.
> As if this **were** not enough to reduce you to tears...

as if引导的从句用虚拟语气（过去式），表示与事实相反的假设。

| 从句时态 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---------|------|------|
| 过去式 | 与现在事实相反 | As if he **knew** everything. |
| had + 过去分词 | 与过去事实相反 | As if nothing **had happened**. |

### 2. 现在分词作结果状语

> The baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, **smashing** half your best crockery and **cutting** himself in the process.

现在分词表示主句动作带来的自然结果。

### 3. It takes sb. + 时间 + to do sth.

> It **took** the police nearly an hour **to get** the traffic on the move again.

### 4. what引导的名词性从句

> They greedily devoured **what was left** of the cake.

what = the thing that，在从句中作主语。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. get out of control 失去控制
> Everything seems to **get out of control**.

反义：bring/get under control 控制住

### 2. keep an eye on 照看，留意
> You are preparing a meal and **keeping an eye on** the baby at the same time.

### 3. on a big/large scale 大规模地
> Things can go wrong **on a big scale**.

### 4. 长难句分析
> Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden.

Seeing...为现在分词短语作原因/时间状语；who was drawing up alongside the car为定语从句修饰driver；pulled up为主句谓语。

## 五、课文翻译

我们大家都有过事事不顺心的日子。一天开始时可能一切顺利，但突然间似乎一切都失去了控制。总是有许许多多事情偏偏在同一时刻出问题。就好像一件微不足道的小事引发了一连串连锁反应。假设你正在做饭，同时还要照看婴儿。电话铃响了，这就标志着一连串始料未及的灾难的前奏。你接电话时，婴儿把桌布从桌上扯了下来，打碎了一半最好的瓷器，还把自己划伤了。你匆忙挂断电话去照看婴儿、收拾瓷器等。与此同时，饭烧糊了。似乎这还不足以让你落泪，你丈夫到家了，出乎意料地带来了三位客人吃饭。

大规模的乱子也可能发生，正如一些人最近在悉尼郊区帕拉马塔所发现的那样。一天傍晚的高峰时段，两辆汽车相撞，两位司机开始争吵。紧跟在两辆车后面的一位女司机碰巧是个新手。她突然惊慌失措，停下了车。这使得跟在她后面的司机猛踩刹车。他妻子坐在他身旁，手里拿着一个大蛋糕。她被向前一甩，蛋糕径直穿过挡风玻璃落在了路上。一位卡车司机看到一块蛋糕在空中飞过，他正把车开到那辆汽车旁边，突然紧急停车。卡车上装满了空啤酒瓶，几百只瓶子从车后滑落到了路上。这又引发了另一场愤怒的争吵。与此同时，后面的车辆排成了长龙。警察花了将近一个小时才使交通恢复通行。在此期间，卡车司机不得不清扫几百只碎瓶子。只有两只流浪狗从这场混乱中受益，因为它们贪婪地吞食了蛋糕的残渣。这真是倒霉的一天！

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **从微观到宏观**：先从家庭小事入手，再扩展到大规模交通混乱
2. **连锁反应叙事**：一个事件引发另一个事件，环环相扣
3. **幽默笔调**：用轻松的语气描述倒霉事件，结尾两条流浪狗的"意外受益"增加幽默感

### 文化背景
- Parramatta是悉尼西部的行政区，交通繁忙
- "rush hour"指上下班高峰时段，英语国家交通拥堵的常见场景
- "It's just one of those days"是英语口语中表达"倒霉的一天"的地道说法

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **虚拟语气**：as if从句中虚拟语气的使用
2. **现在分词作状语**：表示结果和伴随状态
3. **词汇辨析**：collide vs. crash vs. bump；panic vs. alarm
4. **写作练习**：模仿连锁反应叙事方式，写一次"倒霉的一天"的经历

## 八、本课小结

本课通过家庭和交通两个场景展示了"祸不单行"的主题。语法重点是as if引导的虚拟语气和现在分词作状语。词汇方面掌握catastrophe、collide、devour等描写混乱场景的关键词。写作上学习连锁反应的叙事手法和从微观到宏观的展开方式。