# 第三册 Lesson 36 A chance in a million 百万分之一的机遇

## 一、课文原文

We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences — most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers would find such naive solutions totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.

When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Bussman was fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man's name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive. After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| credulous | /ˈkredjʊləs/ | adj. | 轻信的 | less credulous 不那么轻信 |
| improbable | /ɪmˈprɒbəbl/ | adj. | 不大可能的 | wildly improbable 极不可能的 |
| obscure | /əbˈskjʊə/ | adj. | 不起眼的，默默无闻的 | an obscure maidservant 不起眼的女仆 |
| presume | /prɪˈzjuːm/ | v. | 假定，推测 | presumed dead 被认为已死 |
| wickedly | /ˈwɪkɪdli/ | adv. | 邪恶地 | wickedly plotting 邪恶地策划 |
| conspire | /kənˈspaɪə/ | v. | 共同促成（巧合） | circumstances conspire 环境巧合促成 |
| incredible | /ɪnˈkredɪbl/ | adj. | 难以置信的 | 区别于incredulous（不轻信的） |
| resemblance | /rɪˈzembləns/ | n. | 相似 | close resemblance 长得很像 |
| scorn | /skɔːn/ | n. | 嘲笑，蔑视 | pour scorn on 嘲笑，不屑一顾 |
| acquainted | /əˈkweɪntɪd/ | adj. | 了解的，熟悉的 | be acquainted with 了解 |
| reunite | /ˌriːjuːˈnaɪt/ | v. | 重聚 | be reunited 重新团聚 |
| assume | /əˈsjuːm/ | v. | 假定，设想 | assuming that 假定 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. would 表示过去习惯性动作

> A novelist **would bring** his story to a conclusion...
> Modern readers **would find** such naive solutions totally unacceptable.

| 用法 | 例句 | 含义 |
|------|------|------|
| would + 动词原形 | He would sit there for hours. | 过去的习惯 |
| would + 动词原形 | You would think so. | 推测/假设 |

### 2. 动名词完成被动式

> After **having been wounded** towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital.

having been + 过去分词，表示在主句动作之前完成的被动动作。

### 3. 分词结构作状语

> **Assuming that** his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village...

现在分词assuming引导条件/原因状语，意为"假设"。

### 4. find + 宾语 + 宾补

> Modern readers would **find such naive solutions totally unacceptable**.

find后接复合宾语（宾语+形容词作宾补），表示"觉得……怎样"。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. bring sth. to a conclusion 使某事告一段落
> A novelist would **bring his story to a conclusion** by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences.

### 2. pour scorn on 嘲笑，对……嗤之以鼻
> Franz **poured scorn on** the idea.

= ridicule; scoff at; dismiss with contempt

### 3. a chance in a million 百万分之一的可能
> She thought that there was **a chance in a million** that she might be right.

形容极小的可能性，相当于one in a million。

### 4. 长难句分析
> Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.

主干：circumstances conspire to bring about coincidences；which引导定语从句修饰coincidences；but在此意为"除了"（= except）。

## 五、课文翻译

我们不再像过去那样轻信了。在十九世纪，小说家常常通过给读者呈现一系列巧合来结束故事——其中大多数是极不可能的。读者们欣然接受这样的事实：一个默默无闻的女仆其实是主人公的母亲。一个被认为已经死去的失散多年的兄弟其实一直活着，而且在邪恶地策划使主人公身败名裂。如此等等。现代读者会觉得这样天真的结局是完全不能接受的。然而在现实生活中，环境有时确实会共同促成一些巧合，这些巧合除了十九世纪的小说家，任何人都会觉得难以置信。

当我还是个孩子的时候，我祖父告诉我一个德国出租车司机弗朗茨·巴斯曼是如何找到他那个被认为已在二十年前阵亡的兄弟的。弗朗茨和妻子徒步旅行时，停下来和一个工人说话。他们继续赶路后，巴斯曼夫人评论说那个工人和她丈夫长得非常像，甚至暗示他可能就是弗朗茨的兄弟。弗朗茨对这种想法嗤之以鼻，指出他的兄弟在战争中已经阵亡了。虽然巴斯曼夫人对这个故事非常了解，但她认为还有百万分之一的可能她是对的。几天后，她派了一个男孩去问那个工人是否叫汉斯·巴斯曼。不用说，那人就叫汉斯·巴斯曼，他确实是弗朗茨失散多年的兄弟。兄弟团聚后，汉斯解释了他怎么还活着的。在战争快结束时受了伤后，他被送进了医院，与部队失去了联系。医院被炸了，汉斯步行回到了西德。与此同时，他的部队失踪了，他的所有档案都被毁掉了。汉斯回到了家，但房子已经被炸毁，附近没有人知道原来的居民怎么样了。汉斯以为家人在空袭中遇难了，便在五十英里外的一个村庄安了家，从那以后一直住在那里。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **对比论证**：十九世纪小说家的巧合vs现实中的真实巧合，形成反差
2. **层层递进**：从一般论述→具体故事→细节解释
3. **戏剧性叙事**：巴斯曼夫人的直觉最终被证实

### 文化背景
- 十九世纪小说（如狄更斯的作品）中常见巧合情节
- 二战后期德国遭受大规模轰炸，许多家庭因此失散
- "a chance in a million"是英语中表达极小可能性的固定搭配

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **would的用法**：表示过去习惯和假设推测
2. **分词结构**：having been done 和 assuming that
3. **词汇辨析**：credible vs. credulous; incredible vs. incredulous
4. **写作练习**：讲述一个巧合事件，运用对比论证

## 八、本课小结

本课通过巴斯曼兄弟重逢的真实故事说明现实中确实存在难以置信的巧合。语法重点是would表示过去习惯、动名词完成被动式和find+宾语+宾补结构。词汇方面掌握credulous、conspire、resemblance、pour scorn on等核心表达。写作上学习对比论证和戏剧性叙事。