# 第三册 Lesson 39 Nothing to worry about 不必担心

## 一、课文原文

The rough road across the plain soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from. Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed. Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away. It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.

As we bumped over the dusty track, we swerved to avoid large boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine. Because of this, we kept looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail of oil and petrol behind us.

What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared, giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes. But there was worse to come. Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure. In response to renewed pleadings, Bruce stopped. Though we all got out to examine the fissure, he remained in the car. We informed him that the fissure extended for fifty yards and was two feet wide and four feet deep. Even this had no effect. Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. Before we had time to worry about what might happen, we were back on the plain again. Bruce consulted the map once more and told us that the village was now only fifteen miles away. Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across. Bruce charged at it, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding halt. A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine!

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| boulder | /ˈbəʊldə/ | n. | 大石头，巨砾 | littered with boulders 散落着大石头 |
| pit | /pɪt/ | v. | 使坑坑洼洼 | pitted with holes 坑坑洼洼 |
| perturb | /pəˈtɜːb/ | v. | 使不安 | not in the least perturbed 一点也不担心 |
| swerve | /swɜːv/ | v. | 突然转向 | swerve to avoid 突然转向避开 |
| scoop | /skuːp/ | v. | 舀起，铲起 | scooped up stones 铲起了石头 |
| ominously | /ˈɒmɪnəsli/ | adv. | 不祥地 | hammered ominously 不祥地敲击 |
| rip | /rɪp/ | v. | 撕裂 | rip a hole 撕裂一个洞 |
| fissure | /ˈfɪʃə/ | n. | 裂缝，裂隙 | a huge fissure 一条大裂缝 |
| pleading | /ˈpliːdɪŋ/ | n. | 恳求 | in response to renewed pleadings 响应再次恳求 |
| astride | /əˈstraɪd/ | prep. | 跨在……上 | keeping wheels astride the crack 车轮跨在裂缝两边 |
| zigzag | /ˈzɪɡzæɡ/ | adj./n. | 之字形的；之字形 | zigzag course 之字形路线 |
| charge | /tʃɑːdʒ/ | v. | 冲向 | charge at 向……冲去 |
| grind | /ɡraɪnd/ | v. | 磨，嘎嚓作响 | grinding halt 嘎然而止 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. so...that... 结果状语从句

> The road soon became **so** bad **that** we tried to get Bruce to drive back.

so + adj./adv. + that 表示"如此……以至于"。

### 2. no matter what 让步状语从句

> **No matter what** the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.

| 结构 | 含义 |
|------|------|
| no matter what = whatever | 无论什么 |
| no matter how = however | 无论怎样 |
| no matter where = wherever | 无论哪里 |

### 3. It was not that... He simply... 不是……而是……

> **It was not that** Bruce always underestimated difficulties. **He simply** had no sense of danger at all.

用于纠正误解，先否定一个观点，再提出真正的解释。

### 4. 感叹句

> **What a relief it was** when the boulders suddenly disappeared!

What + a/an + n. + S + V! 感叹句结构。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. not in the least 一点也不
> Bruce was **not in the least** perturbed.

= not at all; 完全不

### 2. give way to 让位于，被……取代
> The boulders suddenly disappeared, **giving way to** a stretch of plain.

### 3. come to a grinding halt 嘎然而止
> The car **came to a grinding halt**.

grinding强调停顿的突然性和摩擦声。

### 4. 长难句分析
> Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course.

keeping...为现在分词作伴随状语；as引导时间状语从句；astride the crack表示车轮横跨裂缝两侧。

## 五、课文翻译

穿越平原的崎岖道路很快就变得非常糟糕，我们试图让布鲁斯把车开回我们出发的村子。尽管路上散落着大石头，坑坑洼洼，布鲁斯却一点也不担心。他瞥了一眼地图，告诉我们下一个村庄只有二十英里远。并不是布鲁斯总是低估困难，他根本没有危险意识。无论路况如何，他都认为应该尽可能快地开车。

当我们在尘土飞扬的小路上颠簸前行时，我们突然转向以避开大石头。车轮铲起的石子不祥地在车底下敲击着。我们确信迟早会有一颗石子把油箱撞出一个洞或损坏发动机。因此我们不断回头看，想知道身后是否留下了一路油迹。

大石头突然消失了，取而代之的是一片平原，那里唯一的障碍是一簇簇灌木丛，这是多么令人欣慰啊！但更糟糕的还在后面。就在我们前方有一条巨大的裂缝。在我们的再三恳求下，布鲁斯停了车。虽然我们都下车去查看裂缝，他却留在车里。我们告诉他裂缝延伸了五十码，两英尺宽，四英尺深。即使这样也无济于事。布鲁斯换入低档，以惊人的速度开过去，前轮跨在裂缝两侧沿着之字形路线行驶。我们还没来得及担心会发生什么事，就又回到了平原上。布鲁斯又看了一下地图，告诉我们村子现在只有十五英里远了。我们的下一个障碍是一个大约半英里宽的浅水塘。布鲁斯向水塘冲去，但到了中间，车嘎然而止。仪表盘上一盏黄灯愤怒地闪烁着，布鲁斯兴高采烈地宣布发动机里没有油了！

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **悬念递进**：从石子路→裂缝→水塘，困难逐步升级
2. **人物刻画**：通过行为描写（换低档冲裂缝、向水塘冲去）塑造布鲁斯无畏但鲁莽的性格
3. **幽默结尾**：布鲁斯的兴高采烈与困境形成强烈反差

### 文化背景
- 澳大利亚内陆道路条件恶劣，是典型的越野驾驶场景
- "grinding halt"原为机械术语，后引申为突然停止
- dashboard（仪表盘）上不同颜色的警示灯有不同含义

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **让步状语从句**：no matter what/ how 的用法
2. **结果状语从句**：so...that... 结构
3. **词汇搭配**：not in the least, give way to, come to a halt
4. **写作练习**：描述一次惊险的旅行经历，运用悬念递进的手法

## 八、本课小结

本课讲述了与无所畏惧的布鲁斯一起穿越崎岖道路的惊险旅程。语法重点是so...that结果状语从句、no matter what让步状语从句和感叹句。词汇方面掌握perturb、swerve、fissure、charge at等核心词。写作上学习悬念递进和通过行为刻画人物。