# 第三册 Lesson 56 Our neighbour, the river 邻居——河流

## 一、课文原文

The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell the river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.

We have special river birthday parties in the summer. Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater, sometimes we have our party at the boathouse, which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving. In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all. We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.

After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks. This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes. We are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are affected by flooding, but other farms are less favourably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.

One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows. All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little. We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district. As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing. From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours, and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point. The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down. Next came a horse, swimming bravely, but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted. Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage. We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood, for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged. The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks, in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank. We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| boundary | /ˈbaʊndəri/ | n. | 边界 | eastern boundary 东部边界 |
| instinctively | /ɪnˈstɪŋktɪvli/ | adv. | 本能地 | know instinctively 本能地知道 |
| overtake | /ˌəʊvəˈteɪk/ | v. | 突然降临 | misfortune might overtake us 不幸可能降临 |
| backwater | /ˈbækwɔːtə/ | n. | 回水区，僻静水域 | a favourite backwater 喜爱的回水区 |
| predecessor | /ˈpriːdɪsesə/ | n. | 前任 | a predecessor of ours 我们的前任 |
| heat wave | /hiːt weɪv/ | n. | 热浪 | in a heat wave 在热浪中 |
| crown | /kraʊn/ | v. | 为……加冕 | crowning the youngest girl 给最小的女孩戴花冠 |
| wreath | /riːθ/ | n. | 花环 | a holly wreath 冬青花环 |
| overflow | /ˌəʊvəˈfləʊ/ | v. | 泛滥，溢出 | overflow its banks 漫过堤岸 |
| spell | /spel/ | v. | 意味着 | spell disaster 意味着灾难 |
| juncture | /ˈdʒʌŋktʃə/ | n. | 关头 | at the most critical juncture 在最危急的关头 |
| unduly | /ʌnˈdjuːli/ | adv. | 过度地 | unduly frightened 过度惊恐 |
| stoutly | /ˈstaʊtli/ | adv. | 坚固地 | stood stoutly 稳稳地矗立 |
| grapple | /ˈɡræpl/ | v. | 抓住 | grapple a corner 抓住一角 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 虚拟语气（与现在事实相反）

> Without it we **could not make** a living.
> Misfortune **might overtake** us if the important events of our lives **were not related** to it.

### 2. 现在分词作伴随状语

> ...**crowning** the youngest girl with flowers in the spring, **holding** a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, **giving** thanks for the harvest in the autumn, and **throwing** a holly wreath into the current in the winter.

四个现在分词并列，表示伴随welcome的动作。

### 3. whose引导的定语从句

> ...our nearest neighbours, **whose** farm was low lying and **who** were newcomers to the district.

### 4. even if 引导让步状语从句

> Their house...would have stood stoutly **even if** it had been almost submerged.

even if = even though，即使。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. play an important part 扮演重要角色
> The river has always **played an important part** in our lives.

### 2. make a living 谋生
> Without it we could not **make a living**.

### 3. take turns 轮流
> We **took turns in** watching that point.

### 4. 长难句分析
> Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.

looking和carrying为现在分词作伴随状语；"Noah's ark"（诺亚方舟）的比喻生动形象。

## 五、课文翻译

构成我们农场东边界的河流在我们的生活中一直扮演着重要的角色。没有它我们无法谋生。泉水只够供应家庭用水，所以我们必须从河里抽水供农场使用。我们把所有的秘密都告诉河流。我们本能地知道，就像养蜂人与蜜蜂的关系一样，如果我们生活中的重要事件不告诉它，不幸就可能降临到我们头上。

夏天我们会在河边举办特别的生日派对。有时我们到上游一处喜爱的回水区，有时在船屋举办，那是我们农场的前任在草地上靠近最深的水潭处建造的，用来游泳和跳水。在热浪来袭时，我们选择午夜生日派对，那是最令人兴奋的。我们在河边迎接四季：春天给最小的女孩戴上花冠，仲夏夜举办夏至节，秋天感恩收获，冬天把冬青花环投入水流中。

长时间的降雨后，河水可能漫过堤岸。这种情况很少发生，因为我们这里的气候很少走极端。我们很幸运，只有低地——只占我们农场很小一部分——受到洪水影响，但其他农场地势不利，洪水有时会给它们的主人带来灾难。

有一个糟糕的冬天，我们看着河水慢慢爬上低处的草地。所有的牛都已经被赶进牛棚，我们不会有什么损失。然而，我们担心最近的邻居，他们的农场地势低洼，而且是新搬来的。由于洪水使电话中断了，我们无法知道他们的情况。从阁楼的窗户我们可以一览无余地看到河流，那里他们的土地与我们的相连，在最危急的关头我们轮流看守那个地方。灾难的第一个迹象是一只死羊漂了下来。接着是一匹马，勇敢地游着，但我们担心水流的力量会使它在筋疲力尽之前无法上岸。突然一只木筏出现了，看起来很像诺亚方舟，上面载着全家人、几只母鸡、几条狗、一只猫和一只笼中的鸟。我们意识到他们一定是被不断上涨的洪水过度惊吓了，因为他们的房子地基坚固，即使几乎被淹没也能稳稳地矗立。我们家的男人们拿着船钩涉过被淹没的草地，希望能钩住木筏的一角，把它从水流中拉向我们的岸边。我们至今仍认为他们能够做到这一点是一个奇迹。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **拟人手法**：把河流当作邻居和朋友
2. **季节叙事**：通过四季活动展示人与河的关系
3. **紧张叙事**：洪水场景描写节奏紧凑

### 文化背景
- Midsummer Eve（仲夏夜）是北欧和英国的传统节日
- 冬青（holly）是英国冬季的传统装饰植物
- Noah's ark（诺亚方舟）出自《圣经》，象征避难所

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **虚拟语气**：without / if...were not
2. **定语从句**：whose引导的定语从句
3. **词汇搭配**：play a part, make a living, take turns
4. **写作练习**：描写你与自然环境中某个元素的关系

## 八、本课小结

本课以拟人手法讲述了河流在农场生活中的重要性和一次洪水救援。语法重点是虚拟语气、现在分词作伴随状语和whose定语从句。词汇方面掌握boundary、predecessor、overflow、juncture、grapple等核心词。写作上学习拟人手法和紧张叙事。