# Lesson 55 Not a gold mine 并非金矿

## 一、课文原文

Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where——it is said——pirates used to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure. The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground. Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless. The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.

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## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| **gold** | /ɡəʊld/ | n. | 金子 | gold mine 金矿 |
| **mine** | /maɪn/ | n. | 矿 | coal mine 煤矿 |
| **treasure** | /ˈtreʒə/ | n. | 财宝 | treasure hunt 寻宝 |
| **revealer** | /rɪˈviːlə/ | n. | 探测器 | reveal(v.揭露)+er |
| **invent** | /ɪnˈvent/ | v. | 发明 | inventor 发明家；invention 发明 |
| **detect** | /dɪˈtekt/ | v. | 探测 | detector 探测器 |
| **bury** | /ˈberi/ | v. | 埋藏 | be buried 被埋藏 |
| **cave** | /keɪv/ | n. | 山洞 | cave entrance 洞口 |
| **seashore** | /ˈsiːʃɔː/ | n. | 海岸 | sea + shore |
| **pirate** | /ˈpaɪərət/ | n. | 海盗 | piracy 海盗行为 |
| **arm** | /ɑːm/ | v. | 武装 | armed with 装备着 |
| **soil** | /sɔɪl/ | n. | 泥土 | 区别：earth, mud |
| **entrance** | /ˈentrəns/ | n. | 入口 | the entrance to 入口 |
| **worthless** | /ˈwɜːθləs/ | adj. | 毫无价值的 | worth + less（否定后缀） |
| **thoroughly** | /ˈθʌrəli/ | adv. | 彻底地 | thorough(adj.) + ly |
| **trunk** | /trʌŋk/ | n. | 行李箱 | 另义"树干" |
| **confident** | /ˈkɒnfɪdənt/ | adj. | 有信心的 | be confident that 对……有信心 |
| **value** | /ˈvæljuː/ | n. | 价值 | of value 有价值的 |

### 词汇拓展

**1. used to vs. be used to**

| 结构 | 含义 | 用法 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|---|
| used to do | 过去常常做 | 后接动词原形 | Pirates used to hide gold here. |
| be used to doing | 习惯于做 | 后接动名词 | I am used to getting up early. |
| be used to do | 被用来做 | 被动语态 | The machine is used to detect gold. |

**2. worth vs. worthless vs. valuable**

| 词 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| worth | 值…… | The coin is worth 10 dollars. |
| worthless | 毫无价值的 | The coin was almost worthless. |
| valuable | 有价值的 | a valuable discovery |

**3. fail to do sth.**
- 意为"未能做某事"
- 表示否定的含义
- The pirates would often bury gold and then fail to collect it.

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## 三、语法知识点

### 1. used to 和 would 表示过去的习惯

> Pirates **used to** hide gold.
> The pirates **would often** bury gold in the cave.

| 结构 | 用法 | 侧重点 |
|---|---|---|
| used to do | 过去常常 | 强调过去与现在的对比，现已不如此 |
| would do | 过去常常 | 强调过去重复的动作，常与often连用 |

### 2. 过去分词短语作状语

> **Armed with** the new machine, a search party went into the cave.

- Armed with... 是过去分词短语，作方式/伴随状语
- 相当于：Because the search party was armed with the new machine
- 逻辑主语与主句主语一致

### 3. 现在分词短语作状语

> ...a search party went into the cave, **hoping to find** buried treasure.

- hoping to find... 是现在分词短语，作目的状语
- 相当于：in order to find buried treasure

### 4. 插入语 it is said

> ...where——**it is said**——pirates used to hide gold.

- it is said = 据说
- 用破折号与正文隔开，作补充说明
- 类似表达：it is reported 据报道, it is believed 人们认为

### 5. 复合形容词作后置定语

> ...a hole **two feet deep**

- 数词 + 量词 + 形容词 修饰名词时放在名词后
- 也可写成：a two-foot-deep hole（前置定语，用连字符，量词用单数）

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## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. 固定搭配

| 短语 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| **come true** | 变成现实 | Dreams almost came true. |
| **armed with** | 装备着 | Armed with the new machine |
| **fail to do** | 未能做 | They failed to collect it. |
| **in spite of** | 尽管 | In spite of this, many people are confident. |
| **be confident that** | 对……有信心 | Many people are confident that... |
| **of value** | 有价值的 | something of value |

### 2. the entrance to

> the entrance **to** the cave

- 介词 to 表示"通往"
- 类似：the key to the door, the answer to the question

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## 五、课文翻译

寻找丢失宝藏的梦想最近差点变成了现实。一种叫"探宝器"的新机器已经被发明出来，人们用它来探测埋藏在地下的金子。这台机器被用在海岸附近的一个山洞里——据说，海盗们过去常在那里藏金子。海盗们常常把金子埋在山洞里，但后来却没有来取。带着这种新机器，一支寻宝队进入了山洞，希望能找到埋藏的财宝。队长正在检查洞口附近的泥土，这时机器显示地下有金子。寻宝队极为兴奋地挖了一个两英尺深的坑。他们最终只找到了一枚几乎毫无价值的小金币。寻宝队随后彻底搜查了整个山洞，但除了一只空的铁皮箱外什么也没找到。尽管如此，许多人仍然相信"探宝器"不久就能探测出有价值的东西。

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## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 标题 "Not a gold mine" 的含义
- 字面：不是金矿
- 讽刺：尽管使用了"探宝器"，找到的只是几乎不值钱的金币和空箱子
- 并非金矿——名不副实

### 2. "Very excited" 省略结构
> Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep.
- 完整形式：Being very excited
- 现在分词（省略being）作状语，表示原因

### 3. except vs. except for
- except：除外（同类事物）——Everyone came except Tom.
- except for：除外（不同类事物）——The cave was empty except for a trunk.

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## 七、课后练习要点

### 1. 语法练习
- used to / be used to / would 的区别
- 过去分词和现在分词作状语的区别

### 2. 词汇运用
- worth / worthless / valuable 辨析
- fail to do / in spite of 的用法

### 3. 写作练习
- 写一篇寻宝或探险的小故事

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## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 内容 |
|------|------|
| **核心语法** | used to/be used to区别、过去分词和现在分词作状语、插入语、复合形容词作后置定语 |
| **重点词汇** | 18个（gold, mine, treasure, revealer, invent, detect, bury, cave, seashore, pirate, arm, soil, entrance, worthless, thoroughly, trunk, confident, value） |
| **重点短语** | come true, armed with, fail to do, in spite of, be confident that, of value, the entrance to |
| **学习难点** | used to/be used to/would的区别、过去分词vs.现在分词作状语 |

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*本课核心是used to与be used to的区别，需重点区分"过去常常"和"习惯于"的不同结构。*