# Lesson 91 Three men in a basket 三人同篮

## 一、课文原文

A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby. He informed the station at once, but no one there was able to explain the mystery. The officer in the control tower was very angry when he heard the news, because balloons can be a great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might be spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle the balloon for some time. He could make out three men in a basket under it and one of them was holding a pair of binoculars. When the balloon was over the station, the pilot saw one of the men taking photographs. Soon afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it landed near an airfield. The police were called in, but they could not arrest anyone, for the basket contained two Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of the station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one half of the station did not know what the other half was doing!

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## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| **balloon** | /bəˈluːn/ | n. | 气球 | hot-air balloon 热气球 |
| **royal** | /ˈrɔɪəl/ | adj. | 皇家的 | the Royal Family 皇室；Royal Air Force 皇家空军 |
| **spy** | /spaɪ/ | v. | 侦察，暗中监视 | spy on sb. 暗中监视某人；也可作名词"间谍" |
| **track** | /træk/ | n. | 轨迹，踪迹 | keep track of 跟踪，保持联系；track and field 田径 |
| **binoculars** | /bɪˈnɒkjələz/ | n. | 双筒望远镜 | 只用复数形式；a pair of binoculars 一副望远镜 |
| **descend** | /dɪˈsend/ | v. | 下降 | 反义词 ascend 上升；descend from 从……下来 |
| **airfield** | /ˈeəfiːld/ | n. | 飞机场 | 同义词 airport；更侧重军事用语 |
| **arrest** | /əˈrest/ | v. | 逮捕 | arrest sb. for sth. 因某事逮捕某人；under arrest 被捕 |
| **parliament** | /ˈpɑːləmənt/ | n. | 议会，国会 | Member of Parliament (MP) 国会议员 |

### 词汇拓展

**1. spy 的用法**
- v. 侦察，暗中监视：spy on sb. 暗中监视某人
- v. 突然发现：spy sb. doing sth. 发现某人在做某事
- n. 间谍：a spy novel 间谍小说

**2. descend 的词族**
- descend v. 下降 → descent n. 下降，血统 → descendant n. 后裔
- 反义词：ascend v. 上升 → ascent n. 上升

**3. track 的常用搭配**
- keep track of 跟踪，保持对……的了解
- lose track of 失去对……的了解，失去联系
- on the right/wrong track 思路正确/错误
- track down 追踪到，找到

**4. arrest 的搭配**
- arrest sb. 逮捕某人
- be arrested for... 因……被逮捕
- put/place sb. under arrest 将某人逮捕
- under house arrest 软禁

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## 三、语法知识点

### 1. can 与 be able to 的区别（本课核心）

本课同时出现了 can 和 be able to，需要辨析二者差异：

| 对比项 | can | be able to |
|--------|-----|------------|
| 时态 | 只有现在时和过去时(could) | 可用于各种时态 |
| 能力 | 表示一般能力 | 表示具体场合的能力 |
| 过去时 | could 表示"过去的能力" | was/were able to 表示"过去成功做到了" |
| 否定式 | can't / cannot | am/is/are not able to |

**关键区别——过去时的用法**：

| 例句 | 含义 | 说明 |
|------|------|------|
| He could swim. | 他（过去）会游泳。 | 表示过去的一般能力 |
| He was able to swim across the river. | 他成功游过了河。 | 表示过去某次成功做到了 |
| No one could explain the mystery. | 没人能解释这个谜。 | 表示过去的一般能力（否定） |
| The pilot managed to circle the balloon. | 飞行员设法绕着气球飞了。 | managed to = was able to（成功做到） |

**重要规则**：
- could + 动词 → 表示过去的一般能力
- was/were able to + 动词 → 表示过去某次成功完成的事
- managed to + 动词 → 等同于 was able to
- **否定时**：could not = was not able to（两者可互换）

### 2. seem to be doing

> A balloon which **seemed to be making for** a Royal Air Force Station.

结构：seem to be + 现在分词，表示"似乎正在做某事"

| 结构 | 含义 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| seem to do | 似乎做某事 | He seems to know the answer. |
| seem to be doing | 似乎正在做 | She seems to be crying. |
| seem to have done | 似乎已经做了 | They seem to have left. |

### 3. see sb. doing

> The pilot **saw one of the men taking photographs**.

结构：see + 宾语 + 现在分词（作宾补），表示"看到某人正在做某事"

| 结构 | 含义 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| see sb. do | 看到某人做了（全过程） | I saw him cross the road. |
| see sb. doing | 看到某人正在做 | I saw him crossing the road. |

### 4. make for, make out 等含make的短语

| 短语 | 含义 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| make for | 走向，向……前进 | The balloon seemed to be making for the station. |
| make out | 看清，辨认出 | He could make out three men. |
| make up | 编造，组成 | She made up a story. |
| make off | 逃跑 | The thief made off with the money. |
| make up for | 弥补 | Hard work can make up for lack of talent. |

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## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. which seemed to be making for...

> A balloon **which seemed to be making for** a Royal Air Force Station nearby.

定语从句修饰balloon，seemed to be making for 表示"似乎正在飞向"，用进行时不定式表示当时正在进行的动作。

### 2. keep track of

> the pilot was ordered to **keep track of** the strange object

keep track of 意为"跟踪，保持对……的了解"

- keep track of expenses 记录开支
- keep track of developments 关注事态发展
- lose track of time 忘了时间

### 3. for 引导的原因从句

> they could not arrest anyone, **for** the basket contained two Members of Parliament

for 是并列连词，补充说明原因，语气最弱，不用于句首。

### 4. one half... the other half...

> one half of the station did not know what the other half was doing!

这是幽默表达，意为"基地的这半边不知道那半边在干什么"，暗示组织内部缺乏沟通。

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## 五、课文翻译

一个飞行员发现了一只气球，它像是正飞往附近的一个皇家空军基地。他马上把情况报告了该基地，但那里的人没有一个能解释这到底是怎么回事。控制塔上的官员得知这一消息后，非常气愤，因为气球有可能给飞机造成极大的危险。他说可能有人正对基地进行侦察，因此命令那个飞行员跟踪那个奇怪的飞行物。飞行员设法绕着气球飞了一阵。他看清了气球下面有3个人呆在一只筐里，其中一个举着望远镜。当气球飞临基地上空时，飞行员看见有一个人在拍照。不久，气球开始降落，在一个停机坪附近着了陆。警察被召来了，但他们却不能逮捕任何人，因为筐里是两名国会议员和一名基地的指挥官！正如指挥官后来解释的那样，基地的这半边不知道那半边正在干什么！

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## 六、语言点精讲

**1. seemed to be making for**

seem to be doing 结构，表示"似乎正在做某事"。making for 意为"朝……方向移动"。整句表示气球看起来正朝空军基地飞去。

**2. no one there was able to**

was able to 在此表示"能够"，与could意思相近，但在否定句中两者可以互换。no one was able to = no one could。

**3. might be spying on**

might + be doing 表示对正在进行的动作的推测，语气比may更不确定。spy on 意为"暗中监视"。

**4. managed to circle**

managed to do = succeeded in doing，表示"设法成功做了某事"。这里强调飞行员成功绕着气球飞了。

**5. could make out**

make out 意为"看清，辨认出"，could make out 表示"能够辨认出"。

**6. were called in**

call in 意为"召来，请来"，此处为被动语态"被叫来"。

**7. As the Commanding Officer explained later**

as 引导方式状语从句，意为"正如……一样"。

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## 七、课后练习要点

### 1. 词汇练习
- 用spy, track, descend, arrest, binoculars造句
- 写出含make的5个短语动词并各造一句

### 2. 语法练习
- can 与 be able to 的选择填空
- could 与 was able to 的区别练习（过去能力 vs. 过去成功做到）
- seem to be doing 结构转换

### 3. 句型练习
- 用keep track of造句
- 用for引导原因从句改写because句子

### 4. 写作练习
- 用第三人称复述课文故事（100词左右），注意使用was able to / managed to / could

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## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 内容 |
|------|------|
| **核心语法** | can 与 be able to 的辨析、seem to be doing、see sb. doing |
| **重点词汇** | 9个（balloon, royal, spy, track, binoculars, descend, airfield, arrest, parliament） |
| **重点短语** | make for, make out, keep track of, call in, spy on, soon afterwards |
| **学习难点** | could 与 was able to 在过去时中的区别、manage to 的用法 |
| **幽默点** | 结尾的one half... the other half... 暗示组织混乱 |

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*本课通过一个气球误入空军基地的幽默故事，复习了can与be able to的用法区别，特别强调过去时态中二者的差异。*