# Lesson 94 Future champions 未来的冠军

## 一、课文原文

Experiments have proved that children can be instructed in swimming at a very early age. At a special swimming pool in Los Angeles, children become expert at holding their breath under water even before they can walk. Babies of two months old do not appear to be reluctant to enter the water. It is not long before they are so accustomed to swimming that they can pick up weights from the floor of the pool. A game that is very popular with these young swimmers is the underwater tricycle race. Tricycles are lined up on the floor of the pool seven feet under water. The children compete against each other to reach the other end of the pool. Many pedal their tricycles, but most of them prefer to push or drag them. Some children can cover the whole length of the pool without coming up for breath even once. Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions, only time will tell. Meanwhile, they should encourage those among us who cannot swim five yards before they are gasping for air.

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## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| **instruct** | /ɪnˈstrʌkt/ | v. | 指导，传授 | instruct sb. in sth. 在某方面指导某人 |
| **Los Angeles** | /lɒsˈændʒələs/ | n. | 洛杉矶 | 美国加州城市名，常简写为LA |
| **reluctant** | /rɪˈlʌktənt/ | adj. | 勉强的，不愿意的 | be reluctant to do 不愿做某事 |
| **weight** | /weɪt/ | n. | 重物 | 也可指"体重"；put on weight 增重 |
| **underwater** | /ˌʌndəˈwɔːtə/ | adj. | 水下的 | underwater world 水下世界 |
| **tricycle** | /ˈtraɪsɪkəl/ | n. | 三轮车 | tri-前缀表示"三"；bicycle自行车 |
| **compete** | /kəmˈpiːt/ | v. | 比赛，对抗 | compete against/with 与……竞争 |
| **yard** | /jɑːd/ | n. | 码 | 1码≈0.914米；也可指"院子" |
| **gasp** | /ɡɑːsp/ | v. | 喘气 | gasp for air/breath 大口喘气 |

### 词汇拓展

**1. instruct 的词族**
- instruct v. 指导 → instruction n. 指导，说明 → instructor n. 教练，指导者 → instructive adj. 有教育意义的
- instruct sb. in sth. 在某方面指导某人
- instruct sb. to do sth. 指示某人做某事

**2. reluctant 的用法**
- be reluctant to do sth. 不愿做某事
- a reluctant smile 勉强的微笑
- reluctance n. 不情愿
- 反义词：willing 乐意的

**3. compete 的词族**
- compete v. 竞争 → competition n. 竞赛 → competitive adj. 有竞争力的 → competitor n. 竞争者
- compete against/with sb. for sth. 为某物与某人竞争
- compete in a race 参加比赛

**4. weight 的搭配**
- put on weight 增加体重
- lose weight 减肥
- by weight 按重量
- a weight of ... ……的重量

**5. gasp 的用法**
- gasp for air/breath 大口喘气
- gasp in surprise 惊讶地倒吸一口气
- gasp out 喘着气说出
- at one's last gasp 奄奄一息

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## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 介词复习（本课核心）

本课出现了大量介词搭配，是介词的综合复习课：

| 介词 | 搭配 | 课文例句 | 含义 |
|------|------|----------|------|
| **in** | be instructed in | children can be instructed in swimming | 在……方面 |
| **in** | in swimming | in swimming at a very early age | 在……领域 |
| **at** | at a very early age | at a very early age | 在……年龄 |
| **at** | at holding | become expert at holding | 在……方面擅长 |
| **under** | under water | under water | 在……下面 |
| **before** | before they can walk | even before they can walk | 在……之前 |
| **to** | be reluctant to | reluctant to enter | 不愿意 |
| **to** | accustomed to | accustomed to swimming | 习惯于 |
| **from** | from the floor | pick up weights from the floor | 从…… |
| **with** | popular with | very popular with these young swimmers | 受……欢迎 |
| **on** | on the floor | on the floor of the pool | 在……上面 |
| **against** | compete against | compete against each other | 与……对抗 |
| **for** | gasping for | gasping for air | 为了…… |
| **among** | among us | those among us | 在……之中 |

### 2. be accustomed to 的用法

> they are **so accustomed to swimming** that they can pick up weights

| 结构 | 含义 | to的词性 | 后接 |
|------|------|----------|------|
| be accustomed to doing | 习惯于做某事 | 介词 | 动名词 |
| be used to doing | 习惯于做某事 | 介词 | 动名词 |
| used to do | 过去常常做某事 | 不定式符号 | 动词原形 |

**三者辨析**：

| 表达 | 含义 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| be accustomed to doing | 习惯于（较正式） | She is accustomed to getting up early. |
| be used to doing | 习惯于（较口语） | She is used to getting up early. |
| used to do | 过去常常（现在不了） | She used to get up early. |

### 3. so... that... 句型

> they are **so** accustomed to swimming **that** they can pick up weights

结构：so + adj./adv. + that 从句，表示"如此……以至于……"

| 结构 | 用法 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| so + adj. + that | 修饰形容词 | so big that... |
| so + adv. + that | 修饰副词 | so quickly that... |
| so + many/much + n. + that | 修饰数量 | so many people that... |

**so...that 与 such...that 的区别**：

| 结构 | 用法 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| so + adj./adv. + that | 修饰形容词/副词 | so beautiful that... |
| such + (adj.) + n. + that | 修饰名词短语 | such a beautiful girl that... |

### 4. whether 引导的宾语从句（前置）

> **Whether they will ever become future Olympic champions**, only time will tell.

正常语序：Only time will tell whether they will ever become future Olympic champions.

将whether从句前置是为了强调，是一种修辞手法。

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## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. It is not long before...

> **It is not long before** they are so accustomed to swimming...

句型：It is not long before + 从句，意为"不久就……"

| 句型 | 含义 |
|------|------|
| It is not long before... | 不久就…… |
| It will not be long before... | 不久就会…… |
| It was not long before... | 不久就……（过去时） |
| It won't be long before... | 不久就会……（将来） |

### 2. become expert at

> children **become expert at holding** their breath under water

expert 可作形容词，意为"熟练的"。become expert at = become good at = be skilled at

- She is expert at cooking. 她擅长烹饪。
- He became expert at playing chess. 他擅长下棋。

### 3. without doing

> Some children can cover the whole length of the pool **without coming up for breath** even once.

without + 动名词，表示"没有做某事"

- He left without saying goodbye. 他没说再见就走了。
- She passed the exam without studying. 她没学习就通过了考试。

### 4. compete against each other

> The children **compete against each other** to reach the other end of the pool.

| 表达 | 含义 |
|------|------|
| compete against | 与……对抗/竞争 |
| compete with | 与……竞争 |
| compete for | 为……而竞争 |
| compete in | 在……中竞争 |

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## 五、课文翻译

实验证明，儿童在很小的时候就可以开始学习游泳。在洛杉矶的一个特设的游泳池里，孩子们甚至在还没有学会走路时就已经能熟练地在水下屏住呼吸了。两个月的婴儿并未显得不愿意入水。他们很快便适应了游泳，以致能捡起池底的物品。这些幼小的游泳运动员非常喜爱的一种游戏是水下三轮车比赛。三轮车并排放在7英尺深的游泳池底上。孩子们比赛看谁先到达游泳池的另一端。很多孩子用脚蹬车，但多数孩子更愿意推或是拉着三轮车。有些孩子能够游完游泳池的全长而不用露出水面换气。他们将来是否能成为奥林匹克的冠军，这只能由时间来作出回答。与此同时，他们对我们中的那些游不了5码就已喘不过气来的人应该是种鼓舞。

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## 六、语言点精讲

**1. be instructed in swimming**

instruct sb. in sth. "在某方面指导某人"。in是介词，后接名词或动名词。被动形式为be instructed in。

**2. become expert at holding their breath**

expert 在此是形容词，"熟练的"。become expert at doing = become skilled at doing。hold one's breath 意为"屏住呼吸"。

**3. do not appear to be reluctant**

appear to be = seem to be，"看起来像是"。reluctant to do sth. "不愿意做某事"。双重否定效果——婴儿看起来并不排斥入水。

**4. It is not long before...**

固定句型，"不久就……"。It是形式主语，before引导时间状语从句。

**5. are lined up**

line up 意为"排列成行"，此处用被动语态，表示三轮车被排列在水池底部。

**6. cover the whole length of the pool**

cover 在此意为"走过，游过（一段距离）"，而非"覆盖"。the whole length 指泳池的全长。

**7. Whether they will ever become... only time will tell**

宾语从句前置表强调。only time will tell 是固定表达，意为"只有时间能证明"。

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## 七、课后练习要点

### 1. 词汇练习
- 用instruct, reluctant, compete, gasp, weight造句
- 掌握compete的词族（competition, competitive, competitor）

### 2. 语法练习
- 介词填空练习（in, at, under, with, against, for, among等）
- so...that 与 such...that 的选择填空
- be accustomed to / be used to / used to 的辨析

### 3. 句型练习
- 用It is not long before...造句
- 用without doing改写句子
- whether从句前置练习

### 4. 写作练习
- 写一篇短文描述一项适合儿童的运动（100词左右），注意使用介词搭配

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## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 内容 |
|------|------|
| **核心语法** | 介词综合复习、be accustomed to、so...that句型、whether宾语从句前置 |
| **重点词汇** | 9个（instruct, Los Angeles, reluctant, weight, underwater, tricycle, compete, yard, gasp） |
| **重点短语** | be instructed in, become expert at, hold one's breath, be accustomed to, compete against, gasp for air, only time will tell |
| **学习难点** | 介词搭配的准确性、be accustomed to与used to的区别、宾语从句前置 |
| **写作技巧** | 宾语从句前置表强调、幽默结尾 |

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*本课通过儿童学习游泳的故事，系统复习了各种介词的用法，同时学习了be accustomed to和so...that等重要句型。*