# Lesson 95 A fantasy 纯属虚构

## 一、课文原文

When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.

'What has happened?' she asked. 'How did your clothes get into such a mess?'

'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.'

'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you at the time?'

'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador. 'The fire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.'

The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat.

'And how can you explain that?' she asked.

'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. 'Someone fired a shot through my office window. Accurate, don't you think? Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'

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## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| **fantasy** | /ˈfæntəsi/ | n. | 幻想故事 | fantasy novel 奇幻小说；fantasy vs. imagination |
| **embassy** | /ˈembəsi/ | n. | 大使馆 | the American Embassy 美国大使馆；embassy official 大使馆官员 |
| **ambassador** | /æmˈbæsədə/ | n. | 大使 | the Ambassador to... 驻……大使 |
| **heaven** | /ˈhevn/ | n. | 天，天堂 | Good heavens! 天啊！；heaven and earth 天地 |
| **basement** | /ˈbeɪsmənt/ | n. | 地下室 | in the basement 在地下室；base 基础 + -ment |
| **definitely** | /ˈdefɪnətli/ | adv. | 肯定地 | definite adj. 确定的；definitely not 绝对不 |
| **frightful** | /ˈfraɪtfl/ | adj. | 可怕的，令人吃惊的 | fright n. 恐惧 + -ful 形容词后缀；a frightful noise |
| **post** | /pəʊst/ | v. | 派任，派遣 | post sb. to... 把某人派往……；也可指"邮寄，张贴" |
| **fire extinguisher** | /ˈfaɪə ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃə/ | n. | 灭火器 | extinguish v. 灭火 |
| **shot** | /ʃɒt/ | n. | 子弹 | fire a shot 开枪；a shot in the dark 瞎猜 |
| **drily** | /ˈdraɪli/ | adv. | 冷淡地，枯燥无味地 | dry adj. 干的 + -ly → drily；dry humor 冷幽默 |

### 词汇拓展

**1. fantasy 的词族**
- fantasy n. 幻想 → fantastic adj. 极好的，奇异的 → fantasize v. 幻想 → fantasist n. 幻想家
- fantasy 与 imagination 的区别：
  - fantasy：脱离现实的幻想（本课）
  - imagination：基于现实的想象力

**2. post 的多重含义**
- v. 派任：get sb. posted 把某人调走（本课用法）
- v. 邮寄：post a letter 寄信
- v. 张贴：post a notice 张贴通知
- n. 邮政：the post office 邮局
- n. 岗位：at one's post 在岗位上

**3. fire 的搭配**
- set sth. on fire 放火烧……（本课）
- be on fire 着火了（本课）
- fire a shot 开枪（本课）
- fire at 向……开火
- open fire 开火
- catch fire 着火

**4. shot 的搭配**
- fire a shot 开一枪
- a good shot 好枪法
- a shot in the dark 瞎猜
- call the shots 做主，说了算
- big shot 大人物

**5. mess 的搭配**
- in a mess 乱七八糟
- get into a mess 陷入困境
- make a mess of 把……弄得一团糟
- messy adj. 凌乱的

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## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 分词（本课核心）

本课大量使用了现在分词和过去分词，需系统掌握：

**现在分词 vs. 过去分词**：

| 对比项 | 现在分词（v.-ing） | 过去分词（v.-ed） |
|--------|-------------------|-------------------|
| 语态 | 主动 | 被动 |
| 时间 | 进行 | 完成 |
| 情感类动词 | "令人……的"（修饰物） | "感到……的"（修饰人） |

**情感类动词的分词对比**：

| 动词 | 现在分词（修饰物） | 过去分词（修饰人） |
|------|-------------------|-------------------|
| frighten | frightful 令人恐惧的 | frightened 感到恐惧的 |
| excite | exciting 令人兴奋的 | excited 感到兴奋的 |
| interest | interesting 有趣的 | interested 感兴趣的 |
| bore | boring 令人厌烦的 | bored 感到厌烦的 |
| surprise | surprising 令人吃惊的 | surprised 感到吃惊的 |

**分词作定语**：

| 类型 | 例句 | 说明 |
|------|------|------|
| 现在分词作定语 | a frightening story | 令人恐惧的故事（主动） |
| 过去分词作定语 | a frightened boy | 受惊的男孩（被动/感受） |
| 现在分词作定语 | an exciting game | 令人兴奋的比赛 |
| 过去分词作定语 | excited children | 兴奋的孩子们 |

**分词作状语**：

| 类型 | 例句 | 说明 |
|------|------|------|
| 现在分词作状语 | Walking along the street, I met a friend. | 主动/同时 |
| 过去分词作状语 | Seen from the hill, the city looks beautiful. | 被动/完成 |

### 2. 虚拟语气（第三条件句）

> **If I had been**, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.

这是与过去事实相反的虚拟条件句（第三条件句）：

| 从句 | 主句 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| If + had + 过去分词 | would have + 过去分词 | If I had been wearing it, I would not have been able to get home. |

**虚拟语气三种条件句对比**：

| 类型 | 从句 | 主句 | 与……相反 |
|------|------|------|----------|
| 第一条件句 | If + 一般现在时 | will + 动词原形 | 可能发生 |
| 第二条件句 | If + 一般过去时 | would + 动词原形 | 与现在事实相反 |
| 第三条件句 | If + 过去完成时 | would have + 过去分词 | 与过去事实相反 |

**本课例句分析**：
- 事实：I was not wearing the hat at the time.（我那时没戴帽子——过去的事实）
- 虚拟：If I had been (wearing it), I would not have been able to get home.（如果我当时戴着，我就不能回家了——与过去事实相反的假设）

### 3. 直接引语中的对话

本课大量使用直接引语进行对话，需注意标点和语序：

| 类型 | 例句 | 标点规则 |
|------|------|----------|
| 引语在前 | 'What has happened?' she asked. | 问号在引号内 |
| 说话人在中间 | 'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. | 逗号分隔 |
| 引语分两部分 | 'I was in my office,' answered the Ambassador. 'The fire broke out...' | 句号后大写 |

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## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. get a shock / get into a mess

> his wife **got a shock**
> How did your clothes **get into such a mess**?

get + 名词，表示"进入某种状态"

| get + 名词 | 含义 |
|-----------|------|
| get a shock | 受到惊吓 |
| get into a mess | 变得一塌糊涂 |
| get a cold | 感冒 |
| get a chance | 得到机会 |

### 2. set...on fire / be on fire

> University students **set the Embassy on fire**
> He thought I **was on fire**

| 表达 | 含义 | 语态 |
|------|------|------|
| set sth. on fire | 放火烧某物 | 主动 |
| be on fire | 着火了 | 状态 |
| catch fire | 着火 | 动作 |
| put out the fire | 灭火 | 动作 |

### 3. get sb. posted

> I must definitely **get that fellow posted**

get + 宾语 + 过去分词，"让某人被派走"。此处posted是过去分词作宾补，表示被动。

类似结构：
- get the work done 让工作被完成
- get the car repaired 让车被修好
- get the problem solved 让问题被解决

### 4. If I had been...

省略形式，完整为：If I had been wearing it at the time

在上下文明确时，虚拟条件句可以省略重复的部分。If I had been = If I had been wearing the hat。

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## 五、课文翻译

当艾斯卡罗比亚国的大使回到家吃午饭时，把他的夫人吓了一跳。他面色苍白，衣服也搞得不成样子。

"发生了什么事？"她问，"你的衣服怎么搞得一塌糊涂？"

"灭火器弄的，亲爱的，"大使冷冷地回答，"今天上午大学生们放火点着了大使馆。"

"天啊！"他的夫人惊叫，"那你当时在什么地方？"

"我和往常一样，在办公室里，"大使回答说。"地下室突然着火，我当然马上下去了。但那个傻瓜霍斯特把灭火器对准了我。他认为是我着火了。我一定要把那个家伙调走。"

大使夫人继续提出问题，她突然又发现丈夫的帽子上有个洞。

"那么你对那又作何解释呢？"她问。

"那个嘛，"大使说，"有人向我办公室窗户开了一枪。真够准的，是不是？幸亏我当时没戴帽子。如果真戴着它，我现在就不能回家来吃午饭了。"

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## 六、语言点精讲

**1. got a shock**

get a shock = be shocked，但get更强调状态的变化过程。类似结构：get angry, get tired。

**2. in a frightful state**

in a ... state 表示"处于……的状态"。frightful 意为"可怕的"，此处形容衣服被灭火器喷射后的惨状。

**3. answered the Ambassador drily**

drily = dryly，意为"冷淡地，不动声色地"。大使用冷淡的语气来淡化事件的严重性，这是一种幽默手法。

**4. aimed a fire extinguisher at me**

aim at 意为"瞄准，对准"。这里用aim表达Horst把灭火器对准了大使——他误以为大使着火了。

**5. Accurate, don't you think?**

省略句，完整为：The shot was accurate, don't you think? 大使以轻松的口吻评价子弹射穿帽子的精准度，是黑色幽默。

**6. If I had been**

虚拟条件句的省略形式。If I had been = If I had been wearing the hat。与过去事实相反——事实上他当时没戴帽子，所以幸免于难。

**7. Escalopia**

虚构的国名，作者用虚构国家来创作幽默故事，避免涉及真实国家。

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## 七、课后练习要点

### 1. 词汇练习
- 用fantasy, ambassador, basement, post, definitely造句
- 掌握fire的相关搭配（set on fire, be on fire, fire a shot等）

### 2. 语法练习
- 现在分词与过去分词作定语的选择（-ing vs. -ed形容词）
- 虚拟语气第三条件句填空
- 分词作状语练习

### 3. 句型练习
- 用If I had done, I would have done造句
- 用get sth. done结构造句
- 直接引语标点练习

### 4. 写作练习
- 写一篇幽默短文，讲述一个误会的故事（100词左右），注意使用虚拟语气和分词

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## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 内容 |
|------|------|
| **核心语法** | 分词（现在分词vs.过去分词）、虚拟语气第三条件句 |
| **重点词汇** | 11个（fantasy, embassy, ambassador, heaven, basement, definitely, frightful, post, fire extinguisher, shot, drily） |
| **重点短语** | get a shock, set on fire, be on fire, aim at, get sb. posted, fire a shot |
| **学习难点** | 现在分词与过去分词作定语的区别、第三条件句的构成、分词作状语 |
| **写作技巧** | 黑色幽默——大使轻描淡写地讲述危险经历、对话推动叙事 |

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*本课通过一个大使的荒诞遭遇，重点学习了分词的用法（现在分词vs.过去分词）和与过去事实相反的虚拟条件句。*