听力练习

PART THREE - A YOUNG WOMAN AT THORNFIELD
CHAPTER EIGHT
Life with Mr. Rochester

Later that evening I had tea with Mrs. Fairfax in the [-----1-----].
"Mrs. Fairfax, you told me that Mr. Rochester was a little strange," I said.
"Well, what do you think, dear?"
"I think he is a very strange man. I am not sure what I think of him!"
"He may seem strange way to you. But I know him very well, so I understand him a little. He has had family problems, you know."
"What do you mean?"I asked.
"Well, he had an older brother, who died nine years ago."
"Nine years is a long time to be upset. Is he still unhappy because of this [-----2-----]?"
"Well, you see, there were a lot of bad feelings and anger in this house. Just before their father died, he gave the older brother the house and almost all the money. Mr. Edward(that's Mr. Rochester) was angry and left his family. He [-----3-----] around the world. But when his older brother died, he got Thornfield. But he doesn't come and live here very often, and I am not surprised."
"Why should he stay away?" I asked.
Mrs. Fairfax said nothing for a moment. She looked as if she was remembering the past. "Well, dear, perhaps he believes Thronfield Hall is a sad place." It was clear that Mrs. Fairfax did not want to tell me anything more.

词汇解析

1.strange [streindʒ]

adj. 陌生的,奇怪的

例句与用法:
Do you know why she is so strange to him?
你知道她为什么对他如此冷淡吗？
It's strange for her to be so rude.
真奇怪，她竟然会如此粗暴无礼。
He stood in a strange street.
他站在一条陌生的街道上。

2.upset [ʌp'set]

adj. 烦乱的,不高兴
v. 颠覆,推翻,扰乱,使心烦意乱,使不舒服

例句与用法:
She had a major emotional upset.
她情绪上受到了沉重的打击。
Her refusal to help quite upset the applecart.
她不肯帮忙，计画也就落空了。
Last-minute changes caused a great deal of upset.
出现的临时变动造成一片混乱。

3.stay [stei]

n. 停留,停止,依靠
v. 停留,留宿,制止

例句与用法:
I don't think he's sufficiently dedicated to stay the course.
我认为他不够坚定，不会坚持到底的。
I stayed late at the party last night.
昨晚我在晚会上呆到很晚。
The temperature has stayed hot this week.
本周气温一直都很热。

4.away [ə'wei]

adv. 远离,离开

例句与用法:
He cut away a dead branch.
他砍掉一根枯干的树枝。
He lives 3 miles away from here.
他住在离这里三哩的地方。
I hope to get away early in the morning.
我希望一早就动身离开。

5.Nine years is a long time...:主语为"a long time"，也可以把"nine years"看成一个整体概念，因而be动词用"is"。同理，如果the United States作主语时，谓语动词也应该用单数。例如：The United States is a gighly developed country.（美国是一个高度发达的国家。）