(单词翻译:单击)
课文
【课文】
Lesson 36 A chance in a million 百万分之一的机遇
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What was the chance in a million?
We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences -- most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers would find such naive solution totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.
When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stooped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Busssman fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man's name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive. After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
参考译文
【参考译文】
我们不再像以往那样轻易相信别人了。在19世纪，小说家常在小说结尾处给读者准备一系列的巧合——大部分是牵强附会，极不可能的。当时的读者却愉快地接受这样一些事实，一个低贱的女佣实际上是主人公的母亲；主人公一位长期失散的兄弟，大家都以为死了，实际上一直活着，并且正在策划暗算主人公；如此等等，现代读者会觉得这种天真的结局完全无法接受。不过，在现实生活中，有时确实会出现一些巧合，这些巧合除了19世纪小说家外谁也不会相信。
当我是个孩子的时候，我祖父给我讲了一位德国出租汽车司机弗朗兹。巴斯曼如何找到了据信已在20年前死去的兄弟的事。一次，他与妻子徒步旅行。途中，停下来与一个工人交谈，接着他们继续往前走去。巴斯曼夫人说那工人与她丈夫相貌很像，甚至猜测他可能就是她丈夫的兄弟。弗朗兹对此不屑一顾，指出他兄弟已经在战争中阵亡了。尽管巴斯曼夫人熟知这个情况，但她仍然认为自己的想法仍有百万分之一的可能性。几天后，她派了一个男孩去问那人是否叫汉斯.巴斯曼。不出巴斯曼夫人所料，那人的名字真是汉斯.巴斯曼，他确实是弗朗兹失散多年的兄弟。兄弟俩团聚之时，汉斯说明了他活下来的经过，战争即将结束时，他负伤被送进医院，并与部队失去联系。医院遭到轰炸，汉斯步行回到了西德。与此同时，他所在部队被击溃，他的所有档案材料全部毁于战火。汉斯重返故里，但他的家已被炸毁，左邻右舍谁也不知原住户的下落，汉斯以为全家人都在空袭中遇难，于是便在距此50英里外的一座村子里定居下来，直至当日。
词汇讲解
1.credulous adj. 轻信的
例句：so credulous he believes everything he reads.
他是如此轻信，相信他读取的每件事情。
2.improbable adj.不大可能的
例句：It is improbable that she will go.
她不见得会走。
3.obscure adj.不起眼的
例句：The writer became famous while most of his contemporaries were destined to be obscure.
当大多数和他同时代的作家都默默无闻时，他却一举成名。
4.maidservant n.女仆，女佣
5.presume v.假定
例句：You must presume no such thing.
你不该这样设想。
6.wickedly adv.心眼坏地，居心叵测地
例句：All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them.
所有的炮眼都开着，炮口不怀好意地从炮眼里向外窥探。
7.plot v.密谋
8.downfall n.倒台，垮台
例句：The downfall of the Han Dynasty brought China national disunity.
汉朝的灭亡使中国陷入了分裂的局面。
9.naive adj. 天真的
例句：Can you imagine a college graduate being that naive and innocent?
你能想象一个大学毕业生会那样天真幼稚么？
10.unacceptable adj.不能接受的
例句：The violence used by the local authority for political ends was unacceptable.
地方当局出于政治目而使用暴力是让人无法接受的。
11.conspire v.（事件）巧合促成
例句：A group of men is charged with conspire against the government.
一夥人被指控密谋推翻政府。
12.incredible adj.难以置信的
例句：Mother Teresa was an incredible human being.
特雷莎修女是一位了不起的伟大人物。
13.scorn n.嘲弄，挖苦
14.acquaint v.使了解
例句：Many scientific discoveries are derived from the same origin, you should acquaint yourself with more.
很多科学都是一脉相通的，你该多了解一下。
15.reunite v.使团聚
16.assume v.假定，认为
例句：I assume that my telephone also has been tapped by the police.
我想我的电话也已经被警方监听了。
课文讲解
【课文讲解】
1.We are less credulous than we used to be.
used to do sth过去常常做某事。be used to doing sth指的是习惯做某事。 be used to do sth被用来做某事。
例句：After the new arrival, you won't have time to go clubbing like you used to do.
这次到达之后，你将不能像以前那样有时间去泡吧了。
I am used to doing group dancing every day, which is simple and relaxing.
我已经习惯每天去跳集体舞，既简单又轻松。
2.In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences -- most of them wildly improbable.
bring to a conclusion得出结论，结束。相当于come to a conclusion，concluded
例句：The third shooting competition has formally come to a conclusion.
第三届射击比赛正式结束。
3.A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on.
And so on等等。表示不再列举，相当于and sth like that.and so forse.
例句：You need to learn simple math; two multiplied by two equals four and so on.
你需要学些简单的算术，例如2乘2等于4这样的。
4.Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.
anyone but的用法。
anything but的意思是：绝不是，根本不是。如：
I’ll do anything but that. 我绝不会干那种事。
The party was anything but a success. 晚会根本不成功。
The fight is anything but finished. 斗争绝没有结束。
The hotel was anything but satisfactory. 这家旅馆一点不让人满意。
注意
1. anything but 有时可单独使用。如：
I don’t mean he’s lazy ---- anything but! 我不是说他懒，他根本不懒。
2. anything but 不仅可用于事物，也可用于人。如：
He is anything but a poet. 他绝不是诗人。
He was anything but polite. 他根本没有一点礼貌。
5.Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war.
pour scorn on大肆奚落
例句：He poured scorn on my suggestion.
他对我的建议表示轻蔑。
She always pours scorn on whatever I've ever done.
她对我做的一切都要大加责难。
point out指出
例句：We are going to point out discrepancies and figure them out today.
我们今天就把有歧异的地方都讲出来，分析明白。
6.Though Mrs. Busssman fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.
a chance in a million 百万分之一的可能性
例句：She has only a chance in a million of getting the job.
她能得到那份工作的希望很渺茫。
7.Assuming that his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
settle down定居；安下心来
例句：Will you settle down permanently in America?
你打算在美国永久定居吗？
经典句子
【经典句子】
1、 Franz pouredscorn on the idea, …
弗朗兹对此不屑一顾
2、 The hospital had been bombed and Hans hadmade his way back into Western Germany on foot.
医院遭到轰炸，汉斯步行回到了西德。
