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'But I'm behind the time, you understand,' heobservedin apology, passing his hand nervously down the whole row of bright buttons on his coat, and then up again, as if they were beads and he were telling them twice over: 'and I would rather have my dear boy here. It's an old-fashioned notion, I daresay. He was always fond of the sea He's'—and he looked wistfully at Walter—'he's glad to go.'
“可是，你们知道，我已经落在时代后面了，”他辩解地说道，一边紧张不安地用手从上到下摸着他外衣上一排发亮的钮扣，然后又从下到上摸回去，仿佛它们是念珠似的，他正把它们连数两遍；“我宁愿让我亲爱的孩子留在这里。这肯定是过时的想法了。他过去总是喜爱海，他——”他闷闷不乐地望着沃尔特说，“他高兴去。”
'Uncle Sol!' cried Walter, quickly, 'if you say that, I won't go. No, Captain Cuttle, I won't. If my Uncle thinks I could be glad to leave him, though I was going to be made Governor of all the Islands in the West Indies, that's enough. I'm a fixture.'
“所尔舅舅！”沃尔特迅速地喊道，“如果你这样说的话，那么我就·不·想去了。是的，卡特尔船长，我不想去了。如果舅舅以为我能高高兴兴地离开他的话（即使我就要走马上任，去当西印度群岛的总督），那么这句话就足够了。我将寸步不离地守在这里。”
'Wal'r, my lad,' said the Captain. 'Steady! Sol Gills, take an observation of your nevy.
“沃尔，我的孩子，”船长说，“别着急！所尔·吉尔斯，请看看您的外甥吧！”
Followingwith his eyes the majestic action of the Captain's hook, the old man looked at Walter.
船长的钩子威严地移动着，老人的眼睛跟随着它，看到了沃尔特。
'Here is a certain craft,' said the Captain, with a magnificent sense of the allegory into which he was soaring, 'a-going to put out on a certain voyage. What name is wrote upon that craft indelibly? Is it The Gay? or,' said the Captain, raising his voice as much as to say, observe the point of this, 'is it The Gills?'
“有一条船就要出航，”船长文思大发，举了一个动人的比喻，“要在这条船上不可磨灭地写上一个什么名字呢？是写盖伊号呢？还是，”船长提高了声音，提醒大家注意，“还是写吉尔斯号呢？”
重点讲解
一.observe:v.观察, 遵守, 注意到 v.庆祝, 评论
【词义辨析】
look, see, watch, observe, witness
这些动词均有“看”之意。
look侧重“看”的动作。
see指看见。
watch指用眼睛跟随某物，以便对每一个变化、运动等进行观察。
observe侧重以客观的态度进行观察。
witness指当场看见，亲眼看见。
【例句用法】
We should observe the proprieties.
我们应该遵守礼节。
The police have been observing his movements.
警方一直监视着他的一举一动。
二.Follow:v.跟随, 追赶, 紧接着, 注意, 遵循, 沿着, 明白 n.跟随
【语法用法】
follow可表示“在……之后”，常作及物动词，后面不需要再加介词after。
The duckling followed its mother everywhere.
小鸭子们紧跟着母鸭到处走。
as follows属于固定的习惯用语，在以词组形式出现的时候，follow不可以单数形式出现，不管句子主语是单数或复数，只可以as follows的形式出现。
The rule is as follows.
The rules are as follows.
规则如下。
follow后的介词如upon有时可省略。
A strange thing followed upon the incident.
这个事件后跟着出了很奇怪的事情。
(as) in the following同as follows一样都属于固定搭配，两者不可混用，如不可随意更改成as following或in the follows；
the following可同时作单数或者复数，随句子的意思而改变。
The following is my full name.
The following are our full names.
following有时以介词形式出现，常见于报纸上。
Following the ceremony a reception was held.
在典礼之后，会举行一场招待会。
要注意，follow后不能接宾语和不定式的结构。
I followed him to go into the house.
这种说法是不可以的。应改成I followed him into the house。
【错句举例与错句分析】
错句: The pages are all mixed up; this should follow after that.
订正: The pages are all mixed up; this should follow that.
翻译: 这些页全部都错乱了，这一页应该是跟在那一页后面的。
分析: follow可表示“在……之后”，常作及物动词，后面不需要再加介词after。
【词义辨析】
pursue, follow, chase, hunt, trace, track, trail
这些动词均含“跟随、追踪”之意。
pursue指坚持不懈、毫不动摇地紧跟、追赶某人、某物或某个事业。
follow普遍用词，含义最广，多指跟随起引导作用的人或物，跟随的动机可以是善意的，也可能是恶意的。
chase指快速追赶或决心追踪，褒义贬义均可用。
hunt原义为“追猎、猎取”，现用于指追捕或搜寻逃犯等。
trace指根据线索或足迹进行跟踪。用于抽象意义时指找到某事物的根源。
track指沿着人或动物留下的印迹或行迹追踪。
trail一般指跟踪追击。
【例句用法】
The President's wife follows his every word.
总统夫人总是注意听他说的话。
Not wanting to make my controversial views known yet, I preferred to follow the crowd for a while.
我还不想公开我那些会引起争论的观点，宁可暂且随大溜。