The Westhaven Express 開往威斯特海溫的快車
We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables. Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snow fall might temporarily dislocate railway services. It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong. The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs. After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven. It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes. When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well. At the time, this did not strike me as odd. I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder. It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page. It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
1.We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual.
我們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣于相信火車總是準(zhǔn)點的。
語言點:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:that引導(dǎo)賓語從句，說明expect的內(nèi)容。
2.After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables.
經(jīng)過多年的適應(yīng)，大多數(shù)人對火車時刻表產(chǎn)生了一種不可動搖的信念。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:after years of conditioning放在句首，強(qiáng)調(diào)時間之長。
語言點2:develop an unshakable faith in的意思是“對…形成了不可動搖的信念”。
語言點3:condition表示“使習(xí)慣于”，我們常使用短語be conditioned to(習(xí)慣…) 3.Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time.
輪船船期可能因風(fēng)暴而推延，飛機(jī)航班可能因惡劣天氣而取消，唯有火車必然是準(zhǔn)點的。
語言點:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:這是一個非常有力的排比句，需要我們用心去體會。
We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables. Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snow fall might temporarily dislocate railway services. It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong. The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs. After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven. It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes. When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well. At the time, this did not strike me as odd. I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder. It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page. It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
1.We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual.
我們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣于相信火車總是準(zhǔn)點的。
語言點:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:that引導(dǎo)賓語從句，說明expect的內(nèi)容。
2.After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables.
經(jīng)過多年的適應(yīng)，大多數(shù)人對火車時刻表產(chǎn)生了一種不可動搖的信念。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:after years of conditioning放在句首，強(qiáng)調(diào)時間之長。
語言點2:develop an unshakable faith in的意思是“對…形成了不可動搖的信念”。
語言點3:condition表示“使習(xí)慣于”，我們常使用短語be conditioned to(習(xí)慣…) 3.Ships may be delayed by storms; air flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time.
輪船船期可能因風(fēng)暴而推延，飛機(jī)航班可能因惡劣天氣而取消，唯有火車必然是準(zhǔn)點的。
語言點:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:這是一個非常有力的排比句，需要我們用心去體會。