中級美語第32課

一.本課要點及示例

　　在這一課裡, 我們繼續學習用虛詞 it, i-t, it 作句子, 我們也要學習一些跟住房有關系的詞滙.

　　首先我們還是按照慣例聽一段對話, 內容是說凱特的父母退休之後從美國東北部搬到南部的事情. 請你注意英文老師的發音和語調.

　　M: Kate, where have you been? F: I've been out shopping. Why Henry? M: Your folks just called. It's taken so long but they finally sold their house. F: Well, it's about time. Did they get a good price? M: They didn't get the price they were asking, but it seems that they got a good deal. F: Well, now they can move into their new place in Florida. M: Yes, I think it is good that they bought a place there. They will like being free from the big house and cold weather. F: I hope you're right. M: They'll be OK, Kate. Let's go to visit them as soon as they are settled.

　　現在我請英文老師用慢速度再把整段對話唸一遍.

　　M: Kate, where have you been? F: I've been out shopping. Why Henry? M: Your folks just called. It's taken so long but they finally sold their house. F: Well, it's about time. Did they get a good price? M: They didn't get the price they were asking, but it seems that they got a good deal. F: Well, now they can move into their new place in Florida. M: Yes, I think it is good that they bought a place there. They will like being free from the big house and cold weather. F: I hope you're right. M: They'll be OK, Kate. Let's go to visit them as soon as they are settled.

　　現在老師把對話裡包含了 it 的句子挑出來, 再唸一遍給你聽.

　　M: It's taken so long, but they finally sold their house. F: Well, it's about time. M: It seems to me that they got a good deal. M: It is good that they bought a place there.

　　二.IT

　　聽了上麪的句子,你或許已經注意到 it 的用法,比方"是作練習的時候了." 這句話英文可以這樣說: It's time to do the exercises. 再擧一個例子,"是他們賣房子的時候了", 或是 "他們該賣房子了" 這句英文可以這樣說: It's time for them to sell their house.

　　現在我們作一組練習, 學學這種說法, 練習的內容都跟凱特的父母應該退休有關系, 比方他們搬到煖和一點的地方去享受老年生活等等. 練習的作法是老師先唸一個句子, 接著老師唸一個詞組, 比方"退休" retire,"找房地産代理人"find a real estate agent, 搬到熱帶地區" move to a tropical area 等等, 學生就把他聽到的詞組代換到原來的句子裡.在學生作練習的時候, 請你也一起作.

　　M: It's time for them to enjoy life. M: relax F: It's time for them to relax. M: retire F: It's time for them to retire. M: pay off the mortgage F: It's time for them to pay off the mortgage. M: sell their house F: It's time for them to sell their house. M: find a real estate agent F: It's time for them to find a real estate agent. M: move away from New Jersey F: It's time for them to move away from New Jersey. M: move to a tropical area F: It's time for them to move to a tropical area. M: move to a warmer region F: It's time for them to move to a warmer region. M: buy a condominium in Florida F: It's time for them to buy a condominium in Florida.

　　三.IT'S ABOUT TIME

　　現在我們學習 It's about time 的用法. 這句話可以用來表示某件事縂算發生了,比方你等人等了半天, 這個人終於來了, 你就說: It's about time. 意思就是"你縂算來了!" 有的時候 It's about time. 也有催促人快點作某件事的意思, 比方你的朋友忙了半天, 一直沒時間喫飯, 你就說 It's about time that you eat. 意思就是"你也該喫飯了."

　　現在我們作一組練習, 學習用 It's about time. 催促別人作某件事情. 練習的內容都跟凱特的父母有關系的. 練習的作法是老師用剛才學過的句型提出一個問題, 比方 Is it time for them to move? 你就肯定的廻答說: Yes, it's about time that they move. 現在我們開始作練習. 練習裡的詞滙都是我們剛才學過的.每作完一句就請你聽老師唸正確答案.

　　M: Is it time for them to enjoy life? F: Yes, it's about time that they enjoy life. M: Is it time for them to relax? F: Yes, it's about time that they relax. M: Is it time for them to retire? F: Yes, it's about time that they retire. M: Is it time for them to pay off the mortgage? F: Yes, it's about time that they pay off the mortgage. M: Is it time for them to sell their house? F: Yes, it's about time that they sell their house. M: Is it time for them to find a real estate agent? F: Yes, it's about time that they find a real estate agent. M: Is it time for them to move away from New Jersey? F: Yes, it's about time that they move away from New Jersey. M: Is it time for them to move to a tropical area? F: Yes, it's about time that they move to a tropical area. M: Is it time for them to move to a warmer region? F: Yes, it's about time that they move to a warmer region. M: Is it time for them to buy a condominium in Florida? F: Yes, it's about time that they buy a condominium in Florida.

　　四.IT TAKES TIME TO

　　下麪我們學習用 It takes time 加上 to 再加上動詞詞組來表示作某件事情需要時間. 比方 "適應新環境需要時間." 這句話英文可以這樣說: It takes time to adapt to the new environment.

　　現在我們作一組代換練習, 學學這種說法, 練習的內容是說到凱特的父母搬到南部去之後需要花時間作的事情, 比方適應新的生活方式, 熟悉新社區等等.在這組練習裡你還可以學到一些有用的詞, 比方"重新安頓下來" resettle,"老年人俱樂部" the senior citizens club."氣候" climate 等等. 現在我們開始作代換練習,每作完一句就請你聽老師唸正確答案.

　　M: It takes time to adapt to the new environment. M: resettle F: It takes time to resettle. M: become familiar with local community F: It takes time to become familiar with the local community. M: join the senior citizens' club F: It takes time to join the senior citizens' club. M: get used to a different climate F: It takes time to get used to a different climate. M: adapt to the new life style F: It takes time to adapt to the new life style.

　　下麪我們換一個方式作練習. 這次老師提出問題, 比方 "他們花了多少時間才重新安頓下來?" How much time did it take for them to resettle? 接著老師說:"一段時間" a period of time, 你就肯定的廻答說:"他們花了一段時間才重新安頓下來." It took them a period of time to resettle. 現在我們開始作練習, 每作完一句, 就請你聽老師唸正確答案.

　　M: How much time did it take for them to adapt to the new environment? M: a while F: It took them a while to adapt to the new environment. M: How much time did it take for them to resettle? M: a period of time F: It took them a period of time to resettle. M: How much time did it take for them to become familiar with the local community? M: about two months F: It took them about two months to become familiar with the local community. M: How much time did it take for them to join the senior citizens' club? M: one week F: It took them one week to join the senior citizens' club. M: How much time did it take for them to get used to a different climate? M: a few days F: It took them a few days to get used to a different climate. M: How much time did it take for them to adapt to the new life style? M: a while F: It took them a while to adapt to the new life style.

　　五.動名詞和不定式

　　下麪我們作一組練習, 由老師用動名詞作主語說個句子, 比方 Moving south is good for them. 請你用 it 把句子改成 It's good for them to move south. 在這個句子裡 it 指的就是 to move south. 這組練習的內容都是說作什麽事情對凱特的父母有好処. 在作練習的時候你可以學到一些有用的詞滙, 比方 "人口稠密的地區" a densely populated area."工業區" an industrial area, "零度以下" below zero temperature 等等. 現在我們開始作練習, 每作完一句就請你聽老師唸正確答案.

　　M: Moving south is good for them. F: It's good for them to move south. M: Having tropical weather is good for them. F: It's good for them to have tropical weather. M: Moving away from a densely populated area is good for them. F: It's good for them to move away from a densely populated area. M: Moving away from an industrial area is good for them. F: It's good for them to move away from an industrial area. M: Getting away from the below zero temperature is good for them. F: It's good for them to get away from the below zero temperature.

　　六.主語從句

　　下麪我們換個方式再把剛才學過的詞滙練習一下. 這次老師用 it 加上從句說一句話, 比方 It's good that they can move south. 接著老師提出一個詞組, 學生就把詞組代換到原來的句子裡. 請你跟學生一起作練習.

　　M: It's good that they can move south. M: enjoy a better climate F: It's good that they can enjoy a better climate. M: move away from a densely populated area F: It's good that they can move away from a densely populated area. M: move away from an industrial area F: It's good that they can move away from an industrial area. M: get away from the below zero temperature F: It's good that they can get away from the below zero temperature.

　　七.聽短文廻答問題

　　今天我們要聽的文章是說美國哪些地區人口稠密,人們爲什麽紛紛的搬到西部和南部, 老人退休之後多半遷居到什麽地方等等.

　　現在請你注意聽.

　　The northern parts of the United States get very cold in the winter. It snows a great deal and the temperature often goes below zero degrees in January, February and March. But the northeastern and northcentral regions of the country have been financial and industrial centers, and they are heavily populated. In recent years, people in these regions have begun to take vacations during these cold winter months. They go to southern parts of the country where it is warmer. Many go to Florida where the weather is tropical. Others go to the south western states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas where they find dry desert climates. It has become common, nowadays, for older people to move south to these places when they retire. Typically these people sell their houses in their home communities and move south to begin a new life as senior citizens. Their children likely have homes of their own, and many of them are moving south away from communities where they were raised. The southern and south western parts of the country are now growing faster than any other parts. Business and industry have opened many new offices and factories in the south. California is already the most popular state in the country. Texas and Florida are growing fast too. They may soon replace such states as New York and Pennsylvania in population.

　　等一會兒老師會把整篇文章再唸一遍給你聽. 現在我們先來聽今天測騐的三個問題.

　　第一個問題是: M: What is winter weather like in the northern part of the United States?第二個問題是: M: Why do a lot of Americans move south when they retire?第三個問題是: M: How have American business and industry developed in the South?

　　現在我們聽英文老師用慢速度再把文章唸一遍.

　　The northern parts of the United States get very cold in the winter. It snows a great deal and the temperature often goes below zero degrees in January, February and March. But the northeastern and northcentral regions of the country have been financial and industrial centers, and they are heavily populated. In recent years, people in these regions have begun to take vacations during these cold winter months. They go to southern parts of the country where it is warmer. Many go to Florida where the weather is tropical. Others go to the south western states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas where they find dry desert climates. It has become common, nowadays, for older people to move south to these places when they retire. Typically these people sell their houses in their home communities and move south to begin a new life as senior citizens. Their children likely have homes of their own, and many of them are moving south away from communities where they were raised. The southern and south western parts of the country are now growing faster than any other parts. Business and industry have opened many new offices and factories in the south. California is already the most popular state in the country. Texas and Florida are growing fast too. They may soon replace such states as New York and Pennsylvania in population.

　　現在請你廻答剛才聽過的三個問題. 每廻答一個問題老師就會唸出正確答案讓你作個比較, 看你答對了沒有.

　　第一個問題是: M: What is winter weather like in the northern part of the United States? F: It snows a great deal and the temperature often goes below zero degrees.

　　第二個問題是: M: Why do a lot of Americans move south when they retire? F: They want to begin a new life as senior citizens and to enjoy warmer weather.

　　第三個問題是: M: How have American business and industry developed in the South? F: They have opened many new offices and factories in the South.