课文 · 精读
108%
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California.
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。
put out a fire 是固定搭配，意为“扑灭大火”；At last 带有“终于”的意味。
Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began.
从那以后，他们一直在设法查明这场火是怎么起的。
have been trying to find out 是现在完成进行时；find out 表示“查明”；how the fire began 是宾语从句。
Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away.
森林火灾往往是由碎玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起的。
are often caused by... 是被动结构；which people carelessly throw away 修饰 cigarette ends。
Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass.
昨天消防队员们仔细检查了地面，但没能找到任何碎玻璃。
examine... carefully 表示“仔细检查”；be not able to do 表示“未能做成某事”。
They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire.
他们也十分肯定，火灾不是由香烟头引起的。
be quite sure that... 表示“十分确信……”；start the fire 在此表示“引发火灾”。
This morning, however, a fireman accidentally discovered the cause.
然而今天早晨，一名消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。
however 在句中表示转折；accidentally 强调“偶然地”；discover the cause 是核心动作。
He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line.
他注意到一条蛇的残骸缠绕在一条1.6万伏高压线的电线上。
the remains of a snake 表示“蛇的残骸”；which was wound round... 是定语从句；16,000-volt 作复合形容词。
In this way, he was able to solve the mystery.
就这样，他得以解开这个谜。
In this way 表示“就这样”；be able to solve the mystery 表示“能够解开谜团”。
The explanation was simple but very unusual.
解释很简单，却非常不寻常。
simple but very unusual 是简洁的对比结构，突出故事离奇。
A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires.
原来是一只鸟把蛇从地上抓了起来，然后又把它扔到了电线上。
had snatched up... and then dropped... 用过去完成时交代更早发生的动作；snatch up 表示“猛地抓起”。
The snake then wound itself round the wires.
于是那条蛇就把自己缠在了电线上。
wind oneself round... 表示“缠绕在……”；itself 强调动作回到蛇本身。
When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.
它这样一来，电火花就被送到了地面，而这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
When it did so 中 do so 代指前句动作；send sparks down to... 是因果链核心；these 指代 sparks。
单元概要
本课题材新奇，以“蛇触电”构成故事悬念，适合训练表示危险、反应和因果链条的词汇，并注意标题中 hot 的非常规含义。
精读导图 1. 先写森林大火扑灭后，消防员追查火因。 2. 再排除常见原因，制造悬念。 3. 最后揭示真正原因：鸟、蛇、电线和火花串成完整因果链。 精读提醒 hot 在这里不是“热”，而是“带电的、危险的”，要靠语境判断。
单词表
| 单词 | 音标 | 释义 | 精讲 |
|---|---|---|---|
| fireman | /ˈfaɪəmən/ | 消防队员 |
|
| cause | /kɔ:z/ | 原因；引起 |
|
| examine | /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/ | 检查 |
|
| accidentally | /ˌæksɪˈdentəli/ | 偶然地 |
|
| remains | /rɪˈmeɪnz/ | 残骸；遗骸 |
|
| wire | /ˈwaɪə(r)/ | 电线 |
|
| volt | /vəʊlt/ | 伏特 |
|
| mystery | /ˈmɪstri/ | 谜 |
|
| snatch | /snætʃ/ | 一把抓起 |
|
| spark | /spɑ:k/ | 火花 |
|
| hot | — | adj 带电的, 充电的 |
|
| power line 电力线 | — | — | — |
| solve | — | v 解决 |
|
短语
| 短语 | 意思 |
|---|---|
| put out a fire | 扑灭大火 |
| find out how the fire began | 查明火是怎么引起的 |
| be caused by | 由……引起 |
| the remains of a snake | 一条蛇的残骸 |
| be wound round the wires | 缠绕在电线上 |
| solve the mystery | 解开谜团 |
| send sparks down to the ground | 把火花打到地面上 |
| hot line | 热线 |
| hot topic | 热门话题 |
| hot cake | 热蛋糕 |
| hot dog | 热狗 |
| It sells like a hot cake/cakes | 表示一个东西的畅销, 热销 |
| best seller | 畅销的东西 |
| fire extinguisher | 灭火器 extinguisher [Ικ5στΙΝ⊥ωΙΦΕ(ρ)] n.熄灭者, 灭火器 |
| cause sth | 引起麻烦 |
| cause sb to do sth | 引起某人做某事, 导致某人做某事 |
| Illness caused him to lose his temper (lose his temper | 发火) |
语法点
Since then + 现在完成进行时
Since then, they have been trying... 表示“从那以后一直在努力”，既写出起点，也写出持续过程。
相似句：
- Since then, we have been searching for the answer.
- Since that accident, he has been driving much more carefully.
be not able to / be able to
were not able to find... 和 was able to solve... 在同一课里形成前后对照，突出“先找不到，后来终于找到”。
相似句：
- At first we were not able to open the box.
- In the end, he was able to explain the mystery.
过去完成因果链
A bird had snatched up the snake... then dropped it... 这种连续动作很适合用先后顺序复述因果链，帮助把“为什么会起火”说清楚。
相似句：
- The bird had caught the snake before it dropped it on the wires.
- Because the snake had wound itself round the wire, sparks fell to the ground.
读写提示
- 复述这课时要把“排除常见原因”写出来，这样结尾的真相才更有冲击力。
- 讲因果链时别只说‘蛇导致起火’，要说清鸟抓蛇、蛇缠线、火花落地这几个环节。
- 标题题要特别注意 hot 的语境义，不能机械直译成“热的”。
- 这类故事适合积累 accident, cause, explanation, mystery 一组叙事词。
考点
4
考点
4第 1 / 4 题
火灾一开始为什么显得难以解释？
选择题精讲
4
选择题精讲
4Multiple choice questions
6He was able to solve the mystery. He ______.未做
a.could if he wanted to b.could but he didn't want to
c.succeeded in solving it d. didn't succeed in solving it
6key phrase : be able to＝can, succeed in doing未做
11In this way he was able to solve the mystery. ______he did it.未做
a.That's so b.Like this c.That's how d. So
11in this way以这种方式 = that’s how未做
显示答案与解析
like 在英文中不表示方式, 只表示两者的东西很象
补充精讲
1
补充精讲
1Summary writing
- 摘要写作
- 1 Have firemen put out a big forest fire in California or not? Have they been trying to discover its cause?(Now that ...)
- 2 Was there any evidence that it was started by broken glass or by a cigarette end or not?
- 3 Who has just solved the mystery?(However)
- 4 What did he notice? Had it been dropped by a bird on to the electric wires or not?(which)
- 5 Where did the snake wind itself? What had it sent to the ground? Did this cause the fire or not?(In winding... and)
- 1 now that 既然
- Now that fireman have put out a big forest fire in California ,they have been trying to discover its cause.
- 2 evidence n 证据
- 区分同位语从句与定语从句地区别 :
- 如果that做了主语或者宾语, 是定语从句
- 如果that既不作主语也不作宾语, 是同位语从句
- fact , evidence 的后面往往是加同为语从句
- 5 (in) winding itself around the wires the snake had sent sparks to the ground and it caused the fire.
- 介词 “in” “on” 放在动词 “-ing” 前面的理解方式和没有 “in” “on” 的理解方式一样