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新概念课文精读下册黑色幽默

新概念英语二 · 下册 · 精读资料卡

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When the Ambassador or Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock.
当艾斯卡罗比亚国的大使回到家吃午饭时，把他的夫人吓了一跳。
He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.
他脸色苍白，衣服也糟得不成样子。
in a frightful state 说明情况严重但尚未解释。
'What has happened?'
“发生了什么事？”
she asked.
她问，“你的衣服怎么搞得一塌糊涂？”
'How did your clothes get into such a mess?'
“你的衣服怎么会弄成这个样子？”
get into such a mess 是很地道的“搞得一团糟”表达。
'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily.
“天啊！”
'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.'
他的夫人惊叫，“那你当时在什么地方？”
'Good heavens!'
“我和往常一样，在办公室里，”大使回答说。
exclaimed his wife.
“地下室突然着火，我当然马上下去了。
'And where were you at the time?'
“那当时你人在哪儿？”
at the time 追问他当时的位置，也把危险进一步贴近本人。
'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador.
“我像往常一样在办公室里。”大使回答。
as usual 让危险事件和日常办公形成反差。
'The fire broke out in the basement.
我一定要把那个家伙打发走。”
I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me.
大使夫人继续提出问题，她突然又发现丈夫的帽子上有个洞。
He thought I was on fire.
“他以为是我着火了。”
这句荒诞解释让灭火器事件更黑色幽默。
I must definitely get that fellow posted.'
“我一定得把那个家伙调走。”
大使关注的不是自己差点出事，而是部下太蠢，更显口气冷淡。
The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat.
“那个嘛，”大使说，“有人向我办公室窗户开了一枪。
'And how can you explain that?'
真够准的，是不是？
she asked.
幸亏我当时没戴帽子。
'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador.
“噢，那个嘛。”大使说道。
Oh, that 轻描淡写得惊人，是黑色幽默最有味道的停顿。
'Someone fired a shot through my office window.
Accurate, don't you think?
Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time.
“幸好我当时没戴那顶帽子。”
luck 与 danger 正面对撞。
If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'
“要是我当时戴着，我现在就回不了家吃午饭了。”
用轻描淡写方式说“我可能已经死了”，极具讽刺效果。

单元概要

本课写一位虚构国家的大使在同一天里先被灭火器喷了一身，又差点被子弹打中帽子，回家后还用极其平静的语气讲给妻子听。重点在于对话推进、dry humour 和 if 虚拟语气。

精读导图
1. 先写大使狼狈回家。
2. 再通过对话解释火灾和灭火器事件。
3. 最后由帽子上的洞揭出更大的危险。

精读关注
- drily 的语气
- if 虚拟语气里的黑色幽默

单词表

单词音标释义精讲
fantasy/ˈfæntəsi/幻想故事
  • 标题提示这并非真实国家背景，但语言处理非常像真实外交事故
ambassador/æmˈbæsədə(r)/大使
  • 大使身份让他的镇定和礼貌口吻更显反差
frightful/ˈfraɪtfl/可怕的；糟糕的
  • in a frightful state 写外表狼狈程度
extinguisher/ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃə(r)/灭火器
  • 火没烧到他，灭火器却先把他弄得不成样子
drily/ˈdraɪli/冷冷地；干巴巴地
  • answered drily 决定全文的黑色幽默口气
embassy/ˈembəsi/大使馆
  • Embassy 被纵火让事件一下升到政治层面
basement/ˈbeɪsmənt/地下室
  • fire broke out in the basement 是第一场危险的发生地
shot/ʃɒt/枪击；子弹
  • through his office window 的一枪让危险更直接、更致命

短语

短语意思
in a frightful state糟糕透了的状态
set ... on fire把……点着
break out突然发生（火灾）
aim ... at ...把……对准……
if I had been ...要是我当时……的话

语法点

drily 的语气功能

大使不是大喊大叫，而是 dryly 叙述灾难，这正是文章幽默的来源。

相似句：
  • He answered drily that the house had collapsed.
  • She remarked drily that dinner was ruined.

与过去事实相反的虚拟语气

If I had been, I would not have been able... 表示现实中他没戴帽子，因此幸存。

相似句：
  • If I had stayed there, I would have been hurt.
  • If she had seen the car, she would have stopped.

过去叙事中的 break out

The fire broke out... 是突发事件常用动词。

相似句：
  • War broke out in the region.
  • A storm broke out at night.

读写提示

  • 这课要写出“危险越大，语气越平静”的幽默。
  • 不要漏掉帽子上的洞，它是第二次升级。
  • 结尾虚拟语气句非常关键。
  • 对话体故事适合抓人物语气而不仅是事件本身。

考点

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第 1 / 4 题

为什么说大使 particularly lucky？

新概念英语二 · 下册 · 精读资料卡 | 学习盒子