Lesson 89 A slip of the tongue

【New words and expressions】（7）

slip n. 小错误

comedy n. 喜剧

present v. 演出；adj. 出席，到场的

queue v. 排队

dull adj. 枯燥，无味

artiste n. 艺人

advertiser n. 报幕员

★slip n. 小错误，失误，疏漏

You’ve made some slips (of the pen) in your report.

When he was nervous, he would sometimes make a slip of tongue.

【Text】

People will do anything to see a free show -- even if it is a bad one. When the news got round that a comedy show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it. We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began. Unfortunately, the show was one of the dullest we have ever seen. Those who failed to get in need not have felt disappointed, as many of the artistes who should have appeared did not come. The only funny things we heard that evening came from the advertiser at the beginning of the programme. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone burst out laughing. We all know what the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: 'This is the Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company. Good ladies, evening and gentlemen!"

参考译文

人们总要想尽办法看不花钱的演出——哪怕是拙劣的演出。当“皮尤”鸟食公司将在我们当地影院演出喜剧节目的消息传开后，我们都赶紧跑去观看。我们不得不排了好几个小时才进得场去。在演出开始前场内肯定已有好几百人了。不幸的是，这次演出是我们看过的最乏味的演出了。那些没能进到场内的人没有必要感到失望，因为很多应该出场的专业演员都没有来。那天晚上唯一有趣的事情是节目开始时那个报幕员的开场白。他显然非常紧张，局促不安地在麦克风前站了好几分钟。但他刚一开口说话，人们便哄堂大笑起来。我们都明白那个可怜的人应该说些什么，而他实际说的却是：“这是‘浦伊’鸟食公司，好女士们，晚上和先生们！”

【课文讲解】

1、A slip of the tongue

a slip of the tongue 口误，说走了嘴，失言

Are you sure that it was just a slip of tongue? 你确信那只是一时口误吗？

2、People will do anything to see a free show -- even if it is a bad one.

anything用于肯定句时表示“不论什么，任何事情”，to see a free show表示目的，也可以用for +名词形式：

He will do anything to save his child’s life.

He will do anything for the child.

3、When the news got round that a comedy show would be presented at our local cinema by the P. and U. Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it.

get round = get around/about 四处传遍，（消息、谣言等）传开

The word soon got round that there was buried treasure in that cave.

Bad news gets round quickly.

4、As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone burst out laughing.

burst out 突然……起来（后面常接动名词，或in/into+名词）

When she heard that her father had died in the accident, she burst out crying.

At the sight of the drunk, everyone burst out laughing/in laughter.

【Special Difficulties】 

Free and Single

free

① adj. 免费的，无偿的

She has got some free ticket to the comedy show.

The people are free to choose who will govern them.

② adj. 自由的，没束缚的，不受控制的，空闲的

You are free to make your own decision.

I’m free on Friday evening.

single adj. 单身的，独身的，未婚的

I enjoy being single.

Are you married or single?

a single parent 单亲（独自一人养育儿女的父亲或母亲）

Queue and Row

queue

① vi. 排队

We had to queue for hours to get in.

She has to queue for the bus every morning.

② n.（按顺序等待的人、车等的）行列、队（通常为纵队）

There’s a long queue/line of people waiting for the bus.

We’d better join the queue for tickets.

row n.（人或物的）一排、一行（通常为横的）

You can see me in this old photo, standing in the back row.

Please put the desks in four rows.

Funny 

① adj. 有趣的，滑稽的，逗人发笑的（与amusing同义）

He included a large number of funny stories in his speech.

② adj. 反常的，古怪的，奇怪的（口语）

I thought there was something funny about the parcel, so I phoned the police.

This morning I saw her wearing a funny hat which looked like a lighthouse.

在英语中，形容词和名词的使用非常广泛，它们可以帮助我们更精确地描述事物和情况。以下是对您提供的几组词汇的详细解释和例句，以帮助您更好地理解和使用它们。

Free

Free 作为形容词，有两个主要含义：

  1. 免费的，无偿的：
    - 表示没有成本或不需要支付费用。
    - 例句："She has got some free tickets to the comedy show."（她得到了一些喜剧节目的免费票。）
    - 例句："The people are free to choose who will govern them."（人们可以自由选择谁将管理他们。）
  2. 自由的，没束缚的，不受控制的，空闲的：
    - 表示没有限制、约束或义务，或者表示有空闲时间。
    - 例句："You are free to make your own decision."（你可以自由做出自己的决定。）
    - 例句："I’m free on Friday evening."（我周五晚上有空。）

Single

Single 作为形容词，通常用来描述婚姻或关系状态：

  1. 单身的，独身的，未婚的：
    - 表示一个人没有结婚或没有固定的伴侣。
    - 例句："I enjoy being single."（我喜欢单身。）
    - 例句："Are you married or single?"（你结婚了吗，还是单身？）
  2. 单亲的（独自一人养育儿女的父亲或母亲）：
    - 描述一个父母独自抚养孩子的家庭情况。
    - 例句："a single parent"（单亲家长）

Queue

Queue 作为动词和名词，与排队有关：

  1. 排队（动词）：
    - 表示按顺序等待的行为。
    - 例句："We had to queue for hours to get in."（我们必须排队等候数小时才能进去。）
    - 例句："She has to queue for the bus every morning."（她每天早上都得排队等公交车。）
  2. 行列、队（名词）：
    - 表示按顺序排列的人、车辆等。
    - 例句："There’s a long queue of people waiting for the bus."（有一大排人正在等待公交车。）
    - 例句："We’d better join the queue for tickets."（我们最好加入购票的队伍。）

Row

Row 作为名词，通常用来描述排列：

  1. 一排、一行：
    - 表示按顺序排列的人或物。
    - 例句："You can see me in this old photo, standing in the back row."（你可以在这张旧照片中看到我，我站在后排。）
    - 例句："Please put the desks in four rows."（请把桌子排成四行。）

Funny

Funny 作为形容词，有两个主要含义：

  1. 有趣的，滑稽的，逗人发笑的：
    - 表示某事物或某人的行为引人发笑或娱乐。
    - 例句："He included a large number of funny stories in his speech."（他在演讲中加入了许多有趣的故事。）
  2. 反常的，古怪的，奇怪的：
    - 表示某事物不寻常或令人困惑。
    - 例句："I thought there was something funny about the parcel, so I phoned the police."（我觉得包裹有些不对劲，所以我报了警。）
    - 例句："This morning I saw her wearing a funny hat which looked like a lighthouse."（今天早上我看到她戴着一顶看起来像灯塔的奇怪帽子。）

理解这些词汇的含义和用法，可以帮助我们更准确地表达自己，同时也能更好地理解他人的表达。掌握这些词汇对于提高英语水平和进行有效沟通非常有帮助。