Lesson 95 A fantasy
【New words and expressions】（12）
fantasy n. 幻想故事
ambassador n. 大使
Escalopia n. 艾斯卡罗比亚（虚构的国名）
frightful adj. 可怕的，令人吃惊的
fire extinguisher 灭火器
drily adv. 冷淡地，枯燥无味地
embassy n. 大使馆
heaven n. 天，天堂
basement n. 地下室
definitely adv. 肯定地
post v. 派任
shot n. 子弹
★post v. 派任
① vt. 派任，委派（与人连用）
I must definitely get that fellow posted.
Two months ago, Horst was posted to Paris.
② vt. 邮寄（与物连用，美语用mail）
He posted me a Christmas card last year.
Would you please post this parcel for me?
★aim
① vt. &vi.（把……）瞄准/对准
He aimed a fire extinguisher at me.
He aimed at the dog but missed.
② vi. 目标在于，志向
What he aims for is money. 他追求的是金钱。
She aims to be a painter.
③ n. 目的，目标，志向
What is your aim in life?
You’ve missed your aim again.
【Text】
When the Ambassador of Escalopia returned home for lunch, his wife got a shock. He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.
'What has happened?' she asked. 'How did your clothes get into such a mess?'
'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily. 'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.'
'Good heavens!' exclaimed his wife. 'And where were you at the time?'
'I was in my office as usual,' answered the Ambassador. 'The fire broke out in the basement. I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me. He thought I was on fire. I must definitely get that fellow posted.'
The Ambassador's wife went on asking questions, when she suddenly noticed a big hole in her husband's hat.
'And how can you explain that?' she asked.
'Oh, that,' said the Ambassador. 'Someone fired a shot through my office window. Accurate, don't you think? Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.'
参考译文
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。他面色苍白，衣服也搞得不成样子。
“发生了什么事？”她问，“你的衣服怎么搞得一塌糊涂？”
“灭火器弄的，亲爱的，”大使冷冷地回答，“今天上午大学生们放火点着了大使馆。”
“天啊！”他的夫人惊叫，“那你当时在什么地方？”
“我和往常一样，在办公室里，”大使回答说。“地下室突然着火，我当然马上下去了。但那个傻瓜霍斯特把灭火器对准了我。他认为是我着火了。我一定要把那个家伙打发走。”
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。
“那么你对那又作何解释呢？”她问。
“那个嘛，”大使说，“有人向我办公室窗户开了一枪。真够准的，是不是？幸亏我当时没戴帽子。如果真戴着它，我现在就不能回家来吃午饭了。”
【课文讲解】
1、How did your clothes get into such a mess?
get into a mess 搞得这样糟
When she returned from the market, the children had got the room into a terrible mess.
Why was her hair in such a mess?
2、University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.
set…on fire 放火，使……燃烧，放火烧……
In 1834, someone set the Houses of Parliament on fire.
3、The fire broke out in the basement.
break out （火灾、战争等）突然发生，爆发
When the fire broke out in the ship, Sally was frightened out of her wits.
4、I went down immediately, of course, and that fool, Horst, aimed a fire extinguisher at me.
aim…at 用……瞄准
5、Someone fired a shot through my office window.
fire v. 发射（枪、弹等）
When the prisoner of war tried to escape, a guard fired a gun at him.
A young man fired on the British Ambassador to Japan.
一位年轻人向英国驻日本大使开了枪。
文章中使用了过去时态来叙述发生的事件，如“returned home”，“got a shock”，“looked pale”，“set the Embassy on fire”等。这是英语中描述过去发生的事情的常用时态。
文章中多次出现了直接引语，例如：'What has happened?' she asked.和'A fire extinguisher, my dear,' answered the Ambassador drily.直接引语是引述某人的原话，而间接引语则是对原话的转述，如：'University students set the Embassy on fire this morning.' 这是间接引语，转述了大使的话。
文章中使用了形容词来描述人物和情景，如“pale”描述大使的脸色，“frightful”描述衣服的状况，“big”描述帽子上的洞。形容词用于修饰名词，给读者提供更多细节。
“driedly”是一个副词，用来修饰动词“answered”，表明大使回答的语气或态度。副词可以用来修饰动词、形容词或其他副词，为句子增加额外的信息。
文章中出现了一些复杂句子结构，如使用“and”连接的并列句：'He looked pale and his clothes were in a frightful state.'还有使用疑问句和感叹句：'What has happened?' 和 'Good heavens!' 这些句子结构增加了叙述的丰富性和表现力。
文章中使用了多样的词汇来描述事件和情感，如“fantasy”、“ambassador”、“extinguisher”、“exclaimed”等。这些词汇丰富了文章的内容，使得故事更加生动。
文章中使用了“must definitely get that fellow posted”来表达大使的决心，其中“definitely”是一个副词的最高级形式，用来强调大使的坚定态度。
文章中出现了一个条件句：'Fortunately, I wasn't wearing it at the time. If I had been, I would not have been able to get home for lunch.' 这是一个第三条件句，用来表达与过去事实相反的假设情况。