英语博客(A cup of English):027 Late for school!

　　Beginners.
This morning was an ordinary morning. I woke the kids up. "Wakey, wakey," I said gently to them, as usual. I brought the two youngest their breakfast drink that they like to drink in bed. They are spoilt², I know. The oldest two get themselves up and ready. They make their lunches, get their backpacks, play a little with the dog, and then it's time to get in the car. Today was a bit different, though. The car didn't start. Uh-oh! What had happened? Maybe a light had been left on last night, so the battery had no power. Well, I found the battery charger, hooked⁴ it to the battery, and plugged it in. We waited, waited, and waited. Finally, there was enough power to go. I called the schools to say why we were late. No big deal! The kids had extra time to play and to watch Tom and Jerry. Sometimes plans must change.
Grammar notes.
Useful expressions: ordinary, gently, as usual, to spoil¹, to get ready, though, battery, to charge, to hook³ something onto something, to plug in.
Verbs: to wake (up) (wake, woke, woken); to bring (bring, brought, brought); to find (find, found, found).
To happen. Exs: What's happening? What happened? What had happened?
Advanced.
Sometimes mornings are quite smooth in our household, but at other times, there are surprises or 'bumps⁵ in the road'. This morning was one of the bumpy⁶ ones. Everything had started out normally⁷: wake up the kids, get their breakfast, find their shoes and coats etc etc. The dog was on her best behavior, - no accidents anywhere, and no chewing things that shouldn't be chewed. Everyone was in a good mood as well, which is a great plus on a school day. We got in the car, as usual, I turned the key, as usual, and ...silence. Not even a click, click. Uh-oh, a flat battery. Well, that wasn't in my plan for this morning. Okay, what should I do? In the garage is a battery charger that you can plug into a socket⁸. Perfect. I carefully, very carefully, hooked everything up, responsibly avoiding electrocution, and waited. Gosh, each time I tried to start the car I only got a happy little click, click, click. So, I called the schools to explain our delay. I did some laundry. I even did this podcast. The kids didn't mind hanging out at home a bit longer; they played with the dog and with the Wii. Well, finally, the battery was charged. We were saved. We had regained⁹ our connection to the world. Hurray! So, off to school with no excuses.
Grammar notes.
Words to remember: household, to be on one's best behavior, a flat battery, a charger, a socket, a plug, laundry, bumps in the road, a change of plans.
Verbs: What should I do? What should be done? What would you do in my situation.

1 spoil   

n.战利品，赃物，奖品，掠夺，次品；vt.损坏，破坏，溺爱；vi.腐坏，掠夺

参考例句：

• Don't bunch the flowers up so tightly,you'll spoil them.别把花束得这么紧，会弄坏的。
• Overacting will only spoil the effect.表演过火，效果反而不好。

2 spoilt   

adj.（孩子）宠坏的；惯坏的；（食物）变质的；spoil的过去式和过去分词v.变质( spoil的过去式和过去分词 )；损坏；毁掉；破坏

参考例句：

• The film is spoilt by unrealistic contrivances of plot. 这部电影被不实际的牵强情节给毁了。
• Our camping trip was spoilt by bad weather. 天气不好，破坏了我们的露营旅行。

3 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

4 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

5 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学

6 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

7 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

8 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

9 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。