英语博客(A cup of English):057 What a criminal!

　　Beginners.
On the highways here in the United States you will find some signs that say, "Buckle¹ up! We love you." The message is to remind people to fasten their seat belts to stay safe. It's a good idea. Another thing that is available on the highways is free coffee. In certain areas on the long roads, there are places where you can stop to get a  free cup of coffee. This helps to keep people awake when they drive at night. It saves lives, and also money. Another good idea. Today, as I was driving my kids to school, I noticed a lot of police cars . I passed one of their cars that was flashing. This was serious. Suddenly, a policeman on the side of the road waved me over. I opened the window and he said, "Hi Ma'm, we're doing a safety belt check today." "Oh, good idea," I said. "Are all your children strapped³ in?" he asked, looking in the car. I looked behind and saw that none of my three boys had their belts on. Oh great! My daughter did. I always strap² her in. On the way to school, I always tell the boys to do up their belts, but obviously today they didn't. The policeman pointed⁴ out the problem. He asked me for my driver's license⁵. Guess what? I had left my bag at home, so I didn't have my license either. He informed me that it is illegal to drive without the license. I actually didn't know that. Oh what a morning! The policeman was very kind, and let me go with just a small fine. The experience was a good reminder⁶, and a warning.
Grammar notes.
Important vocabulary: driver's license, seat belt, buckle up, to strap in/ to do up, illegal, message, sign, warning, reminder.
Verbs: to remind, to guess, to strap in/ buckle up, to point out.
Exs: Please remind me to pay the bill tomorrow.
He guessed the answer; he didn't really know it.
Strap yourself in/ buckle up, we're going to drive on a busy street.
He pointed out that the speed limit in town is thirty miles an hour.
Advanced.
"If you don't strap yourself in, I'm not going anywhere." That is something I say regularly to my three boys when we get in the car, especially when I tell them to put their seat belts on and they don't pay attention. They look at me with impatient eyes, as if they want to say, "Mum don't nag⁷ us; it's too early in the morning." Well, sometimes I don't nag enough. This morning I got into trouble with the police for three of my four kids not being strapped in. The policeman was perfectly⁸ reasonable and calm, which I appreciated. If you get one in a bad mood, the situation could be more unpleasant than necessary. We live only a four minute drive from the school, so it is a temptation, I confess, to just get there quickly and to not double check the seat belt situation. Well, when I agreed with the policeman that their project was a good idea, he seemed surprised. "Most people don't respond like that. We usually get a lot of excuses." There is no point being dishonest, is there? It's all about the safety of the children, so we should comply⁹. I felt quite comfortable in the situation, even though I was the one at fault. Probably I was still too tired to imagine myself behind bars, or having to pay a huge fine. I hadn't had my morning coffee yet, so my imagination was not awake enough to scare me. Anyway, I don't have to wear a stripey suit and get locked up. Just a small fine is the only punishment. Let's all stand corrected!
Grammar notes.
Verbs: to pay attention, to nag, to appreciate, to be honest/dishonest/at fault.
Exs: I wish the students would pay attention.
He says that his wife nags¹⁰ him about his spending habits.
I appreciate all the hard work you have done.
He has to make a choice between being honest or dishonest.
When I'm at fault, I say so.

1 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

2 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

3 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

7 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 comply   

v.遵照，照做，应允，顺从，服从

参考例句：

• She was told to pay the fine,but refused to comply.她被通知交纳罚款，但她拒不服从。
• Candidates must comply strictly with these instructions.候选人必须严格遵守这些指示。

10 nags   

n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The trouble nags at her. 那件麻烦事使她苦恼不已。 来自辞典例句
• She nags at her husBand aBout their lack of money. 她抱怨丈夫没钱。 来自互联网