生活英语对话 Episode 70:Heartbreak for Alice?

本单元是关于心烦意乱的 Alice 的对话。

Alice's mum: Alice, you sound dreadful¹ - what's the matter?
Alice: Oh nothing Mum.
Alice's mum: Doesn't sound like nothing to me Alice.
Alice: Mum, you can't do anything to help.
Alice's mum: Maybe not Alice, but you might feel better if you talk about it.
Alice: Ok, well, I had a date with Paul last night, and when I arrived at the restaurant, he was talking to somebody on the phone, but he didn't see me come in, and I didn't mean to eavesdrop², but I heard what he was saying, and I heard him say something like, 'I can't wait to see you' and he said, 'darling' and then I heard him say, 'I love you'!
Alice's mum: Oh Alice, there's probably a perfectly³ reasonable explanation.
Alice: He's seeing someone else Mum, that's the explanation!

Vocabulary 字汇

dreadful: 糟糕的
terrible, awful

to eavesdrop:偷听到...
to listen to another person's conversation without them knowing you are listening

本单元的语言点是过去进行式和过去简单式，请看下面的解释和例句。

Past continuous⁴ and past simple - interrupted activities

Past continuous and past simple - interrupted activities 过去进行式和过去简单式
English speakers often use the past simple and past continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else. In this episode⁵ of The Flatmates, Alice says:

'...when I arrived at the restaurant, he was talking to somebody on the phone...'

This means that Paul started talking on the phone before Alice arrived at the restaurant, and he was still talking when she entered the restaurant.
The order of the clauses⁶ is not important here. It is possible to change the clause⁷ order without changing the meaning of the sentence.

'...he was talking to somebody on the phone when I arrived at the restaurant...'


'When', 'while' and 'as' 表时间之关系

'when', 'while' and 'as' are important time markers. They can be used with the past simple or the past continuous part of the sentence.

'...when I arrived at the restaurant, he was talking to somebody on the phone...'

'...he was talking to somebody on the phone when I arrived at the restaurant...'

'As I was walking down the street, I met my old teacher.'

'I met my old teacher as I was walking down the street.'

'While the teacher was talking, two of the students fell asleep.'

'Two of the students fell asleep while the teacher was talking.'


Past simple 过去简单式

The past simple is usually used when things happen one after another.
She got up, had a shower, got dressed , made breakfast and went to work.


Stative verbs 静态动词
Some verbs are not normally⁸ used in the continuous tense. These are often verbs associated with thoughts and feelings such as: believe, know, understand, want, think, feel, like, love, smell, taste, hear.

In this example, 'think' means 'to have an opinion':

I am thinking that this book is very expensive - wrong

I think that this book is very expensive - right

However, if the verb describes an action , the continuous tense can be used. In this example, 'think' refers to an activity:

My mum called just when I was thinking about her.

1 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

2 eavesdrop   

v.偷听，倾听

参考例句：

• He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.他藏在壁橱里，以便偷听。
• It is not polite to eavesdrop on the conversation of other people.偷听他人说话是很不礼貌的。

3 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。

4 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

5 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

6 clauses   

从句( clause的名词复数 )； （法律文件等的）条款

参考例句：

• Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。
• Please underline the noun clauses in the passage. 请用线画出短文中的名词性从句。

7 clause   

n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句

参考例句：

• The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
• What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款？

8 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。