新概念英语第三册lesson 24 A skeleton in the cupboard

Lesson 24:A skeleton in the cupboard
            “家丑”
         
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Who was Sebastian?

    We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed² from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
    It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spend an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack³ my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided⁴ to hang one of the tow suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified⁵. A skeleton was dangling⁶ before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a read skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'

New words and expressions 生词和短语

     skeleton
n.   骷髅

     seemingly
adv. 表面上地

     respectable
adj. 体面的，雅观的

     conceal¹
v.   隐藏，隐瞒

     vivid
adj. 生动的

     dramatic
adj. 令人激动的，扣人心弦的

     ruin
v.   毁坏

     heroine
n.   女主人公

     fiction
n.   小说

     varying
adj. 不同的

     medicine
n.   医学

     guestroom
n.   （家庭中的）来客住房

     unpack
vt.  （从箱中）取出

     stack
v.   （整齐地）堆放，排放

     underclothes
n.   内衣

     drawer
n.   抽屉

     petrify⁷
v.   使惊呆

     dangle⁸
v.   悬挂

     sway
v.   摇摆

     unsympathetic
adj. 不表同情的，无动于衷的

     medical
adj. 医学的

参考译文

    在小说中，我们经常读到一个表面上受人尊重的人物或家庭，却有着某种多年不为人所知的骇人听闻的秘密。英语中有一个生动的说法来形容这种情况。惊人的秘密称作“柜中骷髅”。在小说的某个戏剧性时刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出来，接着便是某人的声誉扫地。当读者到小说最后几页了解到书中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可爱的老妇人年轻时一连毒死了她的5个丈夫时，不禁会毛骨悚然。
    这种事发生在小说中是无可非议的。尽管我们人人都有各种大小秘密。连最亲密的朋友都不愿让他们知道， 但我们当中极少有人有柜中骷髅。我所认识的唯一的在柜中藏骷嵝的人便是乔治.卡尔顿，他甚至引以为自豪。乔治年轻时学过医，然而，他后来没当上医生，却成了一位成功的侦探小说作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，过得很不愉快。这事我永远不会忘记。乔治把我领进客房，说这间很少使用。他让我打开行装后下楼吃饭。我将衬衫、内衣放进两个空抽屉里，然后我想把随身带来的两套西服中的一套挂到大衣柜里去。我打开柜门，站在柜门前一下惊呆了。一具骷髅悬挂在眼前，由于柜门突然打开，它也随之轻微摇晃起来，让我觉得它好像马上要跳出柜门朝我扑过来似的。我扔下西服冲下楼去告诉乔治。这是比“骇人听闻的秘密”更加惊人的东西，这是一具真正的骷髅啊！但乔治却无动于衷。“噢，是它呀！他笑着说道，俨然在谈论一位老朋友。“那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是学医的了。”
 

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　　自学导读
Notes on the text
课文注释
1  A skeleton in the cupboard，直译为“柜中骷髅”，此系一成语，作“家丑”解。
2  conceal sth, from sb. 作“对某人隐瞒某事”解。
3  The reader's hair stands on end，读者感到毛骨悚然。
4  to varying degrees，在不同程度上。
5  stood in front of it petrified，站在柜前吓呆了。
stand此处表示处于某种状态，起系动词的作用，后面常接形容词、介词短语或过去分词，表示主语处于某种状态中的特征，可视作表语。
6  the impression that it was about to leap out…，
that引导的从句作impression的同位语。be about to do sth. ，表示按照计划即将做的动作。

　　Multiple choice questions
多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1  In what respect does fact differ from fiction concerning the secrets that people keep to themselves?
a．They are rarely so terrible as to ruin our reputations if revealed.
b．People's closest friends do not even suspect them of having them.
c．People who have ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ are rarely found out.
d．People who have skeletons in their cupboards are very proud of the fact.
2  Before opening the cupboard door, the writer had ______ .
a．unpacked⁹ and gone down for dinner
b．changed into some new clothes
c．put his shirts and his underwear in a couple of drawers
d．hung one of the two suits he had brought with him
3  What was the most frightening thing about the writer's experience?
a．The sight of a skeleton hanging in the cupboard.
b．The sudden movement of the door when he opened the cupboard.
c．To discover that it was the skeleton of an old friend of George's.
d．To have found a real skeleton rather than finding out a terrible secret.
Structure 结构
4  We often read in novels of a seemingly respectable person or family ______ some terrible secret … (11. 1-2)
a．having
b．has
c．whom has
d．that they have
5  The only person I have ever known ______ a skeleton in the cupboard … (11. 11-12)
a．he had
b．of having
c．that he has
d．to have
6  ---- George Carlton, and it is ______ he is very proud of. (1. 12)
a．the fact
b．something
c．that which
d．what
7  No sooner had I opened the cupboard door ______ I stood … (11. . 17-18)
a．and
b．then
c．than
d．that
8  ‘ ______ that I was a medical student once upon a time? ’ (1. 22)
a．Why don't you remember
b．Have you forgotten
c．Do you forget
d．Have you not remembered
Vocabulary
词汇
9  The English language ______ a vivid saying to … (11. 3-4)
a．owes
b．contains
C．holds
d．has
10  ---- the guestroom , which, he said, was ______ used. (1. 15)
a．little
b．a little
c．uncommonly¹⁰
d．preciously
11  He told me to unpack my ______ and then … (11. 15-16)
a．items
b．objects
c．trunks
d．belongings¹¹
12  ---- gave me the impression that it ______ leaping out at me. (1. 19)
a．was on the point of
b．was concerned with
c．was thinking of
d．was almost

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

3 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

7 petrify   

vt.使发呆；使…变成化石

参考例句：

• A political deadlock may petrify economic initiatives.政治僵局可能会使经济发展停滞。
• Slogans petrify our thinking.口号僵化了我们的思想。

8 dangle   

v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂

参考例句：

• At Christmas,we dangle colored lights around the room.圣诞节时，我们在房间里挂上彩灯。
• He sits on the edge of the table and dangles his legs.他坐在桌子边上，摆动著双腿。

9 unpacked   

v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。
• Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

10 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

11 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。