听播客学英语 74 失去

 　　Today we are going to “miss” things!

　　“Miss” is a word which we can use in several different ways. Here are some of them.

　　Kevin is at a football match. United¹, the team which he supports, is losing 1-0, and there is only five minutes before the final whistle². Then United’s star striker gets the ball. He runs down the field, past one, two, three of the players from the other team. Now he is only 10 meters from the goal. He kicks. Does he score a goal? No, he misses. The ball goes over the cross-bar. Kevin groans³ and buries his head in his hands. United have scored only three goals since Christmas.

　　You can miss other things too. You can miss your English class – that means⁴, you do not go to your English class. Perhaps you are ill. Perhaps you forgot to do your homework. You can miss a meal. If you wake up late, perhaps you rush out of the house without eating anything. You miss your breakfast. And, of course, you can miss a bus or a train, if you arrive too late at the station.

　　Here is another way of using the word “miss”. Imagine you have come to England for three months to learn English. There are probably lots of things about England that you like. But there are probably some things as well that make you sad or anxious. Perhaps you miss your friends – you would like to be able to meet them and chat to them. Perhaps you miss the food of your country – English food is awful! And perhaps you miss hearing people speaking your own language.

　　Now lets look at the word “missing⁵”. If something is missing, it is not where it should be. It is gone.

　　Joanne’s niece Sarah is seven years old. Her milk teeth (that is, her baby teeth) have started to fall out and her adult teeth have started to grow. At the moment, she has a big hole where her front teeth should be. She has two front teeth missing.

　　Joanne is shopping in the supermarket. At the till, she gets out her purse to pay. She looks in her purse. “That is strange,” she says to herself. “I am sure that I had a ??10 note. The ??10 is missing. Did I loose it? Did someone steal it?” Then she remembers. She spent the ??10 note yesterday.

　　It is not just money or teeth which can be missing. People can be missing, too. Every year in Britain, the police deal with over 200,000 cases of missing people, or missing persons.

　　What sort of people go missing? Many of them are children or young people. Perhaps they had an argument with their parents, and ran away from home without saying where they were going. Perhaps they were frightened, or badly treated.

　　Adults can be missing too. If you are an adult, you can leave home if you want to. You can run away from your family and your job without saying where you are going. It may not be a responsible⁶ thing to do, but it is not illegal⁷. Some adults gradually⁸ lose touch with their friends or family – they never write or telephone, and after a time the family does not know where they are. Some missing adults are people with drugs problems or mental health problems.

　　Happily, most missing persons are not missing for ever. Angry young teenagers calm down and return home. Adults get in touch with their families again, or send a message to say that they are safe and well. There are charities⁹ that help to find missing people, and which help people who have left their homes and families. There are only a very few missing persons cases which end with the police finding¹⁰ a body on a railway line or in an abandoned¹¹ house.

　　So now you know all about the words “miss” and “missing”. Listen to the podcast again, to make sure that you did not miss anything! Then do the quiz¹² on the website, which is all about missing words.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 whistle   

n.口哨，汽笛，啸啸声，口哨声；vi. 吹口哨，鸣汽笛，发嘘嘘声；vt.用口哨通知

参考例句：

• We heard the whistle of a train.我们听到了火车的汽笛声。
• He gave a loud whistle of surprise.他吹了一声响亮的口哨表示惊讶。

3 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

6 responsible   

adj.有责任的，应负责的；可靠的，可信赖的；责任重大的；vi.休息，睡；静止，停止

参考例句：

• He must be responsible to me for this matter.这件事他必须对我负责。
• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。

7 illegal   

adj.不合法的，非法的，犯法的

参考例句：

• I don't want to get mixed up with any illegal organization.我不想与任何非法组织有牵连。
• It's illegal for people under 17 to drive a car in Britain.在英国，不满17岁的人驾驶车辆是违法的。

8 gradually   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• The roaring sea gradually calmed down.咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
• Gradually he became silent.渐渐地他变得沉默寡言了。

9 charities   

n.慈爱( charity的名词复数 )；救济金；慈善团体；宽厚

参考例句：

• Many charities sent money to help the victims of the famine. 许多慈善机构捐款赈济饥民。
• Certain charities are exempt from VAT registration. 某些慈善机构无须进行增值税登记。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

11 abandoned   

adj.被抛弃的，废置的

参考例句：

• The baby had been abandoned by its mother. 这个婴儿被母亲遗弃了。
• The child was found abandoned but unharmed. 该弃儿被人们发现时安然无恙。

12 quiz   

n.智力竞赛；测验，小型考试

参考例句：

• They are having a quiz now.他们正进行小测验。
• He took part in a television quiz and won a prize.他参加了一个电视知识竞赛并得了奖。