听播客学英语 163 What does it mean Watson...

 　　We use the word “mean” in English in lots of different ways. I imagine that you use the word very often. You ask your English teacher what a particular English word means¹. You say for example, “What does ‘tree’ mean?” You are saying, what is the word for “tree” in my language? How can I translate the English word “tree”?

　　But we can use “mean” in other ways too. For example, you remember that Joanne’s mother really does not like Kevin, and she is unpleasant² to him every time they meet. But last time they met, she was quite nice. She asked about his football team, and where he and Joanne were going on holiday. What can it mean? Why was she so nice? What is the explanation?

　　Another example. I go to my bank website to check how much money is in my account³. I see that there are two transactions⁴ which I do not remember. What can this mean? Has someone stolen my debit⁵ card? Has the bank made a mistake? Or have I simply forgotten what I spent the money on? What is the explanation?

　　And another example, with a slightly different meaning. Kevin goes to a party at his friend George’s house. He stays until about 1am. This means that he has missed the last bus home. It means that he will need to walk home or get a taxi. In other words, the result of staying late at the party is that Kevin has missed the bus and will have to walk home.

　　In the early 20th century, the English writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote books and short stories about a detective called Sherlock Holmes. You have probably heard of him, since the Sherlock Holmes stories have been translated into many different languages. Sherlock Holmes had a companion, Dr⁶ Watson, who worked with him on many of his cases.

　　Here is a Sherlock Holmes joke that I found in the newspaper last week.

　　In one of their adventures, Holmes and Watson needed to travel to a remote place. There was no house where they could stay, so they took a tent with them. As evening fell, they pitched⁷ the tent, and after they had eaten their supper they went to sleep in the tent for the night.

　　In the middle of the night, Holmes woke Watson and said, “Look up, Watson. What can you see?”

　　And Watson woke up, and looked. “I see the stars,” he said. “There are thousands and thousands of them.”

　　“And what does it all mean, Watson?” said Holmes. “What does it mean?”

　　And Watson replied, “Well, if there are millions of stars and even a few of those stars have planets⁸, it is quite likely that there are other planets like earth in the universe. And if there are a few planets like earth in the universe, there might also be life – living things like us.”

　　“You fool Watson,” replied Holmes. “It means that someone has stolen our tent!”

1 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。

2 unpleasant   

adj.使人不愉快的，使人厌恶的，煞风景的

参考例句：

• A very unpleasant thing has happened.一件令人很不愉快的事发生了。
• The kind advices are often unpleasant to the ear.好言常常不入耳。

3 account   

n.叙述；帐目；帐户

参考例句：

• She left out an important item in her account.她的账目漏掉了一个重要的项目。
• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account.他从银行账户上提了几次款。

4 transactions   

处理( transaction的名词复数 )； 事务； （一笔）交易； [复数]（学术团体等的）议事录

参考例句：

• a system of paperless business transactions 无纸商业交易系统
• financial transactions between companies 公司之间的财务往来

5 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

6 Dr   

n.医生，大夫；博士(缩)（= Doctor）

参考例句：

• Dr.Williams instructs us in botany.威廉博士教我们植物学。
• The ward of the hospital is in the charge of Dr.Green.医院的这间病房由格林医生负责。

7 pitched   

adj.（屋顶）有坡度的v.投( pitch的过去式和过去分词 )；用沥青涂；排列；把…定于特定角度

参考例句：

• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。
• This song is pitched too high for my voice. 对我的嗓子来说，这首歌的音定得太高了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星