}  We have been brought up to fear insects. We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good. We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat against our lighted windows. We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths. Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears. Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch.

}  to fear insects：怕着insects 长大的
本文中这句话有不定式的感觉。

}  did you just bite me?
你是不是咬我了？
don’t bite your nails!

    不要咬指甲

}  Web crawler /spider/robot

    网络爬虫，搜索引擎的网络爬虫。这个爬虫在网络上不停穿梭，到处拷贝别人的网页，然后带回自己的数据库。

}  No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating. We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives.

}  Direction:
Can I get some directions?
Could you tell me how to get to Laurentian University?
Could you direct me to the Bank of China?
Could you show me the way to the nearest subway station?
这几种是问路时的说法。

}  We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their business, unaware (we hope) of our presence. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing home an enormous dead beetle?

}  Sight:
It was love at the first sight.
那是一见钟情。
Beauty lies in the eye of beholder.

   情人眼里出西施。

}  Fly:

   Your fly is open/down.

    你的拉链没有拉上。Fly 可做拉链讲。

}  Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree. The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house. I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches. During the summer, I noticed that the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither. Clusters of tiny insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them.

}  One of Mary’s prize possessions was a little white lamb which… (lesson 16)prize plants. (lesson 23)

When I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my

    prize 可以做珍贵讲，相当于presures

}  I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though it failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids. The tape was so sticky that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time. I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment. I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it.

}  A – 80 to 100%   Exceptional performance
B  – 70 to 79%    Good performance
C  – 60 to 69%    Satisfactory performance
D  – 50 to 59%    Minimally competent  performance
F  – 0 to 49%       Failure

}  I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity. The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods!

}  I climbed, I don‘t know, like a billion stairs.

   我不知道爬了多少楼梯。

}  The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from highhanded or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.

}  I reaIIy admire your whoIe studying attitude.
我真的很欣赏你学习的态度。admire 一般大家都认为它有两个意思，一是欣赏；二是佩服，其实把它当成欣赏的意思就行了，因为这两个意思并不冲突。你欣赏一个人，多少都有点佩服。
I’ve admired your work for years. You’ve done some really amazing stuff.

   要注意这里用的是完成时，但没有表达完成时的意思。完成时可以表达完成，持续的发生。像I’ve missed you跟I miss you 差不多；还有一个就是老外经常说的 I’ve missed you already 还没有分开就开始想你了。

}  The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public.

}  Lending friends money is always a mistake.
借给朋友钱不是什么好事情。
You must be mistaken. mistake, I should‘ve told you sooner.
如果这里用 it was my fault(过错，错失)，意思就会有点变了。
It was a simple mistake. It could happen to anyone.

It was my

   你犯的这个错误，很多人都有可能犯。这是开导人，安慰人的一句话。

}  As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is ‘Justiteombudsman’, but the Swedescommonly refer to him as the ‘J.O.’ or ‘Ombudsman’. The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure.

}  Be subject to

   be subject to 这里to后面的内容，就是在……的笼罩之下，威力之下
What online sales are subject to sales tax?
什么东西在线销售需要销售费？
Fees in this catalog are subject to change without prior notice

   在这个表格里边的费用有可能不提前通知。prior notice 提前通知

}  He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and examines every single letter in detail.

}  you gotta admit that our relationship is ah, is hitting a new level now.
你不得不承认我们的关系现在又进一步。
I want our love to grow before we move on to the next level.
我希望我们的爱能跟上我们关系的发展。
根本就不是一个 level

}  There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman’s work for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen’s complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman’s work.

}  On behalf of
On behalf of everyone, I salute you.
我代表大家向你致敬。
I‘m calling on behalf of Jacky, and is Kelly in today?
我是代表Jacky 打电话，Kelly 在吗？

}  A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner’s complaint was justified and the Chief of Police strongly denied the accusation.

}  simply because :

   同样的意思在口语里边用的更多的是just because
Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t make it wrong.
你不懂，不理解，但不能说那是错的。
Just because you guys had a fight, it does not justify her sleeping with someone.
不能仅仅因为你们吵了一架，你就和别人睡觉，这是不正当的。

}  It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his lawyers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts.

}  nothing is impossible
anything is possible
同样的意思。有一次我看一个广告，意思一样，但是表达得比较洋气——

}  Impossible is nothing

}  The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman’s prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.

}  Prosecute/sue

   这两个是同义词
I’ll sue you.
I am gonna take you to count.
you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.
这几个是同样的意思，表示“我会告你的”“咱们法庭见”
(pending) charges
charges 定罪；pending charges 是指正在调查你，又发现了新的罪名，但是还没找到证据.
Convicted/proved or declared guilty

    被证明，被法官判有罪
the current situation is that no matter what, you’ll be convicted.
现在的情况是，不管怎么样，你都会被判有罪。

}  My cousin, Harry, keeps a large curiously-shaped bottle on permanent display in his study. Despite the fact that the bottle is tinted a delicate shade of green, an observant visitor would soon notice that it is filled with what looks like a thick, grayish substance.If you were to ask Harry what was in the bottle, he would tell you that it contained perfumed mud. If you expressed doubt or surprise, he would immediately invite you to smell it and then to rub some into your skin. This brief experiment would dispel any further doubts you might have.

}  smell :

    味道，气味
What is that smell? It‘s coming from the bathroom.
什么味道？厕所里传出来的。
Everything smells so delicious!

}  The bottle really does contain perfumed mud. How Harry came into the possession of this outlandish stuff makes an interesting story which he is fond of relating. Furthermore, the acquisition of this bottle cured him of a bad habit he had been developing for years.

}  the possession of :
this one must have been in the possession of a private collector…(lesson1)
本课和第一课的possession 是占有，拥有的意思。
had taken complete possession of the hall!(lesson23)

   23课的possession是占据了整个hall

}  Harry used to consider it a great joke to go into expensive cosmetic shops and make outrageous requests for goods that do not exist. He would invent fanciful names on the spot. On entering a shop, he would ask for a new perfume called ‘Scented Shadow’ or for ‘insoluble bath cubes’.

}  the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous (lesson 28)
可以把这个词理解成 unbearable 不能忍受的 

}  perfume /cologne

   香水/古龙水

}  If a shop assistant told him she had not heard of it, he would pretend to be considerably put out. He loved to be told that one of his imaginary products was temporarily out of stock and he would faithfully promise to call again at some future date, but of course he never did. How Harry managed to keep a straight face during these performances is quite beyond me.

}  beyond me :

   这个词41课也出现了，它是指超出了我的认知范围，超出了我的知识范围
Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me.(lesson41)

}  Harry does not need to be prompted to explain how he bought his precious bottle of mud. One day, he went to an exclusive shop in London and asked for ‘Myrolite’, the shop assistant looked puzzled and Harry repeated the word, slowly stressing each syllable.

}  Prompt/pop-up message/drop-down menu
在使用电脑的时候，有时候会弹出一个对话框，这样的一个动作就叫做prompt/弹出窗口信息/下挖菜单

}  Exclusive right to distribute our products in your area/territory

   在你的领地专卖我们的产品。exclusive 转有的；exclusive shop 专卖店

}  When the woman shook her head in bewilderment, Harry went on to explain that ‘myrolite’ was a hard, amber-like substance which could be used to remove freckles. This explanation evidently conveyed something to the woman who searched shelf after shelf. She produced all sorts of weird concoctions, but none of them met with Harry’s requirements. When Harry put on his act of being mildly annoyed, the assistant promised to order some for him.

}  Don‘t take this the wrong way, but your place kinda has a weird smell.
你别误解，我没什么恶意，但是你这个地方有点怪怪的味道。
Does it feel weird around here now?
你觉不觉得这里怪怪的？
How  would you explain all the weird stuff that’s been going on?
你怎么解释这些发生怪怪的事情？
Are you okay? You’re acting weird today.

   你没事吧？今天我看你怪怪的。

}  Intoxicated by his success, Harry then asked for perfumed mud. He expected the assistant to look at him in blank astonishment. However, it was his turn to be surprised, for the woman’s eyes immediately lit up and she fetched several bottles which she placed on the counter for Harry to inspect.

}  Suddenly, I saw the Officer‘s face light up.
(lesson 11)
本课和11课出现的light up 是指亮起来。这里如果你非要把light up和face联系起来，就是指他脸上看起来好像很开心。

}  M:I’m not quite sure how to put this, but about that calculator you let me use,I dropped it ,and now the on-button doesn’t light up.
W:Oh,that’s okay, it hasn’t been working right for some time now

    M: 我不知道怎么跟你说，你借给我的那个计算器那个on的按钮现在不亮了。

    W：没事，因为好长时间这个东西不怎么好用了。

     这是托福听力里的一段对话。这里的light up 是本意，发光，发亮的意思。

}  For once, Harry had to admit defeat. He picked up what seemed to be the smallest bottle and discreetly asked the price. He was glad to get away with a mere twenty pounds and he beat a hasty retreat, clutching the precious bottle under his arm. From then on, Harry decided that this little game he had invented might prove to be expensive. The curious bottle, which now adorns the bookcase in his study, was his first and last purchase of rare cosmetics.

}  I don‘t know why you can’t admit that you need me.
我不知道为什么你不能承认你需要我。
I hate to admit it, but you‘re probably right.
我不得不承认，但是你可能是对的。这里的 hate to admit 不能翻译成我恨去承认，而是一种玩转，礼貌的说法。
I hate to miss an opportunity just because I didn’t ask!
我不想因为没问而失去一个机会。
I hate to be the one to say it/,tell you,/bring this up …
我不想从我嘴里说出来/告诉你/挑起这个话题
I hate to complain, but I’m going to.

}  Predicting the future is notoriously difficult. Who could have imagined, in the mid 1970s, for example, that by the end of the 20th century, computers would be as common in people‘s homes as TV sets? In the 1970s, computers were common enough, but only in big business, government departments, and large organizations.

}  Department= major (X):

   有人在说专业这个词时用的是department,其实正确的是major。我学的是心理学：I major in psychology 。
international department

   国际部。是国外大学一个比较大的分支，专门管international student　的。
Registrar’s Offices

　这个权利比较大，管学生记录，管注册，管成绩单，管发毕业证
academic programs

　一门专业
subject

　学科
course

　课，一门课，两门课 

}  University, schools, departments, programs,

　这几个词之间有递减的关系。University下面可能有business schools ; medical schools，department 和 programs一个专业合在一起，可以叫department。

}  These were the so-called mainframe machines. Mainframe computers were very large indeed, often occupying whole air-conditioned rooms, employing full-time technicians and run on specially-written software. Though these large machines still exist, many of their functions have been taken over by small powerful personal computers, commonly known as PCs.

}  air-conditioned:
A:That’s an awfully heavy sweater for a day like today.
B: Well, I’m going to be at a lecture in the auditorium most of this morning. And you know what the air-conditioning’s like in there.

   A: 今天这样的天气你穿成这样一定会很热的。

   B：我整个早上要去大会堂听一个Lecture，你知道的，那里的空调不怎么好。

   air-conditioned rooms 装有空调的房间。

}  In 1975, a primitive machine called the Altair, was launched in the USA. It can properly be described as the first ‘home computer’ and it pointed the way to the future. This was followed, at the end of the 1970s, by a machine called an Apple.In the early 1980s, the computer giant, IBM produced the world’s first Personal Computer. This ran on an ‘operating system’ called DOS, produced by a then small company named Microsoft. The IBM Personal Computer was widely copied. From those humble beginnings, we have seen the development of the user-friendly home computers and multimedia machines which are in common use today.

}  user-friendly/search engine friendly

   易于操作，好学/ 对搜索引擎比较友好，搜索引擎比较容易找到你的网页

}  Considering how recent these developments are, it is even more remarkable that as long ago as the 1960s, an Englishman, Leon Bagrit, was able to predict some of the uses of computers which we know today. Bagrit dismissed the idea that computers would learn to ‘think’ for themselves and would ‘rule the world’, which people liked to believe in those days.

}  Rule/conquer:

   rule the world统治世界，征服世界。同义词：conquer

   下面这个句子是看电视剧时看到的，用在口语中
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I look at my life. And I feel like I’ve conquered the intellectual world.

}  Bagrit foresaw a time when computers would be small enough to hold in the hand, when they would be capable of providing information about traffic jams and suggesting alternative routes, when they would be used in hospitals to help doctors to diagnose illnesses, when they would relieve office workers and accountants of dull, repetitive clerical work. All these computer uses have become commonplace.

}  Alternative:
alternative fuels

   如果说你发现了新的能源，就是alternative fuelsalternative but to wait.

There was no

   没有其他选择，除了等，还是等。

}  Of course, Leon Bagrit could not possibly have foreseen the development of the Internet, the worldwide system that enables us to communicate instantly with anyone in any part of the world by using computers linked to telephone networks. Nor could he have foreseen how we could use the Internet to obtain information on every known subject, so we can read it on a screen in our homes and even print it as well if we want to.

}  communiqué

   公报，声明
China, Russia issue joint communiqué

   joint communiqué 联合公报

}  Computers have become smaller and smaller, more and more powerful and cheaper and cheaper. This is what makes Leon Bagrit’s predictions particularly remarkable. If he, or someone like him, were alive today, he might be able to tell us what to expect in the next fifty years.

}  What makes Leon Bagrit’s predictions particularly remarkable?
This is what makes Leon Bagrit’s predictions particularly remarkable.What makes you think we’re gonna break up?
This is what makes you think we’re gonna break up.

   这两个例子和段落里的红色字体部分是同样的句子结构，这里要特别注意从句的结构是陈述语序。

}   The New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least, most of us could compile formidable lists of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’. The same old favorites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity.

}  New Year resolutions：

   新年决心。新的一年新的开始，很多人在这个时候都会下决心在新的一年要到什么样子，这就是new year resolutions.
What are your New Year resolutions?
你的新年决心是什么呢？

}  Compile：Compiler
编撰      编辑器（编程上的东西，它其实是一个program,把高级语言翻译成另外的语言，尤其是机器可以解读的语言）

}  ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts :

    能做的和不能做的
Dos’ and don’ts for travelers.
旅行注意事项。
Any dos’ and don’ts’?
有什么注意事项吗？这句话比较常用
Any progress?
有什么进展么？
Any luck?

    这句话用得比较灵活。有时候在超市结帐时，收银员会问你这句话，就是“你有没有找到你想要的东西？”

}  We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat less, find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the house, be nice to people we don’t’ like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk every day. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure.

}  Nice: mean
nice 是对人好，它的反义词是mean,指对人坏

}  Inveterate:

    在这里它相近的词是 chain/heavy smoker 都是指烟瘾比较大
I am chain smoker.

I am a heavy smoker.

}  Frustration ：Frustrated

    frustration 挫败；frustrated 是形容词。有一次我和同学去医院，他把医生说的有点不耐烦了，医生就对我说——
Well,I am getting a little frustrated, now, you are educated, you read this through when you guys get home, ok?

    我现在不想再说了，你是有知识的人，你回去把这些东西看看，好不好？

}  Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions: to do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening.

}  Ambitious: ambition
ambitious形容词；雄心壮志，有野心，大的志向是ambition

}  Slip:
slipped my mind

   从我的mind 里边滑落了，就是指忘了

}  (being) aware of these pitfalls,…分词伴随

}  An all-night party on New Year’s Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.

}  Excuse:

    理由，借口
I have no excuses! I was totally over the line.
 我没有借口；我确实是做错了。over/cross the line 是指过了警界线，过分了
I always made excuses about it.
我总是找理由。

}  Apply: 
应用/申请
像这种词，不要去区分它后跟的是介词或者是不定式，意义不同；其实后面跟的是什么只是行文的需要，不影响该词原本的意思。见下例子——
申请 不要区分 APPLY TO/FOR
I apply to get this job

    这里是不定式表目的 to get this job
I apply for getting this job

    我申请是为了得到这个job 这样的事情；这里getting this job动名词，表示一件事。
I apply for this job

    这个更简单，与上同样的意思

}  The daily exercises lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the morning before anyone had got up. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable.

}  Lasted:

   持续
How long is it gonna last this time?
这一次能坚持多久呢？

}  Proposed/planed :

   proposed 本课这里是planed 的意思，计划。我要说的是求婚的意思。
I‘m gonna go find her and I’m just going to propose!
我现在就去找她，现在就要跟她求婚。

}  Drag:

   drag and drop

  鼠标拖动然后释放这个动作

}  Nevertheless, I managed to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was this that betrayed me.

}  Carpet:
Red Carpet
红地毯

}  Betrayed :

   这个是动词
betrayal 名词

}  The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the performance. That was really unsettling, but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the family good-humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, my enthusiasm waned. The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero.

}  Exercise:
Do you exercise regularly?
你经常锻炼身体吗？
Do you work out?
你做运动吗？
Have you been working out?
 

}  By January 10th, I was back to where I had started from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in the morning, I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home from work. Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to book.

}  Fresh:

   这三句话可以说是三个超市的slogan
We’re fresh obsessed!
这个是加拿大的一个超市叫做A&P的口号“我们的东西是新鲜的”
The brand you like, the price you want.
你喜欢的品牌，你想要的价格
We sell for less!

   这是另外一个超市“independent”它的口号“东西比较便宜”

}  One night, however, feeling cold and lonely, I went downstairs and sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven’t given up my resolution to do more reading. In fact, I have just bought a book entitled How to Read a Thousand Words a Minute. Perhaps it will solve my problem, but I just haven’t had time to read it!

}  Pretending to read: 分词伴随

}  Solve…problem：
problem solved.
apology accepted.
mission accomplished.

   这是常见的一个名词加上动词的过去式，这是完整的一句话。

}  It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants.

}  Conversation：

   这里的was just trying是口语里很随意的话——
I was just trying to make a conversation!
我只是在没话找话。意思就是说我只是想建立随意的对话而已，没有别的什么意思。
I was just trying to be nice!
我只是想nice 而已，没有太多深的含义。
I was just trying to be responsive!
我只是回应了一下，维持这样的对话，没有太多别的意思。

}  Domestic：
Domestic violence

   家庭暴力

}  Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called ‘The Gables’. She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband’s death. Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly.

}  grew old :

   变老
we’ll grow old together and be with each other always.

   我们会在一起慢慢变老。

}  I often visited The Gables when I was boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle’s huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust.

}  highly polished :

   这里要注意副词的用法，不太符合中文习惯，但这样用反而比较好，符合英文习惯
Highly recommended

   强烈推荐（highly 这个词跟强烈没多大关系，但是它就是这样搭配的）
perfectly normal

    非常正常
terribly cold
非常的冷

}  Present: /absent

    这是一对反义词

}  Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as ‘the shifting population’, for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.

}  referred them to as：
She always called/named them as ‘the shifting population’, …
这里的refer to 就当于 call/mean。第四课这里的refer 用的是被动式
People who work in offices are frequently referred to as “white-collar workers’ (lesson4)

}  Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.

}  carried on:

   这里carried on 两个词作一个词讲，它是指上飞机的时候，比较小的可以直接带在身边的行李
It’s too big to be a carry-on.You can’t take it on board.
这个太大了，你不能带上飞机。
How many pieces of baggage do you have to check?

   你要托运几件行李？托运用的是“check”这个词。

}  Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my aunt’s confidence that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie’s industriousness and efficiency. In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook. She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her ‘little weakness‘. After being absent from the Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner.

}  Could not find words to praise :
What’s the proper word?

   这里是说找不到一个词来形容，赞美。有一次上课，老师讲着讲着就停下来，他在想要用什么词比较合适，嘴里就说出了这句话。

}  little weakness：
… have classified all our little weaknesses.
(lesson26)
 

}  No only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. When she came in with the last course — a huge pudding — she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force. Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk.

}  mumbling : 小声嘟囔
He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party…(lesson29)

}  Missed：

   miss 有两个意思，见下例子——
David missed his flight.
David没有赶上飞机。
I miss you already.

　我想你了。

}  The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement. The poor girl was dismissed instantly.

}  trying to conceal their amusement：

　想笑又不好意思笑，尽量去掩饰这种滑稽，可笑
Terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years.(lesson24)conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds. (lesson28)conceal his excitement. (lesson34)

I could not

Frank could hardly

　他尽量掩饰心里的激动。这几个例子用法都是差不多的，可以自己去总结归纳一下这种规则

}  After her departure, Aunt Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie’s wardrobe. They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!

}  found their way :

　经过一些困难才到达目的地；它的英文解释是reach the destination with some difficulties.
Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there. (lesson15)