张新峰供稿

功能口语

创造发明促进了社会的进步与发展。了解科学发明也许会对你的生活有所帮助。本期我们就一起来谈谈 the history of inventions吧。

一、常用表达

1. —I think the TV was invented before the car.

我认为在汽车之前就发明了电视。

—Well, I think the TV was invented after the car.

哦，我认为电视是在汽车之后发明的。

2. —Can you help me think of an invention?

你能帮我想一个发明出来吗？

—My pleasure.

非常愿意!

3. —When was the telephone invented?

电话是什么时候发明的?

—It was invented in 1876.

1876年。

4. —By whom was the zipper invented?

是谁发明了拉链?

—Whitcomb Judson.

惠特科姆·贾德森。

5. —When was the TV invented?

电视是什么时候发明的?

—In 1927. 1927年。

6. Tea was invented by accident.

茶的发明纯属偶然。

7. —When did people first drink tea?

人类第一次饮茶是什么时候?

—Nearly 5,000 years ago. 近5000年前。

8. Do you know how potato chips were invented?

你知道薯条是如何发明的吗？

9. Do you know when basketball was invented?

你知道篮球是什么时候发明的吗？

二、对话演练

从方框内选出合适的选项补全对话。

A. so he cut the potatoes really, really thin.

B. I guess it was back in 1853.

C. Really? What do you mean?

D. And the customer loved them and asked for more.

E. that one day, a customer came into the restaurant where George worked.

A: Hi, did you know that potato chips were invented by mistake?

B: _ 1_

A: Well, here on the bag it says that they were invented by a cook called George Crum.

B: When was that?

A:__2_

B: So, why was it an accident?

A: I remember,____3_____He ordered a plate of fried potatoes. When the potatoes came, he said they were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen.

B: So what’s up?

A: Oh, George was angry,___4____ And he cooked them for a long time until they were crispy. And he put lots of salt on them so they were really salty. He thought the customer would hate them.

B: And?

A: ___5_____He told the other customers about them, and soon everyone was ordering thinly cut, crispy, salty potato chips.

B: And we’re still eating them today.What a cool story!

口语一点通

1 Are you sure? 你确定吗？

我们对于某人所叙述的事情半信半疑时，便使用本句来质疑对方。本句与Are you certain?意思相同。

Q: Did you know Carl is almost fifty? 你知道卡尔将近五十岁了吗？

A: Are you sure? He doesn’t look that old. 你确定吗？他看起来并没有那么老。

Q: He told me so himself. 他亲口告诉我的。

【常用口语】

Are you positive? 你肯定吗？

Really? 真的吗？

【特别提醒】

上述对话中，“He doesn’t look that old.”句中的that作副词用，相当于so，表“那么；如此的”的意思。另外，注意以下例句所表达的含义。例如：

He looks young/old for his age. = He looks younger/older than he really is. 他看起来比实际年龄年轻/老。

2That reminds me.那倒提醒了我。

某人不经意地提及某事，勾起我们对某件事或某个人的回忆，或联想起要做某件事情，这时我们可使用本句。

Q: Do you know where Helen is? 你知道海伦在哪儿吗？

A: She’s gone to a flower shop. Today is her husband’s birthday. 她去了花店。今天是她先生的生日。

Q: That reminds me. My mother’s birthday is tomorrow. 那倒提醒了我。明天是我母亲的生日。

【常用口语】

Speaking of that,...谈到某事，……

【特别提醒】

首先应注意与动词remind有关的常用句型：“remind+人+of+事”，表“使某人想起某事”。例如：That picture reminds me of my childhood. 那幅画勾起我儿时的回忆。

此外，“speaking of...”词组常置于句首，表“谈到……”，其后主要接名词。例如：

Speaking of music, which do you like? 谈到音乐，你喜欢什么类型的？

3Wait a minute. 等会；且慢。

某人提议进行某事，但我们觉得那件事情恐有不周、欠考虑之处，便可使用本句，要求对方暂停计划，待思虑清楚澄清疑问后再做。本句与“Wait a second.”和“Wait a moment.”具有相同的意思。

Q: Let’s go to that new disco pub tonight.咱们今晚去那家新开的迪斯科舞厅吧。

A: It’s a great idea, David! 好主意，大卫！

B: Wait a minute, guys. That place is really expensive. 且慢，各位。那地方消费很贵的。

【常用口语】

Hold on. 稍后。

Just a minute. 等会。= Just a second.

【特别提醒】

上列类似用语中，“Hold on.”亦常作为电话用语，例如：

A: This is Peter. May I talk to John? 我是彼特。可以请约翰听电话吗？

B: Hold on, please. 请稍候。

4I’m out of luck. 我运气不佳。

我们走霉运的时候，总会觉得厄运连连，事情不管怎么做都不顺遂，此刻便可使用本句。与本句意思相反的表达为：I’m in luck. 我走运。

Q: Bob, can you give me a ride to the train station? 鲍勃，能载我一程送我到火车站吗？

A: Sorry, I can’t. I have a date. 抱歉，没办法。我有约会。

Q: Ted, how about you? 泰德，那你呢？A: I have to pick up my wife. 我得去接我太太。

Q: Looks like I’m out of luck tonight. I guess I’ll just have to take a taxi.

似乎我今晚运气不佳。我想我只能搭出租车了。

【常用口语】

What a bad luck! 真倒霉！