Lesson 53
Hot snake
触电的蛇
First listen and then answer the question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What caused the fire?
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fires are often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a firemen accidentally discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake from the ground and then dropped it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.
New words and expressions 生词和短语
hot adj. 带电的，充电的
fireman n. 消防队员
cause v. 引起； n. 原因
examine v. 检查
accidentally adv. 意外地，偶然地
remains n. 尸体，残骸
wire n. 电线
volt n. 伏特（电压单位）
power line 电力线
solve v. 解决
mystery n. 谜
snatch v. 抓住
spark n. 电火花
参考译文
消防队员们终于扑灭了加利福尼亚的一场森林大火。从那时起，他们一直试图找出起火的原因。森林火灾时常由破碎的玻璃或人们随手扔掉的香烟头引起。昨天，消防队员仔细查看了地面，但未能发现碎玻璃。他们还十分肯定火灾也不是由烟头引起的。然而今天上午，一个消防队员偶然发现了起火的原因。他发现了缠绕在16,000伏高压线上的一条死蛇。就这样，他解开了起火之谜。解释很简单，却异乎寻常。一只鸟把蛇从地上抓起来，然后把它扔到了电线上。于是蛇就缠住了几根电线。当它这样做时，把火花送到了地面，这些火花立刻引起了一场大火。
Summary writing
1. now that: 既然
Now that firemen have put out a big forest fire in California, they have been trying to discover its cause.
2. 区分同位语从句和定语从句的区别：
如果that做了主语或者宾语， 是定语从句
如果that既不作主语也不作宾语， 是同位语从句
5. In winding itself around the wires the snake had sent sparks to the ground and it caused the fire.
介词in, on 放在动词-ing前面的理解方式和没有in,on的理解方式一样
Lesson 54 Sticky fingers
sticky adj. 粘的
finger n. 手指
pie n. 馅饼
mix v. 混合，拌和
pastry n. 面糊
annoying adj. 恼人的
receiver n. 电话的话筒
dismay v. 失望，泄气
recognize v. 认出，听出
persuade v. 说服，劝说
mess n. 乱七八糟
doorknob n. 门把手
sign v. 签字
register v. 挂号邮寄
as sticky as glue 和胶水一样粘
thumb 拇指
index finger 食指
middle finger 中指
ring finger 无名指
little finger 小指
toe 脚趾
mixture n.
It is annoying.
annoyed 感到烦恼的
比anger 的语气弱
dismay sb. 让某人感到失望
dismaying 令人失望
dismayed 感到失望
reason with sb. 劝说
try to persuade 劝说
What a mess!
You are a mess!
The man/ woman is a mess!
make a mess of sth. 制造乱七八糟
You make a mess of your job.
sign your name(s) here 在这签名
signature n. 签名
I need your signature. 我需要你的签名。
autograph