Lesson 12 April Fool's Day

愚人节

一、词汇部分
1.fool/fuːl/ n. 傻瓜
扩展：jerk/dumbass/asshole/a piece of shit.
搭配：make fool of 取消；make fool of oneself 自取其辱

2.bulletin/ˈbʊl.ə.t̬ɪn/ n. 新闻简报
扩展：bullet/bull/bully

3.announcer/əˈnaʊn.sɚ/ n. （电视、电台）播音员
扩展：announce v. 宣布；pronounce 发音

4.macaroni/ˌmæk.əˈroʊ.ni/ n. 通心面，空心面条

5.leading/ˈliː.dɪŋ/ adj. 主要的
扩展：leading actor 主演；

6.grower/ˈɡroʊ.ɚ/ n. 种植者
扩展：grow 成长；Failure is not a bad thing. It makes you grow.

7.splendid /ˈsplen.dɪd/ adj. 极好的

8.stalk/stɑːk/ n.梗
扩展：stalk v. 尾随；stalker 尾随者；pervert n.变态

9.gather/ˈɡæð.ɚ/ v. 收庄稼
10.thresh/θreʃ/ v. 打（庄稼）

11.process/ˈprɑː.ses/ v. 加工

12.Signor /si'njɔ/ n.（意大利语）先生

13.present /ˈprez.ənt/ adj.目前的
扩展：present n. 礼物；v. 呈现；
搭配：at present 目前，现在；in the past 在过去

14.champion/ˈtʃæm.pi.ən/ n. 冠军

15.studio /ˈstuː.di.oʊ/ n.播音室

文章讲解

'To end our special news bulletin,' said the voice of the television announcer, 'we're going over to the macaroni fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading growers, Giuseppe Moldova and Riccardo Brabante, tell me that they have been expecting a splendid crop this year and harvesting has begun earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cartloads of golden brown macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year's crop before the September rains. On the right, you can see Mrs. Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs. Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest: the famous Calabrian macaroni-eating competition! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1991. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April lst. We're now going back to the studio.'

文章精讲：

1.'To end our special news bulletin,' said the voice of the television announcer, 'we're going over to the macaroni fields of Calabria.

知识点:
end up with/end up doing something 结果是…
例句：We were planning to take a trip to America, but we ended up taking English classes all day.

例句：It’s not the end of the world. Everything will be all right.

2.Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years.

知识点:
完成时被动语态：have/has been + done
扩展：时态＋语态
扩展：完成进行时——have/has been doing something 一直做某事

例句：I’ve been trying to figure out how it works. 我最近一直在想搞清楚，这个到底是怎么回事。

扩展：area/neighborhood
例句：Peter is a new kid in this neighborhood.

扩展：完成时＋时间（for/since）
例句：I’ve been teaching English since my second year in college.

3.Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cartloads of golden brown macaroni stalks. The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing this year's crop before the September rains.

知识点:
定语从句
1)名词＋who ….
2)定语从句里面（关系代词／关系副词）
名词／代词＋（连接词＋句子）谓语＋宾语。
名词／代词谓语宾语＋（连接词＋句子）

搭配：finish doing something 完成做某事
例句：I just finished watching a movie. You wanna have some night snacks?

表达点：have been doing something

4.On the right, you can see Mrs. Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs. Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed.


知识点:
搭配：on the right/left/in front of(in the front of)/behind
例句：You’ll see the subway station on your right hand.

扩展：take a right/left
例句：Go down this road and take a left at the first crossroad. 直走，然后在第一个红绿灯左转。

Right in front of …正前方
例句：I didn’t expect he would cry right in front of us.我没想到他会在我们面前哭。

定语从句：
Mrs. Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed.

5.This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest: the famous Calabrian macaroni-eating competition! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1991. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April lst. We're now going back to the studio.'

知识点:
宾语从句
This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest

扩展：
show up 出现；We had been waiting for him the whole night. But he didn’t show up.

end up doing something结果以…告终。It went really well at first, but we ended up breaking up.

Who was the most ignorant American you have ever met?

I overheard a woman at a meeting tell another woman that she doesn’t drink milk when it’s hot outside. She said, “When it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside or more, milk will curdle and spoil inside of your body.”
I wanted to correct the lady. However, I knew it would be of no use. She continued to talk to the other woman about milk going bad inside the body when it’s hot outside for a few more minutes.
Update: The average normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.