A hero's aspiration

● A hero’s aspiration( Title)

aspiration: n. [C, U]a strong desire to have or achieve sth. 强烈愿望；志向；抱负

The large gap between aspiration and reality eventually broke his spirit. 愿望与现实之间的巨大落差最终使他心灰意冷。

●Officer Jonda’s pulse quickened. Road conditions were dangerous on that cold, dark winterynight.(Para.1) Meaning: Police officer Jonda's heart beat more quickly. On such a cold, dark night in winter, road conditions were dangerous.

* wintery: a. (also wintry)

1) cold or typical of winter 寒冷的；冬天似的

It was one wintery morning, and everyonewas still sleeping.

2) a wintery smile or expression is not veryfriendly (笑容或表情) 冷漠的；冷冰冰的

She gave a wintery smile when he promisednever to cheat her again.

●It was swaying. It was not swaying violently, and was still barely within the lane, but on the winding road in the fierce

November rain, it was enough. (Para. 1)

Meaning: The car was moving from one sideto another. It was not swaying violently, and the driver still managed tokeep it within thelane, but it was clear that the driver did so with great difficulty. With the road having alot of turns and the heavy rain in November , an accident was likely to happen.

* barely

1. ）only with great difficulty or effort

His voice was barely loud enough to be heart at the back of the classroom.

2.）almost not

Afraid of darkness, Nina barely walks out of the house at night.

Usage: barely, bare

barely为副词，表示“勉强才能；几乎不；刚刚（表示强调）只有，仅仅（强调数量之少）”等意义，例如

They barely earn enough to maintain themselves and their four children.

He was so drunk that he could barely stand,

She was barely15 when she won her first championship,

bare为形容词，表示“赤裸的；光秃秃的；无覆盖物的；仅有的；勉强的；最低限度的”等意义。例如

We used to do silly things, like running bare foot through the park.

Gusts of cold wind shook the trees' bare branches.

The patient stood uneasily on the bare floor.

Our profit margin is a bare 1%. 我们的利润仅有1%。

barely为否定词，不应与not 或其他否定词连用，例如

(×) The temperature was not barely above freezing. (

(√) The temperature was barely above free zing. 气温接近冰点。

4. barely和hardly,scarcely一样，可以表示“刚...就...”。在正式文体中，这些词可以置于句首，句子采用部分倒装的句式。例如

Barely had I said my name before he led me to the interview room. 我刚报上我的名字他就把我带进了面试的房间。wind: if a road, river, etc. winds somewhere, it has many smooth bends and is usu. very long （河流、道路等）蜿蜒，曲折前进

I enjoy walking along the narrow and windingstreets in my hometown. 我喜欢在家乡狭窄蜿蜒的街道上散步。

Vt. turn or twist sth. several times around sth. else 缠绕；卷绕

He started winding the string in to bring the kite out of the sky. 他开始往回收线，把风筝从天空中收回来。

●Jonda had a sixth sense for accidents and lived \n terror of them ever since that awful night so many years ago. (Para. 1) meaning: Ever since she was on the scene of a terrible accident one night many years ago, Jonda had lived in extreme fear of accidents. She also had a special ability to tell if there were accidents about to happen.

* sixth sense: n. [sing.] a special ability to know things without using any of your five ordinary senses such as your hearing or sight 第六感

Do you believe there are people who can get information through a sixth sense?

* terror, n. [U] a feeling of extreme fear 恐惧；惊恐

After the plane crash, I tended to shake with terror whenever I was about to fly in a plane.

* live in terror of sb. / sth.: be very afraid of sb. or sth. all the time

* Everyone for miles around lived in terror of the gang of robbers. 方圆几英里的人们都很害怕这伙强盗。

awful: a. very bad or unpleasant

Yesterday was an awful day for me when everything I did went wrong.

●She still couldn't abolish the terrible image of that teenager screaming for help, her help. Help that she had been unable

to give as she was driven back by the intense heat of the car fire. (Para. 1 )

Meaning: She still couldn't get rid of the terrible picture that she had in her mind, which was of that teenager crying loudly for her help. But she had not been able to give the help because she was kept from moving forward by the hot burning car. * abolish: Vt. officially get rid of a law, system, practice, etc. 废止；废除；取消

It was not until 1920 that they abolished all theunequal treaties.

Here abolish is used figuratively, meaning "do away with". For example:

This medicine will help you abolish the feeling of heaviness and pain in the leg.

* image: n. [C] a picture that you have in your mind, esp. about what sb. or sth. is like or the way they look 印象；概念

At 46, Burnett hardly fits most people's image of an American college student.46岁的伯内特不太符合大多数人心目中美国大学生的形象。

Here "Help that she had been unable to ..." is not a complete sentence. It is used by the author to emphasize the help that Jonda had been unable to give. The author intends to create a powerful effect.

●Her subsequent report on the incident had dutifully noted the facts, as she had been trained to write them, facts that did

not include screams or pain. It was strange to talk about them one way. a string of facts for a police report; and to think about them in another: burning metal and deep tire tracks on the slipperyconcrete, bits of safety glass like primitive crystals reflecting inpools of blood. (Para. 2)

Meaning: Her follow-up report on the incident had only put down the factsobjectively as required from her duties, as she had been trained to do it that way. But the report didn’t include screams or pain caused by the incident. It was strange to talk ,u.d think about the facts in different ways. In the police report, she just wrote down everything that had happened, but when she thought about it, what came to her mind were the burning metal body of the car, deep tire tracks on the wet road, and pieces of broken safety glass, which shone in pools of blood like unprocessed crystals.

* a string of: a number of similar things or events coming one after another

Theteam had a string of 13 wins last season. 上个赛季，该队边赢了13场。

* slippery: a. a slippery surface, object, etc. Isdifficult to hold, walk on, etc. because it is smooth, wet, or covered in sth, such as ice or oil 滑的；湿滑的

The Eiffel Tower was closed to the public after a morning snowfall made it too slippery to climb.

concrete:

N.[U] a substance used for building that is madeby mixing sand, small stones, cement, and water 混凝土

a. definite and specific 具体的（反义词：abstract 抽象的）

There is no concrete evidence to support theclaim that the crisis is truly over.

* safety glass: n. f UJ strong glass that breaks into very small pieces that are not sharp, used for example in car windows 安全玻璃

●These were memories Jonda could never really turn off. She leaned on her training for

support, and these days she never ignored any signs of the next accident. (Para. 2) Meaning: Jonda could never get rid of these memories. She depended on what she had been trained to remain strong, and these days she paid attention to any potential accident.

* turn off: (infml.) stop listening to or thinking about sth. or sb. 不再听；不再想I couldn’t understand the lecture of this professor, so I just turned off. 我听不懂这位教授的讲座，所以也就不听了。

●make a gesture/ gestures: make a movement of your hands, arms or head, etc. to express an

idea or feeling 做示意动作；做手势

She made a rude gesture at the other driver. 她对另一名司机做了一个粗鲁的手势。

* Collocation note

make a gesture是常用搭配。这里用make，而不是do a gesture。make 和do是英语中搭配能力能强、用法灵活的两个动词。前三个单元集中复习了他们的常见搭配。学习搭配可以避免过度、重复或一成不变地使用同一个词，从而避免语言单调乏味。比如要表示“做手势”这个意思，可以用动词gesture,也可以用词组make a gesture，这样语言表达更加丰富。例如：

I gestured/ made a gesture toward the boathouse, and he looked inside. 我做了个手势指指船库，他就朝里面张望。

本单元的collocation部分将主要介绍用其他更为确切的动词来替代do和make，使语言更生动。

*patrol: 1. n. A group of people or vehicles that move around a place in order to prevent trouble or a crime.巡逻队，巡查队，巡逻车队

The state patrol identified the young man wounded in a motorcycle crash as James Renison. 州巡逻队确认在摩托车撞车事故中受伤的年轻人是詹姆斯雷尼森。

[C,U] The movement of patrol around a place.巡逻，巡查

Should police be allowed to carry guns on the streets when they're on patrol?那名警察在街区巡查时，发现了两辆超速行驶的车辆。

V. move rapidly around a place in order to prevent trouble or crime.巡逻，巡查

Patrolling through the neighborhood, the policeman found two speeding cars.

* beat somebody to it:do something before somebody else.在某人之前做

When I went to take the keys, I found that someone had beaten me to it.当我去拿钥匙时，我发现有人抢先拿走了。

* pull over: drive to the side of the road and stop your car, all make somebody else do this（使车辆或司机）停靠在路边

The policeman signals him to pull over, and give him a speeding ticket.那名警察示意他靠路边停车，并给他一张超速罚款单。

●The big car slowed but not enough to stop at the warning sign as a driver slammed on the brakes. Meaning：The driver of the big car pressed the brakes hard. The car slowed, but not in time to stopat the warning sign.

* slam：Vt. 1) Put move or hit something somewhere with great force猛放，用力移，猛击

My wife got so angry that she suddenly slammed the book down on the table.我妻子很生气，

突然把书重重地扔在桌子上。

2)shut a door or lid with great force so that it makes a loud noise, often because you're angry.

使劲关，把......砰地关上

Shut the door carefully. Don't slam it.

* slam on the brakes: make a car stop very suddenly by pressing the brakes very hard猛踩刹车Unless in an emergency situation, it is best not to slam on the brakesbecause it may cause damage to the vehicle.

*bring something to a halt: make something stopmoving使暂停，使停止

Production was brought to a halt by a strike.生产因罢工而被迫暂停。

*backup: n. [C, U]1) people or equipment that can be used for extra help is needed后备人员，支援人员，备用设备

I've got my mom as a backupin case the babysitter can't make it.万一保姆来不了，我妈妈可以做后补。

2)[C] A copy of information on your computer that you make in case you lose the information备份

To protect the data stored in your personal computer, it is importantto take a back up, of the files at frequent intervals.为了保护你个人电脑里保存的数据，你需要不时地给文件做备份，这是非常重要的。

●The rain had swelled the river into a raging monster. (Para. 5)

Meaning: The river had become so large and so full because of the rainfall that it was now

like an angry monster.

* swell: 1.) V. increase in amount or number(数量)逐渐增加,（使）增多，增大

The population of London swelled with young people coming from across the country.随着全

国各地的年轻人的到来，伦敦的人口越来越多。

2.)Vi. become larger and rounder than normal, used especially about parts of the body肿胀

I had a toothache that makes the side of my face swell up.我牙疼得一边脸都肿了。

* raging: adj. 1)happening with a lot of force or violence狂暴的，猛烈的

Life is like a raging river- you never know what is around the next bend.生活就像一条汹涌的

河流，你永远不知道下一个弯道有什么。

2)very serious, painful or strong严重的，痛苦的，剧烈的

I started to develop this raging toothache last night.从昨晚开始，我牙疼的要命。

●And half submerged in the current was the car.(Para. 5)

Meaning: Half of the car was under the river water.

submerge: Vt. cover sth. completely with water or another liquid

She lost her consciousness after being submerged in an icy river for minutes.

*Sentence structure note

有时为了强调可将部分谓语至于句首，构成倒装结构，用于这类倒装结构的动词大多表

示为位置或状态，如hang, stand, sit等。

1、现在分词至于句首的倒装结构，例如：

Leading to the park is a very delightful road. 通向公园的是一条非常宜人的路.

2、过去分词至于句首的倒装结构。例如：

Buried in the sands was an ancient village.埋在沙土之中的是一个古老的村庄。

3、不定式至于句首的倒装结构。例如。

To be carefully considered are the following questions.下列问题要仔细考虑。

●As big as It was, the force of the water had heaved it against a tree, the passenger seat

submerged, water rushing over the windshield. (Para. 5)

Meaning: Though the car was big, the current （水流）was so strong that the car had been lifted up against a tree. The passenger seat was completely covered by the river and the water was

running quickly over the windshield（挡风玻璃）.

Note: “As big as it was” means “Although the car was big”. Here the first as means “although”. For example:

As tall as he was, he was not qualified to get into the school basketball team. 虽然他很高，但是他还是没有资格进入校篮球队。

heave: push, pull, or lift a heavy object using a lot of effort ( 用力) 推，拉，提，举

The box is so heavy that I need four strong men to heave it into the car.

Vi. move up and down with very strong movements

When he heard the surprising news, his chest heaved and his mouth was widely open.

* passenger seat: n. [C] the seat in the front of a vehicle next to the driver 乘客/副驾驶座位●"Dear Lord!" Jonda prayed. ''Never again!" This is too much, too familiar, Jonda thought.

(Para, 5)

Meaning: "Oh, my goodness!" Jonda prayed, "Never let the same tragedy happen again!" This is too much and too familiar for me to bear, Jonda thought.

●The driver would not have had time to make it out, Jonda knew. (Para. 6)

Meaning: Jonda knew that the driver would not have had the time to manage to get out of the car.

Note: we often say make it out alive.This phrase is used when someone has managed to escape a life-threatening situation. It is often to abbreviated to make it out. 我们常用这个表达法”make it out alive/ make it out”来表示死里逃生。

* cut through: move or pass easily through water or air（在水中或空中）轻松地通过

I always admire the divers who can cut through water easily.

我一直很佩服潜水员，他们能在水中自如的游动。

●And the water was filling up with water. (Para. 6)

Meaning:And the car was becoming full of water.

* fill up with: become full of something

There is growing concernthat California's prisons are beginning to fill up with too many prisoners.

*encase: Vt. cover or surround something completely把.....包住, 把.....围住

Her broken arm was encased. in plaster(石膏）.

unbelievably(Para.7)

* Note: The word unbelievable is used for emphasizing how good, bad, impressive etc. something is.Unbelievably is the adv. form of unbelievable, and it means “in a manner that is hard to believe; astonishingly”

In this remote village, kids study in unbelievably crowded classrooms.

like(Para.7)

* Note: The conjunction like means as if, but it is informal and mainly used in spoken English. 连词like在这里相当于as if，但是它是一种非正式的的表达法，常常用于口语当中。例如He looked at me like I was mad.他看着我，就好像我是个疯子。

But some people think it is not correct to say so, so we should use the formal expression as if when we write.但是有人认为这种用法是不准确的，所以，当我们在写作的时候必须要使用正式的表达法as if。

* collapse:1. )Vi. suddenly fail down or become unconscious because you are ill or weak She arrived at home exhausted, and barely capable of taking a shower before collapsing on her bed.

2)If a building or wall etc. collapses, it falls down suddenly usually because it is weak or damaged.

Last night the roof of the old house collapsed under the weight of the snow.

● A work badge pinned to her chest identified her as Sandy.

The woman wore a badge on her chest, which showed her name was Sandy.

*identify: Vt. 1)be a sign that shows who or what somebody is是......的标志，显示出

Jack's red and gold jacket identified him as a steward.杰克那金红相间的上衣显示他是名乘

务员。

2)recognize somebody and be able to say who they are辨认，确认某人

The policeman said they used a number of methods to identify that clerk as a spy.警方说他们用了几种方法证实那名职员是个间谍。

3)recognize something and understand exactly what it is确认，识别某物

Face your problems as soon as you identify them because avoiding them will not help.你一旦确定了问题就要去面对他们，因为逃避是没用的。

identify somebody as somebody: show who somebody is表明......的身份

His accent identified him as a Frenchman.他的口音表明他是法国人。

* betray：Vt. 1)show feelings that you're trying to hide流露(想掩饰的情感)

His comments betrayed a lack of understanding.他的评论表明他缺乏理解。

2)The disloyal to somebody who trusts you so that they are harmed all upset背叛，出卖

He was accused of betraying his country during the war.他被指控在战争期间背叛了祖国。n. betrayal 背叛

David caught up with Jonda and passed her the window hammer.

Meaning: David came from behind quickly and handed Jonda the window hammer.

* ma’am: (AmE, spoken) used to address woman in a polite and respectful way

How can I help you, ma’am?

●The glass, thick as the old car was big, barely cracked. And with a heavy heart Jonda felt

the car heave. The current was loosening it from the tree. (Para. 9)

Meaning: Just as the old car was big, the glass was thick, so the hammer could hardly break it. And Jonda felt sad as the car moved a bit. The current was pushing the car away from the tree. * with a heavy heart: feeling very sad

He lefthis country with a heavy heart.

*might: [U] great strength and power.威力, 权力

mighty adj. 强壮的

He swung his ax again with his might.他又一次用尽全力挥起斧子。

mercifully: adj. fortunately or luckilybecause the situation could have been much worse 幸运地，幸而，幸亏

We were late getting to the airport, but mercifully our plane had been delayed.我们赶到机场时已经迟到了，但是幸运的是，我们的飞机正好晚点了。

●Water rushed inand the car heaved again, soon to be carried downstream.(Para. 10) Meaning: Water poured into the car quickly, and the car moved again.It was soon going to be washed down the river.

* downstream: adv.in the direction that a water in a river or stream is flowing顺流而下，向下游方向

Two cars were swept downstream in the flood.在洪水中，有两辆汽车被冲到了下游。

●The car heaved one last time, and just as thewoman cleared it, it was swallowed by the

water. (Para. 13)

Meaning: The car made one last move, and just as soon as the woman came out of the trapped car, it sank into the river.

*clear: Vt. go over a fence, wall, etc. without touching it, or go past or through sth. and no longer be in it 穿过，越过，不触及的通过，脱离

All the passengers managed to clear the bus before it was burnt down.所有的乘客在公共汽车烧毁前得以脱身。

*streak: move very quickly快速移动

The car streaked across the road with a dog behind it.那只猫飞快的穿过马路，后面跟着一条狗。

*letgo of somebody or something: stop holding somebody or something放手，松开

Never let go of your target, and you will eventually get near it.绝不要放弃你的目标，这样你

最终就会离它越来越近。

Stiff and sore, Sandy cried, “ Thank you!” (Para. 14)

Meaning: Sandy was unable to move her body and she felt painful. She cried, “Thank you!”stiff: adj. If you are stiff or a part of your body is stiff, you feel pain in your muscles and cannot move easily肌肉疼痛的，僵硬的，不灵活的

Sitting still before a computer all day can give you a stiff neck.一整天坐在电脑前一动不动，会使你的脖子僵硬。

*这里的形容词短语stiff and sore在句子中用作状语

Cold and hungry, I couldn't fall asleep.

Sad and angry, I stood there, unable to say anything.

*acute: adj.1) very serious or severe严重的

Sometimes the more cute the illness, the earlier it is for a doctor to diagnose it.有时病症越严重，医生就越容易作出诊断。

2)used for describing the senses and abilities of somebody who notices things very quickly and easily灵敏的，敏锐的

It's well known that dogs have an acute sense of smell.众所周知，狗有灵敏的嗅觉。

cute: 可爱的