新概念英语第3册第19课

Lesson 19 A very dear cat 一条贵重的宝贝猫

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

Why was Rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?

Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. Rastus leads an orderly life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. One evening, however, he failed to arrive. Mrs. Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.

Three days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter. The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of ￡1,000. Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. At first, she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. She withdrew ￡1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions. The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening. He looked very well though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done. She explained that Rastus was very dear to her. Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!

1.dear

adj. (dearer, dearest)

1. (~to sb.) loved by or important to sb.

亲爱的; 宝贵的；珍视的

e.g.（1）他是我最亲密的朋友之一。

He is one of my dearest friends.

(2) 他的女儿是他心爱的宝贝。

His daughter is very dear to her.

2. (Dear) used at the beginning of a letter before the name or title of the person that you are writing to(用于信函抬头的名字或头衔前)亲爱的

3. [not usually before noun] (BrE)expensive; costing a lot of money 昂贵，价格高

e.g.现在什么东西都那么贵。

Everything is so dear now.

n.

1. used when speaking to sb. you love

(常作称呼所爱的人)亲爱的

e.g. 喝点什么吗，亲爱的？

Would you like a drink, dear?

adv.

(at a high price)高价地,昂贵地

e.g. (1) 他的错误使他付出很高的代价。

His errors cost him dear.

(2) 贱买贵卖

to buy cheap and sell dear

exclamation [,eksklə'meiʃən] used in expressions that show that you are surprised, upset, annoyed or worried (惊奇，不安，烦恼，担忧等时说) 啊，哎呀，糟糕，天哪

e.g. 哎呀!我忘了寄信。

Oh dear! I forgot to post the letter.

2. kidnapper ['kɪdnæpə] n. 绑票者;劫持者

e.g. 劫持者索要100万元赎金。

The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $ 1 million.

kidnap ['kidnæp] v. (-pp-) [vn] to take sb away illegally and keep them as a prisoner, especially in order to get money or sth else for returning them 劫持；绑架

e.g. 两名商人遭恐怖分子绑架。

Two businessmen have been kidnapped by terrorists.

kidnapping (also kidnap) n.[u, c] 绑架

e.g. (1) 他对绑架的指控供认不讳。

He admitted the charge of kidnap.

(2) 对12名美国公民的劫持

the kidnapping of 12 US citizens

3.considerable [kən'sidərəbl] adj. (formal)

great in amount, size, importance, etc.相当多(或大、重要等)的

e.g. （1）那项工程耗费了相当多的时间和资金。

The project wasted a considerable amount of time and money.

(2) 对这栋建筑物的损坏相当严重。

Damage to the building was considerable.

considerably adv. (formal) much; a lot非常；很；相当多地

e.g. 不同的人对睡眠的需要差异相当大。

The need for sleep varies considerably from person to person.

4.wealthy ['welθi]adj. (wealthier, wealthiest)

1.rich; have a lot of money, possessions, etc.富有的，有钱的，财产多的

e.g. 有钱人家

a wealthy family

2. （the wealthy）n. [pl.] people who are rich 富人，有钱人；阔人

n. wealth

5. 在英语中，当名词有多个形容词修饰时，就有它们的先后顺序。下面的口诀可帮你记住这一先后顺序。

限定描绘大长高，形状年龄和新老；颜色国籍跟材料，作用类别往后靠；

“限定词”包括：冠词、物主代词、指示代词、或数词，它位于各类形容词前。它本身分为三位，即：前、中、后。前位限定词有all、half、both、such分数和倍数；中位限定词有冠词、指示代词、形容词性物主代词、名词所有格和no、every、each、either、neither、enough、much、以及wh-起首的限定词[what(ever), which(ever), whose]等；后位限定词有基数词和序数词、past、same、many、more、most、few、fewer、fewest、little、less、least、own、last 等，但序数词位于基数词前。如:both my hands、all half his income等。“描绘”类形容词表示事物的性质及人们的观点如：beautiful、bad、cold、great等。“大长高”表示大小、长短、高低等一些词。表示“形状”的词如：round square等。“国籍”指一个国家或地区的词。“材