时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:世界上最伟大的演讲


英语课

The summer weather this year has been even more unexpredictable than usual. Yesterday was no exception.


My day at work had not gone pariticularly well and I returned home in a bit of a mood. My parents are staying for a few


days and they were watching soccer on the TV with my son,so I decided 1 that I should take myself away for a touch of


isolation 2 therapy by reading a book in my bedroom.


I sat in an inflatable chair in my bedroom. It's big,but very, very comfortable. After about half an hour, it got dark


to read in the natural light, so I got up to turn on the main light. It was then that I noticed the flashes of distant


lightening.


Now, I really love thunderstorms, there is something about the danger of the lightening, the roar of the thunder


combining with the sounds of heavy rain. Most of all there is the smell of cold rain upon hot dry earth.


Long since broken of the habits of going outside to walk in the teeth of the storm, I moved my inflatable chair up onto


the bed, opened the windows and turned off the lights. In fact I didn't need to bother, a few moments later the power to


the whole neighborhood went off, plunging 3 us all into darkness.


Climbing up onto my comfy chair, I positioned myself so that one bare foot poked 4 out of each side of the open window.


Slowly the breeze through the open window increased and sent a wonderful cooling sensation over my bare feet and legs.


The storm got closer, heading straight towards my window.


Although only a matter of minutes after sunset, the dark clouds had plunged 5 everything into night. The lack of any


streetlight only heightened my anticipation 6 of the approaching storm.


Lightening split the clouds. Thick forked baldes of white light first went down to the earth and then a fraction of a


second later headed back up into the heavy cloud. The cloud itself lit up and flickered 7 for a few seconds like a faulty


tube. The tension built for ten seconds and then the noise of the thunder drifted to my ears.


The storms got closer.


The lightening strikes seemed to augment 8 in frequency. The thunder changed too. No longer a lazy growl 9, it slowly became


so loud and powerful that I swore that I could feet shock waves rustling 10 through my house.


The lightening and the thunder slowly became synchronized 11. When I was a child I counted the seconds between the flashes


and the roars. Wher it was barely a querter of a mile from the house, the hairs on my legs started to quiver and stand


up, excited by the static electricity in the air and my growing excitement.


Then it started to rain. Huge drops of cold rain started to fall. It looked like a gray sheet was being pulled across


the land and sounded like the approach of a wildly clapping audience, appreciative 12 of the strom. The first big drops of


rain hit my feet. The wonderful fresh smell of dry earth being baptized by cold rain reached my nose.


Lightening and thunder were now as one. The lightening so bright that my eyes took a few seconds to adjust back to the


gloom. The thunder was now so loudly that it was almost as much felt as heard. I sat back and relished 13 the greatest free


show that nature can provide. Just when I thought the storm had passed,ir provided a brief encore. A lightening flash


that forked and snaked from left to right to light up the sky like a roadmap was accompanied by a thunderclap that


seemed to rattle 14 the window.


All at once the show ended. The lightening now at my back provided only flashes of light. The thunder returned to its


growling 15 beginnings. At once the rain stopped as quickly as it began. The electricity company restored the power and


raised the houselight as a final signal that the show had ended.


Once I was sure that there was no second encore, I rose to get a towel to dry both the chair and myself. My mother was


standing 16 in the doorway 17, openmouthed.


All I said was,"Mum, I'm not weired, don't worry!"



1 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 isolation
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
3 plunging
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
  • War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发,生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 poked
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 plunged
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
6 anticipation
n.预期,预料,期望
  • We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着,期待她的到来。
  • The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安,像是感到了地震即将发生。
7 flickered
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
8 augment
vt.(使)增大,增加,增长,扩张
  • They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
  • The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。
9 growl
v.(狗等)嗥叫,(炮等)轰鸣;n.嗥叫,轰鸣
  • The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫,尾巴也跟着摇摆。
  • The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。
10 rustling
同步的
  • Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
  • The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句
11 appreciative
adj.有鉴赏力的,有眼力的;感激的
  • She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
  • We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。
12 relished
v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 );从…获得乐趣;渴望
  • The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静,与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
  • Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句
13 rattle
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓
  • The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓,笑着叫着。
  • She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。
14 growling
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
15 doorway
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
学英语单词
a third wheel
abortionist
acidogenicities
acronym
adjustment of span
Androsace axillaris
Aplectrum hyemale
Arundina
assholocracy
Babylonic
banded ore
brown thrasher,brown thrush
browning reaction
bulbar type respiration
Carolina lupine
chuck-will's-widows
civilian use
class reptilias
clumse
colour pattern
competence of the patent division
computer decision
cornfloor
critical dissolution temperature
crop of depleting soil fertility
croup syndrome
Cuntzilla
cyberathletics
dado
disconordance
dispeed
dmuss
Dover's powders
drift with the tide
effect of civil law
embalming fluid
epicenter intensity
ex-mental
external ophthalmoplegia
feed heater with ribbed tubes
Finko
first quarter of a fiscal year
fixed excitation
fourseasons.com
free hand exercise
galleria-area
geotectonically
glycol distearate
gross insurance liabilities
guanylyltransferases
gypseys
haute-normandies
hypolycaena kina inari
industrial control push button
jamrs
JKD
learning by contract system
leptocylindrus danicus
lime-feldspar
lipolytic bacterium
liquid heating medium
LRFS
manufacturer's credit
marine atmosphere
molybdocene
moquecas
multiwheel trailer
Net investment income per share
netflix.com
non charitable
oil-immersed water cooled transformer
P.A.S.,PAS,p.a.s.
palisad parenchma with abundant chlorplasts
perplexed children
picozooplankton
polyvinyl sulfuric acid
propyphenazone
protocol conformance test report
radio frequency monitor
repossess oneself of
Röslau
said and done
scratch comma
self-fertility
shale oven
slorach
sociocultural environment
soloff
sort generator
spiral burr
spozed
steep cone
take thought for
thieveries
Toyohiko
trading cities
upright bassists
ventriculi galli mucosa
water storage basin
Wingst
ywil
ziggurats