英語精讀筆記.新概念第三冊(16)Mary had a little lamb 瑪麗有一頭羔羊

文章原文：

Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece。 One of Mary‘s prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her。 She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening。 One evening， however， the lamb was missing。 The rope had been cut， so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen。

When Dimitri came in from the fields， his wife told him what had happened。 Dimitri at once set out to find the thief。 He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village。 After telling several of his friends about the theft， Dimitri found out that his neighbour， Aleko， had suddenly acquired a new lamb。 Dimitri immediately went to Aleko’s house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb。 He told him he had better return it or he would call the police。 Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard。 It was true that he had just bought a lamb， he explained， but his lamb was black。 Ashamed of having acted so rashly， Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him。 While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko‘s house until the rain stopped。 When he went outside half an hour later， he was astonished to find the little black lamb was almost white。 Its wool， which had been dyed black， had been washed clean by the rain！

精讀筆記：

1。 One of Mary’s prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her。

prize

： being the most valuable or most important example of its type。

另外，還有一個常見的意思something valuable， such as an amount of money， that is given to someone who succeeds in a competition or game or that is given to someone as a reward for doing very good work。

possession

： something that you own or that you are carrying with you at a particular time。

lamb

： a young sheep， or the flesh of a young sheep eaten as meat。

2。 She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening。

tie

： to fasten things together or hold them in a particular position using a piece of string， rope etc。

fetch

： to go and get something or someone and bring them back。

例句：She fetched another chair from the dining room。

3。 The rope had been cut， so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen。

在這句話裡，it是先行詞，在句中無實際含義，起到形式主語的作用，that引導的從句才是真正的邏輯主語，這樣避免句子顯得頭重腳輕。

4。 After telling several of his friends about the theft， Dimitri found out that his neighbour， Aleko， had suddenly acquired a new lamb。

acquire

： buy or obtain an asset or object for oneself。

例句：I managed to acquire all the books I needed。

此外，還有另外一個常見意思learn or develop a skill， habit， or quality。

例句：Elsie acquired a good knowledge of Chinese。

I‘ve acquired a taste for whiskey。

5。 Dimitri immediately went to Aleko’s house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb。

accused

： to say that you believe someone is guilty of a crime or of doing something bad。

常用表達accuse somebody of （doing） something

例句：He was accused of murder。

Smith accused her of lying。

6。 He told him he had better return it or he would call the police。

had better

： used to give advice about what someone should do， or to say what you should do or need to do。

例句：You‘d better phone Julie to say you’ll be late。

此外，還有另外一個含義used to threaten someone。

例句：You’d better keep your mouth shut about this。

or

： used to say that something bad could happen if someone does not do a particular thing。

例句：Hurry up or we’ll be late。

7。 Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard。

deny

： to say that something is not true， or that you do not believe something。

①deny doing something

例句：Two men have denied murdering a woman at a remote picnic spot。

②deny a charge/allegation/claim

例句：The men have denied charges of theft。

③deny that

例句：I’ve never denied that there is a housing problem。

8。 Ashamed of having acted so rashly， Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him。

ashame

： feeling very sorry and embarrassed because of something you have done。

常用表達ashamed of

例句：I felt ashamed of the things I’d said to him。

Ashamed of having acted so rashly在句中作原因狀語。

apologize:

to tell someone that you are sorry that you have done something wrong。

常用表達apologize for （doing） something

例句：He later apologized for his behaviour。

I apologize for losing my temper。

9。 從這篇課文還聯想到一個表達the black sheep或者the black sheep of the family，可以理解為中文裡的害群之馬，a person who has done something bad that brings embarrassment or shame to his or her family。 If you describe someone as the black sheep or the black sheep of the family， you mean that the other people in their family disapprove of them and consider their behaviour to be bad。 在這篇文章裡就是說的Aleko。

例句：Mary is the black sheep of the family。 She’s always in trouble with the police。