高中新概念英语第三册-Lesson 19(课文)
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Lesson 19 A very dear cat 一只贵重的宝贝猫
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 &1000. 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 drew
&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!
Language points
(Attention： The following points are not covered by the video. It is better for you to watch the video or listen to the MP3 first and try to take notes on your own. Then you may check here to get more details. )
1，Kidnappers are rarely interested in Animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat.
rarely = seldom
take interest in= be interested in 一句话中用不同的词组表达同样的意思，是为了避免重复
take considerable interest in sth. interest之前能够加上写表示水准的形容词
take great interest in = take tremendous interest in = take enormous interest in
2, Mrs Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. share sth. with sb.
e.g. I share the room with my friend. for a great many years = for a long time
3, Rastus leads an orderly life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock.
lead an orderly life 过着很规律的生活
orderly 有秩序的，有顺序的，近义词：disciplined 受过训练的, regular 规律的
take a walk = go for a stroll = go for a walk 散步 4，Three day after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter.
after能够和名词搭配 e.g. three days after arrival an anonymous letter 匿名信
5，The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs Ramsay paid a ransom of &1000.
state 非常正式的声明
in safe hands 在可靠的人手中，意指“很安全”
6，Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. be instructed to do sth. 受指示做某事
e.g. The journalist was instructed to obtain the so-called important statistics.
7, 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. fearing 现在分词做原因状语 make it clear to sb. that
e.g. The teacher has made it clear to us that we must read English aloud every day.
高中新概念英语第三册-Lesson 19(课文)
