Word Study                                       

1. trap:

v. be trapped to be in a bad situation from which you cannot escape 使陷于困境

e.g.

Julia felt trapped in a dead end job.

朱莉觉得工作没有出路，陷于困境。

Many women are trapped in loveless marriage.

许多妇女陷入没有爱情的婚姻之中而无法摆脱。

 

2. fascination:

n. the state of being very interested in something, so that you want to look at it, learn about it etc. 着迷，迷恋

have a fascination for/with: be very interested in something 对……十分感兴趣，酷爱

e.g.

Ken always had a fascination for stories about undersea exploration.

肯一直特别喜欢有关海底探险的故事。

The children looked on in fascination.

孩子们入迷地看着。

 

3. imaginary:

adj. existing only in the imagination 想象中的，虚构的

e.g.

All the characters in this book are imaginary.

本书人物纯属虚构。

An only child often creates an imaginary friend to play with. 

独生子女常常会虚构出一个朋友跟他一起玩。

 

4. abolish:

v. to officially end a law, system etc., especially one that has existed for a long time 废除，取消 

e.g.

Welfare programs cannot be abolished that quickly.

福利计划不可能那么快被取消。

The government should abolish income tax for the low-paid. 

政府应该取消低收入者的所得税。

 

5. render:

v. to cause (something) to be or become (something else); make 使得，致使，使变为

e.g.

The blow to the head rendered him unconscious. 

当头一击将他打昏了过去。

New laws have rendered this kind of assistance virtually impossible. 

新法律使这类援助变得不可能。

 

6. strand:

v. to put someone one in a place or situation from which they need help to leave 使搁浅；使滞留；使处于困境

e.g.

Rising river water stranded four teenagers on the island. 

上涨的河水把4个青少年困在了岛上。 

The airline went out of business, leaving thousands of passengers stranded
abroad. 

那家航空公司破产了，使成千上万名乘客滞留在国外。

 

7. afflict:

v. to cause distress or great trouble with mental or bodily pain 使苦恼；使遭到（精神上、肉体上的）折磨

e.g.

This type of pneumonia frequently afflicts elderly people.

这种肺炎往往侵袭老年人。

It is an illness that afflicts women more than men. 

患这种疾病的女性多于男性。

 

8. confine:

v. to keep someone or something within the limits of a particular activity or subject; restrict 把……局限于；把……限制于

be confined to

e.g.

The police cadet's duties were confined to taking statements from the crowd.

这些警官学校学员的责任只限于记录那群人所作的口供。

Tome was ever an editor confined to organizing the letter page.

汤姆曾经是只限于编排读者来信版面的编辑。

 

9. content:

adj. [not before noun 不用于名词前] happy and satisfied 惬意的，满足的

e.g.

John is quite content to watch television for hours at a stretch.

约翰非常满足于一连几小时不停地看电视。

He was content and settled back to enjoy his life.

他很满足，安适地享受自己的生活。

 

10. adapt:

v. to gradually change your behavior and attitudes so that you get used to a new situation and can deal with it successfully （使）适应，（使）适合

e.g.

[+to]

The children are finding it hard to adapt to their new school.

孩子们发觉很难适应新学校。

My children adapted (themselves) to life abroad quite smoothly.

我的孩子们相当顺利地适应了国外的生活。

Sentence Analysis                                    

1. It is a place where one wants to spend only as much time as is absolutely necessary. （Para. 1, Line 3）

该句中关系副词where引导定语从句，where指代先行词a place在定语从句中做地点状语。

 as…as用于比较句型，中间插入的是形容词或副词的原级，意为“达到与什么相同的程度”。

 

2. With this scenario in mind, it makes Steven Speilberg’s transformation of this typical modern nightmare of interrupted air travel into a vision of earthly paradise much more remarkable. (Para. 3, Line 1)

 这个句子很长，但实际上只有一个主谓结构，那就是it makes…remarkable。这是个典型的make sth +adj. 的结构。然而，该结构中sth的位置里含有另一个结构，那就是transformation into…

 

3. What sounds like a scenario out of a horror story turns into an innocent fairy tale of friendliness and pleasure. (Para. 5, Line 3)

 What sounds like a scenario out of a horror story是what引导的主语从句，在该句子中做主语。例如：

What hurt my feelings was the judge’s comment.

伤害我感情的是评审员的评语。

主语从句做主语时，谓语动词用第三人称单数。

 

4. In The Terminal, the villain is an ambitious, humorless Homeland Security official named Frank Dixon, who is about to get a big promotion. (Para. 6, Line 1)

 named Frank Dixon是过去分词短语作定语，修饰official。课文下一段中的a dustman from Indian named Gupta, a baggage handler named Joe and a sweet-faced restaurant worker named Enrique都是同样的用法。

 who is about to get a big promotion是关系代词who引导的非限定性定语从句，who指代先行词Frank Dixon在定语从句中做主语。

 

5. Other directors, Steven Speilberg included, seem uncomfortable by the idea that a woman of such regal beauty could actually be funny. (Para. 9, Line 5)

 此句中的included是形容词，该词的特殊性在于它仅用于名词后，例如：

Everyone has to go to the dentist’s, John included.

每个人都得去看牙医，包括约翰在内。

 Steven Speilberg included可以转换成including Steven Speilberg。而这里的including则是介词，意为包括，例如：

There were twelve of us, including me and Tom.

共有12人，包括我和汤姆在内。

 that a woman of such regal beauty could actually be funny是that引导的同位语从句，做idea的同位语，进一步解释idea的内容是什么。