第二十二课
一、课文原文
By Heart
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper.
The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me.' And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.
Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire. I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage.
Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
二、核心词汇与词组精讲、拓展及例句
1. By heart
- 英文释义：From memory; without looking at the text.
- 中文释义：凭记忆；背诵。
- 核心词组：learn/know sth. By heart（熟记/背诵某物）。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- memorize（背诵，动词）：Students need to memorize these formulas.
- recite（朗诵，背诵）：She recited the poem perfectly.
- forget（忘记，反义词）：I forgot the first line.
2. Falter
- 英文释义：To lose strength or momentum; to speak hesitantly.
- 中文释义：犹豫；结巴；踉跄。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- hesitate（犹豫）：He hesitated before answering.
- stumble（结巴，绊倒）：She stumbled over her words.
- proceed（顺利进行，反义词）：The project proceeded smoothly.
3. Cast
- 英文释义：To choose an actor for a particular role in a play or film.
- 中文释义：选派（角色）；铸造。
- 核心词组：be cast in the role of...（被选派扮演……角色）。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- select（挑选）：She was selected for the lead.
- assign（分配）：He was assigned the villain role.
- reject（拒绝，反义词）：He was rejected for the part.
4. Insist
- 英文释义：To demand something forcefully, not accepting refusal.
- 中文释义：坚持；坚决认为。
- 核心语法：insist that... (should) do...（坚持要求……，从句用虚拟语气）。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- demand（强烈要求）：They demanded an explanation.
- persist（坚持，多指行动）：He persisted in his belief.
- yield（屈服，反义词）：She yielded to their demands.
5. Blank
- 英文释义：(Of a surface) not written or printed on; empty.
- 中文释义：空白的；茫然的。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- empty（空的）：An empty page.
- vacant（空缺的，茫然的）：A vacant expression.
- filled（填满的，反义词）：A filled form.
6. Stare
- 英文释义：To look at someone or something for a long time with eyes wide open.
- 中文释义：凝视；盯着看。
- 核心词组：stare at（盯着……看）。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- gaze（凝视，多含情感）：She gazed at the stars.
- glance（瞥见）：He glanced at his watch.
- ignore（无视，反义词）：He ignored her stare.
7. Proceed
- 英文释义：To begin or continue a course of action.
- 中文释义：继续进行；着手做。
- 核心词组：proceed to do sth.（接着做某事）。
- 词汇拓展与例句：
- continue（继续）：Please continue your story.
- commence（开始，较正式）：The ceremony will commence shortly.
- stop（停止，反义词）：He stopped to rest.
三、特别语法点拨（长难句）
Much to one's + 情感名词 作状语
- 原句：Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later...
- 解析：这是一个非常地道的高级状语结构，表示“令某人非常……的是”。
Much在这里是副词，修饰整个介词短语，强调程度。这种结构比 The aristocrat was very amused that... 更简洁、更书面化，常用于句首，为整个句子定下情感基调。 - 实战仿写：
- Much to my surprise, he actually remembered my birthday.（令我非常惊讶的是，他竟然记得我的生日。）
- Much to her disappointment, the concert was cancelled.（令她非常失望的是，音乐会取消了。）
四、智慧版写作指导
1. 用“道具”制造戏剧性冲突
- 写作指导：在叙事中，一个看似平常的道具，如果突然改变了状态或用途，就能瞬间制造出巨大的戏剧张力和幽默感。道具是情节的“引爆点”。
- 课文示范：... The precious letter in his hands... But the copy he gave him... Was simply a blank sheet of paper.（“信”这个道具，从“珍贵的信”变成“白纸”，瞬间把演出变成了“事故”，冲突由此爆发。）
- 实战仿写：He reached into his pocket for the ring, but instead, his fingers closed around a crumpled candy wrapper.（他伸手去掏戒指，结果摸到了一张皱巴巴的糖纸。——道具的错位制造了求婚现场的尴尬与幽默。）
2. 用“心理描写”代替“直接陈述”
- 写作指导：不要直接写“他很紧张”或“他很得意”。用具体的生理反应或微表情来展现内心状态，让读者自己去感受人物的情绪，这样更有代入感。
- 课文示范：The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see... / The noble stared at the blank sheet... squinting his eyes...（“热切地看”、“焦虑”、“盯着”、“眯眼”，一系列动作和表情，把狱卒的“期待”和贵族的“慌乱与强装镇定”写得活灵活现。）
- 实战仿写：She bit her lip, her eyes darting between the clock and the door, fingers drumming a nervous rhythm on the table.（她咬着嘴唇，眼神在时钟和门之间来回扫，手指在桌上敲出紧张的节奏。——用动作展现“焦急等待”。）
3. 用“机智的台词”完成绝妙反转
- 写作指导：在对话中，当人物陷入绝境时，一句看似合理、实则偷换概念的台词，不仅能化解危机，还能成为全文的“高光时刻”。这种台词要符合人物身份，又要出人意料。
- 课文示范：'The light is dim. Read the letter to me.'（贵族没有说“我忘了”，而是说“光线太暗”，把“背不出”的锅甩给了“环境”，还顺势把球踢回给狱卒。一句台词，完美救场。）
- 实战仿写：Boss: "Where is the report?" Me: "I was just about to print it, but the printer seems to have gone on strike."（老板：“报告呢？” 我：“我刚要打印，但打印机好像罢工了。”——用“打印机罢工”代替“我还没写”，既合理又幽默。）
注意
以上内容由AI生成，请自主辨明是否存在问题。