A Miserable, Merry Christmas

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Unit 5

• A Miserable, Merry Christmas????????

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I. Word Study

• 1. miserable a. very unhappy pitiable ???
• e.g. You have made my life so miserable that I
  cannot put up with you any more.
• The sick child looked pale and miserable.

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-able ???,??,??,????

• Similar words
• eatable, talkable, lovable, changeable,
  drinkable, washable, thinkable, movable,
  sensible, noticeable, comfortable,
  reasonable, comparable, knowledgeable

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2. eve n. the evening before a festival or
an important event ??

• e.g. Bill stayed up late on the eve of the
  final exam.
• The candidates did not stop campaigning even on
  the eve of the election.
• Firecrackers are heard everywhere on New
  Years Eve.

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3. indignant a. angry at sth. unfair ??????

• e.g. The old man was indignant at his grandsons
  wastefulness.
• Thomas Edisons mother grew indignant when
  the teacher said he was slow in learning, and
  decided to teach Thomas herself.

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4. weep v. cry without a loud sound, with tears
running down ????

• e.g. She wept with / for joy.
• Lin Daiyu (???) wept so often over her sad
  fate that her health was ruined.

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Compare weep, cry, sob

• weep ??,???? ,????,??????
• cry a general term. ?????
• sob ??,??????

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5. rude a.

• (1) not at all polite ???,????
• e.g. In Western countries, it is rude to ask a
  woman her age.
• Dont be so rude to your patients. They
  have already suffered a lot.

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(2) roughly made simple ????????

• e.g. These are the rude weapons made by people
  2,000 years ago.
• He lived in a rude cabin (??) he had
  built himself.

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6. wrong vt. do wrong to treat unfairly ??

• e.g. She has wronged no man by word or deed in
  all her life.
• She forgave those who had wronged her.

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7. lest conj. in case for fear that in order
that not (introducing a subordinate clause in
the subjunctive form) ??,??

• e.g. The children kept quiet lest they (should)
  wake up their mother.
• He always does whatever she tells him to do lest
  she (should) be angry.

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8. anxiety n. (1) being in fear or uncertainty
of something ??,??,??

• e.g. Jane waited outside of the operation room in
  anxiety / with anxiety for her husbands safety.
• The political situation caused people in
  that country much anxiety.

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(2)   keen desire ??,??

• e.g. Johns workmates dislike him for his anxiety
  to please their boss.
• Anxiety for knowledge should be encouraged
  among students.

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9. impatience n. inability to wait calmly ???,??

• e.g. Our impatience is large.
• Jenny waited for her boyfriends phone call
  with great impatience.
• His voice rises with impatience.

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im- ????

• impersonal impracticable impossible impure
  imperfect impolite immoral
  immeasurable

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fore- ?,?,?

• forearm forefinger forefoot
  forefather forecast foresee foretell

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10. scarcely ad. (1) barely, almost not ???,???

• e.g. He is afraid of going abroad because he
  knows scarcely a word of English.
• Upon hearing the joke, the teacher could
  scarcely keep a serious face.

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(2) only just ????

• e.g. Scarcely had I sat down when the phone rang.
• It is scarcely April, and you are
  wearing mini-skirts!

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(3) absolutely not ??

• e.g. This is scarcely true.
• Mary could scarcely refuse such a just
  demand from you.

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??????

• scarcely when / before
• no sooner than
• hardly when
• ???????,??????,???????????????,???????

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11. misery n. the state of being miserable
??????

• e.g. She cried over the misery of the heroine
  from time to time while reading the novel.
• Fortunately, I have never suffered from the
  misery of toothache.
• Monks and nuns are said to have seen through
  the miseries in life.

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II. Language Points (Reference????)

• 1. Christmas
• Christmas Day, December 25, is the most important
  festival (??) in the Christian world, although it
  is almost certainly not the day on which Jesus
  Christ was born.

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• Originally Christmas was a religious rite (????)
  the Christ (??) Mass (??) and it did not
  become a fixed holiday until 440 A.D. Today,
  Christmas is still observed (??) as an
  anniversary (?????) of the birthday of Christ,
  but its religious aspect is almost lost to the
  lay (a. ???,???) world amidst all the
  commercialization (???) and human excitement of
  it.

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• The celebration usually includes an exchange
  of cards and presents among relatives and
  friends, decking (??) the sitting room out with a
  Christmas tree, and a feast featuring a turkey
  (??) or a goose (?).

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2. make sure act so as to be certain ????

• e.g. make sure (that) you have the key.
• Father makes sure that all lights are off
  before he goes to bed.
• Make sure that you havent forgotten to pack
  everything youre likely to need.

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??make sure of sth.???

• e.g. We should make sure of the time when the
  lecture begins.
• Compare be sure / certain ??,???

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3. declare v. make known clearly or formally
say strongly or openly ??

• e.g. The scientist declared the results of his
  experiment.
• Peace was declared at last.
• He declared that he would never help us.
• I declared the story (to be) false.

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??nothing but ???nothing other than only
nothing except only, just, merely

• e.g. hes concerned about / cares about nothing
  but money.
• She could do nothing but stand there waiting.

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4. stick to refuse to change or leave continue
ones effort at ??,???

• e.g. to stick to ones promise or plans
• Ill stick to this task until it is completed.
• This fellow never sticks to anything for
  very long.

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Compare insist on

• insist on ???? /??
• hold on ????

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5. ought to synonymous with should but
stronger in meaning ??

• e.g. You ought to be more careful.
• People ought not to drive like that.
• Ought I to leave tomorrow?
• Yes, you ought to. (No, you neednt leave
  till Thursday.)

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6. to fill your stocking with

• (1) There ought to be something. (2) Your
  stocking is to be filled with this something.
• e.g. Id like to find someone to play chess with.
• She would like to have someone to talk
  with.
• They do hope they can find some
  experienced teachers to rely on for help.

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7. hang up place on a hook, peg (?) or hanger ??

• e.g. When the children come to school, they hang
  up their coats in the classroom.
• Lets hang up the picture in the classroom.

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8. it hung limp. ????????

• limp a. not firm, lacking strength??,???
• e.g. She stood there calm and quiet, waiting for
  their decision.
• The valley lay peaceful in the sun.
• The sun rises red.
• The day dawned (??) misty.

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9. some (American usage) somewhat ??

• e.g. Im feeling some better today.
• This medicine helped some.

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??drive away??? make go away force to go

• e.g. The bad weather has driven the tourists
  away.
• The wind drove the clouds away.

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??must have done ??? ??,??,??????????????????

• e.g. They must have known about it.
• If he had told me I must have helped him.

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????? mustnt?neednt (have)

• e.g. you mustnt tell anyone about this it is
  a secret.
• Compare
• 1) You neednt arrive at the airport.
• 2) He neednt have put on this thick coat. (but
  he did.) (????????????)

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10. or something or something similar or
something of that sort ???? or (?????,??????)
??,??

• e.g. Her father is a well-known artist or
  something.
• She is very pleased with her son I
  understand hes just passed an important
  examination or something.
• Are you sick or something?

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11. catch sight of see (especially suddenly or
briefly) ??,??

• e.g. I turned round and caught sight of Helen
  getting into a taxi.
• As we drove by the harbor, we caught sight
  of a large steamship.

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??compare

• lose sight of ???
• at first sight ???
• in sight ??
• out of sight ???

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12. such as of the same kind of that kind
???????,????????,?????

• e.g. I said no such thing as that.
• Metals are such things as iron, silver,
  and gold.

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13. break into give sudden utterance to ???????

• e.g. to break into loud laughter (song, curses,
  applause, rage)
• As the famous actress appeared, the
  waiting crowd broke into loud cheers.

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??compare

• 1) break in / into enter by force / interrupt
  ????,????,??
• e.g. break into a house / bank
• 2) break through ??
• 3) break up ??,??,??

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14. say an exclamation used to draw attention
(????) ?

• e.g. Say, do you have a match?
• Say, listen to me.

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15. all over in every part (of sth. or some
place) everywhere ??

• e.g. He had a fever and ached all over.
• Ive looked all over for my glasses.
• He has traveled all over the country.

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16. ought to (followed by a perfect infinitive)
used to talk about things which should have been
done but actually have not ????

• e.g. I ought to have written that letter
  yesterday (but I didnt).
• You ought to have done your homework
  carefully (but you did not do it carefully).
• Im sorry I ought to have phoned to tell
  you I was coming.

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??compare

• Should /ought to have done ??????????????
• Shouldnt / oughtnt to have done ?????????
• e.g. You shouldnt / oughtnt to have hit him.
  (but you did.)

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17. In place in the correct / right / proper
place suitable ??????

• e.g. As soon as all the chairs are in place, we
  can let the audience in.
• Compare
• 1) in ones place instead of ??
• e.g. The boss was very busy so his secretary went
  to attend the meeting in his place.
• 2) the opposite out of place

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18. could / may / might have done ??????,????,??

• e.g. You could have told me you are going to be
  late.
• That coat may have cost a lot of money, but
  its worth it.
• He might have drowned.

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??compare

• couldnt / cant have done ???, ??????????
• e.g. They cant have gone out because the lights
  on.
• They couldnt have known about it, because
  they were not on the spot.

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III. A Suggested Summary

• With Christmas round the corner, I declared
  I wanted nothing but a pony as a Christmas
  present. I hung up my stocking along with my
  sisters. The next morning I found my stocking
  empty while my sisters were full of wonderful
  things. I was so hurt that I burst into tears.

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• After an hour or so, I caught sight of a man
  riding a pony with a lovely saddle on it. It was
  the very pony that my parents bought me for the
  Christmas present. So happy and thrilled I was
  when I finally got what I had wanted. But I could
  hardly tell whether that Christmas which my
  father had planned so carefully was the best or
  the worst.

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IV. Chinese-English Translation

• 1. Looking out of the window, Dr. Smith caught
  sight of a young man running towards his clinic.
• 2. Amy used to drink nothing but coffee.

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• 3. Myra broke into tears when she learned that
  her husband had been injured in an accident.
• 4. We havent seen Miss White for quite a few
  days. Has she fallen ill or something?
• 5. The director of the research institute came in
  person to make sure that everything was all right.

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• 6. Lennie was late for school again this morning.
  He ought to / should have got up earlier. He must
  have stayed up too late last night.
• 7. Say, you oughtnt to have driven away those
  kids. They came to lend you a hand.
• 8.It is important for nurses to stick to this
  rule.

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V. English-Chinese Translation

• 1. ??,?????,?????????????????
• 2. ????,?????????,?????????,???????????

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• 3. ??,????????,????????????,??????????,?????????,
  ???????????????????????,????????,???????
• 4. ???????????????,???????????????????????????
  ???????????,???12????????????????

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VI. Paragraph Writing

• As Christmas drew near, I was filled with
  anxiety because I was hoping for a pony for my
  Christmas present. When my father offered me a
  choice of Christmas presents, I declared that I
  wanted nothing but a pony.

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• On Christmas morning my happy sisters were
  opening the presents they found in their
  stockings hung by the fireplace. But mine was
  empty. So I began to weep. I was so hurt that my
  mother and sisters were very much concerned.

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• My mother had some sharp words for my father who
  just looked worried and kept on looking out of
  the window. Never had I been so miserable in my
  life.