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Text 1 A Mother's Place
About the author
Donna Gamache was born in Minnedosa, Manitoba in 1944 and currently lives in
MacGregor, Manitoba. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University
of Manitoba followed by one year of Education. She has taught language arts and
social studies full-time at the secondary level and has worked as an elementary
and secondary substitute teacher. She specializes in fiction, especially for
children, but also writes some poetry and occasional non-fiction articles.
Language notes
1) And
usually she acted younger than her years, if anything.
（如果有什么不同的话,从她平日里的举止行动看不出她的实际年龄。）
If anything means if there is
any difference.
e.g. I'd say he was more like his mother, if anything.
2) She'd
known it last night, of course, after the blow up with Jenny, Tim's wife.
（当然，昨晚与蒂姆的妻子詹妮吵架之后，她就已经知道是为什么了。）
Blow up with sb means severe reprimand of
sb.
e.g. She got blown up by her boss for being late.
3) ... and
Dorothy stumped off to bed at 8:30 p.m., feeling old and lonely, and missing
Steve as she hadn't missed him for a long time.
（于是多罗西晚上8:30就气冲冲地上床了，她感到心力交瘁，孤立无助，从来没有这么想念过史蒂夫。）
Stump means walk stiffly or noisily.
e.g. The boss stumped out in fury.
4) Tim and
Jenny's baby was due in two months.
（蒂姆和詹妮的孩子还有两个月就要出世了。）
Due here means the baby would be delivered as expected.
e.g. The train is due in five minutes.
5) Not
that anything had been said to that effect.
（并非已经说了什么话，表达了那个意思。）
To that/this effect means with that/this meaning or information.
e.g. He told me to get out, or words to that effect.
6) And
there were suites available, if she could stand living in an apartment without a
yard or garden.
（要是她能忍受住在没有院子和花园的公寓，空着的套间是有的。）
To stand doing sth means to endure doing
sth.
e.g. That patient can't stand the noise outside.
7) She'd
have her say first!
（她要先把话说出来！）
To have one's say means to express one view.
e.g. Don't interrupt her - let her have her say.
Text 2 To Grandmother's House We Go
Information related to the text
Nursing home: Searching for the right type of nursing home can be a traumatic
experience. The quality of accommodation and care can vary significantly between
homes and exploring the various options is often difficult. Finding the
right placement is not an easy task, and finding the right care can be a long
and arduous process when time is at a premium. Each featured nursing home has a
description, photographs and contact information enabling one to get further
information and finally arrive at an informed decision.
A quality nursing home offers a full array of personal, dietary, therapeutic,
social, recreational and nursing services. Meals, laundry, housekeeping and
medical services are provided. In addition, most not-for-profit homes offer
religious services and counseling programs.
Language notes
1)“They
are full of the devil” as the old expression goes.
（正如俗话所说的，“她们被恶魔缠住了。”）
What the author really means is that the girls are very excited and
become
ignorant of the surroundings.
2) She reaches
out, touches Eleanor's hair like it is some elixir of life, and smiles.
（她伸出手轻轻笑着抚摩着伊丽诺的头发，仿佛那是生命中的灵丹妙药一样。）
Note that there is a that-clause behind like. Like, as a preposition,
can be followed by a that-clause.
3)“Here
to see Grandma?” someone else pipes in.
（“来看外婆吗？”有人插了一句。）
To pipe in means to begin to speak or sing unexpectedly.
4) I understand
this communication, half garbled as it is.
（我听得懂她的话，虽然有一半意思是猜出来的。）
In the sentence as means though or although and when it is used
with this meaning the branch sentence is usually inversed.
5) What she
didn't count on was the severity of the stroke.
（她没有料到中风的严重程度。）
To count on means to expect or to take into account. It also means to
rely on sb/sth with confidence.
e.g. Don't count on a salary increase this year.
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