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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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