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In this much-travelled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists. We always assume that villagers in remote places are friendly and hospitable. But people who are cut off not only from foreign tourists, but even from their own countrymen can be hostile to travellers. Visits to really remote villages are seldom enjoyable -- as my wife and I discovered during a tour through the Balkans.
We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity. These attracted many visitors, for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town. This was more than we could bear, so we decided to spend our last day exploring the countryside. Taking a path which led out of the town, we crossed a few fields until we came to a dense wood. We expected the path to end abruptly, but we found that it traced its way through the trees. We tramped through the wood for over two hours until we arrived at a deep stream. We could see that the path continued on the other side, but we had no idea how we could get across the stream. Suddenly my wife spotted a boat moored to the bank. In it there was a boatman fast asleep. We gently woke him up and asked him to ferry us to the other side. Though he was reluctant to do so at first, we eventually persuaded him to take us.
The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain. The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks. The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby. Sitting down on a dilapidated wooden fence near the field, we opened a couple of tins of sardines and had a picnic lunch. All at once, I noticed that my wife seemed to be filled with alarm. Looking up I saw that we were surrounded by children in rags who were looking at us silently as we ate. We offered them food and spoke to them kindly, but they remained motionless. I concluded that they were simply shy of strangers. When we later walked down the main street of the villager, we were followed by a silent procession of children. The village which had seemed deserted, immediately came to life. Faces appeared at windows. Men in shirt sleeves stood outside their houses and glared at us. Old women in black shawls peered at us from doorways. The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard. There was no doubt that we were unwelcome visitors. We needed no further warning. Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream where we hoped the boatman was waiting.
二、【New words and expressions】生词和短语
●inaccessible adj. 难接近的,达不到的
●hospitable adj. 不好客的
●hostile adj. 不友好的,有敌意的
●vicinity n. 周围,近邻
●architectural adj. 建筑的
●fresco n. 壁画
●abruptly adv. 突然地,意外地
●tramp v. 徒步行进
●moor v. (用绳、链、锚)系(船)
●ferry v. (用渡船)运
●straggle v. 蔓延，散乱分布
●sardine n. 沙丁鱼，沙丁鱼罐头
●dilapidated adj. 陈旧破烂的，倒塌的
●rag n. 破烂衣服
●motionless adj. 不动的
●procession adj. 不动的
●shawl n. 披巾，围巾
●peer v. 凝视，盯着
●quicken v. 加快
◆inaccessible adj. 难接近的,达不到的
access n. 通路，通道
entrance 入口
accessible adj.: easy to get to / easy to understand
Eg: The book is accessible to learners / beginners.
The facts are accessible to all of us. 易于得到的/ 易于理解的
Eg: Heavy snow made the village inaccessible to traffic.
approach: v. 接近
approachable
unapproachable 无可匹敌的;难以接近的
Eg: He has got unapproachable beauty.
access: opportunity 机会
Eg: Only high officiales have access to him.
Only teacheres have access to the head master.
◆hospitable adj.好客的
amiable 亲切的
cordial 热诚的，热心的
faithful 忠诚的
friendly 友好的
neighborly 和睦的
receptive 善于接受的，接纳的
◆hostile adj. 不友好的,有敌意的
unfriendly
be hostile to / be unfriendly to
antagonistic: 对抗性的，敌对的
effensive: 进攻性的
Eg: I took notice of his evvensive remarks.
aggressive; 挑畔的
◆vicinity n. 周围,近邻
in the vicinity / in the nerborhood 比后一个正式 (书面用词)
I often visit the fair in the vicinity.
vicinity: about
in the vicinity of
He is in thevicinity of fifty. 他大约50岁吧。
the inhabitant of the vicinity
◆architectural adj. 建筑的
◆fresco n. 壁画
◆abruptly adv. 突然地,意外地
◆tramp v. 徒步行进
◆moor v. (用绳、链、锚)系(船)
◆ferry v. (用渡船)运
◆straggle v. 蔓延，散乱分布
◆dilapidated adj. 陈旧破烂的，倒塌的
dilapidate vt. 使倒塌，便破损
dilapidation n.
batter v. 撞坏，撞击
battered adj.
Eg: It is easy to recognize the battered car.
broken-down
run down 渐渐变糟，恶化; run-down: 渐渐被恶化的
Eg: The doctor had not to do with his run-down renew.
◆sardine n. 沙丁鱼，沙丁鱼罐头
◆rag n. 破烂衣服
◆motionless adj. 不动的
◆procession adj. 不动的
◆shawl n. 披巾，围巾
◆peer v. 凝视，盯着
◆quicken v. 加快
三、【课文精析】
be accessible / inaccessible to sb. 是......难以达到的
not only from / but from 强调介词
cut off from: separate from / isolate from 与......隔绝
Key sentence:
Visits to really remote villages are seldom enjoyable
Eg: He is cut off from all his friends after he went abroad.
Such people who are hostile to travellers are ones who are cut off from the society.
of great interest
beautifully-preserved
Key sentence:
On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town.
Key sentence:
Taking a path which led out of the town, we crossed a few fields until we came to a dense wood.
Key sentence:
The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby.
Key sentence:
The village which had seemed deserted, immediately came to life.
Key sentence:
The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard.
there is no doubt that / without any doubts 毫无疑问
trace its way
make one’s way out of
fight one’s way 杀出一条路来
feel one’s way 摸出一条路
wind one’s way 碗延一条路
Key sentence:
but we had no idea how we could get across the stream.
a boat moored to the bank
a boatman fast asleep
fast asleep 熟睡
Key sentence:
The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain.
Key sentence:
The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses.
on either side == on both sides
all at once == almost immediately
Key sentence:
I concluded that they were simply shy of strangers. |
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发表于 2016-7-11 23:03:08