新视野大学英语第三版第二册课文语法讲解 Unit4

新视野三版读写B2U4Text A

College sweethearts

1I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature than we,their parents,when we were college sweethearts.Linda,who's21,had a boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she would marry,but they're not together anymore.Melissa,who's19,hasn't had a steady boyfriend yet.My daughters wonder when they will meet"The One",their great love.They think their father and I had a classic fairy-tale romance heading for marriage from the outset.Perhaps,they're right but it didn't seem so at the time.In a way, love just happens when you least expect it.Who would have thought that Butch and I would end up getting married to each other?He became my boyfriend because of my shallow agenda:I wanted a cute boyfriend!

2We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria.That fateful night,I was merely curious,but for him I think it was love at first sight."You have beautiful eyes",he said as he gazed at my face.He kept staring at me all night long.I really wasn't that interested for two reasons.First,he looked like he was a really wild boy,maybe even dangerous.Second,although he was very cute,he seemed a little weird.

3Riding on his bicycle,he'd ride past my dorm as if"by accident"and pretend to be surprised to see me.I liked the attention but was cautious about his wild,dynamic personality.He had a charming way with words which would charm any girl.Fear came over me when I started to fall in love.His exciting"bad boy image"was just too tempting to resist.What was it that attracted me?I always had an excellent reputation.My concentration was solely on my studies to get superior grades.But for what?College is supposed to be a time of great learning and also some fun.I had nearly achieved a great education,and graduation was just one semester away.But I hadn't had any fun;my life was stale with no component of fun!I needed a boyfriend.Not just any boyfriend.He had to be cute.My goal that semester became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find.

4I worried what he'd think of me.True,we lived in a time when a dramatic shift in sexual attitudes was taking place,but I was a traditional girl who wasn't ready for the new ways that seemed common on campus.Butch looked superb!I was not immune to his personality,but I was scared.The night when he announced to the world that I was his girlfriend,I went along

with him.And then I suddenly thought:"Oh my gosh!Am I his girlfriend?How did that happen?"Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said,"I'm going to marry you one day and I will be a lawyer.You will see."

5I was laughing inside and said to myself,"I'd never marry this guy.He's a rebel without a good future.He's my boyfriend because I hate my boring student life.I just want to have fun."

6Sure enough,the following month,I found out he had failed all his courses.Consequently,he was going to be expelled from the university.To my disgust,he seemed resigned to his fate.I knew there was hope,so I led him to the college secretary for reconsideration.

7"You are going to graduate with a BA in political science from UPenn and proceed to the College of Law,"I told him,lodging an appeal on his behalf,which was approved.Butch was granted reconsideration.And, once we became steadies,he coordinated his studies and social life,passing all of his classes.He eventually studied law.

8Despite Butch's somewhat wild character,at his core,he is always a perfect gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for that.True,he'd sometimes take the liberty of displaying his love by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of my astonished friends who watched and disapproved.But the truth is we had a pure and responsible relationship for seven full years.Sitting by the palm trees, hand in hand,we would listen to romantic songs,watch the sunset, and weave dreams of being together with children of our own,forever.

9Two years passed in a blur.One day,Butch took me by surprise as he knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses!Filled with deep emotion,I confessed my love for him,"How roooomaaaantic!!"Then my brain woke up from fantasy land.I cried out,"Good heavens.No!We're too young to tie the knot.We haven't even graduated from college yet!"I really loved him but was pessimistic about our chances for success.

10We married five years later.

11Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky roads of hardship and on smooth easy-going highways.It is a long,romantic, sometimes crazy,love story that sums up a29-year long honeymoon together as a couple who are still madly in love with each other.Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a mature love and rich life.

Language Points:

1I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature than we, their parents,when we were college sweethearts.(Para.1)

Meaning beyond words:Married to her college sweetheart,the author now is happy with her family and two grown daughters.

Note:College sweethearts refer to someone with whom one is in love and by whom one is loved at college;sweetheart is equivalent to lover,darling,beloved,or dear.For example:

Well done,sweetheart,we are all so proud of you.做得好，宝贝，我们以你为荣。

My husband is the greatest guy in the world;he was my college sweetheart.我丈夫是世界上最棒的，大学时他就是我的恋人。

He tries to locate his former sweetheart Melina from whom he has heard nothing for a very long time.他在努力寻找他以前的恋人梅利娜，他已经很久没有她的消息了。

2Linda,who’s21,had a boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she would marry,but they’re not together anymore.Melissa,who’s19,hasn’t had a steady boyfriend yet.My daughters wonder when they will meet“The One”,their great love.(Para.1)

Meaning beyond words:Her two daughters are at the age of just dating,but they seem to be very mature wondering when they will meet their true love.

3They think their father and I had a classic fairy tale romance heading for marriage from the outset.(Para.1)

Meaning beyond words:Her daughters consider their parents’marriage a typical conventional romance because they think it aimed at marriage from the very beginning. Usage note:classic,classical

1classic用作形容词表示“经典的；精彩的；一流的”。例如：

Death on the Nile is one of the classic works of Agatha Christie.《尼罗河上的惨案》是阿加莎·克里斯蒂的经典作品之一。

口语中也会用到classic这个词。当你看到一场精彩的演出时，就可以说“That’s classic!”来表达赞美。

classic用作形容词也表示“典型的；标准的”。例如：

London is the classic example of the scattered city.伦敦是标准分散型的城市。

This statement was a classic illustration of British politeness.这项陈述是对英国礼貌的一个典型说明。

classic也可用作名词，表示“文学名著；经典作品；杰作”。例如：

We have all the standard classics of Hayao Miyazaki at home.我们家有宫崎骏的所有的

经典作品。

2classical不能用作名词，只能用作形容词，表示“古典的；经典的”。例如：

I spend a lot of time reading and listening to classical music.我花了很多时间阅读和聆听古典音乐。

Classical music is music written by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.像莫扎特和贝多芬所创作的音乐称为古典音乐。

莫扎特和贝多芬所创作的音乐属于古典音乐(classical music),但这些古典音乐经久不衰，有永久的意义和价值，所以这些音乐也可称为经典的音乐（classic music）。反之，在前面有一例中说可口可乐瓶子的设计是精彩的，一流的，所以是经典（classic）之作，但很明显可口可乐瓶子的设计不是古典的（classical）设计。所以，经典的（classic）作品不一定就是古典的（classical）作品。

Note:Classic fairy-tale romance is used to describe a romance blessed with unusual happiness.Colloquially,a fairy tale can also refer to any story extremely unlikely to be true.

4Perhaps,they’re right but it didn’t seem so at the time.(Para.1)

Meaning:My daughters’perception may be right,yet our romance back then was actually not like what they have assumed.

5In a way,love just happens when you least expect it.Who would have thought that Butch and I would end up getting married to each other?He became my boyfriend because of my shallow agenda:I wanted a cute boyfriend!(Para.1) Meaning:Love comes your way when you don’t really expect it.No one thought that Butch and I would finally get married.He became my boyfriend simply because I would like to fulfill my shallow wish:to have an attractive boyfriend in college.

Meaning beyond words:Here is the suspense of the story–the author gives a broad hint that she will tell us how she and her husband got married at last.

6We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria.That fateful night,I was merely curious,but for him I think it was love at first sight.(Para.2) Meaning:At the school dining hall that important night,we were introduced to each other through my roommate.I met Butch just out of curiosity,but he seemed to fall in love with me as soon as he saw me.

7“You have beautiful eyes,”he said as he gazed at my face.(Para.2)

Meaning beyond words:The author was obviously attractive to Butch since he tried to please her by praising her eyes.

8He kept staring at me all night long.(Para.2)

Note:Both gaze at and stare at mean“looking at something fixedly for a long time because of being attracted,surprised,or thinking,etc.”.Stare at usually has the additional meaning of“with eyes widely open”.Also,it usually implies“with great attention”;gaze

at usually implies“in a dreamy and unaware state of mind”.

9I really wasn’t that interested for two reasons.First,he looked like he was a really wild boy,maybe even dangerous.Second,although he was very cute,he seemed a little weird.(Para.2)

Meaning beyond words:She wasn’t interested in him because she got the impression that he was wild and strange,which illustrates that she didn’t know much about him at the beginning.Therefore,it’s not true that their romance was heading for marriage from the start.

10Riding on his bicycle,he’d ride past my dorm as if“by accident”and pretend to be surprised to see me.I liked the attention but was cautious about his wild, dynamic personality.(Para.3)

Meaning beyond words:She understood his little trick:trying to see her by manufacturing excuses.Though she was happy to be the focus of his attention,she was also very alert to his wild and dynamic personality.

11He had a charming way with words which would charm any girl.(Para.3) Meaning:He knew how to please and attract girls because what he said was always pleasant to their ears.

12Fear came over me when I started to fall in love.His exciting“bad boy image”was just too tempting to resist.What was it that attracted me?(Para.3)

Meaning:I was in an awkward position:I started to fall in love with him,but I was also afraid of that.His bad boy image was too attractive to resist,but at the same time it was somewhat fearful.So,what exactly was it in him that attracted me?

Note:Tempting is a present participle of the verb tempt,used as an adjective to describe the effect that something has on someone’s feelings.For example,if you find something tempting/charming/disgusting/frightening,it means it tempts/charms/disgusts/frightens you.In English there are a group of words describing an effect that something has on your feelings and ideas.For example:

a tempting jo

b offer一个诱人的工作机会

an alarming increase in racial hostility种族仇视的惊人增长

a welcoming smile热情的微笑

a surprising number of数量惊人的

13I always had an excellent reputation.My concentration was solely on my studies to get superior grades.But for what?(Para.3)

Meaning:I was an outstanding student who only concentrated on studies in order to get excellent grades.But so what?Shouldn’t a good student also have fun?

14College is supposed to be a time of great learning and also some fun.I had nearly achieved a great education,and graduation was just one semester away.But I hadn’t had any fun;my life was stale with no component of fun!I needed a boyfriend.(Para.3)

Meaning:College is definitely a nice place for education but should have some fun as well.Throughout my years at college,I had devoted all my time to study but hadn’t had any fun yet.Now that I was graduating,I wanted to have a boyfriend to enrich my college life.

15Not just any boyfriend.He had to be cute.My goal that semester became:Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find.(Para.3)

Meaning:The one I wanted to date was not just an ordinary boy;he had to be handsome, pleasant and attractive.My ambition for that semester,therefore,was to find the cutest boyfriend at college.

16I worried what he’d think of me.(Para.4)

Meaning beyond words:Her concern about how Butch would look at her shows that she was becoming more interested in him and cared about his real thinking.

17True,we lived in a time when a dramatic shift in sexual attitudes was taking place,but I was a traditional girl who wasn’t ready for the new ways that seemed common on campus.(Para.4)

Meaning:It is true that we lived in an era when sexual attitudes were changing dramatically,but since I was traditional,I wasn’t ready for the new sexual practice seemingly common on campus.

18Butch looked superb!I was not immune to his personality,but I was scared. (Para.4)

Meaning:Butch looked extremely wonderful.I was surely influenced by his personality, but I felt scared.

19The night when he announced to the world that I was his girlfriend,I went along with him.(Para.4)

Meaning:That night when my boyfriend announced publicly I was his girlfriend,I did not have any objection.

Meaning beyond words:She has apparently changed her perception of Butch,from being merely curious about him at first to becoming cautious about his wild,dynamic personality later;from being fearful of failing to resist his“bad boy image”to approving of being his girlfriend.

20And then I suddenly thought:“Oh my gosh!Am I his girlfriend?How did that happen?”(Para.4)

Meaning beyond words:All of a sudden,she realized that she had made a mistake because she was not really ready to have a boyfriend yet.

Note:“Gosh”,as an interjection,is used to express surprise.For example:

Gosh,I didn’t expect to see you here!天哪，我没想到在这里见到你！

Gosh,it’s so cold.天哪，太冷了！

Gosh,there’s a lot of noise.天哪，这儿真吵。

21Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said,“I’m going to marry you one day and I will be a lawyer.You will see.”(Para.4)

Meaning:Then he quietly said sweet words in my ear and said that he would marry me and I could eventually see him become a lawyer.

22I was laughing inside and said to myself,“I’d never marry this guy.He’s a rebel without a good future.He’s my boyfriend because I hate my boring student life.I just want to have fun.”(Para.5)

Meaning:Though I agreed to be his girlfriend,from my heart,he was just a rebellious boy without a bright future.Therefore,I was not very serious about our relationship.To me,the only purpose to date him was to get away from my boring student life.

23Sure enough,the following month,I found out he had failed all his courses.(Para. 6)

Meaning:Just as I had expected,he didn’t pass any of his courses.

24Consequently,he was going to be expelled from the university.(Para.6) Meaning:As a consequence,the university was going to dismiss him from the school.

25To my disgust,he seemed resigned to his fate.I knew there was hope,so I led him to the college secretary for reconsideration.(Para.6)

Meaning:What upset me was that he seemed to accept his fate.As I knew there was still a hope,I took him to the college secretary to see whether the decision could be changed.

26“You are going to graduate with a BA in political science from UPenn and proceed to the College of Law,”I told him,lodging an appeal on his behalf,which was approved.(Para.7)

Meaning beyond words:What she did for her boyfriend indicated their relationship had come to a new stage.Besides encouraging him to consult with the college secretary and submitting the appeal on his behalf,she also planned for his future career.She told him he had to continue his studies at law school.

Note:Besides a noun,“proceed to”can also be followed by a verb phrase.For example: Having said how much she liked my idea,she then proceeded to make critical comments about it.说完她是多么喜欢我的点子，她接着就提出了批评性的意见。

27Butch was granted reconsideration.And,once we became steadies,he coordinated his studies and social life,passing all of his classes.He eventually studied law.(Para.7)

Meaning beyond words:Here we see the turning point of the relationship between the two.Her suggestions did work well with Butch since he was granted reconsideration.As soon as they became steady lovers,Butch balanced his studies and social life and passed every course.Finally,he studied law as had been planned.

Note:Steady can also be used as a noun,as is in the text.It’s an old-fashioned American way to describe a boyfriend or girlfriend that someone has been having a romantic relationship with.

28Despite Butch’s somewhat wild character,at his core,he is always a perfect gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for that.(Para.8)

Meaning:In spite of Butch’s a little wild character,he was always a perfect gentleman in essence,for which he should be given recognition.

29True,he’d sometimes take the liberty of displaying his love by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of my astonished friends who watched and disapproved.(Para. 8)

Meaning:Without my permission,sometimes he would press a kiss on my lips to show his love in front of my friends,who were astonished and resented what he did.

Note:“Plant a kiss”is a figurative use of the word plant,which means an intimate and publicly demonstrative kiss showing his love to all who are watching.

30But the truth is we had a pure and responsible relationship for seven full years. Sitting by the palm trees,hand in hand,we would listen to romantic songs,watch the sunset,and weave dreams of being together with children of our own,forever. (Para.8)

Meaning beyond words:Butch showed much respect for her conservative perception of love.For seven years,they just enjoyed their romance in a traditional way.

31Two years passed in a blur.One day,Butch took me by surprise as he knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses!(Para.9)

Meaning:Two years passed so quickly that I didn’t really remember everything clearly. One day,I was startled when Butch,holding a dozen red roses,knelt down to propose marriage.

Note:propose to sb.=propose marriage to sb.

32Filled with deep emotion,I confessed my love for him,“How roooomaaaantic!!”(Para.9)

Meaning:I admitted my love for him with deep affection.It was super romantic! Meaning beyond words:She was so happy and thrilled to accept Butch’s marriage proposal that she said the word romantic in a slow and exaggerated way.

Note:In informal writing,people would emphasize something in a similar way.For example:

Thank you soooooo much!真是太太太感谢您了！

33Then my brain woke up from fantasy land.I cried out,“Good heavens.No!We’re too young to tie the knot.We haven’t even graduated from college yet!”I really loved him but was pessimistic about our chances for success.(Para.9)

Meaning beyond words:All of a sudden,she woke up from the romantic scene.Though she already accepted love from Butch and confessed her love for him,she was not sure whether they would get married and have a happy ending as they were still college students.

Note:It isn’t clear whether this expression tie the knot derives from an actual knot used in marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity.Knots have a place in many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges.Actual knots have

certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time.The word knot,although not in the phrase tie the knot,has been associated with marriage since at least the13th century.

34We married five years later.(Para10)

Meaning beyond words:Though she was pessimistic about their chance for success of love,she accepted Butch’s proposal.They got married five years later,which illustrates their deep and true love for each other.

35Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky roads of hardship and on smooth easy-going highways.(Para.11)

Meaning:Our devoted and faithful love guided us both in times of happiness and also in times of hardship.

Note:The word rocky comes from the noun rock combining with-y.A rocky road refers to a road full of rocks,uneven or not flat.Words of this group

include:muddy,stony,grassy,snowy,rainy,etc.

36It is a long,romantic,sometimes crazy,love story that sums up a29-year long honeymoon together as a couple who are still madly in love with each other.(Para.

11)

Meaning beyond words:She felt very proud of her long-lasting romantic,sometimes even crazy love,which was just like a29-year long honeymoon for her and her husband.

37Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a mature love and rich life.(Para.11)

Meaning beyond words:Completely beyond her expectation,love came to her as she started with a casual date but ended up growing into a mature love and rich life.

Note:We usually use commence doing sth.or commence with sth.Also,in the US,the official college/university graduation ceremony is called“commencement”.The word refers to the completion of one’s education and the beginning of one’s new adult life. Note:The phrase“bloomed into a mature love and rich life”in the text is used figuratively, meaning their love was just like blossoms on a tree.