49_The_End_of_a_Dream

49 The End of a Dream¶

Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He slept very well for the first two nights, but on the third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up, he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked up the mattress and carried it into his house. After he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep again.

Words¶

Tired /ˈtaɪɚd/ 厌倦
up /ʌp/ 存钱
springs /sprɪŋz/ 弹簧
mattress /ˈmætrəs/ 床垫
storm /stɔrm/ 暴风雨
A /ə/ gust /ɡʌst/ of /ʌv/ wind /waɪnd/ 一阵风
swept /swɛpt/ 刮
crashing /ˈkræʃɪŋ/ 分词作宾补
courtyard /ˈkɔrˌtjɑrd/ 院子
smashed /smæʃt/ 砸碎
pieces /ˈpisəz/ 块
miraculously /mɚˈækjələsli/ 奇迹般地
Glancing /ˈɡlænsɪŋ/ 扫视
promptly /ˈprɑmptli/ 迅速地

分词作状语¶

简化状语从句

The baby opened his eyes. The baby began to cry.

When the baby opened his eyes, he began to cry.

(When) opening his eyes, the baby began to cry.

Expressions¶

save up for years to buy sth. 攒了好几年钱买某物
for the first time in sb.’s life 某人一生中第一次
go to sleep 入睡