55_Not_a_Gold_Mine

55 Not a Gold Mine

原文译文

Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground. The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where--it is said--pirates used to hide gold. The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure. The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground. Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless. The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk. In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon.

最近，找到失踪宝藏的梦想差一点儿变成现实。一种叫"探宝器"的新机器已经发明出来，并被人们用来探测地下埋藏的金子。 在靠近海边的一个据说过去海盗常在里面藏金子的岩洞里，这种机器被派上了用场。 海盗们过去常把金子埋藏在那个洞里，可后来却没能取走。一支用这种新机器装备起来的探宝队进入了这个岩洞，希望找到埋藏的金子。 当这个队的队长正在检查洞口附近的土壤时，那台机器显示出它的下面埋有金子。 队员们异常激动，就地挖了一个两英尺深的坑。但最后找到的是一枚几乎一钱不值的小金币。 队员们接着又把整个洞彻底搜寻了一遍，但除了一只空铁皮箱外什么也没找到。 尽管如此，很多人仍然相信"探宝器"很快就会探出值钱的东西来。

Words

• treasure /ˈtrɛʒɚ/ n. 宝藏
  1. a treasure map…
  2. He drew a treasure
  3. Let’s stick to the plan and find the treasure.（L54）
  4. I want to know where the treasure is.（L39）
• Revealer /rɪˈvilɚ/ v. 探测器
  1. It is called a revealer.（L10）
  2. Is it called a revealer?
  3. Leo persuaded me not to buy that revealer.（L54）
  4. Please, sign for this revealer.（L54）
• buried /ˈbɛrid/ 埋
• cave /kev/ n. 山洞
  1. in a cave…
  2. There is some buried treasure in that cave.
  3. We’re gonna live in this cave for a long time, so maybe we should get it in order.（L52）
  4. It takes him three days to get out of the cave.（L50）
• seashore /ˈsiˌʃɔr/ n. 岸边
  1. near the seashore…
  2. There is a cave near the seashore.（L25）
  3. We used to go to the seashore every summer.（L31）
  4. Let’s go to the seashore and have a nice weekend.
• pirates /ˈpaɪrəts/ n. 海盗
  1. I like pirate stories.
  2. Do you like pirate stories?
• Armed /ɑrmd/ v. /vi/ v. 武装
  1. arm sb./sth. with sth. = sb. be armed with sth.
  2. Armed with a bucket and a mop, I started washing the floor.（L49）
  3. Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave…
  4. He armed the robot with a dagger.
  5. The government armed the soldiers with the new guns.
• soil /sɔɪl/ n. 土
  1. There are a lot of worms in the soil.（L25）
  2. bury + in the soil…
• entrance /ˈɛntrəns/ n. 入口
  1. I can’t find the entrance.
  2. Why can’t you find the entrance?
  3. Where's the entrance?Right here!
  4. Don’t miss the entrance.
  5. He was dismayed to find out that they miss the entrance.（L54）
• dug /dʌɡ/ dig, 挖
• thoroughly /ˈθɝoli/ adv. 彻底地
  1. The party searched the whole cave thoroughly.
  2. I searched his room thoroughly last night.
• tin /tɪn/ 锡
• trunk /trʌŋk/ n. 衣箱
  1. Where do you find this empty tin trunk?
  2. v. + trunk…
• fairly /ˈfɛrli/ 相当地
• invent /ɪnˈvɛnt/ n. 发明
  1. The “Revealer” was invented many years ago.（L10）
  2. was/how long ago/when/what/how…
  3. Who invented this?
• detect /dɪˈtɛkt/ n. 探测
  1. The “Revealer” has been used to detect gold.
  2. He saved up for years to buy this “Revealer” that can detect gold.（L49）
• confident /ˈkɑnfədənt/ adj. 自信的
  1. I’m confident that they will stick to the plan.（L54）
  2. Leo is confident that they will return this to him.（L45）
• value /ˈvælju/ n. 价值
  1. something of value….
  2. I have something to give
  3. It might contain something of value.（L19）
  4. You’re worthless.
  5. I’m not worthless.
• worthless /ˈwɝθləs/ adj. 无价值的
  1. I've never felt so worthless in my entire life.
  2. You’re worthless.
  3. I’m not worthless.

Expressions

• come true 实现
• be used to 被用来
• fail to collect 未能收集
• a search party 搜索队
• in spite of 尽管
• reveal something of value 揭示有价值的东西

would do vs. used to do

used to do:

1. 过去的状态
2. 现在不发生了

would do:

1. 过去重复发生的动作