原文

The secretary told me that Mr Harms worth would see me. I felt very nervous when I went into his office. He did not look up from his desk when I entered. After I had sat down, he said that business was very bad. He told me that the firm could not afford to pay such large salaries. Twenty people had already left. I knew that my turn had come.'Mr Harmsworth,' I said in a weak voice.'Don't interrupt,' he Said. Then he smiled and told me I would receive an extra £100 a year!

译文

秘书告诉我,哈姆斯沃思先生要见我。我走进他的办公室时,感到非常紧张。我进去时,他没有从桌子上抬起头来。我坐下后,他说生意非常糟糕。他告诉我,公司付不起这么高的薪水。已经有二十人离开了。我知道轮到我了。“哈姆斯沃思先生,”我用微弱的声音说。“别打断,”他说。然后他笑了笑,告诉我我将多得一百英镑的年薪!

词汇表

nervous

形容词
英:/ˈnɜːvəs/
美:/ˈnɝːvəs/
定义
1. 紧张的;焦虑的 - Feeling worried or anxious about something.

例子: I felt very nervous before my job interview.

例子: She gets nervous when speaking in public.

2. 易激动的;神经质的 - Easily excited or agitated.

例子: The nervous dog barked at every sound.

例子: He has a nervous personality and reacts quickly to stress.

近义词
anxious: 强调担心未来事件,'nervous' 更侧重于身体或情绪上的不适感。
worried: 更一般化地表示担忧,'nervous' 常伴随生理反应如颤抖。
apprehensive: 更正式,暗示对未知事物的恐惧,'nervous' 则更日常和普遍。
反义词:
calm, relaxed, confident
用法
常用于描述情绪状态,常见搭配如 'feel nervous about'(对...感到紧张),在非正式语境中常见,尤其在个人经历或心理描述中。
形式:
比较级: more nervous, 最高级: most nervous, 副词形式: nervously

关键句型 "Subject + told + object + that + clause"

定义

此句型用于表达间接引语,常见于报告他人话语的场景。结构为:Subject(主语)+ told(告诉)+ object(宾语)+ that(引导从句)+ clause(从句)。例如,文章中的 "The secretary told me that Mr Harmsworth would see me." 根据《剑桥英语语法》教材,这种句型是间接引语的一种基本形式,用于转述过去的话语,强调信息的传递而非原话。

它帮助学习者自然地叙述事件,避免直接引用,提升对话的流畅性。

用法

此句型主要用于叙述性文本、故事或对话中,报告他人的陈述。规则:told 后跟宾语(如人称代词),然后用 that 引导从句,从句通常使用过去时或相关时态来反映原话的时态变化。在英语语法体系中,它属于间接引语的一部分,与直接引语(如 "He said, 'I am coming.'")形成对比。

横向比较:与 "said that" 句型相比,told + object + that 更强调告知的对象(如告诉某人),因此更具体;与 "asked if" 相比,它用于陈述而非疑问。跨语法联系:此句型常与过去时或过去完成时结合(如文章中的例子),学生可将其与条件句或虚拟语气联系起来,例如在叙述假设场景时使用。

在实际应用中,此句型适合正式报告、新闻或个人故事,帮助构建连贯的叙述。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括:遗漏 that 引导词,导致句子不完整(如 "The secretary told me Mr Harmsworth would see me",虽可接受但易混淆);或未调整从句时态,例如原话是现在时,却未改为过去时(如直接说 "that he is coming" 而非 "that he was coming")。纠正建议:练习时,总是检查从句时态的回推(backshift),并使用完整结构。

另一个常见偏误是混淆主句和从句的时态一致性,如在主句是过去时的情况下,从句仍用现在时。提供例句:

错误示例:She told him that I am tired. (如果主句是过去时,这不正确)
正确示例:She told him that I was tired.

练习

原创例子:假设你在工作中汇报老板的话,可以说:"My colleague told me that the meeting would start at 10 a.m." 学生可以替换关键词,如将 "told me" 改为 "told her",或改变从句内容为 "that the project is delayed",并在不同场景中使用,例如在朋友聚会时说:"He told me that he had visited Paris last year."

通过这种替换,学生能更好地适应日常生活中的叙述,提升表达的灵活性。

额外内容

背景知识:此句型源于英语中间接引语的传统发展,起源于18世纪的语法演变,旨在使语言更礼貌和间接。对比分析:与中文的间接叙述(如 "他说…")类似,但英语需要调整时态,而西班牙语中类似结构(如 "dijo que")也要求时态变化,却不像英语那样严格。这能帮助学生理解英语的时态系统在全球语境中的独特性,同时为学习更复杂的间接引语(如带疑问或命令)奠定基础。