Life on a desert island

原文

Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, Waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few us have had the opportunity to find out.

Two men who recently spent five days on a coral island wished they had stayed there longer. They were taking a badly damaged boat from the Virgin Islands to Miami to have it repaired. During the journey, their boat began to sink. They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island. There were hardly any trees on the island and there was no water, but this did not prove to be a problem. The men collected rainwater in the rubber dinghy. As they had brought a spear gun with them, they had plenty to eat. They caught lobster and fish every day，and, as one of them put it 'ate like kings'. When a passing tanker rescued them five days later, both men were genuinely sorry that they had to leave.

译文

我们大多数人对于荒岛上的生活形成了一种不切实际的图画。我们有时想象荒岛是一种天堂，那里阳光普照。生活简单而美好。成熟的果实从树上掉下来，你根本不必工作。图画的另一面则完全相反。荒岛上的生活是凄惨的。你要么饿死，要么像鲁滨逊·克鲁索一样，等待一艘永不来临的船。或许这两种图画都有一些真实性，但我们中很少有人有机会去发现。

最近有两个人在一个珊瑚岛上呆了五天，他们希望在那里呆得更长些。他们正把一艘严重损坏的船从维尔京群岛开往迈阿密去修理。在航行中，他们的船开始下沉。他们迅速把食物、火柴和几罐啤酒装进一只小橡皮救生艇，然后划了几英里穿过加勒比海，直到他们到达一个很小的珊瑚岛。岛上几乎没有树，也没有水，但这并没有成为问题。这些人用橡皮救生艇收集雨水。由于他们带了一支鱼叉枪，他们有的是吃的。他们每天捕龙虾和鱼，正如他们中的一个人所说的“吃得像国王一样”。五天以后，当一艘路过的油轮救起他们时，这两个人都真心实意地感到遗憾他们不得不离开。

词汇表

unrealistic

形容词

英:/ˌʌn.rɪˈæl.ɪ.stɪk/

美:/ˌʌn.riˈæl.ɪ.stɪk/

定义

1. 不现实的 - Not based on what is reasonable or possible in real life.

例子: It's unrealistic to expect to find ripe fruit falling from trees on every island.

例子: Many people have an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island.

2. 不切实际的 - Not practical or achievable.

例子: His plan to live without working is completely unrealistic.

例子: Expecting a boat to come immediately is unrealistic in such situations.

近义词

impractical: 强调无法实际应用，'unrealistic' 更侧重于脱离现实，而 'impractical' 关注可行性。

unfeasible: 更正式，常用于专业语境，'unrealistic' 则更通用且主观。

idealistic: 带有积极的梦想意味，'unrealistic' 则更中性或负面，暗示脱离实际。

反义词:

realistic, practical, feasible

用法

常用于描述期望或想法脱离现实，常搭配如 'unrealistic expectations'，在非正式和正式语境中均适用，无特定文化背景限制。

形式:

比较级: more unrealistic, 最高级: most unrealistic

深入解析：关键句型 "imagine something to be something"

定义

这个句型是一种表达想象或假设的结构，用于描述某人将某物想象成另一种状态。基本形式为：imagine（想象）+ [something]（某物，通常是名词或名词短语）+ to be（是）+ [something]（另一种描述，通常是形容词或名词短语）。例如，在文章中出现 "We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise"，这引用了现实生活中的常见表达。权威教材如《新概念英语》或《剑桥英语语法》将此句型定义为动词 imagine 的宾语补足语结构，其中 to be 连接主语补足语，强调主观认知和描述性对比。

用法

此句型常用于描述个人或他人的主观想象、假设或观点，常出现在叙述故事、讨论观点或表达情感的场景中。规则是：imagine 后跟一个宾语（如 "a desert island"），然后用 to be 引导补足语（如 "a sort of paradise"），这在语法体系中属于动词 + 宾语 + 宾语补足语的模式，与其他动词如 consider 或 find 类似，建立跨语法点联系。例如，它可以链接到不定式结构（to be 是不定式），帮助学生从简单句过渡到复杂句。同时，在文章中，这种句型用于对比现实与想象，强化叙述的逻辑性。使用场景包括文学描述、日常对话或辩论中，如 "I imagine my future to be bright"，这不仅表达个人愿景，还与条件句或虚拟语气相关联，扩展学生的表达能力。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：遗漏 to be 而直接说 "imagine something something"，导致句子不完整或意思模糊，例如说 "We imagine a desert island a paradise"，这会使结构崩坏。另一个常见偏误是混淆时态，例如在过去时中使用时不正确，如 "imagined something to be" 时忘记调整补足语的时态。纠正建议：始终记住 to be 是连接词，确保宾语和补足语一致；练习时，多阅读类似文章，注意语境中的主观性，避免在正式写作中过度使用以防显得主观偏见。此外，学生应注意文化差异，在英语中这种句型常用于温和表达观点，而非绝对陈述。

练习

一个额外的例子："Children often imagine their toys to be alive and full of adventure." 通过这个例子，学生可以尝试替换关键词，如将 "toys" 换成 "dreams"，并构建完整句子，例如 "I imagine my trip to be exciting and full of surprises." 这有助于学生应用句型于个人叙述，增强实际表达能力。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语中动词的扩展用法，类似于拉丁语的影响，在现代英语中用于增强描述的生动性。对比分析：与法语的类似结构（如 "imaginer quelque chose comme"）不同，英语更直接强调 to be 的连接作用。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生能更好地理解文学作品中的叙事技巧，例如在小说中用于人物内心独白，这有助于提升阅读和写作水平。