Little White Lamb

原文

Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece. One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her. She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening. One evening, how-ever, the lamb was missing. The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.

When Dimitri came in from the fields,His wife told him what had happened.Dimitri at once set out to find the thief. He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village. After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb.Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb. He told him he had better return it or he would call the police. Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his back-yard. It was true that he had just bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was black. Ashamed of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him. While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko's house until the rain stopped.When he went outside half an hour later, he was astonished to find that the little black lamb was almost white. Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed clean by the rain !

译文

玛丽和她的丈夫迪米特里住在希腊南部的珀拉霍拉小村庄里。玛丽最珍贵的财产之一是一只小白羊羔，这是她丈夫送给她的。她白天把它拴在田野里的一棵树上，每天晚上去把它带回来。然而，有一天晚上，羊羔不见了。绳子被剪断了，所以很明显它是被人偷走了。

当迪米特里从田野里回来时，他的妻子告诉了他发生的事。迪米特里立刻出发去寻找小偷。他知道在这样一个小村庄里，这并不难。告诉几个朋友关于这次偷窃后，迪米特里发现他的邻居阿莱科突然得到了一只新羊羔。迪米特里立即去了阿莱科的家，愤怒地指责他偷了羊羔。他告诉他最好还回来，否则他就报警。

阿莱科否认了偷窃，并领迪米特里到他的后院。他解释说，他确实刚买了一只羊羔，但他的羊是黑色的。为自己的鲁莽行为感到羞愧，迪米特里向阿莱科道歉，因为他指责了他。他们谈话的时候，天开始下雨，迪米特里在阿莱科的家里待到雨停。半小时后，当他走出去时，他惊奇地发现那只小黑羊羔几乎变白了。它的羊毛，原来是被染成黑色的，现在被雨水冲洗干净了！

词汇表

tiny

形容词

英:/ˈtaɪni/

美:/ˈtaɪni/

定义

1. 极小的 - Extremely small in size.

例子: The tiny village was hidden in the mountains.

例子: She lives in a tiny apartment in the city center.

2. 微不足道的 - Used to describe something insignificant or very little.

例子: He made a tiny mistake that didn't affect the outcome.

例子: The tiny details in the painting make it special.

近义词

small: 更通用，描述大小时不强调极端程度，而 'tiny' 强调极小。

minuscule: 更正式，常用于书面语，强调尺寸非常小，与 'tiny' 类似但更精确。

petite: 常用于描述人或物体，常带有积极 connotation，如优雅的小巧，与 'tiny' 的中性语气不同。

反义词:

huge, enormous, vast

用法

常用于描述物体或地方的大小，适合非正式语境，如日常对话；可与名词搭配如 'tiny house'，在文学中强调可爱或脆弱。

形式:

比较级: tinier, 最高级: tiniest

关键句型 "It was obvious that [clause]"

定义

此句型用于表达某事显而易见或清楚明了，结构为：It was obvious that + [clause]（从句）。例如，在文章中出现了 "It was obvious that the lamb had been stolen"。根据《剑桥英语语法指南》，这个句型属于固定表达方式，常用于描述推断或事实，常以 "it" 作为形式主语，后面跟形容词 "obvious" 和 that 从句。该句型简洁有力，帮助学习者清晰地传达推理结果。

它在英语中是常见的描述性句型，适合在叙述故事或说明原因时使用。

用法

此句型主要用于正式或叙述性的语境，如报告、故事或日常对话中表示某事很清楚。规则：It was obvious that 后必须接一个完整的从句，通常使用过去时或完成时来描述过去事件。在语法体系中，它属于主语从句结构，与其他 "It + be + adjective + that" 句型相关，如 "It is important that..."。

横向比较：与 "Clearly, [clause]" 相比，It was obvious that 更正式且结构完整；与 "I think that [clause]" 不同，它强调客观性而非主观意见。另外，它可以与条件句结合，如在假设场景中使用。跨语法联系：这与名词从句有关，学生可以扩展到其他类似结构，如 "It seemed that..." 或 "It appeared that..."，从而建立更广的语法网络。

在使用时，注意从句时态的一致性，例如在过去语境中常配以过去完成时。

注意事项

学生容易犯的错误包括：遗漏 "that" 引导从句，导致句子不完整，如说 "It was obvious the lamb had been stolen"，这在非正式口语中可能被接受，但正式写作中需要 "that"。另一个常见问题是用错时态，例如在当前语境中误用过去时，而应根据上下文调整。纠正建议：多练习从句结构，确保 "that" 的使用，并通过阅读英文文章观察实际应用。

此外，学生可能过度使用这个句型，使语言重复；建议结合其他表达如 "Evidently,..." 以丰富表达。

错误示例：It was obvious the thief was Dimitri.（缺少 that，句子结构不严谨）
正确示例：It was obvious that the thief had taken the lamb.

练习

一个原创例子：假设你在讲述一个失物事件，你可以说："It was obvious that my keys had been misplaced when I found them in the wrong pocket." 学生可以替换 [clause] 为其他内容，比如 "It was obvious that the bus had left early"，并试着在日常对话中使用，如在朋友圈分享经历时说："It was obvious that the weather had changed suddenly."

通过这种替换，学生能更好地适应不同场景，并加深对句型的掌握，提升叙述能力。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语中强调客观性的传统表达，常见于19世纪小说中，如狄更斯的作品，用于增强故事的真实感。对比分析：在中文中，这类似于 "显然…"，但英语结构更正式；与法语的 "Il était évident que..." 类似，都使用形式主语增强句子的平衡性。了解这种句型有助于学生在写作中构建逻辑清晰的段落，同时对比其他语言可以发现英语的精确性，鼓励学生探索更多类似表达如 "It is clear that..." 以提升综合语言技能。

关键句型 "He had better [verb]"

定义

此句型用于给出建议或警告，表达某人最好做某事，结构为：He had better + [verb]（动词原形）。在文章中，如 "He told him he had better return it"，它表示一种带有紧迫性的建议。根据《牛津现代英语语法》，这个句型是固定表达，常用于非正式语境，暗示如果不遵循可能有负面后果，是情态表达的一种形式。

它帮助学习者传达劝告，语气较为直接但不失礼貌。

用法

此句型常用于口语或故事中，给出实用的建议或威胁，规则：主语 + had better + 动词原形，不需要助动词。情态动词 "had better" 后直接接动词原形。在语法体系中，它属于情态动词短语，与其他建议表达如 "should" 或 "ought to" 相关，位置在表示义务或建议的类别中。

横向比较：与 "should [verb]" 相比，had better 更强调必要性和潜在后果（例如，"You should go" 是温和建议，而 "You had better go" 暗示否则会有问题）；与 "must [verb]" 不同，它不那么强硬，更像是善意的警告。跨语法联系：它与条件句有关，如可以扩展到 "If you don't, then..."，学生可联系到其他情态动词如 "would rather"，形成更全面的理解。

在实际应用中，常用于日常对话或叙述事件。

注意事项

学生常犯错误包括：误用时态，如说 "He has better" 而非 "He had better"，因为它通常用于过去或一般建议；或将它与 "had to" 混淆，后者表示必须做某事而非建议。纠正建议：记住 "had better" 的固定搭配，并练习在上下文中使用，避免在正式写作中过度使用，以免显得过于命令式。

另一个问题是忽略负面含义，例如学生可能以为它是纯建议而非警告，导致语气不当。

错误示例：He better return it now.（缺少 had，句子不完整）
正确示例：He had better return the book before it's too late.

练习

一个原创例子：想象你在劝告朋友，你可以说："You had better check the weather before going out." 学生可以替换 [verb] 为其他动作，如 "She had better call her parents soon"，并试着在角色扮演中应用，例如在模拟争执场景中说："He had better apologize quickly."

这种练习能让学生在真实语境中灵活运用句型，增强记忆。

额外内容

背景知识："Had better" 起源于古英语的条件表达，常见于英国口语中，文化上反映了英语中间接劝告的传统。对比分析：在西班牙语中，类似结构如 "Mejor que..."，但英语更简洁；与中文的 "最好…" 相似，都避免直接命令。学习此句型能帮助学生处理人际关系，同时对比其他语言强化对建议表达的敏感性，进而探索更多如 "It's best to..." 的变体。