Pioneer pilots

原文

In 1908 Lord Northcliffe offered a prize of $1,000 to the first man who would fly across the English Channel. Over a year passed before the first attempt was made. On July 19th, 1909, in the early morning, Hubert Latham took off from the French coast in his plane the 'Antoinette IV.' He had travelled only seven miles across the Channel when his engine failed and he was forced to land on sea. The 'Antoinette' floated on the water until Latham was picked up by a ship.

Two days alter, Louis Bleriot arrived near Calais with a plane called 'No. XI'. Bleriot had been making planes since 1905 and this was his lattes model. A week before, he had completed a successful overland flight during which he covered twenty-six miles. Latham, however, did not give up easily. He, too, arrived near Calais on the same day with a new 'Antoinette'. It looked as if there would be an exciting race across the Channel. Both planes were going to take off on July 25th, but Latham failed to get up early enough, After making a short test flight at 4,15 a.m., Bleriot set off half an hour later. His great flight lasted thirty-seven minutes. When he landed near Dover, the first person to greet him was a local policeman. Latham made another attempt a week later and got within half a mile of Dover, but he was unlucky again. His engine failed and he landed on the sea for the second time.

译文

1908年，诺斯克利夫勋爵悬赏1,000美元，奖励第一个飞越英吉利海峡的人。一年多以后，才有人首次尝试。1909年7月19日清晨，休伯特·拉瑟姆驾驶他的飞机“安托瓦内特四号”从法国海岸起飞。他只飞越了海峡七英里，引擎就发生故障，被迫降落在海面上。“安托瓦内特”号在水面上漂浮，直到拉瑟姆被一艘船救起。

两天以后，路易·布莱里奥带着一架名为“十一号”的飞机抵达加来附近。布莱里奥从1905年起就一直在制造飞机，这架是他的最新型号。一周前，他完成了一次成功的陆上飞行，飞行了二十六英里。然而，拉瑟姆并没有轻易放弃。他也在同一天带着一架新的“安托瓦内特”号抵达加来附近。看来将有一场激动人心的海峡飞行比赛。两架飞机都计划在7月25日起飞，但拉瑟姆没能早起。布莱里奥在清晨4点15分进行了一次短暂的试飞后，半小时以后起飞。他的这次伟大飞行持续了三十七分钟。当他降落在多佛尔附近时，第一个迎接他的是当地的一名警察。一周后，拉瑟姆再次尝试，飞到了多佛尔半英里以内，但又不走运。他的引擎又故障了，他第二次降落在海面上。

词汇表

offer

动词, 名词

英:/ˈɒfər/

美:/ˈɔːfər/

定义

1. 提供或提出 - To present something for someone to accept or reject.

例子: The company offered a job to the new graduate.

例子: He offered his help during the crisis.

2. 优惠或提议 - A thing that is presented for sale or as a gift.

例子: The store has a special offer on electronics.

例子: She received an offer for her old car.

近义词

propose: 更正式，常用于建议或计划，而 'offer' 强调实际提供。

present: 侧重于展示或提交，而 'offer' 暗示接受的可能性。

extend: 常用于正式场合如商业协议，强调伸出或延长，而 'offer' 更通用。

反义词:

withdraw, refuse, decline

用法

常用于商业、社交或日常语境中，如 'offer a prize' 表示提出奖励；需注意搭配如 'offer to do something'，文化上强调礼貌和自愿。

形式:

复数 (noun): offers, 过去式 (verb): offered, 现在分词: offering

关键句型 "He had [verb] when [clause]."

定义

此句型用于描述过去某个时间点之前发生的动作，随后紧接着另一个动作。结构为：主语 + had + 过去分词 (verb) + when + 从句。例如，在文章中，“He had travelled only seven miles when his engine failed.” 根据《剑桥英语语法手册》，这是一种结合过去完成时的句型，用于强调两个过去事件之间的先后关系，其中 had + 过去分词 表示在 when 从句发生前已完成的动作。

这个句型帮助学习者清晰表达时间顺序，避免叙述混乱。它常用于叙述故事或历史事件，如本文描述的飞行尝试。

用法

此句型主要用于叙述过去事件，强调一个动作在另一个动作之前完成。When 引导的时间从句通常用一般过去时，表示主要事件发生的时间点，而主句用过去完成时突出先发事件。在语法体系中，它属于时间从句的范畴，与其他连接词如 before、after 相关，但 when 强调同时性或紧接性。

横向比较：与 "before [clause], [subject] had [verb]" 相比，此句型更简洁，直接连接两个子句；与 "After [clause], [subject] had [verb]" 不同，它不强调严格的先后，而是焦点在中断或转折。例如，与一般过去时的简单句型 "He travelled when his engine failed" 相比，此句型更精确地显示时间顺序，避免歧义。同时，它可与条件句联系起来，如在叙述假设情景中。

在实际应用中，此句型常用于故事、新闻或个人经历中。例如，在对话中说：“I had finished my homework when the phone rang.” 这有助于建立事件的因果或时间链条。

注意事项

学生容易犯的错误包括：误用时态，如用一般过去时替换过去完成时（例如，“He travelled when his engine failed”），导致时间关系模糊；或将 when 与其他词混淆，如用 while（表示持续时间）代替，导致句子含义偏差。纠正建议：始终记住主句需用过去完成时来表示先发生的动作，并通过练习区分 when 和 while。

另一个常见问题是用法不当的从句结构，例如遗漏主语或动词（如 “He had travelled when his engine fail”），或在非正式语境中过度使用，显得生硬。提供具体例句：

错误示例：He travelled seven miles when his engine failed.  (缺少过去完成时，时间顺序不明确)
正确示例：He had travelled seven miles when his engine failed.  (清晰显示他已经旅行了七英里，然后引擎故障)

练习时，注意语调和节奏，以免句子过于复杂。

练习

一个原创例子：假设你在讲述个人经历，“I had walked halfway home when it started raining heavily.” 学生可以替换关键词，如将 [verb] 改为 "eaten"，并调整 [clause] 为 "the meeting ended"，变成 “I had eaten dinner when the meeting ended.” 这能帮助学生应用到日常场景，例如分享旅行故事：“She had packed her bags when the flight was delayed.”

通过这种替换练习，学生能加深对句型的掌握，并尝试在写作或口语中自然使用，增强自信。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语中对时间关系的强调，英语历史中受拉丁语影响，发展出复杂的时态系统来处理过去事件。文化背景上，在英语故事叙述中，如历史书籍或小说，这种结构常见于英美文学，帮助构建紧张感。对比分析：与中文的 "当...的时候，他已经..." 类似，但英语更依赖时态变化而非词汇；在法语中，类似结构使用复杂动词时态，如 plus-que-parfait，与英语过去完成时对应，但英语规则更直观。

学习此句型还能扩展到更高级的叙述技巧，如结合其他从句，提升整体语言流畅性。