Nothing to worry about

原文

The rough across the plain soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from. Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed. Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away. It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.

As we bumped over eh dusty track, we swerved to avoid large boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine. Because of this, we kept looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail of oil and petrol behind us.

What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared, giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes. But there was worse to come. Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure. In response to renewed pleadings, Bruce stopped. Though we all got out to examine the fissure, he remained in the car. We informed him that the fissure extended for fifty years and was tow feet wide and four feet deep. Even this had no effect. Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. Before we had time to worry about what might happen, we were back on the plain again. Bruce consulted the map once more and told us that the village was now only fifteen miles away. Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across. Bruce charged at it, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding half. A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine!

译文

横跨平原的道路很快变得非常糟糕,以致我们试图让布鲁斯开车返回我们来时的村庄。尽管道路上布满巨石并坑坑洼洼,布鲁斯却丝毫不为所动。他看了一眼地图,告诉我们下一个村庄仅仅二十英里远。并不是布鲁斯总是低估困难。他根本就没有危险意识。无论条件如何,他都相信汽车应该以最快的速度行驶。

当我们颠簸在尘土飞扬的小道上时,我们急转弯以避开大块巨石。车轮卷起石块,这些石块在车底发出不祥的撞击声。我们确信,早晚会有一块石头撕破油箱或损坏发动机。因此,我们不停地回头看,生怕在身后留下一串油和汽油。

当巨石突然消失,取而代之的是一片只有灌木丛作为障碍的平原时,我们真是松了一口气。但更糟糕的事情还在后面。就在我们前面,有一道巨大的裂缝。在我们再三请求下,布鲁斯停了下来。尽管我们都下车去检查裂缝,他却留在车里。我们告诉他,这道裂缝延伸五十码,宽两英尺,深四英尺。甚至这也没有作用。布鲁斯挂入低挡,以惊人的速度驾驶着,保持前轮跨在裂缝上,沿着它的之字形路线前进。在我们还没来得及担心会发生什么,我们又回到了平原上。布鲁斯又看了一眼地图,告诉我们村庄现在只有十五英里远了。我们下一个障碍是一个大约半英里宽的浅水池。布鲁斯冲了进去,但到了中间,车子戛然而止。仪表板上的黄灯愤怒地闪烁,布鲁斯兴高采烈地宣布引擎里没有油了!

词汇表

rough

形容词, 名词, 动词
英:/rʌf/
美:/rʌf/
定义
1. 崎岖的;粗糙的 - Not smooth or level; uneven and difficult to travel on.

例子: The rough road made the journey uncomfortable.

例子: Her hands were rough from years of hard work.

2. 粗略的;大致的 - Approximate or not exact.

例子: He gave a rough estimate of the cost.

例子: The map showed a rough outline of the area.

近义词
uneven: 强调表面不平整,常用于地形描述,与 'rough' 类似但更侧重于不规则性。
rugged: 暗示更强的坚固性和野性,常用于自然景观,而 'rough' 更通用。
coarse: 常用于质地描述,如材料或声音,区别于 'rough' 的地形含义。
反义词:
smooth, even, polished
用法
常用于描述地形、表面或估算,常搭配如 'rough road' 或 'rough estimate',在非正式语境中更常见。
形式:
复数: roughs (as noun), 过去式: roughed (as verb), 其他: rougher (比较级), roughest (最高级)

关键句型 "Even though [clause], [main clause]."

定义

这个句型用于表达让步或对比,意思是尽管有某种情况,主句中的情况仍然发生。结构包括:Even though(尽管)引导一个从句([clause]),后跟主句([main clause])。根据《剑桥英语语法》教材,这种句型是让步状语从句的常见形式,用于显示条件或障碍的存在,但不改变结果。它类似于其他让步连接词如 "although" 或 "though",但 Even though 强调对比更强烈,帮助学习者构建复杂句式。

例如,在文章中:“Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed.” 这清晰地定义了句型的核心:从句描述障碍,主句显示结果。

用法

此句型常用于描述现实中的对比场景,如故事叙述、辩论或日常对话中表达让步。规则是:Even though 后跟一个完整的从句(包括主语和谓语),然后是逗号和主句。语法体系中,它属于状语从句的一部分,与时间状语从句(e.g., when)或原因状语从句(e.g., because)相关联。

横向比较:与 "Although [clause], [main clause]" 相比,Even though 语气更加强调意外或强烈对比,例如 "Although it was raining, we went out"(简单让步),而 "Even though it was pouring, we went out"(强调更极端)。与 "Despite [noun/gerund]" 不同,这个句型使用完整从句,更适合正式写作或口语表达复杂想法。跨语法联系:学生可以将其与条件句(如 "If [clause], [main clause]")结合,强化对从句的理解,例如 "Even though it’s cold, if you wear a coat, you’ll be fine."

在实际应用中,这个句型帮助连接矛盾的想法,促进流畅叙述。

注意事项

学生容易犯的错误包括:忘记用逗号分隔从句和主句,导致句子混乱;或将 Even though 与其他连接词混淆,如用 "Even if"(用于假设)代替(例如,"Even if I try, I might fail" 表示条件,而非事实)。纠正建议:练习时,确保从句完整,并阅读出声检查节奏。

另一个常见问题是用简单句替换,导致表达不精确。例如,错误地将它简化为 "The road was bad, but Bruce was not perturbed",丢失了强调。提供具体例句:

错误示例:Even though the road was bad Bruce was not perturbed.  // 缺少逗号,句子不清晰
正确示例:Even though the road was bad, Bruce was not perturbed.  // 逗号帮助分隔从句

记住,保持从句的时态一致,以避免时态错误。

练习

一个原创例子:假设你在旅行时说:“Even though it was raining heavily, we decided to continue our hike.” 这贴近实际场景,帮助学生体会冒险故事。鼓励学生替换关键词:例如,将 [clause] 改为 "Even though I was tired",并将主句改为 "I finished my homework",变成 “Even though I was tired, I finished my homework.”

通过这种替换,学生能在日常对话中应用句型,比如讨论个人经历或阅读文章时改写句子,从而加深掌握。

额外内容

背景知识:这个句型起源于英语中强调对比的传统,在文学和口语中很常见,如在小说中描述人物的坚韧。对比分析:与中文的 "虽然……但是……" 类似,但英语更依赖结构而非词汇;与法语的 "Même si" 相比,Even though 更侧重事实而非假设,帮助初学者理解英语的逻辑表达。学习此句型还能扩展到更高级的写作,如在作文中用它连接段落,丰富语言表达。