Unit three A Tale of the Unexpected

The Snakeskin Bag

Ⅰ.Vocabulary

 Bullet

noun a small metal object that is fired is fired from a gun子弹；弹丸 E.g.: Bullet wounds 伤

There were bullet holes in the door. He was killed by a bullet in the head. In text para10-e.g.: Three bullets to the heart, he died instantly.

 Compensate verb

1. To provide sth good to balance or reduce the bad effects of damage, loss, etc. 补偿；弥补

E.g.: Nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one,

2. To pay sb money because they have suffered some damage, loss, in jury, etc. 给某人赔偿或赔款

E.g.: Her lawyer say she should be compensated for the suffering she had been caused.

In text para 10-e.g.: Of course, it does not in any way compensate for the life of your son, but all officers are insured by the Department and you will receive a cheque very soon. ▶compensate sb. for sth. 

Contented

1. An unexpected event, such as a very bad accident, a flood or a fire, that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage. 灾难；灾祸；灾害 E.g.: an air disaster Environmental disasters

2. A very bad situation that causes problems. 不幸；祸患

E.g.: Losing your job doesn’t have to be such a disaster.

3. a complete failure

E.g.: As a teacher, he’s a disaster.

In text message E.g.: He also told me that I must never try to destroy the bag or disasters would fall on all my family. 

Drift noun

1. a slow steady movement from one place

to another; a gradual change or development from one situation to another, especially to sth bad. 流动；趋势；逐渐

变化；缓缓移动

2. the general meaning of what sb says or

writes 大意；主旨；要点 E.g.: Do you catch my drift?

My German isn’t very good, but I got the drift of what she said. Verb

To move or go somewhere slowly

E.g.: The crowd drifted away from the scene of the accident.

In text para9 E.g.: His eyes drifted out the window and he noticed a tall police officer. 

Glowing

Adj. Showing or feeling happiness or satisfaction, especially because your life is good. （因生活好而）满意的，惬意的，满足的

E.g.: a contented smile

He was a contented man.

In text para15-E.g.: His wife smiled contentedly and whispered”I knew it would work”, as she rose to kiss her son.

 Disaster Noun

- 1 -

Adj. Giving enthusiastic praise 热烈赞扬的，热情洋溢的

E.g.: a glowing account/report/review

He spoke of her performance in the film in glowing terms.

In text para1 E.g.: But the three were warm and comfortable in front of a glowing coal fire in the sitting room.

 Instantly

Adv. Immediately 立刻；马上 E.g.: Her voice is instantly recognizable. In text para10-e.g.: Three bullets to the heart, he died instantly.

 Insured

Adj. having insurance 被保险的 E.g.: Was the vehicle insured? ▶ insured to do sth. ▶Insured against sth.

In text para10 e.g.: Of course, it does not in any way compensate for the life of your son, but all officers are insured by the Department and you will receive a cheque very soon. 

Stream

Verb

1. to move or pour out in a continuous flow;

to produce a continuous flow of liquid or gas.流动；流出 2. to move freely, especially in the wind or

water. 飘扬；飘动 E.g.: Tears streamed down his face. A streaming cold=流鼻涕的感冒

In text para8 e.g.: The cold sunlight was streaming in to the bedroom. ▶stream from sth. ▶stream with sth.

 Tempt

Verb To attract sb or make sb want to do or have sth. Even if they know it is wrong.. 引诱；诱惑

E.g.: I was tempted by the dessert menu. I was tempted to take the day off.

In text message e.g.: Never be tempted as I was!

▶Tempt sb into sth./doing sth.

2

 Waft

Verb to move, or make sth move, gently through the air.

随风飘荡；使飘荡；吹拂

E.g.: Delicious smells wafted up from the kitchen,

Noun a smell or a line of smoke carried through the air 一阵，一股（在空气中飘荡的味或烟）

E.g.: wafts of perfume/smoke

In text para8 e.g.: Arthur Slade enjoyed the warm smell of breakfast cooking as it wafted through the kitchen.

 Wardrobe Noun

1. a large cupboard for hanging clothes in

which is either a piece of furniture or built into the wall. 衣柜；衣橱；壁橱 E.g.: a fitted wardrobe 入墙衣柜

2. the clothes that a person has. 一个人的全

部衣物

E.g.: Everything you need for your summer wardrobe.需要的所有夏装

In text para2 e.g.: On the coffee table between them, was a metal box that they had found hidden at the very back of the grandfather’s wardrobe when they were clearing out his old clothes.

 Weary Adj.

1. Very tired, especially after you have been working hard or doing sth for a long time 疲劳的；疲倦的；疲惫的 e.g.: a weary sigh

She suddenly felt old and weary.

2. No longer interested in or enthusiastic about sth. 对…不再感兴趣，不在热心，感到不耐烦

In text para13 e.g.: She pushed herself wearily from the chair and left the room. ▶weary of sth/doing sth.

 Creep

ⅡPhrases Verb creep-crept-crept

 1. to move slowly, quietly and carefully,

 because you do not want to be seen or  heard.悄悄地缓慢行进  e.g.: I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake  my parents.

2. to be too friendly or helpful to sb in

 authority in a way that is not sincere,

 especially in order to get an advantage  from them 巴结；拍马屁

 ▶Creep to sb.

In text para7 e.g.: He silently slid out of bed  and crept down the stairs to the kitchen. 

  Reluctant

 Adj. hesitating before doing sth because you  do not want to do it or because you are not sure that it is the right thing to do  不情愿的；勉强的

e.g.：reluctant agreement 勉强同意  He finally gave a reluctant smile.

She was reluctant to admit she was wrong.  In text para9 e.g.: The officer seemed oddly 

nervous and reluctant to open the gate.

 Terrified



Adj. very frightened 恐惧；很害怕 ▶Terrified of sb/sth ▶Terrified of doing sth.  ▶Terrified that….

e.g.: I’m terrified of losing you.



In text para14 e.g.: Arthur knew he could not argue, even though he was terrified to use the snakeskin bag again.



 Life insurance

This is a system whereby a person(or an organization) pays a small amount regularly so 

that(usually)a relative teceives a quite large sum of money when the person dies. 人身保险

3

Life insurance 人身保险

A glowing coal fire 炭火通红

Clear out 把…清空；清理；丢掉 Clear out old clothes 清理就衣服 A collection of odd-looking bones 收集的一些奇怪的骨头

Free from the curse 从诅咒中解脱出来 Recover from 从…中恢复

Reach over and close the lid of the box 伸手把盒子的盖子盖上

Slip the box under his arm 拿起金属夹在腋下

Settle the debt on his house 还清房款 Slid out of the bed 悄悄溜下床

Crept down the stairs 蹑手蹑脚地下楼 Sth. pull sb. towards sth. ….推着向前 The cold sunlight was streaming into the bedroom. 冷冷的日光照进卧室 His eyes drifted out the window 他的眼光瞟到窗外

A cold fear swept through his body 刺骨的恐惧让他不寒而栗

Grip one’s hand 紧握某人的手 The life they had built over so many years seemed to slip away in a moment. 多年构筑的生活似乎在瞬间悄然消失 In any way compensate for the life of your son 无论怎样都弥补不了你儿子的生命

The amount depend on the rank of the officer. 款额决定于军官的级别 The firelight threw strange shadows across the dark faces of the old couple.火光给这对老夫妻的脸上投射上奇怪的阴影。 There was a dark stain covering the chest of his jacket.夹克衫的胸部有块黑色的污迹

A sad smile crossed his face 他脸上掠过伤心的微笑