by Heart 熟記于心
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter
in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.
Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me'. And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter with he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
1.Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.
有些劇目十分成功，以致連續(xù)上演好幾年。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:本句中含有一個(gè)由so…that…引導(dǎo)的結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)從句，so successful指出原因“太成功了”，that引出結(jié)果“連續(xù)上演”。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:由本句的中心詞play拓展學(xué)習(xí)相關(guān)詞匯:
drama 戲劇
opera 歌劇
Beijign Opera 京劇
mummery 啞劇
farce 滑稽劇
musical 音樂(lè)劇
The stages 戲劇
puppet show 木偶劇
2.In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
這樣一來(lái)，可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因?yàn)樗麄冃枰灰惯B著一夜地重復(fù)同樣的臺(tái)詞。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn):句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:who引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，修飾actors。
3.One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.
人們以為，這些演員一定會(huì)把臺(tái)詞背得爛熟，絕不會(huì)臨場(chǎng)結(jié)巴的。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:用one代替people指“人們”不失為一種很好的寫作手法，值得我們學(xué)習(xí)。To know their parts為動(dòng)詞不定式短語(yǔ)，作賓語(yǔ)them的補(bǔ)足語(yǔ)，補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明“期待他們做什么”。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:do sth.by heart是“憑記憶做某事”的意思。此外，do sth.with ease可理解為“輕松完成某事”，do sth.with difficulty的意思是“做某事有困難或不易”。
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter
in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.
Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me'. And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter with he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
1.Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.
有些劇目十分成功，以致連續(xù)上演好幾年。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:本句中含有一個(gè)由so…that…引導(dǎo)的結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)從句，so successful指出原因“太成功了”，that引出結(jié)果“連續(xù)上演”。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:由本句的中心詞play拓展學(xué)習(xí)相關(guān)詞匯:
drama 戲劇
opera 歌劇
Beijign Opera 京劇
mummery 啞劇
farce 滑稽劇
musical 音樂(lè)劇
The stages 戲劇
puppet show 木偶劇
2.In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
這樣一來(lái)，可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因?yàn)樗麄冃枰灰惯B著一夜地重復(fù)同樣的臺(tái)詞。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn):句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:who引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，修飾actors。
3.One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.
人們以為，這些演員一定會(huì)把臺(tái)詞背得爛熟，絕不會(huì)臨場(chǎng)結(jié)巴的。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:用one代替people指“人們”不失為一種很好的寫作手法，值得我們學(xué)習(xí)。To know their parts為動(dòng)詞不定式短語(yǔ)，作賓語(yǔ)them的補(bǔ)足語(yǔ)，補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明“期待他們做什么”。
語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)2:do sth.by heart是“憑記憶做某事”的意思。此外，do sth.with ease可理解為“輕松完成某事”，do sth.with difficulty的意思是“做某事有困難或不易”。