Language Point 1
I had to pound on the taxi to get his attention. (Para. 1)
pound on: hit or beat sth. many times 敲击；拍击
Great waves pounded on the rocks. 巨浪拍击岩石。
Language Point 2
“Is your taxi available?” I asked … (Para.2)
available: a. ready for sb. to use, see, etc. 可使用的；可看见的
Those shoes are not available in your size. 这种鞋子你要的尺码没有。
Language Point 3
… when he finally looked up at me from behind the wheel. (Para. 2)
wheel: n. [C] sth. that one turns to make a car go the way that one wants, or sth. like a circle that turns round to move sth. 方向盘；车轮
Most cars have four wheels, but this one has only three. 大多数小汽车有四个轮子，但是这一辆车只有三个轮子。
Language Point 4
He nodded, started the motor, and then… (Para. 3)
motor: n. [C] the part inside a machine that makes the machine move or work 发动机；马达
The washing machine doesn’t work. I think something is wrong with the motor. 洗衣机失灵了，我想是马达出问题了。
Language Point 5
…and then apologized… (Para. 3)
apologize: vi. say one is sorry about sth. that one has done道歉；赔不是
I apologized to John for losing his book. 我把约翰的书给丢了，如此向他道歉。
I do apologize for taking so long to reply to your letter. 这么久才回信，实在过意不去。
Language Point 6
He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough. (Para. 3)
as if: in a way 好像；似乎
He looks as if nothing has happened. 他看上去一副若无其事的样子。
cough: n. [C] a sharp noise made when send air out of throat and mouth suddenly咳嗽
He gave a nervous cough before he started to speak. 他紧张地咳了一声，然后开始说话。
vi. push air out from the throat and mouth with a sudden rough sound 咳嗽
The smoke made me cough. 烟呛得我直咳嗽。
Language Point 7
“I’m in no hurry,” I told him. (Para. 4)
in no hurry: not needing to do things quickly 不匆忙
We were in no hurry, so we stopped to admire the view. 我们不赶时间，所以停下来欣赏了一下景色。
hurry: n. an act of moving or doing things quickly 急忙行动或做某事
He seems always in a hurry. 他似乎总是行色匆匆。
Language Point 8
“…I guess I almost know it by heart.” (Para. 5)
by heart: remember exactly 记得很熟；能背下来
The teacher wanted us to learn the whole poem by heart. 老师要我们把整首诗背下来。
Language Point 9
He started the taxi’s meter. (Para. 5)
meter: n.
1) [C] a machine that measures sth. 仪表；仪器
A water meter shows how much water you have used. 水表显示你用了多少水。
2) [C] a unit of length 公尺，米
The cloth is 3 meters wide. 那块布宽3米。
Language Point 10
Estimating that he was 60 or 70 years old, … (Para. 6)
estimate: v. judge the size or amount of sth. 判断；估计；估价
They estimated that it would take a week to repair the roof. 他们估计修理这个房顶要花一个星期的时间。
We have not estimated a price for the old table yet. 我们还未估计出这张旧桌子的价格。
n. the estimated price or size of sth. 估计；估价
The painter’s estimate for painting the house was $1500. 对于油漆这栋房子的价钱，油漆工的估算是1500美元。
Language Point 11
“From a child or maybe a grandchild?” (Para. 6)
grandchild: n. [C] the child of one’s child （外）孙子；（外）孙女
She asked her grandchild to take care of the cat while she was away on holiday. 她要她的孙儿在她出外度假时，代为照顾那只猫。
Language Point 12
“This isn’t family,” he replied. “Although… come to think of it, he might just as well have been a regular member of the family… (Para. 7)
Meaning: “This letter isn’t from my family,” he answered. “Although … I think he should have been an actual member of the family …”
come to think of it: suddenly remember or realize sth. 的确；想起来了
Come to think of it, I should write home today. 想起来了，我今天该给家里写信了。
Language Point 13
…he might just as well have been a regular member of the family…” (Para. 7)
might just as well: have no strong reason not to 最好还是；还是以……为好
There is nothing worth watching on the television, so we might just as well go to bed. 没有什么值得看的电视节目，我们还是睡觉吧。
Note: 谈论到可能性的时候，might 有时会比
may 的可能性更小，但这两个词经常用于表示同样的意思：
I may/might see you tonight; I don’t know yet. 我今晚可能来看你，但目前还不敢肯定。
Language Point 14
…have been a regular member of the family… (Para. 7)
regular: a.
1) usual or formal正式的
He is not a regular member of the club. 他不是俱乐部正式的会员。
2) happening, coming, or doing sth. again and again at the same time each day, week, etc. 定期的；有规律的
He is a regular reader of this newspaper. 他是这家报纸的长期读者。
There is much that each of us can do to help ourselves, by not smoking, by eating sensibly, by taking regular exercise, and by not drinking too much. 我们可以做很多有益于健康的事情，不抽烟、饮食有节制、 经常锻炼、饮酒不过度。
Language Point 15
Old Ed and I grew up together. (Para. 7)
grow up: change from a child to a man or woman 长大成人
What do you want to be when you grow up? 你长大后想干什么？
Language Point 16
… for such a long length of time … (Para. 8)
length: n. [C;U]
the measurement of sth. from one end to the other 长度；长
What is the length of the bed? 这张床有多长？
Language Point 17
“He died a couple of weeks ago.” (Para. 11)
a couple of: two; a few 两个；几个
I last saw her a couple of months ago. 我最后一次见到她是在几个月以前。
Language Point 18
… “his death must be quite a blow to you.” (Para. 12)
blow: n. [C] sth. that happens suddenly and makes one very unhappy 突然的打击；不幸
It was a hard blow when I heard that I hadn’t got the job. 我听到不聘用我时，受到很大的打击。
v. move sth. with a current of air 吹；刮
The wind was blowing from the sea. 风是从海上刮来的。
Language Point 19
… we rode on in silence for a few minutes. (Para. 13)
in silence: without any sound 默不作声地；寂静地
I can work only in complete silence. 我在完全安静的环境中才能工作。
Language Point 20
Then he spoke again, almost more to himself than to me... (Para. 13)
Meaning: Then he spoke again and I felt he was saying something to himself rather than to me.
Language Point 21
I should have kept in touch. (Para. 13)
keep in touch: continue to have contact with sb. 保持联系
Are you still keeping in touch with Tom? 你和汤姆还有联系吗？
Language Point 22
… he repeated … (Para. 13)
repeat: v. say or do again 重说；重做
Can you repeat this experiment? 你能重做这个试验吗？
Language Point 23
We should all keep in touch with old friends more than we do. But things come up and we just don’t seem to find the time. (Para. 14)
Meaning: We should all write to old friends more often than we do. But we have many unexpected things to do and we don’t seem to have time to write to them.
Language Point 24
That’s even mentioned in the letter. (Para. 15)
mention: v. speak or write a little about sth. 提到；说到
He didn’t mention Anna in his letter. 他信中没提到安娜。
n. [C;U] a brief remark about sth. 提及；简述
There was not even a mention of the accident in the newspaper. 对这次事故报纸上连一点儿报道都没有。
Language Point 25
He handed it over to me. (Para. 15)
hand … over to: give … to 交给
That thief was handed over to the police. 那个小偷被送交给了警方。
Language Point 26
He pulled the letter from its plain white envelope … (Para. 17)
plain: a. with no pattern; all one color 没有图案的；单色的
Shall we have a plain or patterned carpet? 我们要一张单色的还是有花纹的地毯？
Language Point 27
…white envelope and … (Para. 17)
envelope: n. [C] a paper cover for a letter 信封
Have you written his address on the envelope? 你把他的地址写在信封上了吗？
Language Point 28
… and unfolded it. (Para. 17)
unfold: v. open out sth. from a folded position 展开；打开
Marie unfolded the newspaper and started to read. 玛丽打开报纸看起来。
Language Point 29
The first sentence reminded me of myself … (Para. 18)
remind sb. of: cause sb. to remember 使某人想起
You remind me of your father. 你让我想起你父亲。
Language Point 30
It referred to many things that had happened … (Para. 18)
refer to: mention or talk about 提及；谈到
When I said some people were stupid, I wasn’t referring to you! 我说有些人很愚蠢，我不是说你！
Language Point 31
… it’s generally just been postcards at Christmas time. (Para.20)
postcard: n. [C] a card, with a picture on one side, that one writes on the other side and sends by post明信片
Mary sent several postcards to me when she was travelling in Europe. 玛丽在欧洲旅行时寄给我一些明信片。
Language Point 32
Your friendship over the years has really meant a lot to me, more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that. (Para. 21)
Meaning: Your friendship over the years has really been important to me, beyond what I can say because I find it hard to put my feelings into words.
Language Point 33
Your friendship over the years has really meant a lot to me …(Para. 21)
mean a lot to sb.: be important to sb. 对某人很重要
This job means a lot to me. 这份工作对我很重要。
Your friendship means a lot to me. 你的友谊对我至关重要。
Language Point 34
I found myself nodding in agreement. (Para. 21)
in agreement: in the state of having the same opinion or purpose 同意；相一致
He nodded in agreement with me. 他点头表示同意我的意见。
Language Point 35
We had gone several kilometers and … (Para. 22)
kilometer: n. [C] a measure of length 公里
There are 1000 meters in a kilometer. 1公里等于1000米。
Language Point 36
… so I read the last paragraph … (Para. 22)
paragraph: n. [C] a group of lines of writing 段落
He read the last paragraph of my article. 他看了我文章的最后一段。
Language Point 37
I never put it in the mailbox. (Para. 24)
mailbox: n. [C] a place for posting letters; postbox 邮筒；邮箱
A postman will come and take away letters from this mailbox twice a day. 邮递员每天来两次，取走邮箱中的信件。
Language Point 38
His face was pale … (Para. 25)
pale: a. without much color in one’s face 面色苍白的
She went pale with fear. 她脸都吓白了。
Language Point 39
… as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. (Para. 25)
handkerchief: n. [C] a piece of cloth for drying the nose, eyes, etc. 手帕
She wiped her nose with a handkerchief. 她用手帕擦鼻子。
Language Point 40
… I didn’t unpack right away. (Para. 26)
right away: without any delay 立即
I understood right away what she wanted me to do. 我立即明白了她要我做什么。
Language Point 41
… I had to write a letter — and post it. (Para. 26)
post: v. send a letter or parcel 邮寄
Did you post the book to John? 你把那本书寄给约翰了吗？
n.
1) [U] official transport and delivery of letters, parcels, etc. 邮寄；邮递
You’ll get these through the post. 你将通过邮递收到这些东西。
2) [C] a job职位；工作
The post was advertised in the local newspaper. 那个职位的广告在本地报纸上刊登出来了。
