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.
19.With this, he hurried off the stage.
他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下臺。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:with this表示“說著”。
語言點2:與stage有關(guān)的短語總結(jié):
on the stage 在舞臺上
come on to the stage 上臺，上場
step down from the stage 走下舞臺
hurry off the stage 匆匆下臺
walking board （模特，演員）走臺
20.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.
貴族感到非常好笑的是：一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然后為那囚犯念了起來。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:much to+one’s sth.是一個固定搭配，表示“給某人帶來很大的…”。
語言點2:return with sth.的意思是“帶著某物返回”。
語言點3:proceed to read to the prisoner中的第一個to是動詞不定式符號，第二個to為介詞，表示動詞施動的對象。
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.
19.With this, he hurried off the stage.
他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下臺。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:with this表示“說著”。
語言點2:與stage有關(guān)的短語總結(jié):
on the stage 在舞臺上
come on to the stage 上臺，上場
step down from the stage 走下舞臺
hurry off the stage 匆匆下臺
walking board （模特，演員）走臺
20.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.
貴族感到非常好笑的是：一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然后為那囚犯念了起來。
語言點1:句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:much to+one’s sth.是一個固定搭配，表示“給某人帶來很大的…”。
語言點2:return with sth.的意思是“帶著某物返回”。
語言點3:proceed to read to the prisoner中的第一個to是動詞不定式符號，第二個to為介詞，表示動詞施動的對象。