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Lesson 19 A very dear cat
一条贵重的宝贝猫
Listen to the tape then
answer the question below.
Why was
Rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?
Kidnappers
are
rarely
interested
in
animals,
but
they
recently
took
considerable
interest
in
Mrs.
Eleanor Ramsay's cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very
wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with
her cat, Rastus, for a great many
years. Rastus leads an orderly life. He usually
takes a short walk
in the evenings and
is always home by seven o'clock. One evening,
however, he failed to arrive.
Mrs.
Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for
him but could not find him.
Three
days
after
Rastus'
disappearance,
Mrs.
Ramsay
received
an
anonymous
letter.
The
writer stated that
Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned
immediately
if
Mrs. Ramsay
paid a ransom of
￡
1,000. Mrs. Ramsay was
instructed to place the money in a cardboard box
and
to leave it outside her door. At
first, she decided to go to the police, but
fearing that she would
never
see
Rastus
again
--
the
letter
had
made
that
quite
clear
--
she
changed
her
mind.
She
withdrew
￡
1000
from her bank and followed the kidnapper's
instructions. The next morning, the
box
had
disappeared
but
Mrs.
Ramsay
was
sure
that
the
kidnapper
would
keep
his
word.
Sure
enough, Rastus arrived punctually at
seven o'clock that evening. He looked very well
though he
was
rather
thirsty,
for
he
drank
half
a
bottle
of
milk.
The
police
were
astounded
when
Mrs.
Ramsay told them what
she had done. She explained that Rastus was very
dear to her. Considering
the amount she
paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
1.
dear
adj. (dearer, dearest)
1. (~to sb.) loved by or
important to sb.
亲爱的
;
宝贵的；珍视的
e.g.
（
1
）他是我最亲密的朋友之一。
He is one of my
dearest friends.
(2)
他的女儿是他心爱的宝贝。
His daughter is very dear to her.
2. (Dear) used at the beginning of a
letter before the name or title of the person that
you are
writing to(
用于信函抬头的名字
或头衔前
)
亲爱的
3. [not usually before noun]
(BrE)expensive; costing a lot of money
昂贵，价格高
e.g.
现在什么东西都那么贵。
Everything is so dear now.
n.
1. used when
speaking to sb. you love
(
常作
称呼所爱的人
)
亲爱的
e.g.
喝点什么吗，亲爱的？
Would you like a drink,
dear?
adv.
(at a high price)
高价地
< br>,
昂贵地
e.g. (1)
他的错误使他付出很高的代价。
His errors cost him dear.
(2)
贱买贵卖
1
to buy cheap
and sell dear
exclamation
[,
ekskl
?
'mei
?
?
n]
used in
expressions that show that you are surprised,
upset,
annoyed or worried
(
惊奇，不安，烦恼，担忧等时说
)
啊，哎呀，糟糕，天哪
e.g. <
/p>
哎呀
!
我忘了寄信。
Oh dear! I forgot to post the
letter.
2.
kidnapper
['k
?
dn?p
?
]
n.
绑票者
;
劫持者
e.g.
劫持者索要
10
0
万元赎金。
The kidnappers are demanding a ransom
of $$ 1 million.
kidnap
['kidn?p] v. (-pp-) [vn] to take sb away illegally
and keep them as a prisoner, especially in
order to get money or sth else for
returning them
劫持；绑架
e.g.
两名商人遭恐怖分子绑架。
Two businessmen have been
kidnapped by terrorists.
kidnapping
(also kidnap)
n.[u, c]
绑架
e.g.
(1)
他对绑架的指控供认不讳。
He
admitted the charge of kidnap.
(2)
对
12
名美国公民的劫持
the
kidnapping of 12 US citizens
3.
considerable [k
?
n'sid
?
r
?
bl] adj. (formal)
great
in amount, size, importance, etc.
相当多
(
或大、重要等
)
的
e.g.
（
1
）那项工程耗费了相当多的时间和资金。
The project
wasted a considerable amount of time and money.
(2)
对这栋建筑物的损坏相当严重。
Damage to the building was
considerable.
considerably
adv. (formal) much; a
lot
非常；很；相当多地
e.g.
不同的人对睡眠的需要差异相当大。
The need for sleep varies considerably
from person to person.
4.
wealthy
['welθi]
adj.
(wealthier, wealthiest)
1.
rich; have a lot of money, possessions,
etc.
富有的，有钱的，财产多的
e.g.
有钱人家
a wealthy family
2.
（
the
wealthy
）
n. [pl.] people who
are rich
富人，有钱人；阔人
n. wealth
5.
在英语中
，当名词有多个形容词修饰时，就有它们的先后顺序。下面的口诀可帮你记住
这一先后顺
序。
限
定描绘大长高，形状年龄和新老；颜色国籍跟材料，作用类别往后靠；
“
限定词
”
包括：冠词、物主
代词、指示代词、或数词，它位于各类形容词前。它本身分为
三位，即：前、中、后。前
位限定词有
all
、
half
、
both
、
such
分数和倍数；中位限定词有
冠词、
指示
代词、
形容词性物主代词、
名词所有格和
no
、
every
、
each
、
either
、<
/p>
neither
、
enough
、
much
、
以及
wh-
起首的限定词
[what(ever
), which(ever), whose]
等；
后位限定
词有基数词和序
数词、
past
、
same
、
ma
ny
、
more
、
most
、
few
、
fewer
、
fewest
、
little
、
less
、
least
、
own<
/p>
、
last
等，
但序数词位于基数词前。
如
:both my
hands
、
all half his income
等。
“
描绘
”
类形容词
表
示事物的性质及人们的观点如：
beautiful
、
bad
、
cold
、
great
等。
“<
/p>
大长高
”
表示大小、长短、
高低等一些词。表示
“
形状
”
的词如：
round square
等。
“
国籍
”
指一个国家或地区的词。
“
材
2
料
”<
/p>
的词如：
wooden, woolen, stone, si
lk
等。
“
作用类别
< br>”
的词如：
medical,
college
，
writing
desk
，
police
car
等。
具体应为
限定词
+
描绘类
+
形状类
+
时间类
+
颜色类
+
出处类
+
材料类
+
用途类
+
作定语的
名词、动名词
（如
girl
、
boy
、
man
、
woman
等）
6.
share
v.
1.
(~sth with sb.) to have or use sth. at
the same time as sb. else.
共有，合用
e.g.
苏和另外三个学生合住一所房子。
Sue
shares a house with three other students.
2. (~sth with sb.) to give some of what
you have to sb. else; to let sb. use sth. that is
yours
分享
;
共享
e.g. (1)
汤姆把他的巧克力和其他孩子一起分着吃了。
Tom
shared his chocolate with the other kids.
(2)
研讨会是互通信息、交流思想的好场所。
The
conference is a good place to share information
and exchange ideas.
3.~(in) sth. /
~sth. (with sb.) to be equally involved in sth. or
responsible for sth.
共同承担，分担
e.g. (1)
我努力让孩子们分担家务活。
I try to get
the kids to share in the housework.
(2)
事故责任由两个驾车人共同承担。
Both drivers
shared the blame for the accident.
n.
1. [c] ~ (of / in sth.) one
part of sth. that is divided between two or more p
eople(
在若干人之间分
得的
)<
/p>
一份
e.g.
明年我们希望获得更大的市场份额。
Next year we hope to have a bigger
share of the market.
2. [c] ~(in sth.)
any of the units of equal value into which a
company is divided and sold to raise
money. People who own shares receive
part of the company
’
s profit
s.
股份
;
股票
e.g. (1)
英国电信公司的股份
shares in
British telecom
(2)
股票价格的跌落
/
上涨
a
fall / increase in share prices
7.
flat
[fl?t]
n. [c]
(BrE) a set of rooms for living in,
including a kitchen , usually on one floor of a bu
ilding
一
套房间；公寓；单元房
e.g.
他们租了三楼的一层带家具的公寓。
They are renting a furnished flat on
the third floor.
adj.
(flatter, flattest)
1. having a level surface, not curved
or sloping
水平的
,
平坦的
e.g.
人们曾经认为地球是平的。
People used to think the earth was
flat.
2. not showing much
emotion; not changing much in tone
平淡的；单调的；无聊的
e.g.
令人兴奋的事过后
,
她感到平淡无味。
3