标签：
教育高级中学课本英语教科书分类：
英文资料LESSON EIGHT
THE PROFESSOR AND HIS INVENTION
Characters
P- Professor Hunter, an old man
M- Mary Hunter, his daughter
G- Miss Green, his secretary
B- Dr. Brown (men from London)
R- Mr. Rose (men from London)
I – Inspector White
S- Sergeant Bull
Scene 1
(Mary Hunter and Miss Green are in the professor’s room – a large, pleasant room with many books. There is a big desk near the window.)
M: Father seems to be excited this morning, Miss Green.
G: Of course he’s excited. This is a very important day for him. Today his invention will belong to the world! And the papers are complete already.
M: But what is his invention? I only know it’s some kind of machine. Father tried to explain it to me but I just couldn’t understand. Do you?
G: No, not really! I think only the professor really understands it. But I know the government thinks highly of it. Your father is doing a great thing, giving his invention to the government. Everyone will then be able to benefit from it.
M: Yes, Father’s that way. He wants to do things for people. I’m sorry Father’s not strong enough to go to London himself.
G: The men from the government should be here before long. They’ll take his papers to London.
(The telephone rings. Mary picks it up.)
M: Hello? Yes, this is Professor Hunter’s house. Yes, this is Mary speaking. Oh, Dr. Smith. How are you? What’s that? Kate’s in hospital? Yes, of course I’ll come, I wanted to stay with Father, but it doesn’t matter. Yes, I’ll be there in an hour. Goodbye.
(Mary puts down the telephone.)
G: What’s the matter with Kate? Is she very ill?
M: She’s broken her leg. Oh, dear! I wanted so much to stay here this morning. I wanted to look after Father.
G: Don’t worry, Mary. I’ll be with him.
（The professor comes in.）
P: I can’t find my glasses. Have you seen them, Mary?
G: (going to the professor’s desk): Here they are, professor.
P: Ah, thank you, Miss Green. (He puts on his glasses.) I can’t see without them. Now, what’s the time? Hm, where’s my watch? (He looks for his watch in his pocket.)
M: (laughing): You’re wearing it, Father.
P: (also laughing): Yes, of course. I forgot so many things, don’t I ?
M: But you can still do your work, Father. That’s the important thing.
P: (looking at his watch): Why, it’s almost ten. When are the men coming from London? At ten-thirty, wasn’t it, Miss Green?
M: No, eleven.
P: Oh, I thought it was ten-thirty. Well, then, I can read through my papers again.
M: Dr. Smith telephoned a few minutes ago, Father. He said Kate’d broken her leg. I’m going to the hospital to see her now. I’m sorry I can’t stay with you, Father.
P: That’s all right, Mary. Miss Green will look after me.
(Mary kisses her Father and goes out.)
P: Now, let me see. Ah yes, my papers. (He goes to his desk and sits down.)
G: Do you need me now, professor?
P: Er, no, thanks. I’ll ring if I need you.
(Miss Green goes out of the room.)
P: (talking to himself) These women! They don’t think I can look after myself. (He begins to read his papers.)
Scene 2
(Half an hour later. The professors is still reading his papers. Miss Green comes in.)
G(very excited): Professor! They’ve arrived!
P(looking up): Who, Miss Green? What are you talking about?
G: The men from the government, of course.
P: (looking at his watch): But it’s only half past ten. You said they were coming at eleven.
G: Well, they’ve come early. Shall I bring them in?
P: Yes, bring them in of course. But give me five minutes. I want to finish this page.
(Miss Green goes to the door. Then she stops.)
G: Oh, they’ve shown me their cards, professor. They are the right men.
P: Good. So I don’t have to look at their cards then. I certainly don’t want to give me invention to the wrong men.
(Miss Green goes out. Five minutes later she comes in with two men.)
B: Good morning, professor. My name’s Brown, Dr. Brown. And this is Mr. Rose. He’s my assistant.
G: Shall I bring some coffee?
B: No coffee for us, thank you. We can’t stay long. We have to go back to London soon.
(Miss Green goes out.)
P: So you’ve come for the papers to London myself, but my daughter wouldn’t let me go. She’s afraid the trip will be too much for me.
B: You needn’t worry, professor. We’ll take good care of the papers.
P: Now let me see. Where did I put them?
(Dr. Brown is rather surprised. He looks at Mr. Rose.)
B: Those papers on your desk, professor, are they the ones?
P: Oh, these? No, they’re not the papers for you. These are only some old papers. Ah, I remember now. put the papers behind some books. (He stands up.)
B: Behind your books? That’s not a very good place for papers, is it?
P: Yes, it is. No one touches my books. (He takes down some books. There are some papers behind them.) Yes, here they are. (He gives the papers to Dr. Brown.) You know about my invention, don’t you?
B: Why, of course, professor. This invention of yours will greatly benefit the whole world. We’ve talked a lot about it. You’ll be famous, sir. And of course you’ll be well rewarded.
P: I don’t want to be famous. And I don’t want any money for it, either.
B: We understand how you feel, sir. The country will thank you for it. (He looks at his watch.) I’m afraid we have to go now.
P: Well, take good care of the papers.
B: Yes, professor. You can be sure of that. Goodbye.
(The two men go out. The professor sits down and starts to laugh.)
P: Well, well, that was fun! Now let’s wait and see.
Scene 3
(It is about eleven o’clock. The professor is looking at some papers on his desk. Miss Green runs into the room.)
G: Oh, professor! Those two men! Have they left?
P: Yes, of course they’ve left. Miss Green. They’ve taken the papers and gone back to London.
G: Oh, that’s terrible!
P: What’s terrible? What are you talking about, Miss Green?
G: Those weren’t the right men, professor.
P: I don’t understand. You looked at their cards, didn’t you?
G: I know. But the cards they had were stolen.
P: How do you know?
G: The police telephoned. The right men were coming from London, but their car was stopped by two men. These two shut the men in an empty house and took away their cards. And now they’ve stolen your invention! (Begins to cry.)
P: Go and open the door, Miss Green. It may be the police.
(Miss Green goes out. She comes back with two policemen.)
I: I’m inspector White, sir. And this is Sergeant Bull.
P: Please take a seat.
(They both sit down.)
I: So the two impostors have taken your papers. We’ll try our best to catch them.
P: It isn’t necessary, inspector.
I: Not necessary?
P: Oh, the papers aren’t important.
I: I don’t understand, sir.
G: But your invention! Now those men have it and they’ll sell it. That’s not what you wanted.
P: Those two men won’t sell my invention.
I: Why not?
P: Because they don’t have it. Let me explain. When I saw the men, I didn’t trust them. They seemed to be too nervous and were too anxious to leave. You looked at their cards, Miss Green, but I had to be certain, very certain. I couldn’t give my invention to the wrong men, could I ?
I: So, what did you do?
P: Well, Dr. Brown said they had talked about my invention. But that wasn’t possible. Only a few very important people knew about it.
G: Quite right.
P: I gave Dr. Brown some other papers. He took a quick look and he accepted them. It showed that he didn’t know about my invention, so I knew then that he wasn’t the right man.
I: So you’ve still got the papers, professor?
P: Yes, they’re still on my desk.
I: But we must try to catch those men, professor. Can you tell us what they look like?
P: Mmm, let me see. Doctor Brown was short and fat. He had no hair and …
G: No, professor. That was Mr. Rose. Doctor Brown was tall and thin.
P: Are you sure? Well, perhaps you’re right.
I: (standing up): It doesn’t matter, professor. We mustn’t waste your time. Let Miss Green help us. Thank you very much.
(Miss Green and the policemen go out. The professor sits down at his desk again.)
P: (to himself): I’ll take the papers to London myself. Now for some work! Hm, where did I put my glasses, eh?
The Curtain Falls
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Hunter （姓）亨特
Secretary n.秘书；书记
Inspector n.警官；检查员；监察员；视察员
Sergeant n.警士；军士
Bull（姓）布尔
Excited adj.兴奋的；激昂的
Belong vi.属，附属 belong to属于
Highly adv.高度地；非常；赞许地 think highly of 对……评价很高
Benefit n.利益，好处 vt.有益于 vi.得益，受益
Kiss n. & vt. 吻 vi.接吻
Er interj.呕（表示停顿或说话犹豫）
Coffee n.咖啡
Reward n.报答；报酬；报应 vt.报答；酬劳；奖赏
Shut (shut, shut) vt. 把……关住；禁闭
Doorbell n.门铃
Take a seat 坐下
Impostor n.冒名顶替者；（假冒身份的）骗子
Nervous adj.神经质的，紧张不安的
Eh interj.（表示惊奇、疑问、征求同意等）啊！嗯！
NOTES TO THE TEXT
1. And the papers are complete already. 而论文稿已经完成了。
complete在句中是形容词，作表语。
2. Do you?是省略句，全句应为Do you understand?你懂（明白）吗？
3. Yes, Father’s that way. 是的，父亲，就是那样的人。
4. I wanted to stay with Father, but it doesn’t matter. 我本来想留下陪伴父亲，不过不留也没关系。
5. At ten-thirty, wasn’t it. Miss Green? 是十点半吧，格林小姐？
这句问的是事先约定好的时间，而不是问现在是否十点半了，因此用过去时态。答语也应该用过去时态。如下一句：
No, eleven. =No, it was eleven. 不，是十一点。说明取论文稿的人原来约定的是十一点来。
6. Now, let me see. “现在让我想想，”意思是“我刚才想干什么来着？”
7. Ah yes, my papers 啊，对了，我的论文稿。
这句的本意是Ah yes, I was going to read through my paper again. 啊对了，我正要再看一遍我的论文稿子。
8. She’s afraid the trip will be too much for me. 她怕我受不了旅途的劳累。
too much本意是“太多”“太高”，这里指“过量”。如：
This work is too much for her. 这工作她干不了（对她来说要求太高了）。
His harsh words were too much for the girl. 他严厉的话使那女孩子受不了。
EXERCISES
Ⅰ. Answer the following questions according to the text:
1. Was Professor Hunter very excited that morning? Why?
2. Did many people know about his invention?
3. What kind of work was the professor doing? And what was he going to do with his invention?
4. The government thought highly of his invention, didn’t it? Do you think it was an important invention?
5. Was the professor going to post the papers of his invention to the government in London, or was he going to take the papers there himself? If neither, what was he going to do with them?
6. How many men came for the papers? Did the professor give some papers to them? Where did he take the papers from?
7. Another two men came to the professor’s home, isn’t that right? Who were they? Did they come for the papers, too? What did they come for and why?
8. Did the professor think it necessary to catch the two impostors? Why not? What papers had the professor given to those impostors? Did they accept the papers? Did they know the papers they had taken were not those they wanted?
9. What did the professor finally decide to do with the real papers?
10. What do you think of the professor? Was he always forgetting things? Was he very careless（粗心的）in important things?
11. What do you think of the play? Do you like it?
Ⅱ. For each word or phrase in Column B find a word or phrase of similar meaning in Column A:
A B
1. Inspector person pretending to be somebody else
2. Impostor that which is offered or given in return for work
3. Benefit police officer
4. Take a seat do good to
5. Excited full of strong (pleasant) feelings not calm
6. Reward sit (down)
Ⅲ. Fill in each blank with a word or phrase you have learned from the text:
1. Does this house Mr. Smith?
No, it Miss White.
2. Is that of computer?
Yes, it’s a desk computer.
3. Don’t get . Everything will be all right. Just calm down.
4. He’s a good teacher. The students all of his teaching.
5. Kate often feels in the examination.
6. What he has done will greatly the people and the country.
7. Sorry, Mother. I wanted so much to you here the whole day, but I’ve got an important meeting to attend.
8. Don’t you think the trip will be for the old woman? It’ll take more than three days!
9. Don’t time playing so much. You should make good use of your time.
10. She is still weak and not to go outside at present.
Ⅳ. Tel the story of the play in your own words beginning like this:
Professor Hunter was very excited that morning because he had just finished the papers of his invention. And he was going to give his invention to …
Ⅴ. There are many useful expressions in the play. Pick them out as many as you can, and try to learn them and use them.
Ⅵ. Read the following play, and talk about it in groups:
Let the Boy Speak
Characters
Mr. Smith, a greengrocer
Miss White, Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Wood customers in the shop
Tom, a small boy
(A greengrocer’s shop. Mr. Smith is serving behind the counter. One customer is going out. Three women are waiting in the shop.)
Mr. Smith: Yes? Who’s next? Please?
Miss White: I think you’re next, Mrs. Ball. You were here before me, weren’t you?
Mrs. Ball: Oh, was I?
Mr. Smith: What can I do for you, madam? Do you need any fruit?
Mrs. Ball: Let me see. Ah, yes! I want …
(A small boy runs into the greengrocer’s shop. He pushes his way through the women and goes to the front of the counter.)
Tom: Please, Mr. Smith …!
Mr. Smith (not letting him continue): One moment, young fellow! I’m serving this lady. And these two ladies are waiting. (He turns to Mrs. Ball again.) Yes, madam. What were you saying?
Tom: But, sir!
Mrs. Ball: Be quiet! I want three pounds of potatoes, Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith: Three pounds of potatoes? Certainly. I have some good ones here. (He points to the potatoes near the counter.) Three pence a pound. Are these all right?
Mrs. Ball: Yes, I’ll take those.
Mrs. Wood (looking at Tom): The children today! They have no manners!
Miss White: They can’t wait! They want to be first!
Mrs. Wood: How old are you?
Tom: Nine, madam.
Mrs. Wood: Only nine! And you pushed in front of this lady.
Tom: I had to. I wanted …
Miss White (not letting him finish): Young people must learn to wait. You can’t push in front of people. You’re not the only customer in the shop, are you?
Tom: No, madam.
Mrs. Ball: Did your mother send you?
Tom: No. I wanted …
Mrs. Wood (quickly): Ah, you wanted something for yourself! You couldn’t wait, could you? What’s your name?
Tom: Tom.
Miss White: Yes, I know your mother. I’ll speak to her about you.
Tom: But I only wanted …
Mr. Smith: That’s enough, young man. We don’t want to hear. (He turns to Mrs. Ball) Here you are, Mrs. Ball. Three pounds of potatoes. Is that all? That’ll be nine pence, please. Thank you.
(Mrs. Ball gives Mr. Smith nine pence. She takes her potatoes and leaves.)
Mr. Smith: Next, please.
Tom: I’m sorry but … (No one listens to Tom.)
Miss White: I want some apples, please. Two pounds.
Mr. Smith: What about these? (He points to some apples on the counter.) They’re only fifteen pence a pound.
Miss White: No, they look rather green. Have you any sweet ones?
Mr. Smith: Certainly, madam. I have some good ones but they’re still in my car.
Miss White: Can I see them?
Mr. Smith: I’ll go and get them.
(Mr. Smith goes out of the shop. After a minute he runs in again.)
Mr. Smith (shouting): They’re not there! There was a box of apples in my car and now it’s gone. The car’s empty.
Tom: I saw two men near your car, Mr. Smith. They opened the door and took out a box of apples.
Mr. Smith: My apples! Someone has taken a big box of my apples! (He turns to Tom and shouts in an angry voice.) Why didn’t you tell me?
Tom: I wanted to tell you, sir, but no one would let me speak!
Greengrocer n.卖蔬菜及水果的商人 customer n.顾客 fruit n.水果 counter n.柜台 car n.（这里指）运货马车
REVISION Ⅱ
Ⅰ. Underline he word in which the italicized letter has a different sound from those in the other words in each of the following groups:
1. Bamboo pat affect salary graduation mathematics
2. Level secret fence clench technical electrify tremble
3. Recognize incident prize strike excitedly hibernate
4. Permit fit dish whip pipe slipper indeed gift forbid irrigate
5. Devote closet Nobel disclose nobleman
6. Honour coffee imposter moral postwar frog obviously hollow pot
7. Reduce brush pulp thrust summon mud lung nut funny
Ⅱ. A. Give as many compound words as you can of the following words:
Model: Ball – football, basketball, volleyball, …
School any class every head some gun with work foot river
self man room stairs ship blooded looking after famous
B. Add un, in, im, or dis to the following words to form the negatives:
appear close order obey courage connect complete correct perfect possible
fit fair just usual pleasant
Ⅲ. Translate the following sentences into Chinese, paying attention to the italicized words:
1. Peter said that he liked hamburgers（汉堡包）very much. I should like to live here if I could find a house. Jane is rather like Mary.
2. Bamboo can be fitted together and used for pipes to carry water.
The new sports shoes do not fit me well.
3. The older of the two noblemen took a light and led the doctor into a back room.
He patted him affectionately on the back and said, “Try it again, child.”
The inspector thought something was strange and went back to ask more questions.
4. He was wounded in the arm by a bullet.
The wound was in his leg, so he could hardly walk.
5. Is there a law against spitting in public in this country?
All those who are against the suggestion raise your hands.
The thief kept looking back as he ran and hit his head against a wall.
She was standing against the fence of the garden talking to a small child.
6. One of the first things soldiers are taught is to obey orders.
The boss ordered the boy to take away all the dishes.
7. We all stayed indoors in cold weather, but he usually went out to swim.
The loose snow helped to keep the cold out, but the boy was freezing when they finally found him.
The Frenchman had caught a bad cold, but he refused to take any medicine.
8. Hang your clothes up, don’t throw them around, please!
The murderer was hanged immediately after he was sentenced to death.
Ⅳ. Put the following into English using “it”:
1. 我的习字本哪儿去了？
我放在你的书包里了。
2. 今天天气很热，是吧？
3. 第一次世界大战结束是在1918年。
4. （从）我家到研究所很远。
5. 他花了两年时间写完了这本书。
6. 有些动物整个冬天都冬眠，真有趣。
7. 争吵这个问题没有用。
8. 就是这位工程师发明了这台机器。
Ⅴ. Fill in the blanks with verbs in the subjunctive mood:
1. She isn’t here. If she (be) here, she (tell) us what to do.
2. If I (be) a bird I （fly） across the Pacific Ocean.
3. Too bad we have no ladder（梯子）. If we (have) one, we (be able to) get over the wall.
4. They often use Chinese in their English class. If they (speak) more English, maybe they (make) more progress.
5. They’re old now, but they act as if they (be) still forty.
6. I wish the air (be) not so polluted around here!
7. The doctor suggested he (lead) a more active life – exercise more, and not sit at his desk all day.
8. The policewoman looked after the lost child as if he (be) her own.
9. It rained yesterday. If it (be) fine yesterday, I (go) there.
10. We forgot her telephone number. If we (remember) it, we (give) her a ring.
Ⅵ. Fill in the blanks with the proper articles where necessary:
The Man Who Had Many Questions
Albert Einstein always liked to ask questions when he was student. When his teacher wasn’t asking Albert question, he would think of question to ask her. And often when he did, she would get red in face and be angry at him for asking questions she couldn’t answer. More Albert learned, more he found to think about. More he thought about, more questions he thought of to ask.
He knew that earth, other planets, moon, and sun are just part of what we call universe. He knew also that universe is made of all stars we can see with our eyes, but still there are more that are so far away that they can’t be seen at all. And he also knew that all these stars and our own bodies and everything else are made up of atoms so tiny that they can’t be seen even with best microscope.
He thought there must be some rules to explain why everything in universe, big and small, acts as it does. Why don’t stars moving around in sky bump into each other? What makes tiny atoms stick together to form different things?
Albert Einstein thought and thought until he believed he had some of answers. And then people started asking him questions because he could answer many problems that scientists had been trying to work out for many, many years.
atom n. 原子 microscope n.显微镜 bump vt. & vi. 碰；撞
Ⅶ. Read the play and act it out:
Going Grocery Shopping
Jenny White: Mom, I’m going down to the corner to buy some film for my camera. Can I get anything for you?
Mrs. White: Yes. I need some groceries. Help me make out a list.
Jenny White: I’ve got a piece of paper here. What do you need?
Mrs. White: First, we need some fruit. Go to Brown’s Market. He has the nicest fruits and vegetables in this part of the town. Buy some oranges.
Jenny White: How about some pears? We haven’t had any for a long time.
Mrs. White: All right. Also, get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad. And we’ll need some meat.
Jenny White: Where should I buy that?
Mrs. White: Buy the meat and the other things at the supermarket.
Jenny White: How about buying some hamburger? I like hamburger.
Mrs. White: All right. Get a pound of hamburger. Have you got all that on the list? Just a minute. I’ll go with you. I like shopping in the supermarket. I’m sure I’ll find lots of other things I want to buy.
Jenny White: And I suppose I’ll have to carry them all home for you.
Mrs. White: That’s right. But you’ll be glad to eat what I cook, won’t you?
Grocery n.食品；杂货；食品杂货店 camera n.照相机 fruit n.水果 pear n.梨 lettuce n.莴苣 salad n.色拉（西餐中的一种凉拌菜） supermarket n.超级市场；自动售货商店 hamburger n.汉堡包；夹牛肉饼的面包片
