??他便可以不付钱就乘车去纽约。 介词without 解释为“不、未”，其后跟动词时，须用V-ing形式。 e.g. Tom was talking to his girlfriend without looking at her. 汤姆跟他的女朋友说话时没有看她。
4. tap: vt. hit (sb./sth.) lightly with a quick short blow, esp. to attract attention（尤指为吸引注意）轻拍，轻敲（某人或某物） e.g. He turned as someone tapped him on the shoulder. 有人拍了拍他的肩膀，他转过身来。 英语中讲击打某人身上某一部位时，通常总是用介词引出那个部位。又如： The robbers hit him over the head with a stone. 强盗用石头砸他的头。
5. That passenger tapped the person sitting in front of him. 那位乘客轻轻地拍了一下坐在他前面的人。
sitting in front of him是分词短语，作定语用，修饰the person。 课文中类似的句子还有：
Every day people speaking English ask one another questions like these… 每天都有讲英语的人相互问这样的问题??
Questions about paragraph 2
4) What was the original message the passengers were supposed to pass and what had it turned into when it reached the driver?
The original message was “There is a bum in the restroom,” but it turned into “There is a bomb in the restroom.”
5) What was the result of the wrong message?
The bus driver radioed the police and a traffic jam resulted.
6. The message was passed from person to person. 这口信通过一个又一个的乘客传下去。
注意本句中from? to?这一结构中的名词前没有冠词。 相同的例句如:
She went from house to house asking if anyone had seen the child. 她挨家挨户地询问是否有人见过那个孩子。
They work hard from morning to night. 他们从早到晚努力工作。 7. That soon caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam. 那很快就造成了15英里长的交通堵塞。
英语中使用连字符构成的复合词作定语时，其中的可数名词一般都用单数形式。又如：
a 65-year-old lady, a ten-page report, a five-day tour
8. not? but?: 这一结构常常用来连接两个单词、词组或句子，表示“并非?而是?”的意思。e.g.
The animal you saw in this area was not a rabbit, but a wild cat. 你在这个地区看见的那个动物不是野兔，而是一种野猫。
These youngsters are motivated not by a desire for success, but by fear of failure.
这些年轻人的动力并非来自于对成功的渴望，而是来自于对失败的恐惧。 9. immediately /???????????/: ad. without delay; at once 立即，马上 The telephone rang and he answered it immediately. 电话铃一响他马上就接了。
immediate /?????????/: a. done or needed at once and without delay 立即的，即刻的；紧迫的
Immediate action must be taken to prevent further problems. 必须马上采取行动来防止更多的问题。
10. pull over: drive a vehicle to the roadside 把车开到路边e.g.
The policeman asked the driver to pull over. 警察叫驾驶员靠边停车。 11. get off: leave (a bus, a train, a plane, etc.) 下（公共汽车、火车、飞机等） When I got off the train at the city on the coast, I could smell the sea. 当我在那座海滨城市走下火车时，我闻到了大海的气息。 12. 15-mile-long: 15英里长的。英语中这种构词现象比较常见， 2-meter-wide两米宽的 15-foot-tall 15英尺高的 3-inch-thick 3英寸厚的
注意，这些合成词一般都作定语用，其中的量词都为单数形式。
13. jam n. mass of people or things pressed so close together that movement is difficult or impossible 拥挤；堵塞
About 1,000 cars sat in a jam for two hours waiting to cross the bridge yesterday.
昨天大约有1 000辆汽车等候过桥，堵了两个小时。
Questions about paragraph 3
6) Where did the man in Los Angeles want to go and where did he arrive?
He wanted to go to Oakland but arrived in Auckland. 7) What was the cause of his mistake?
He thought that he heard the word “Oakland” in the announcement, but in fact what he heard was “Auckland.”
14. similar a. like or alike; of the same kind; almost but not exactly the same
in nature or appearance 相像的，相仿的，类似的，相似的
These two words are similar in pronunciation, but different in spelling. 这两个词发音相似，但是拼写不同。
His view about the situation is quite similar to ours. 他对形势的看法跟我们差不多。
注意区分：be similar to/ the same with
15. flight n. (an act of) flying; journey through air or space; a plane making a particular journey 飞行；飞翔；航班 （fly-flight） We need to hurry or we’ll miss our flight. 我们得赶紧了，否则会误机的。
16. Oakland was north of Los Angeles?
奥克兰在洛杉矶的北边??
英语中讲某一个地方在另一个地方的北面，用north of; 句中north是副词，不能有冠词。同样，表示在东面、南面、西面可以用east of, south of, west of。
17. gasp (尤指由于惊讶等而）喘气，喘息；倒抽气 I gasped when I heard the money had been lost. 听到钱丢了，我倒抽了一口气。
18. He thought he heard his flight announced.
他以为听到广播中宣布了他的航班。句中announced是宾语补足语。 19. … and when he looked out his window all he could see was ocean. ??而当他向窗外望去时，他所能看到的全是大海。 all 指“所有的东西，一切”。all he could see指“他所能看到的一切”，在句中作主语。
Questions about paragraphs 3-4
8) According to the writer, how often do misunderstandings take place among English speaking people?
According to the writer, it is common for misunderstandings to take place among English speaking people.
9) Who are more easily confused by similar sounding English words?
Speakers of English as a second or foreign language are more easily confused. 20. uncommon a. rare or unusual 罕见的；不平常的；异乎寻常的 20 years ago, supermarkets were uncommon in China. 20年前，超市在中国很少见。
21.... misunderstandings among English speaking people are not uncommon.
??讲英语者之间的误会并不罕见。 not uncommon是一种双重否定的表达方式，实际上表达了一种更为肯定的
意思。
22. ... result in highways being closed or passengers flying to the wrong continent.
??导致公路关闭或乘客飞错大陆。
句中being closed 和 flying 都是动名词，分别受 highways 和 passengers 的修饰，用作 result in 的宾语，
又如: Don’t your parents mind your sister staying out so late? 难道你的父母不介意你妹妹在外呆得这么晚吗？
23. continent n. any of the seven main large masses of land on the Earth (地球上的）洲，大洲；大陆
She has traveled in more than 20 countries on six continents. 她在六大洲20多个国家旅行过。
Questions about paragraph 5
10) Why did the Korean woman wonder all day about her boss’s question? She confused “up late” with “a plate” and found herself unable to understand what her boss said.
24. wonder v. express a wish to know sth., silently or in words 对?感到疑惑；想知道
I wondered what his words meant. 我想知道他的话是什么意思。
25. in the world: used for emphasis after words that ask questions, as who, why, what, etc. (用于疑问词who, why, what等后以加强语气)究竟，到底 Where in the world were you when I was in need of your help? 在我需要你帮忙时你到底在哪里？
26. embarrassed: a. feeling nervous and uncomfortable and worrying about what people think of you 窘迫的，尴尬的
embarrass vt. make (sb.) feel anxious and uncomfortable, esp. in a social situation 使窘迫,使尴尬
Tom looked embarrassed when he found that he had no money with him at all.
发现自己一点钱都没带时，汤姆看上去很尴尬。
One woman was trying to embarrass me by asking me questions I couldn’t answer.
一个女人问了我一些无法回答的问题，企图使我下不了台。
Questions about paragraph 6
11) What is the best thing to do when misunderstandings arise among English speaking people?