1. M: Could you tell me about the pros and cons of mixed marriages? W: I can tell you the pros, for sure. After being married to a foreigner for 20 years, I’ve yet to discover any cons.

Q: What can’t the woman tell the man?

2. M: The weeding is next week, but I still don’t know if marrying a person of a different race is right.

W: There are a lot of pros and cons of mixed marriages, but overall1 they’re good. Q: How does the man feel about mixed marriages?

3. M: The French have a lot of charm. I think you’ll enjoy being married to me. W: Not everything about them is charming. And I’m going to have some trouble2 dealing with the culture.

Q: What concern does the woman have about marrying a Frenchman?

4. M: Has anyone criticized you for marrying someone of a different race? W: I expected3 people to. But they haven’t so far. Besides, I don’t care what people think. My wife and I hit it off4 A- OK. Q: What did the man except?

5. M: That’s great you’re getting married, but do you have a clue5 about your new wife’s culture?

W: Sure. Learning about her people’s way of doing things was the first thing I did when I decide6 to marry her.

Q: What did the man do first when he decided to get married?

6. M: I’ve heard that you canceled your wedding plans. What’s the problem? W: Money is very important to people from her culture. She left me when she discovered I’m poor!

Q: Why was the wedding canceled?

7. M: I can’t believe hoe good your Chinese language skills are! How did you improve so quickly?

W: I married a Chinese man. We talk every day. He’s helped me a lot. Q: What does the woman’s husband help her with?

8. M: I have a question7 for you. Would you ever marry a person from another culture?

W: That’s a tough one! If I do, it’ll probably be someone from a culture similar to mine.

Q: What Kind of woman would the man marry?

9. M: Our marriage is falling apart8. Didn’t you know your family wouldn’t approve of9 you marrying a foreigner?

W: I never expected it to be a problem. It’s not their marriage after all; it’s ours.

Q: What is the man’s relationship to the woman?

10. M: I’ve been thinking about getting married. Do you know what the divorce rate of mixed marriages is?

W: What do you mean, mixed races or mixed religions? The rate for the first is 65 percent; the second, 70 percent.

Q: What is the divorce rate of marriages between people of different races?

注释：

1. overall: adj. comprehensive 全面的, 综合的 n. (pl.) 工装裤

2. have trouble (in) doing sth. in trouble

get (sb.) into trouble

take the trouble to do sth. 费力，尽力做…

3. expect to do… except与wait 辨析

wait表示因早到或对方晚来而等待的行为。(waiting is a sort of activity)

expect表示知道某事将会发生而期待的意识状态。(expecting is a state of mind) eg. I’ll wait for you there at exactly ten o’clock. (×) I’ll expect you there at exactly ten o’clock. (√) 我10点整会在那儿等你。

4. hit it off : enjoy good relations / get along very well eg. Your suggestion hits off with our plan. 你的建议符合我们的计划。

＊hit upon / on an idea 想出一个主意

5. clue, hint, implication 辨析

clue “线索，提示”指有助于发现真相的事，与连用。 hint “暗示”指间接的或隐蔽的启示。

implication “暗含”之义，指在文章或话语中没有直截了当表明之义。

6. decide to do sth. = decide on doing sth.

7. beyond question / without question 毫无疑问 in question 正在考虑

out of question 毫无可能的，绝对做不到的

搭配：

problem问题，常与动词solve连用，是客观存在的等待解决。

question问题，常与动词answer连用，指对某事物怀疑而提出的需回答的问题。

issue指意见达不到一致的问题，但侧重于有待平息分歧和争端，常与动词settle连用。

8. fall apart: break 破裂，破碎 eg. My car is falling apart.

＊fall behind: lag behind, fail to keep level (with sb. / sth.) 落后于 ＊fall back on sb. / sth.

eg. She’s completely homeless --- at least I have my parents to fall back on. 语法：

fall后面需要加表语

fall asleep 坠入梦乡 fall ill 病倒 fall a victim 成为牺牲品

9. approve of doing : be supportive of

eg. People from all walks of life are very supportive of the government’s decisions aimed at combining economic development with environmental protection. 社会各界对政府旨在将经济发展与环境保护结合起来的决策表示极大的支持。

Understanding a Long Conversation

Now you will hear a long conversation followed by five questions. Listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four possible choices.

W: Grandpa, Mom told me that you have been married twice. Is that true? M: Yes, I’m afraid1 so.

W: That’s a surprise. What happened to your first wife? M: Your grandma was my first wife. W: But…

M: And your grandma is my second wife. You see, I met her while I was in Germany during the war. We knew we loved each other from the moment we met, so we got married right away. But we weren’t ready2 for the resistance3 we received from her family. Her mother insisted4 that Americans and Germans weren’t compatible. So she divorced me.

W: Too bad. What happened then?

M: Three years later, we met again in New York, quite by accident5. I was working at the port and she was on a boat coming to the . when we saw each other again after all that time, we decided to overlook6 her parent’s advice. We got married again, and we’ve been happy ever since.

1. What did the girl hear from her mother? A

2. How did the girls grandparents feel when the first met? B 3. Why did the girl’s grandparents get divorced? D

4. How did the girls grandparents meet again after their divorce? D

5. What did the girl’s grandparents decide to do after they met again? A

注释：

1.?be afraid of (doing) 害怕发生某事

eg. I’m afraid of falling into the swimming pool. ?be afraid to do 不敢去做某事

Eg. I’m afraid to dive into the swimming pool.

2. be ready for 准备好的

be ready to do 乐意的 ，愿意的 (willing)

3. resistance n. 1) [U] being against sth.

2) [U] (sing.)(action of) using force to be against sth. / sb. eg. The idea met with some resistance. 那个意见遭到了某种形式的反对。 They put up a passive resistance. 他们进行着消极的抵抗。

There has been a lot of resistance to this new law. 这项新法律遭到许多人的反对。 Notice: n. + to (prep.)

resistance to approach to access to objection to key to reference to

4. insist on one’s doing / doing insist + that …

①表示“坚持某人该如何”，从句应该用虚拟语气 insist that (should) do eg. I insist that you (should) see the doctor. ②“表强调事实或经验“时，则不用虚拟语气 eg. I insisted that it was an accident.

5. by accident = by chance 偶然的 （反义词组）on purpose accident 意外的事 incident 小事件

6. overlook a . 1) fail to see or notice sth.; miss 2) pretend not to notice; forgive

3) have or give a view of (a place) from abo eg. He overlooked a spelling mistake on the first page. 他没有注意到第一页上的一处拼写错误。

She overlooked his offensiveness and tried to pretend nothing had happened. 她没有计较他的无礼，并尽量装作没事的样子。

Her bedroom has large windows overlooking a lake. 她的卧室有几扇对着湖面的大窗子。