解放军文职招聘考试My painful small decision

 My painful small decision

 “Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.

One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.

Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. bushes must be pruned in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.

Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves.

Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June, but they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.

Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

一、生词注解

1.prune [pru:n] vt.修剪，修整；删除，削减

2.fertiliz  [ˈfə:tilaiz] vt.使肥沃；使多产

3.withdraw [wiðˈdrɔ:] vt.收回，撤消，撤退 vi.缩回，退出，撤退

4.productive  [prəˈdʌktiv] a.多产的，富饶的；富有成效的

二、词汇拓展

1. require

【导学】

   v. 需要，要求，命令，规定

   1)require sb. to do sth.                   要求某人做…

   2)require doing.==require to be done        需要被…

   3)require sth. of sb.                      向某人要求某物

【例句】

    1) His wife required that I should tell him everything.

            他的妻子要求我把一切都告诉他。

    2) The room requires cleaning (to be cleaned).

           房间需要打扫了。

    3) They required him to keep it a secret.

              他们要求他对这事保密。

    4）I have done everything that was required of me.

              一切要我做的事情我都已经做好了。

【随练】

    1)全部会员均要求出席会议。（require…to do）

    ____________________________________________________.

    2)你要求我做什么?( require…of sb.)

    ____________________________________________________.

    3)这机器需要修理了。（require doing）

    ____________________________________________________.

    4)老板要求人人参加会议。(require that…)

    ____________________________________________________.

2. offer

【导学】

1)n. 出价，提议

  a special offer                       特价

    2)v. 提供，出价; 贡献，奉献

      offer sb. sth.= offer sth. to sb.           为某人主动提供…

      offer to do sth.                       主动提供（做）…

      offer sth. for…                       为某物出价…(钱)

【例句】

    1) Thank you for your offer of help．

            感谢你提议帮忙。

    2) She offered too get some tickets for the students．

              她主动提出要给那几个学生弄几张票。

    3) Many people willingly offered their blood．

              很多人自愿地要献血。

    4) They offered him the motorbike for 3,000 yuan．

              他们提出以3，000元的价格买他那辆摩托车。

【随练】

    1)这是我们本周的特价。( special offer)

    ____________________________________________________.

    2)他主动提出要把词典借给我。( offer to do sth.)

    ____________________________________________________.

    3)校长要把雨衣借给我。( offer sb. sth.)

    ____________________________________________________.

    4)他们愿意出8,000元来买他的笔记本电脑。(offer…for…)

    ____________________________________________________.

三、短语辨析

1.take over

【辨析】take over, take on, take in, take off和take up

    take over  接管

    take on   呈现, 承担

    take in   吸收，欺骗，接纳

    take off  起飞，脱掉

    take up  拿起，开始从事，占据，把…继续下去

【例句】

    1) Has the party been taken over by extremists?

             该党是否已被极端分子控制？

    2) He is unwilling to take on heavy responsibilities.
             他不愿承担重任。

    3) The club took in a new member last week.

             俱乐部上星期又吸收了一名新会员。

    4) Come on, take off your things at once and make yourself at home.

         来,把大衣脱掉,随便坐坐。

    5) She took up the narrative where John had left off.

         她接著讲约翰未讲完的故事。

【随练】

    1)该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。(take over)

    ____________________________________________________.

    2)他被这则广告给欺骗了。(take in)

    ____________________________________________________.

    3)这次演出后他的事业开始腾飞了。(take off)

    ____________________________________________________.

    4)那工作花费了他所有的时间。(take up)

    ____________________________________________________.

2. on one’s way

【辨析】on one’s way, by the way 和 in the way

    on one’s way (to…)  在(去……的)路上

    by the way         顺便地，附带地说说

    in the way            挡道，妨碍某人

    in this way            以这种方式

    in a way            从某种意义上说

【例句】

    1)He dropped at the clinic on his way to school.

          在去学校的路上他顺便去了诊所。

    2) By the way, do you live with your parents or have a place of your own?

             顺便问一句，你是同父母一起生活还是自己生活?

    3) No doubt he means to help, but in fact he just gets in the way.

              他确实是想帮忙，然而事实上却只是帮倒忙。

    4) In this way，he has collected a great many stamps。

             用这种方法他收集了大量的邮票。

    5) In a way，it is an important book。

              在某种意义上，这是一本重要的书。

【随练】

    1)顺便问一下,你知道邮局在哪儿吗?( by the way)

         ____________________________________________________.

    2)应该这样做工作。(in this way)

     ____________________________________________________.

    3)她的社交生活妨碍了学业。(in the way)

     ____________________________________________________.

四、语法点拨

【例句】

1.Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be

  worth the work.

【归纳】if it weren’t for 表示“要不是因为…”, 其主句时态为…would do. 如果是对过去的虚拟则用if it hadn’t been for…,其主句时态通常为would have done. 两种用法均相当于but for.如： If it hadn’t been for his help, we would have lost the game.要不是因为他的帮忙，我们就输掉了这场比赛。

2. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant.

【归纳】此句中 it was…that…为强调句型，其强调对象为 the space available in the garden.又如： It was in the garden that he found his lost MP4.他是在花园里找到丢失的MP4的。

【随练】

1._____________________ (要不是因为你的电话), I wouldn’t have participated in the meeting.

2. It___________________________ (是在8点钟) they arrived at the station last night.

 

 

参考答案:

二、词汇拓展

【随连】

1. 1) All the members are required to attend the meeting.

  2) What do you require of me?

  3)The machine requires repairing（to be repaired）.

  4)The boss required that everyone (should) attend the meeting.

2. 1) This is our special offer for this week．

  2) He offered to lend me his dictionary．

  3) The headmaster offered me her raincoat.

  4) They offered him 8,000 yuan for the laptop．

三、短语辨析

【随连】

1. 1)The firm has been taken over by an American corporation.

  2)He was taken in by the advertisement.

  3)The work took up all his time.

  4)His career began to take off after the performance.

2. 1)By the way, do you have any idea where the post office is?

  2)The barrier should be overcome in this way.

  3)Her social life got in the way of her studies.

四、语法点拨

【随连】

1. If it were not for your calling

2. was at eight o’clock that