1．inspire vt. 鼓舞；感动；激发；启示
His example inspired the others to make new efforts in their studies.
他的榜样鼓舞了其他人在学习上要作一番新的努力。（inspire sb. to do sth. 鼓舞，鼓励）
His speech inspired new confidence in the researchers.
他的演说使研究人员树立了新的信心。（inspire sth. 激发）
His best music was inspired by the memory of his mother.
他对母亲的怀念促使他谱出了最出色的音乐。（sth. be inspired by… 激发，启示）
派生词：inspiration n ([C] & [U]) 激励人心的人/事物
inspiring adj. 鼓舞人心的（可作定语，也可作表语）
He is an inspiring leader.
他是一位具有感召力的领袖。（作定语，修饰人）
It is a piece of inspiring news.
这是个鼓舞人心的消息。（作定语，修饰物）
The news is inspiring.
这则消息鼓舞人心。（作表语）
2．admire vt. 钦佩；赞赏(to regard with pleasure and respect; have a good opinion of)
I admire her for her bravery.
我钦佩她的勇气。( admire sb for sth. )
Visitors to Japan always admire Mt.Fuji.
到日本的游客都很欣赏富士山。(admire sth.欣赏，赞赏 )
I’d admire to walk with you.
我乐意与你同行。(would admire to do = would like to do)
His friends admired at his sudden success.
他的朋友对他的突然成功感到惊讶。(vi. 惊讶，惊异)
I gave her an admiring look.
我投她以赞赏的眼光。（admiring adj）
派生词：admiration n. 赞美；钦佩
admirable adj. 可钦佩的，相信的
admirer n. 羡慕者；钦佩者
3．mean adj. 吝啬的（ungenerous）
卑鄙的，讨厌的（unkind）
差的，不好的[（esp. of abilities）poor, bad]
Let me go out; don’t be so mean to me.
让我出去，不要对我这么卑鄙。( be mean to sb )
He is a man of the meanest abilities.
他是个能力极差的人。( poor, bad )
That’s a mean dog; be careful it doesn’t bite you.
那是条恶狗，小心别让它咬你。(bad-tempered)
She is always mean about/over money matters.
她总是在金钱问题上很小气。(be mean about/over sth吝啬的)
注意：
mean作动词时，含义是“意思是……，意味着；意欲，打算”等，它的过去式、过去分词为meant, meant.
mean to do sth 打算/想要做某事
mean sth/doing sth 意味着，意指……
What do you mean to do?
你打算干什么？( mean to do )
Your help means much to us.
你的帮助对我们的意义很大。( mean sth )
Missing this bus means waiting for another hour.
错过了这辆车，意味着要再等一个小时。(mean doing sth)
派生词：
means n. 手段，工具，方法 （常与介词by连用，构成词组by this/ that/ these … means；单复数同形）
meaning n. 意义；意思，含意，意图
4．threaten vt. & vi. 恐吓；威胁；预示(危险)
His wife always threatens him with death.
他的妻子总是用死来威胁他。(threaten sb with sth)
The killer threatened to kill me if I didn’t obey.
杀人犯扬言我要不听话的话，就把我给杀了。(threaten to do sth)
The black clouds threatened rain.
天上乌云密布，怕要下雨了。[give warning of (sth bad) 预示]
It threatens to rain.
天象要下雨了。( 预示 )
While danger threatens we must all take care.
危机四伏时，我们非小心谨慎不可。
派生词：threat n.
5．die down 变弱；平息；消失 (become less strong)
The fire is dying down. Please get more coal.
火快灭了，请多加点煤。
It took a long time for the excitement to die down.
兴奋的情绪很久才平静下来。
辨析：die away/die off /die out
die away 渐息；渐弱；逐渐消失（尤指声音、风、光线）[(esp. of sound, wind, light) to become less and less]
die off（一群生物）一个个死去；顺次枯死 (of a group of living things to die one by one )
die out (指家族、种族、习俗、观念)死光，死绝，绝迹，过时 (of families, races, practices, and ideas to disappear completely)
例如：
The wind had died away by dark.
黄昏时分风停了。
The deer in the forest are all dying off from disease.
森林里的鹿一头接一头地病死了。
The practice of only educating the son is dying out.
只让儿子受教育的习俗已经过时了。
6．somehow adv. 以某种方式；莫明其妙地；不知怎么地 (by some means; in some way not yet known)
I can’t see how, but we’ll have to reach an agreement somehow.
我不知怎样做，但我们总得设法达成协议。（以某种方式）
My dictionary has somehow disappeared.
我的字典不知怎地就不见了。（不知怎么地）
Somehow he again made a mistake in solving the maths problem.
不知怎么地，他在解这道数学题时又弄错了。(不知怎么地，莫名其妙地)
We must get the work finished somehow by tomorrow morning.
我们必须设法在明天早上以前把工作做完。(by some means, 以某种方式 )
7．regret n. 遗憾；悔恨；抱歉；歉意
vt. 为……感到遗憾；后悔 [be sorry about (a sad fact/event)]
They all regret the young scientist’s death.
他们都对这位年轻科学家之死感到惋惜。(regret sth. )
We’ve always regretted selling the farm.
我们一直后悔把农场卖了。（regret doing sth.）
I regret having called him a thief, but I regret even more his stealing my match.
我很后悔叫他小偷，可是我更遗憾他偷了我的表。(regret having done sth)
She regrets that she can’t come.
她因不能来，而感到抱歉。（regret that-clause）
We regret to tell you that we can’t attend your birthday party.
我们很遗憾地通知你，我们不能来参加你的生日晚会。
[I/We regret to say/to inform/to tell you… (正式)用于告知坏消息之时]
We heard with regret that you had failed the examination.
我们听说你考试没有及格感到很惋惜。（with/without regret, regret用作[U]）
Much to my regret, I must leave you now.
很抱歉，我现在得走了。[(much/greatly) to my regret → I am sorry to say我很抱歉地说]
8．value vt. 重视；估价；评价
n. 价值；价格
If you wan to sell your house, you should begin by having it valued.
如果你要卖掉房子，你得先估价。(have sth valued )
He valued the house at $12,000.
他估计房子值一万二千镑。（value sth at money）
I’ve always valued your friendship very highly.
我一向珍视你的友谊。（重视）
His ideas haven’t much value.
他的意见没有多大价值。（[U]）
派生词：valuable adj 有价值的
This invention will be of great value to us.
这项发明对我们价值很大。（be of great value = be very valuable）
9．bother vt. 烦恼；打扰
vi. 烦恼；操心
n. 麻烦；烦扰；不便
I’m busy; don’t bother me.
我正忙着，不要打搅我。(打扰 )
That’s what bothers me most.
那正是最困扰我的地方。（烦恼，困扰）
I’m sorry to bother you, but can you tell me the time？
抱歉要打搅你，请问现在是几点？（礼貌用语，麻烦，打扰）
Don’t bother yourself about that just because of me!
不要为了我而麻烦了。（bother oneself/one’s head about）
We had a lot of bother finding our way here.
我们经过很多麻烦才找到这里。(have a lot of bother doing sth，此时bother用作[U])
I don’t want to be a bother to you, but could I possibly stay here for the night?
我不想麻烦你，不过，请问我可否在这里过夜？([C] 引起麻烦的人/事)
派生词：bothersome adj. 惹人厌烦的，令人讨厌的
bothersome demands/people 惹人厌烦的要求/人
10．promise n & vt. (有)前途；允诺；答应
If you make a promise, you should keep it; you ought not to break a promise.
假若你许下诺言,就该守信,不应背约。
make a promise 答应，允诺，做出承诺
keep/carry out a promise 遵守/履行诺言
break a promise 不守诺言
I promised to return your bike on time.
我答应按时还你的自行车。（promise to do sth）
She promised him never to lie to him again.
她答应他绝不再对他撒谎。[promise sb (not) to do sth]
They promised that the work would all be finished next week.
他们答应下星期完成这件工作。(promise ＋that-clause)
He promised (me) a new bike for my birthday.
他答应过要送我一辆新的自行车做为生日礼物。(promise sb sth)
The clear sky promises fine weather.
晴空预示天气晴朗。(预示)
John promises well as an actor.
约翰有希望成为演员。(有前途，希望)
派生词：promising adj. (褒义) 有希望的，有前途的
John is a promising young man. 约翰是个有希望的年轻人。
1．For women it seems twice as difficult.
对于妇女来说，有时生活似乎是难上加难。
该句相当于：For women life sometimes seems twice as difficult as it is.
倍数表达法：这个房子是我的房子2倍大。
（1）This room is twice bigger than mine.
→A＋be＋倍数＋（adj/adv.）比较级＋than＋B
（2）This room is twice as big as mine.
→A＋be＋倍数＋as＋(adj/adv.)原级＋as＋B
（3）This room is twice the size of mine.
→A＋be＋倍数＋the＋n.＋of＋B
Useful words for you:（在表示倍数时，这些词对你很有用！）
adj. n.
long length
wide width
high height
deep depth
例如：这棵树比那棵树高三倍。
This tree is three times higher than that one.
This tree is three times as high as that one.
This tree is three times the height of that one.
2．What else, but a journey at the opposite end of the world, Antarctica?
除了去世界另一头南极洲旅行，还会干什么呢？
（1）这是一个省略句，此句的完整结构是：
What else would I do but a journey at the opposite end of the world, Antarctica?
（2）句子中的 but 是介词，意思是“除了”,相当于except,常与不定代词、疑问代词连用，
请注意but的其它用法：
I can do nothing but stay at home.
我只能呆在家里。（do nothing but do 除了做……不能做……）
There is nothing for me to do but worry about her.
除了为她担忧我什么也做不了。（There is nothing for sb to do but to 除了做……不能做……）
注意：but前面如果表示“除了做……不可以做……”用do（或do的其它形式：did/does）与 nothing 等词时，but后面用不带to的动词不定式。
3．But changes were just around the corner.但是，天气即将要变了。
just around /round the corner 这里意思是“即将来临”相当于 likely to happen.
A big storm was just around the corner.
一场大风暴即将来临。
另外：around/round the corner 还指“去拐角处，附近”，相当于 very near，例如：
The post office is just around the corner.
邮局就在附近。
4．On the third day I was struggling through stormy weather and during the next week the wind grew stronger and I found myself spending a whole day in my tent.
第三天，我与暴风雪天气拼搏，接下来的一个星期里，风刮得越发猛烈了，我只得整天躲在帐篷里。
find oneself意思是“发现自己（处于某种状态）；不知不觉地”例如：
When she woke up, she found herself in a different world.
当她醒过来时，她发现自己已在一个完全不同的世界里。(find oneself ＋prep.ph)
Then he found himself surrounded by a group of boys.
然后，他发现一群男孩围着他自己。(find oneself ＋过去分词)
Suddenly she found herself walking to the post office.
突然，她发现自己正不知不觉地朝邮局走去。(find oneself ＋doing)
5．I couldn’t stand on my left leg. 我的左腿不能站。
on 这里作“由……支持”之意，是介词，相当于supported by.
例如：
I can’t jump on one foot. 我不能用单脚跳。
Don’t always sleep on one side. 不要总是侧着睡。
He can stand on his head. 他能够倒立。
The little boy lay on his back on the ground. 这个小男孩仰卧在地上。
6．I struggled to my knees knowing that somehow I had to put my tent up for shelter.
我挣扎着站了起来，我心中明白，必须把帐篷支起来避风。
（1）struggle to one’s knees/feet 意思是“挣扎着站起来”
（2）put up 在这里是“搭起，撑起”之意。
（3）knowing that是现在分词短语作伴随状语。此动作与前面的谓语动词动作struggle同时发生。此句相当于：
I struggled to my knees and knew that somehow I had to put my tent up。
在英语中，现在分词常被用作伴随状语，表示与前面的谓语动词同时发生的动作，例如：
The students entered the classroom, singing and dancing.
同学们又唱又跳地进了教室。
The little girl sat on the floor, laughing to the pictures on the wall.
这小女孩坐在板上，望着墙上的照片直笑。
1．语法形式上的一致。主语为单数形式，则谓语也用单数形式。反之，主语用复数形式，谓语动词也用复数形式。例如：
Jane and Mary are twins.
The number of students is large.
2．意义上一致
（1）主语形式虽为单数，但意义为复数，谓语动词用复数，例如：
Cattle are always useful for farmers.
象这样的词还有：people, crowd, police等
（2）主语形式为复数，而意义上却是单数，谓语动词用单数。例如：
The news was very exciting. 消息令人兴奋。
象这样的词还有：works(工厂), physics(物理),politics(政治),economics(经济学)等等。
3．就近原则即谓语动词的单复数形式取决于最靠近它的词语的数。例如：
Either your students or Mr Wang knows this.
象这样的连词还有：or, neither… nor…, not only…but also…
句型有：There be
注意：
（1）某些集体名词如 family, class, team 等作主语时，如果作为一个整体看待，谓语动词用单数形式；如果就其中一个个成员而言，谓语动词用复数形式。例如：
His family is going to have a long journey.
他全家要去长途旅行。（全家）
The whole family are watching TV.
全家人都在看电视。（成员）
Class Three is a big class.
三班是个大班。（班集体）
Class Three are very clever and lively.
三班的学生聪明、活泼。（三班的成员）
（2）单复同形的名词作主语时，谓语动词的数应根据意义来决定单复数。例如：
A sheep is over there. 一只羊在那里。
Some sheep are over there. 一些羊在那边。
象这样的词还有：
means（方法）；works（工厂）；species（种类）；Chinese（中国人）；Japanese（日本人）
（3）名词所有格之后的名词被省略，这种情况一般只指商店、工场、住宅等。作主语时，动词一般用单数。例如：
The doctor’s is on the side of the street.
这个医生的家在街道旁边。
My uncle’s is not far from here.
我叔叔的家离这儿不远。
（4）当名词词组中心词为表示度量、距离、金额、时间、书名等复数名词时，往往可以根据意义一致的原则，把这些复数看作一个整体，谓语用单数形式。例如：
Three years has passed.
三年过去了。
The selected poems of Li Bai was published long ago.
《李白诗选》早就出版了。
（5）不定代词each/every/no 所修饰的名词即使以and 或逗号连接主语时，谓语动词仍用单数形式。例如：
Each boy and each girl wants to get a book.
（6）如果主语有more than one…或many a…构成，尽管从意义上看是复数，谓语动词仍用单数形式。例如：
More than one student has seen the film.
不止一个学生看了电影。
Many a ship has been damaged in the storm.
很多船只在风暴中被损坏了。
（7）一些有两个部分构成的名词表示衣物或工具作主语时，谓语用复数形式，如：
glasses （眼镜） clothes (衣服) trousers (裤子)
shoes (鞋子) compasses (园规) chopsticks （筷子）
scissors （剪刀）
但主语用了a pair of, a kind of, a series of 等修饰后，谓语动词一般用单数。例如：
A pair of shoes is on the desk.
Many dirty shoes are on the ground.
（8）all, most, half, rest 作主语时，所指复数意义，谓语动词用复数。反之，用单数。例如：
All of my classmates work hard.
All of the water is polluted.
（9）用and 连接的并列主语，如指同一个人、同一事物或同一概念时，谓语动词用单数形式。这时，and 后面的名词没有冠词。例如：
A dancer and writer is talking to her.
一个舞蹈家兼作家正在与她交谈。
To love and to be loved is the great happiness.
爱与被爱是最大的幸福。
A knife and fork is on the table.
一幅刀叉在桌子上。
（10）当主语后面有as well as, as much as, no less than, with, together with, along with, like, rather than, but, except, besides, including 等词时，其谓语动词应是就前原则，即与这些词之前的那个名词的单、复数对应。例如：
The teacher as well as the students was excited.
Tom together with his parents is going to have a long journey.
