Lesson 23 A new house新居Why is the new house special?I had a letter from my sister yesterday. She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise. We are now living in a beautiful new house in the country. Work on it had begun before my sister left. The house was completed five months ago. In my letter, I told her that she could stay with us. The house has many large rooms and there is a lovely garden. It is a very modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It must be the only modern house in the district.参考译文昨天我收到了姐姐的一封信，她住在尼日利亚。

在信中她说她明年将到英国来。

如果她来了，她会感到非常惊奇了。

我们现在住在乡间的一栋漂亮的新住宅里。

这栋房子在我姐姐离开之前就已动工了，是在5个月以前竣工的。

我在信中告诉她，她可以和我们住在一起。

这栋房子里有许多房间，还有一个漂亮的花园。

它是一栋非常现代化的住宅，因此在有些人看来很古怪。

它肯定是这个地区唯一的一栋现代化住宅。

【New words and expressions】（4）complete adj./n.adj. （很少有比较级、最高级的变化）1) 全部的，完备的the complete works of Hemingway 海明威全集a large house complete with swimming pool 一所设备齐全带有游泳池的大房子2) 彻底的，完全的a complete victory 完胜a complete failure 彻底的失败be complete完成/ be finishedeg. My work will be complete next week. 我的工作将于下周完成。

vt. 完成，做完，完结eg. The bridge isn’t completed yet. 这座桥还没有竣工。

completely adv. 完全地，全部地eg. I was completely at a loss what to do. 我完全不知道怎么办才好。

at a loss： not knowing what to do or say不知如何是好; 茫然; 困惑强调的副词：quite 十分absolutely / completely 完全地much 非常rather 相当地considerably 颇slightly 稍微a bit, a little 有一点儿modern adj.1) 现代的，近代的modern times 现代a modern discovery 最近的发现2) 现代的，时髦的eg. I’m afraid your ideas are not modern. 恐怕你的主意已经过时了。

modern school （英国不升大学的）中等学校modernization n. 现代化modern (a.) → modernize (v.) 使…现代化→ modernization (n.) 现代化the four modernizations 四个现代化类似的变化：real → realize → realizationglobe → global → globalize → globalizationstrange adj. 奇怪的，陌生的，生疏的，外行的，不习惯的eg. I am quite strange here. 我对这里相当不熟悉。

be strange at football 对足球是个外行eg. He was still strange to the work. 他对工作还很生疏。

eg. The idiom is strange to an English ear. 这句成语英国人听起来很别扭。

stranger n. 陌生人，异乡人，外行eg. Do they admit strangers to the tennis court? 他们承认对网球是外行吗？make a stranger of sb 冷淡地对待某人make no stranger of sb 热情地对待某人eg. He makes no stranger of me. 他不把我当外人。

the little stranger 新生婴儿eg. He is no stranger to me. 他对我来说并不陌生。

an utter stranger to shame 一个恬不知耻的人eg. He is a stranger to fear. 他不知道什么叫害怕。

district n. 区，地区，（美）选举区He has a lot of money.3)I ( )a bath before dinner. (took)I had a bath before dinner.4) ( ) a biscuit. (Take)Have a biscuit.5) ( )you( )use your telephone please? (Will, let me)Can I use your telephone please?May I use your telephone please?6) ( ) the play ( ) begin at any moment. (Perhaps, will)The play may begin at any moment.7) ( )begun already. (Perhaps it has)It may have begun already.8) ( ) take a taxi. (It is necessary for me to)I must take a taxi.I have to take a taxihave a letter from sb 收到某人的来信/receive a letter from sb/hear from sbletter n. 信，函件a letter of introduction 推荐信an open letter 公开信eg. I must answer his letter. 我必须给他回信。

acknowledge one’s letter 向某人表示来信已收到acknowledge [ək'nɔlidʒ] vt.承认, 供认；告知已收到；鸣谢, 感谢have a letter registered 寄挂号信drop a letter into a mailbox 把信投进邮箱mailbox （美）邮箱letter box / post box （英）邮箱an express letter 快信blind letters 地址、姓名不详，无法投递的信letters 文学a man of letters 文人art and letters 文艺to the letter 照字面意思，严格地，彻底地carry out the order to the letter 彻底地执行命令She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come to England next year. Nigeria [nai'dʒiəriə] n.尼日利亚(非洲中西部国家)Nigerian [nai'dʒiəriən] a. 尼日利亚的n. 尼日利亚人If she comes, she will get a surprise.surprise1) n. 惊人的事物，料想不到的事物eg. His success was a great surprise to me . 他的成功对我来讲是个意外。

eg. The ring of the telephone surprised the man dozing during working hours.电话的铃声惊动了那个在上班时间打盹的人。

(doze [dəuz] 打盹儿，瞌睡)surprise 用人作宾语eg. She will be much surprised by your visit. 你的拜访会令她感到惊奇。

surprised adj. 感到惊讶的be surprised at sth / doing sth 对…感到惊奇eg. We were surprised at the fact. 我们对这个事实感到惊奇。

be surprised to do sth 对做某事感到惊讶eg. I was very surprised to hear the news. 听到这个消息，我感到惊讶。

/ I was very surprised at the news.be surprised thateg. They were surprised that he got injured in the traffic accident.他在车祸中受伤了，他们感到吃惊。

surprising 令人惊奇的，令人意外的a surprising rumor 令人意外的流言蜚语 rumor [‘ru:mə] n. 传闻, 风闻;谣言, 谣传eg. That’s not so surprising. 没什么好惊奇的。

有关surprise的短语：in surprise 吃惊的，在惊慌中eg. He hid himself in surprise. 他惊慌地躲了起来。

to one’s surprise 令…吃惊的是eg. To my surprise, she was the mother of two children. 令我吃惊的是，她是两个孩子的母亲。

surprise 指出乎意料之外，使人吃惊shock [ʃɔk] 使震惊，使震怒astonish [əs'tɔniʃ] 使大吃一惊，使惊愕astound [ə'staʊnd] 使人震惊得几乎一时发呆，语意最强We are now living in a beautiful new house in the country.house 房子，屋子，住宅room 房间eg. How many rooms are there in your house?bring down the house 博得满堂喝彩keep house 料理家务enlarge a house 扩建房子a gambling house 赌场 gambling [‘gæmblɪŋ] n. 赌博, 赌钱a movie house 电影院a steak house 牛排馆a customs house 海关a green house 温室play house 玩过家家的游戏on the house 免费的in the country 在乡下Work on it had begun before my sister left. The house was completed five months ago. ago （用于过去时态）eg. Two years ago, I left the company.before （用于过去完成时态）eg. That was the club which I had joined two years before. 那是我两年前加入的俱乐部。