Learning Creatively
1.For centuries, children and adults have treasured the fable stories by Aesop, a slave and storyteller who was believed to have lived in ancient Greece about six centuries B.C.E. 几个世纪以来,无论是儿童还是成人都十分珍爱伊索寓言故事。 伊索是一个喜欢讲故事的奴隶,人们认为他生活在公元前六世纪的古希腊。
【注意】
1)treasure 常做名词,意为“宝藏”,此处做动词,意为“视……为宝”。
2)Aesop’s Fable《伊索寓言》,相传为公元前六世纪被释放的古希腊奴隶伊索所著的寓言集,并加入印度、阿拉伯及基督教故事,共357 篇。 伊索寓言大多是动物故事,其中的一部分如《狼与小羊》《狮子与野驴》等,用狼、狮子等凶恶的动物比喻人间的权贵,揭露他们的专横、残暴、虐害弱小,反映了平民或奴隶的思想感情。 《乌龟与兔》《牧人与野山羊》等,则总结了人们的生活经验,教人处世和做人的道理。 书中讲述的故事简短精练,刻画出来的形象鲜明生动,每则故事都蕴含哲理,或揭露和批判社会矛盾,或抒发对人生的领悟,或总结日常生活经验。
3)B.C.E.是before common era 的缩写。
2.In the meadow nearby, a herd of cattle were feeding. 在附近的草地上,一群牛正在吃草。
【拓展】英语中常用的量词
a herd of goats 一群山羊 a drop of water 一滴水
a flood of moonlight 一片月光 a cloud of smoke 一团烟雾
a beam of light 一束光线 a blade of grass 一片草叶
a block of wood 一块木头 a cube of sugar 一块方糖
a roll of newspaper 一卷报纸 a bar of chocolate 一块巧克力
a loaf of bread 一个面包 a grain of rice 一粒米
a cake of soap 一块肥皂 a burst of laughter 一阵笑声
a thin coat of ice 一层薄冰 a pair of glasses 一副眼镜
a piece of paper 一张纸 a cup of water 一杯水
a packet of cigarettes 一盒香烟
3.He had a foot as large as twenty frogs put together, and he put it on the top of his head. 他的蹄子有二十只青蛙那么大,一脚踩在了弟弟的头上。
【注意】
1)as large as: 同级比较,“与……一样大”。 as… as 中间只能用形容词或副词的原级,不能用比较级或最高级。 如果在第二个as 之后使用独立的人称代词,一般说来用主格（较正式)或宾格（非正式)均可。 如:He’s as old as she/her. 他跟她一样大。 但是,若第二个as 之后的人称代词跟有谓语动词,则该人称代词只能用主格。 如:He is as old as she is.
2)on the top of 指在具体物体的顶部。
You will notice that your baby has two soft areas on the top of his head.
你会注意到你的宝宝头顶上有两处柔软的地方。
Clouds are forming on the top of the hill. 云正在山顶上形成。
【比较】on top of 既可以表示在有形的物体上方,也可以表示在不具体的某事物的顶端,而且还具有其他的意思。
They stood on top of the hill, drinking in the beauty of the garden city.
他们站在小山之巅,饱览这花园城市的美景。
4.No matter how big he is, I can make myself bigger！ 不管他有多大,我都能把自己变得更大。
【注意】 “no matter+疑问词”意为“无论……”“不论……”,用来引导让步状语从句。 如:no matter who/whom （无论谁), no matter what （无论什么), no matter which （无论哪一个), no matter how （无论怎样)等。
You are always welcome no matter where you are. 无论在何地,您总会受到欢迎。
No matter who you may be, you have no right to do such a thing.
不论你是谁,你都无权做这样的事。
5.She swallowed mouthful after mouthful until she was twice her natural size.
她一口又一口地吞气,直到她长到原来的两倍大。
【注意】(https://www.daowen.com)
1)mouthful 中,-ful 加在名词之后,表示“满,量”,也是名词。
如:handful 一把（a handful of salt 一把盐)
spoonful 一勺的量（a spoonful of sugar 一勺糖)
mouthful 一口（a mouthful of food 一口食物)
boatful 一船（a boatful of coal 一船煤)
armful 一抱（an armful of books 一抱书)
carful 一车之量（a carful of flowers 一车花)
cupful 一杯之量/满杯（a cupful of flour 一杯面粉)
dishful 一碟,一碟的量（a dishful of fired soybeans 一碟炒黄豆)
glassful 一杯的容量（a glassful of water 一杯水)
2)twice her natural size 表倍数。 表示倍数的结构有:
A.倍数+形容词/副词比较级+than
The girl is ten times cleverer than her brother. 女孩比她哥哥聪明十倍。
B.倍数+as+形容词/副词+as
His apartment is three times as large as that of mine. 他的公寓是我的公寓的三倍大。
C.倍数+名词
The sun is many times the size of the moon. 太阳的大小数倍于月亮。
D.动词+倍数
This car runs twice faster than that truck. 这辆小车的速度比那辆卡车快一倍。
E.动词+by+数词/百分比/倍数
The landlord wanted to raise the rent by a third. 地主想加租三分之一。
6.Of what use was it to blow herself up in that way? Even if she had made herself as big as her enemy, she would only have had air inside, after all. 这样把自己肚皮撑破有什么用? 即使她把自己弄得和敌人一样大,她肚子里也不过只有空气。
【注意】
1)Of what use was it to blow herself up in that way? 是个反问句,相当于It is of no use to…,表示做什么事情没有用。
It is of great use to review before a test. 考试之前复习是很有用的。
2)even if 一般引导的是把握不大或假设的事情,相当于汉语的“即使”“纵然”“就算”“哪怕”。 主句多用虚拟语气,比如此句中的would have had。
Even if many difficulties remain, we can overcome them. 即使有再多的困难,我们也能克服。
3)after all 意思是“毕竟,到底”（这个到底指“最终还是”,有出乎意料的意味),一般用在肯定句中。表示“毕竟”“终究”“到底”,含有和预期的情况相反或“虽然,但还是……”的让步意义时, after all 一般放于句末。
So you did come after all. 这么说你到底还是来了。
I thought I would fail the exam, but I passed after all.
我原以为考试及不了格,可我终究还是及格了。
表示“别忘了……”“总之”“毕竟”时, after all 一般故在句首,用于提醒对方（听话的人)似乎忘记的一个重要事实,或忽略了的某个重要的理由或论点。
Why is he not allowed to stay here? After all, it’s his home.
为什么他不能待在这儿呢? 毕竟这是他的家啊。
After all, she is a child. 别忘了她是个小孩。