嗨，亲爱的们，今天重庆新航道的小编要给大家带来新概念第三次第36课中的一篇课文讲解，下面我们就一起来看看吧。
A chance in a million百万分之一的机遇
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
What was the chance in a million?
We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences -- most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers would find such naive solution totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.
When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stooped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Busssman fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man's name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive. After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhood knew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an air raid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.
参考译文
我们不再像以往那样轻易相信别人了。在19世纪，小说家常在小说结尾处给读者准备一系列的巧合——大部分是牵强附会，极不可能的。当时的读者却愉快地接受这样一些事实，一个低贱的女佣实际上是主人公的母亲；主人公一位长期失散的兄弟，大家都以为死了，实际上一直活着，并且正在策划暗算主人公；如此等等，现代读者会觉得这种天真的结局完全无法接受。不过，在现实生活中，有时确实会出现一些巧合，这些巧合除了19世纪小说家外谁也不会相信。
当我是个孩子的时候，我祖父给我讲了一位德国出租汽车司机弗朗兹。巴斯曼如何找到了据信已在20年前死去的兄弟的事。一次，他与妻子徒步旅行。途中，停下来与一个工人交谈，接着他们继续往前走去。巴斯曼夫人说那工人与她丈夫相貌很像，甚至猜测他可能就是她丈夫的兄弟。弗朗兹对此不屑一顾，指出他兄弟已经在战争中阵亡了。尽管巴斯曼夫人熟知这个情况，但她仍然认为自己的想法仍有百万分之一的可能性。几天后，她派了一个男孩去问那人是否叫汉斯.巴斯曼。不出巴斯曼夫人所料，那人的名字真是汉斯.巴斯曼，他确实是弗朗兹失散多年的兄弟。兄弟俩团聚之时，汉斯说明了他活下来的经过，战争即将结束时，他负伤被送进医院，并与部队失去联系。医院遭到轰炸，汉斯步行回到了西德。与此同时，他所在部队被击溃，他的所有档案材料全部毁于战火。汉斯重返故里，但他的家已被炸毁，左邻右舍谁也不知原住户的下落，汉斯以为全家人都在空袭中遇难，于是便在距此50英里外的一座村子里定居下来，直至当日。
New words and phrases 生词短语
●credulous adj. 轻信的
●improbable adj.不大可能的
●obscure adj.不起眼的
●maidservant n.女仆，女佣
●presume v.假定
●wickedly adv.心眼坏地，居心叵测地
●plot v.密谋
●downfall n.倒台，垮台
●naive adj.天真的
●unacceptable adj.不能接受的
●conspire v.（事件）巧合促成
●incredible adj.难以置信的
●resemblance n.相似
●scorn n.嘲弄，挖苦
●acquaint v.使了解
●reunite v.使团聚
●assume v. 假定，认为
■credulous adj. 轻信的 (修饰人)
credible: 可信的，可靠的 （修饰事物）
Eg: The story he told us is credible.
incredulous
incredible
believable
Eg; He demanded for believable explanation
unbelievable
■obscure adj.不起眼的
Eg: The bus stopped at an obscure little town
令人费解的
An obscure figure can be seen through the fog.
vague 多用于比喻意，指不明确说明而造成的模糊不清
■presume v.假定
vt.
presume that
presume: 假定 (根据过去的经验和感觉作出决断)
assume : 武断的，把尚未证实的作为依据，与事实不相符合
Eg: Let us assume that your words are fact
suppose : 最普通的用词，猜想、陈述自己的看法
Eg: I suppose that it was my fault.
■wickedly adv.心眼坏地，居心叵测地
■plot v.密谋
The criminals were plotting to rob the bank.
conspire: 众多人合谋做重大的犯法勾当，犹指反叛，不用于修饰单个人
scheme: 某人暗中设计狡诈的手段来谋求自己的私利
The man is scheme for power.
■conspire v.（事件）巧合促成
vi.
The weather and car trouble conspire to spoil our vacation.
■resemblance n.相似
likeness: 最普通的用语，比resemblance意味要强
bear a strong resemblance to sb. or sth.
The girl bears a strong resemblance to her sister.
such a resemblance
resemble特别是指外观或外在性质的相似
similarity:性质、特色、程度的相似
The two events which happened at the same time have got similarity
similar to sth. or sb.
They have got close likeness.
■scorn n.嘲弄，挖苦
pour scorn on
pour contempt on
pour ridicule on 对……嘲弄，挖苦，斥之以鼻
pour heap
Eg: He poured scorn on his wife’s suggestion.
look down upon / think scorn of 藐视
contempt: 蔑视，强烈谴责某人或某事低贱、卑鄙，语气强于scorn
despite: 语气较弱，表示嘲弄
Eg: His suggestion was dismissed with scorn.
His face showed the scorn he felt.
■acquaint v.使了解
be acquainted with sth. 对……有所了解
acquaint sb. with sth. / acquaint sb. of sth. 告之某人某事
make a person acquainted with sb. 介绍某人同另一个人认识
Let me make ... acquainted with you (正式用法)
acquaintance n. 熟人
Explanations for the text 课文讲解
1. 背熟：We are less credulous than we used to be.
We are not so honest as we used to be.
谓语动词是be动词的时候用used to be,而不用used to
谓语动词是实义动词的时候用used to
He works less hard than he used to.
2.bring sth to a conclusion 结束 == bring sth to a close(更正式)
Eg: They decided to bring the meeting to a conclusion.
It was ... who brought meeting to a close.
present sb with sth. 向某人提供了……== present sth to sb.
背熟：who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall.
3.bring about 产生，影响
Modern science has brought about great changes in life.
背熟：find such naive solutions totally unacceptable
find sth. interesting 觉得某事有趣
find sth. beautiful 觉得某物漂亮
4.背熟：Mrs Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.
comment on sth 就……作出评论，评价-- remark on
5.Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.
Eg: I can’t explain how it is that he is still here.
6. become of ==happen to 发生遭遇，不幸的事件，多用于疑问句，主语必须是what / whatever
Eg: Whatever became of that girl?
Please explain what became of you yesterday.
7. 用assuming, 而不用presuming;主观上的臆断、无事实根据的。
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