常春藤解析英語(yǔ) 28 Singing the Praises of Singapore　美哉獅城

Singing the Praises of Singapore　美哉獅城

by Jason Alloy

Located between Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore is an island that's small in size but big in reputation. Spanning only 683 square kilometers, it is one of the busiest ports in the world and a major business center. Currently, pharmaceuticals, finance, and technology are what bring many visitors to Singapore. But those are not all that Singapore has to offer.

The Suntec City Mall is an enormous commercial area and convention center that boasts the Fountain of Wealth, the largest fountain in the world. Together, they are part of a unique feng shui design that resembles the palm and fingers of a hand from an aerial view.

For those who like nocturnal action, Singapore's Night Safari is a zoo with over 900 animals and is open until midnight. Outside of the zoo, you're bound to continue seeing amazing animals, including one with a lion's head and fish's body. Known as the Merlion, this statue serves as the symbol of Singapore.

Now that you know a few of the things you can do in Singapore, what about a few that you can't? Chewing gum, for example, is illegal unless it's for medical purposes. Only licensed pharmacists are allowed to sell it. Smuggling it into Singapore could mean one year in jail or a $218,000 fine. In Singapore, make sure you don't forget to flush the toilet because failure to do so equals a $10,000 fine.

If you're ready to discover a place on the cutting edge and you've got the manners to match, Singapore is the perfect destination.

1. According to the article, Singapore is better known for its ______.

(A) numerous markets and zoos

(B) illegal trade and corruption

(C) resemblance to a hand from the air

(D) role in the international business arena

2. The Night Safari is _____.

(A) a zoo where only lions can be seen at night

(B) a zoo that is open until midnight

(C) the statue and symbol of Singapore

(D) a place where 900 rare species live

3. Under what circumstances is it legal to chew gum in Singapore?

(A) If you have a license.

(B) If you pay a fine.

(C) If you have a special medical condition.

(D) If you bring it into the country yourself.

精解字詞詞組

1. sing the praises of.../sing one's praises　　高度贊揚(yáng)……

例: Carol has been singing the praises of that book ever since she read it.

(卡蘿讀了那本書(shū)后就一直對(duì)它贊不絕口。)

2. span vt. 橫跨

例: The park spans almost half a mile in length.

(那座公園長(zhǎng)達(dá)將近半英里。)

3. currently adv. 目前

例: The boss is currently out of the office, but she'll be back later.

(老板目前不在辦公室，但她等一下就回來(lái)。)

4. boast vt. 以擁有……為傲 & vi. 自夸

boast of/about...　　夸耀……

例: The amusement park boasts the fastest roller coaster in the world.

(那座游樂(lè)園以其擁有世上最快的云霄飛車(chē)自豪。)

例: Hank boasts of having finished college in only two years.

(漢克夸耀自己短短兩年就完成大學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)。)

5. resemble vt. 相似

resemblance n. 相似

bear a resemblance to...　　和……相似

例: The painting that artist just finished greatly resembles the work of da Vinci.

(那名藝術(shù)家剛完成的畫(huà)作和達(dá)文西的作品極為相似。)

6. be bound to V　　注定會(huì)……

例: You're bound to be a success if you see yourself as being successful.

(如果你認(rèn)為自己會(huì)成功，就一定會(huì)成功。)

7. be known as...　　以……(身分)知名

be known for...　　以……(事物)聞名

例: Oprah is known as a TV talk show host.

(歐普拉是位知名的電視脫口秀主持人。)

例: That shop is known for having the best squid balls in the entire city.

(那家店以擁有全市最好吃的花枝丸聞名。)

8. serve as...　　作為……之用

例: The scar on my arm serves as a reminder that I should never talk on the phone and cook at the same time.

(我手臂上的疤痕提醒自己不應(yīng)該邊講電話(huà)邊煮飯。)

9. now that...　　既然……

例: Now that you're married, I expect you to behave like an adult.

(既然你結(jié)婚了，我期待你的行為要有大人的樣子。)

10. For example, S + V　　例如，……

= For instance, S + V

例: This book is full of useful tips. For example, in chapter two, you can learn how to start a conversation.

(這本書(shū)有很多有用的訣竅。例如在第二章，你可以學(xué)到如何打開(kāi)話(huà)匣子。)

11. smuggle sth into...　　走私某物到……

smuggle sth out of...　　從……走私某物

例: Several men were arrested for trying to smuggle rare birds into the country.

(好幾個(gè)人因走私稀有鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)入境而遭逮捕。)

12. flush the toilet　　沖馬桶

flush vt. & vi. 沖水

例: My roommate never flushes the toilet and it's really driving me crazy.

(我室友從來(lái)不沖馬桶，真是讓我抓狂。)

13. on the cutting edge　　走在尖端;處于最先進(jìn)

例: The new factory uses equipment that is on the cutting edge.

(這家新工廠(chǎng)使用最先進(jìn)的設(shè)備。)

文法一點(diǎn)靈

Located between Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore is an island that's small in size but big in reputation.

注意:

本句原為 "Singapore is located between Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore is..."，但如此一來(lái)造成兩句在一起無(wú)連接詞連接的錯(cuò)誤句構(gòu)。補(bǔ)救之道為將第一個(gè)子句照分詞句構(gòu)化簡(jiǎn)法變成分詞詞組，其法則如下：

a. 被化簡(jiǎn)的子句中，主詞與主要子句的主詞相同時(shí)，該主詞要被刪除，若主詞不同時(shí)則要保留;

b. 之后的動(dòng)詞要變成現(xiàn)在分詞;若該動(dòng)詞為 be 動(dòng)詞時(shí)，變成現(xiàn)在分詞 being 后可予以省略。

因此將第一句中的相同主詞 Singapore 去掉，is 變成現(xiàn)在分詞 being 省略后，即成本句。

例: Realizing that he had misunderstood his wife, Ed apologized to her immediately.

(明白自己誤會(huì)了太太，愛(ài)德立刻向她道歉。)

例: All things (being) considered, Lisa decided to go abroad to study rather than marry her boyfriend.

(全盤(pán)考慮后，莉莎決定出國(guó)念書(shū)而不和男友結(jié)婚。)

中文翻譯

新加坡這個(gè)島國(guó)位于馬來(lái)西亞和印度尼西亞之間，面積雖小，名聲卻很響亮。雖然只有 683 平方公里，卻是世界上最繁忙的港口之一，也是主要的金融中心。雖然該國(guó)的制藥、金融和科技是目前吸引很多訪(fǎng)客前來(lái)的主因，但新加坡的魅力還不只這些。

新達(dá)城是個(gè)龐大的商業(yè)區(qū)和會(huì)議中心，并且擁有全世界最大的噴泉：財(cái)富之泉。其整體是獨(dú)特風(fēng)水設(shè)計(jì)的一部分，從空中鳥(niǎo)瞰就像是一只手的手掌和手指。

對(duì)于喜歡夜間活動(dòng)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，新加坡夜間野生動(dòng)物園有九百多只動(dòng)物，而且開(kāi)放到半夜。出了動(dòng)物園，你一定還會(huì)看到其它令人驚異的動(dòng)物，包括一種獅頭魚(yú)身的動(dòng)物。這座稱(chēng)為魚(yú)尾獅的塑像已經(jīng)成為新加坡的標(biāo)志了。

現(xiàn)在你知道一些在新加坡可以從事的活動(dòng)，那不可以做的事情又是哪些呢?舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，嚼口香糖是犯法的，除非是為了醫(yī)療目的。只有持有執(zhí)照的藥劑師可以販賣(mài)口香糖。非法偷渡口香糖到新加坡會(huì)面臨一年有期徒刑或 218,000 元的罰款。在新加坡也別忘了沖馬桶，要不然是會(huì)被罰 10,000 元的。

如果你準(zhǔn)備好探索一個(gè)走在時(shí)代尖端的地方，而你的禮節(jié)也符合規(guī)定，新加坡會(huì)是個(gè)絕佳的目的地。

單字小鋪

1. reputation n. 名聲，聲譽(yù)

2. square kilometer n. 平方公里

3. pharmaceutical a. 制藥的

4. enormous a. 龐大的

5. commercial a. 商業(yè)的

6. convention n. 會(huì)議

7. palm n. 手掌

8. aerial a. 空中的

9. nocturnal a. 夜間的;夜行性的

10. symbol n. 象征

11. chew vt. 咀嚼

12. licensed a. 有執(zhí)照的

license n. 執(zhí)照

13. pharmacist n. 藥劑獅

14. fine n. 罰款

15. manners n. 禮貌

16. destination n. 目的地

17. corruption n. 貪污，腐敗

18. arena n.(競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的)場(chǎng)所，舞臺(tái)

the political arena　　政界

19. species n. 物種(單復(fù)數(shù)同形)

詞組小鋪

1. be ready to V　　準(zhǔn)備好做……

2. in jail　　坐牢

= in prison

中文翻譯&標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案

1. 根據(jù)本文，新加坡以 _____ 更聞名于世。

(A) 無(wú)數(shù)商場(chǎng)和動(dòng)物園

(B) 非法交易和貪腐

(C) 從空中鳥(niǎo)瞰形狀像只手

(D) 在國(guó)際金融界的角色

題解: 根據(jù)本文第一段，新加坡面積雖小，名聲卻很響亮，是世界上最繁忙的港口之一，也是主要的金融中心，故選 (D)。

2. 夜間野生動(dòng)物園是 _____。

(A) 一座晚上只看得到獅子的動(dòng)物園

(B) 一座開(kāi)放到半夜的動(dòng)物園

(C) 新加坡的塑像與象征

(D) 九百種稀有動(dòng)物居住的地方

題解: 根據(jù)本文第三段，新加坡夜間野生動(dòng)物園有九百多只動(dòng)物，而且開(kāi)放到半夜，故選 (B)。

3. 什么情況下在新加坡嚼口香糖是合法的?

(A) 如果你有執(zhí)照。

(B) 如果你繳罰款。

(C) 如果有特殊的醫(yī)療狀況。

(D) 如果自己帶入境。

題解: 根據(jù)本文第三段，嚼口香糖是犯法的，除非是為了醫(yī)療目的，故選 (C)。

標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案: 1. (D)　2. (B)　3. (C)