Lesson 4 An exciting trip 激动人心的旅行
课文内容：
I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.
Notes on the text 课文注释
1 He has been there for six months. 他在那儿已经住了6个月了。关于动词的现在完成时，可以参看第1册第83至87课。
2 a great number of…, 许多…，用于修饰复数可数名词。
3 in the centre of…, 在……中部。
本文参考译文
我刚刚收到弟弟蒂姆的来信，他正在澳大利亚。他在那儿已经住了6个月了。蒂姆是个工程师，正在为一家大公司工作，并且已经去过澳大利亚的不少地方了。他刚买了一辆澳大利亚小汽车，现在去了澳大利亚中部的小镇艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久还将到达尔文去，从那里，他再飞往珀斯。我弟弟以前从未出过国，因此，他觉得这次旅行非常激动人心。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Why is Tim finding this trip exciting?
I have just received a letter from my brother, Tim. He is in Australia. He has been there for six months. Tim is an engineer. He is working for a big firm and he has already visited a great number of different places in Australia. He has just bought an Australian car and has gone to Alice Springs, a small town in the centre of Australia. He will soon visit Darwin. From there, he will fly to Perth. My brother has never been abroad before, so he is finding this trip very exciting.
【课文翻译】
我刚刚收到弟弟蒂姆的来信，他正在澳大利亚。他在那儿已经住了6个月了。蒂姆是个工程师，正在为一家大公司工作，并且已经去过澳大利亚的不少地方了。他刚买了一辆澳大利亚小汽车，现在去了澳大利亚中部的小镇艾利斯斯普林斯。他不久还将到达尔文去，从那里，他再飞往珀斯。我弟弟以前从未出过国，因此，他觉得这次旅行非常激动人心。
【生词和短语】
exciting adj. 令人兴奋的
receive v. 接受，收到
firm n. 商行，公司
different adj. 不同的
centre n. 中心
abroad adv. 在国外
【知识点讲解】
1 receive 动词，得到、接到；接待（客人、成员等）、接纳或承认某人。
receive sth from sb./ sth.
例句：I received a letter from my teacher.
我收到了老师的来信。
receive sb. with sth
例句：She was received with warm applause.
大家以热烈的掌声欢迎了她。
词语扩展：received 形容词公认为正确而普遍接受的
received opinion 公认为正确的看法
2 work for sb./ sth. 做工作；从事体力劳动或脑力劳动
例句：He works for a supermarket to make a living.
他在一家超市谋生。
短语扩展：work sth. off 除去，消除
work out 结果是；事情演变为；计算出
work sb. out 了解某人的秉性
例句：Have you worked out the cost?
你计算出花费的金额了吗？
3 firm [名词] 公司，商号；商行
a firm of accountants 会计师事务所
词语扩展：这个词做形容词也很常见，表示坚实的，结实的；牢固的；坚定的，坚决的The ice on the lake is not firm enough to walk on.
湖上的冰不够结实，不能在上面站立。
短语扩展：be on firm ground 对事实确信无疑；立场坚定
hold firm to sth. 不放弃原则、理论等
firm sth. up 使某物最后达到固定的形式或状态
例句：He is on firm ground that Lily wins the match.
他确信是莉莉赢得了比赛。
4 a great number of… 许多……，用于修饰复数可数名词
英语中表示“许多”的短语有很多。
plenty of ，a lot of ，lots of ，a quantity of ，quantities of，a supply of ，supplies of，a mass of，masses of 可与可数名词和不可数名词连用
a number of ，a variety of ，varieties of，a good/great many 后接可数名词复数a great amount of，amounts of ，a great/good deal of 后接不可数名词
a sum of 修饰货币
例句：A large quantity of dictionaries has been sold out.
许多字典已经卖出。
I spent a great deal of money on this project.
我花了很多钱在这个项目上。
5 He is working for a big firm.
这是一个现在进行时句型。
构成方法：
现在进行时由am/is/are 加现在分词构成。
用法说明：
①表示此时此刻或现阶段正在进行的动作。例如：
They’re having a meeting.
他们在开会。
He is singing happily in the KTV.
她在KTV唱得正high呢。
②表示计划或安排好了的将来动作，常与一个表示将来的时间状语连用。如：
Mike is coming home on Thursday.
迈克星期四回来。
They’re having a party next week.
