---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-3/16-mary-had-a-little-lamb.md
description: 新概念英语第三册：Mary Had a Little Lamb。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 16 · 玛丽有一头小羔羊

### 第1段

Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece. One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her. She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening. One evening, however, the lamb was missing. The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had happened. Dimitri at once set out to find the thief. He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village. After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb. Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb. He told him he had better return it or he would call the police. Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard. It was true that he had just bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was black. Ashamed of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him. While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko's house until the rain stopped. When he went outside half an hour later, he was astonished to find that the little black lamb was almost white. Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed clean by the rain!

中文理解：玛丽和丈夫迪米特里住在希腊南部的一个小村庄，名叫佩拉霍拉。丈夫送给她的一只小白羊，是她最珍爱的宝贝之一。白天，她把小羊拴在田里的一棵树上，每天傍晚再去牵回来。可是有一天傍晚，小羊不见了。绳子被割断了，显然是有人偷走了它。
迪米特里从田里回来后，妻子把事情告诉了他。他马上动身去找小偷，心想村子这么小，应该不难查出来。他把羊被偷的事告诉几位朋友后，得知邻居阿列科家突然多了一只小羊。迪米特里立刻上门，气愤地指责阿列科偷羊，警告他最好赶紧归还，否则就报警。阿列科否认偷羊，还领他来到后院。他解释说，自己确实刚买了一只小羊，但这只羊是黑色的。迪米特里为自己如此鲁莽感到羞愧，便为刚才的指责向阿列科道歉。两人说话间下起了雨，迪米特里就在阿列科家等雨停。半小时后，他走到屋外，惊讶地发现那只小黑羊几乎全白了：原来染在羊毛上的黑色，竟被雨水冲洗干净了！

* **prize possessions**：珍爱的物品；prize 在这里作修饰语，表示珍贵，不一定是奖品。

* **kept it tied to**：把它一直拴在……上；keep + 宾语 + 过去分词，说明维持的被动状态。

* **was missing**：不见了；失踪了；missing 是状态形容词，不等于某人正在想念。

* **it was obvious that**：很明显……；it 占主语，that 给判断内容；最好接可见证据。

* **at once**：立刻；表示立即采取行动，不能和表示终于的 at last 互换。

* **set out**：着手；开始有目的地行动；set out to do 表着手或打算做，本册第5、16、31课按目标行动理解；带地点时也可说出发。

* **accused him of**：指责他；控告他；of 后说明被指责的行为，不用 accuse someone to do。

* **had better**：最好……；had better + 动词原形；否定是 had better not do。

* **denied taking**：否认拿走；否认做过某事，用 doing，不接 to do。

* **apologized to**：向……道歉；to 接人，for 接缘由。

* **was astonished to find**：惊讶地发现；be astonished to find that + 新发现，适合揭示意外结果。

* **washed clean**：洗干净了；wash + 宾语 + clean，clean 说明洗后的结果。

#### 原文注释 · Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece.

注释：①tiny = very small。②prize = valuable, precious, dear。③形近词辨析：lamb 羊羔, lame 瘸的/蹩脚的, lamp 台灯, lane 巷子, limb 手足/四肢, lime 石灰, limp 没精神的。 ④fetch = get。⑤missing = gone。

\[语法符号讲解] \[1]本句it 为形式主语，that 引导的主语从句作真正的主语，that 的“th”下画双横线，表示主语从句开始，而stolen 的“en.”下画双横线，表示从句结束，注意，结果状语从句的括号“]”下不需要画双横线，表示该主语从句是在结果状语从句里面的。

#### 原文注释 · When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had happened.

注释：①set out to do sth. 开始/着手做某事，而set about doing sth.。②acquired = got, obtained。③denied = said it wasn't true。④宾语从句中一个主语从句。⑤ashamed of sth./sb./oneself，为…感到羞愧。⑥apologized = said he was sorry。⑦dyed = coloured。

\[语法符号讲解] \[1]本句knew 后面为省略了that 的宾语从句，所以在“it”的第一个字母i 下面画横线，表示宾语从句的开始。

④宾语从句中一个主语从句。这里为省略了that 的从句作explained 的宾语，所以我们在it 的i 下面画横线，t 下面画双横线，分别表示宾语从句的开始和其本身是主语。最后在lamb 的“la”下面画横线，表示该单词本身是宾语，而在“mb,”下画双横线，则表示主语从句的结束，而后面还有一个横线，表示宾语从句的结束。

#### Summary 摘要

When Dimitri came home, Mary told him that her white lamb had been stolen. On learning that his neighbour, Aleko, had acquired a lamb, Dimitri went to Aleko's house and accused him of stealing it. When Aleko showed his lamb, Dimitri saw it was black, so he apologized. After staying in Aleko's house for a while because it had begun to rain, Dimitri got a surprise outside when he found the lamb was almost white. It had been dyed black! (80 words)

#### Composition 作文 Not So Black 不是那么黑

\[1]Dimitri was surprised to find that the lamb had turned white. He took a close look(仔细看) at it and recognized it as his own.

\[2]This discovery immediately led to an angry scene between Dimitri and Aleko. Dimitri repeated his accusation(控告) that Aleko had stolen the lamb, but Aleko still denied any theft. During the violent argument, Dimitri said the rain had proved that the lamb had been dyed black and he recognized it immediately as the one he had given to his wife. When Aleko finally admitted he had stolen the lamb, Dimitri called the police. Aleko was arrested and Dimitri took his lamb home.

\[3]The story caused a lot of excitement in the village. The villagers didn't often have the opportunity to talk about such an important event and they were greatly amused by(被逗乐) what had happened. Some thought Aleko had been very clever. Others thought he had been extremely stupid. Others said God had sent the rain to punish Aleko for his crime and to prove he was a thief. They discussed the event at great length(详细地，细致地) for a long time, as there wasn't much else to talk about in a village where nothing much ever happened.

## 学完这一课

用 The… had been…, so it was obvious that… 依据痕迹作推断。

[Nce · 本册复习台](/new-concept/book-3/review) · [三册选择地图](/new-concept/)

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