Lesson 5 The Facts
Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes to provide their reader with unimportant facts and statistics. Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine to write an article on the president's palace in a new African republic. When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence and then refused to publish it. The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead tothe high wall which surrounds the president's palace'. The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took along time to send them. Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient, for the magazine would soon go to press. He sent the journalist two more faxes, but received no reply. He sent yet another fax informing the journalist that if he did not reply soon he would be fired. When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally beenwritten. A week later, the editor at last received a fax from the journalist. Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well. However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax in which he informed the editor that the he had been arrested while counting the 1,084 steps leading to the fifteen-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.
Part 1: Lead-in question:
1: What was the consequence of the editor's insistence on facts and statistics?
He was arrested and sent to prison.
Part 2: Words and Expressions
1. go to extreme 走极端
go from one extreme to the other. 从一个极端走向另一个极端
go to the opposite extreme. 走向相反的极端
2. journalist: 新闻记者
journalism: 新闻业
3.president: 总统.如：the president of the United States, President Trump.
校长，院长.如: the president of Harvard University.
总裁: the president of the company.
4. republic:共和国
the People’s Republic of China（中华人民共和国）
5. lead to：引向，导致。
粗心会导致严重的问题。
Carelessness can lead to serious problems.
6.set out to do sth.开始着手做某事
They set out to find the truth.
7.Obtain:得到VS. get 得到
Obtain（用很多努力，花费很长时间才能够得到的）
The perfect body has always been difficult to obtain.
完美的身材总是很难拥有。
Get (不需要花费太多努力就可以获得的)
I got a book from the store.
8.Impatient:不耐烦. Im为否定前缀，如：impossible（不可能。impossible这个词很有意思,在I和m之间加一个逗号，就变成了I’m possible可能了，所以凡事没有绝对，没有什么是不可能的。）
其他表示否定的前缀还有：un(unimportant, unfinished); in (incomplete); il (illegal); ir (irregular)
9.Inform vt.通知，告知
用法：inform sb. that
Inform sb of sth
They would inform him of any progress they had made
他们会把他们取得的任何进步都告诉他。
10.Fail to do sth没能做某事
He failed to pass the exam.
Part 3 Sentence Structure
原文：Not only had the poor man been arrested, but he had been sent to prison as well.
解析：Not only …, but….as well或者Not
only….but also…表示不但…而且…
Not only放在句首的时候要倒装。
试比较：
她不但是个女神，还是个女神经
Not only is the girl a goddess, she is also a crazy woman.
The girl is not only a goddess, but also a crazy woman.
Part 4:Culture
今天聊聊数字13和星期五
在西方，数字13和星期五是非常不吉利的，就像中国人不喜欢数字4一样。那么是什么原因呢？
From a religious standpoint, legend has itthat Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, on a Friday, and laterdied on a Friday, and Christians consider Friday as the day on which Christ wascrucified by Romans.
从宗教角度看，传说亚当和夏娃在星期五这一天偷吃禁果，后来又在星期五这一天去世。基督教徒们认为星期五是耶稣被罗马人钉在十字架上的日子。
The number 13, in the Christian faith, is thenumber of parties at the Last Supper, with the 13thguest at thetable being the traitor, Judas. When Christians combine this day and number,the combination can only hold special significance.
根据基督教徒的信仰，数字13是最后的晚餐中聚会的人数，餐桌上第13位客人是叛徒犹大。当基督教徒们把数字13与日期联系起来的时候，这种结合就有了特殊的意义。
数字13被西方人嫌弃到什么程度？
在荷兰，你几乎找不到13号楼和13号的门牌。因为他们用12A取代了13号。在英国的剧场或影院，也找不到13排或13座，因为被设置成了人行道。此外西方人也不喜欢13号这一天出游，更不愿意有13人一起用餐，更别提吃饭时上13道菜了。
