英语博客(A cup of English):Dominos

Beginners.

The other day, I took the children to the local library. It is only a ten minute drive from our house. We had a lot of books that were overdue¹ and needed to be returned. It's one of those great places to go when it is too hot to do anything else. Another benefit of going there is that it forces the children to be quiet. Ha-ha, that was my plan! We actually stayed there for over two hours. The library here in Wenatchee is divided into three sections. The main floor has most of the books, reference books, magazines, seating areas, and librarians' area. Downstairs has lots of computers for researching files of all sorts. Around the corner from this area is a quiet row of desks with internet access. You can take in your own laptop, plug it in, and search the web, or do any kind of work you need to. It is a very handy place. The top floor is dedicated² to children. I love going there. The first thing you see as you go up the stairs is a huge, metal, green frog with a crown on it. There is a computer for children to do various learning games on. And then, the main room has a big fantasy mural, lots of toys and books, a tent with big pillows and stuffed animals, blocks of all sorts, and a fish tank. It is fun, imaginative, and cozy³. There are two other small areas, amongst rows of book shelves, where children can sit and play with games, puppets, and puzzles. It was in the puzzle area that my children discovered a box of dominos. They were hooked. They absolutely refused to leave. I stopped asking them to get ready to go, because I could see that they were totally engrossed⁴ in the game. Dominos are fun, great to hold, and quite addictive⁵.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: overdue, benefit, reference, handy, stuffed animals, to be engrossed.

Exs:

The pregnant lady is overdue; she should have had the baby two weeks ago.

One benefit of being a teacher is that you often learn a lot from your students.

I can't take out that book from the library. It is a reference book.

This new cell phone is so handy! It fits in my pocket, has the internet, and even charges the car battery.

My little girl has loads of stuffed animals in her bedroom.

I was talking to my husband, when I realized that he was engrossed in his book, and hadn't heard a word that I had said.

Advanced.

When we came home from the library, my children found our box of dominos, and immediately started to play. However, they didn't want to play the traditional game of number sequencing. Their goal was to set up a domino course that would all fall down at the slightest, deliberate touch. It wasn't as easy as they were hoping. They had visions of dominos all over the house, up and down the stairs, in and out of rooms, under chairs, through doors etc etc. Well, to start with, they didn't have enough dominos, so they had to settle for an obstacle course of medium size. They became very quiet and very industrious⁶ about the project. The whole thing took at least an hour. About half way through, I had to walk away and leave them alone because they were accidentally knocking down the arrangement, and becoming quite frustrated⁷. It's always best for Mum to leave the room at that point and not say anything unless asked for advice. Finally, though, after a lot of trial and error, the domino course was ready for an audience. We all gathered around and waited for the count down. "Three, two, one, go!" Cass put a small, plastic ball on a shoot that pointed⁸ at the first domino. Success! It fell over and all the others did the same. They fell up a small stack of dvd cases that were positioned like stairs, then down the other side. They fell over in a circle shape, down an incline, and, for the grand finale, pushed two balls over to a wall of dominos that came crashing down!

Grammar notes.

Uses of the past participle as an adjective: asked, questioned, reminded, beaten, left.

Exs:

She will help you only if asked (only if she is asked to).

They were questioned by the police.

I am reminded every day of my friend who moved away.

The rugby team entered the changing room, tired out, and beaten by their opponents.

The kitten continued to sleep, left alone by the children.

 

1 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

4 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

5 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

6 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。