听播客学英语 161 about to...

 　　You know how to talk about the future in English. You use words like “will” or “shall” or “going to”.

　　In English, we also have a way of talking about things which are in the future but very close to the present – perhaps ony a few minutes into the future. We use the expression¹ “about to”, like this:

　　Kevin and Joanne are going to Spain for a holiday. They have packed their suitcases and bought some euros. Now they are waiting by the door for the taxi to come and take them to the airport. They are about to leave for their holiday.

　　It is 10.30 in the evening. Joanne has had a shower and washed her hair and put her nightdress on. Then the telephone rings. It is her mother. “Mum”, says Joanne, “I can’t talk for long. I am about to go to bed”.

　　It is the middle of the afternoon, and my children are about to come home from school. And when they get home, they will be hungry, so I am about to make them something to eat.

　　We can use “about to” and “when” like this:

　　Kevin and Joanne were about to leave for their holiday when Kevin found that he did not have his passport².

　　Joanne was about to go to bed when the telephone rang.

　　We were about to eat our picnic when it started to rain.

　　So – we use “about to” for the very near future. If we want to talk about something in the very recent past, we can use the word “just”. Unfortunately³, “just” has several different meanings in English, but one of the most common meanings is to show that something has happened very recently, like this:

　　Kevin and Joanne are now returning from their holiday (It’s OK – Kevin found his passport). They arrive at the airport and find a taxi to take them home. They open their front door and walk in. They have just arrived home.

　　Kevin and George are watching a football match on television. Kevin goes into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. While he is there, he hears a great roar⁴ from the sitting-room⁵. He rushes back in. “What’s happened?” he asks. George replies, “United⁶ have just scored.”

　　And, because I am recording⁷ this podcast in the garden, I can tell you that I have just planted some beans⁸ and some potatoes.

　　We can use “just” and “when” like this:

　　Kevin and Joanne had just got home when the telephone rang. (Guess who it was that’s right, Joanne’s Mum!)

　　Kevin had just made the tea when United scored.

　　I had just planted the potatoes when it started to rain.

1 expression   

n.表达，表示，表现，表情，措辞，词句

参考例句：

• He looked at me without expression.他毫无表情地看着我。
• Her face was without expression.她的脸上没有表情。

2 passport   

n.护照，手段，通行证

参考例句：

• In his hurry to leave,he forgot his passport.他急急忙忙动身的时候忘了带护照。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

3 unfortunately   

adv.不幸地，可惜的是

参考例句：

• I called on you yesterday,but unfortunately you were out.昨天我来看你，但是不幸的是你不在。
• She had gone home,unfortunately.遗憾的是她已回家了。

4 roar   

n.吼，咆哮，轰鸣，喧闹；vi.吼叫，大声说出，喧闹；vt.呼喊，使轰鸣

参考例句：

• He began to roar when I took the chocolate away. 当我把巧克力拿走时，他大哭起来。
• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight.机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。

5 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

6 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

7 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

8 beans   

n.豆( bean的名词复数 )；[亦用复数][口语][通常用于否定结构]丝毫；[复数][美国口语]毫无价值的东西；（咖啡树或几种其他植物的）子实

参考例句：

• a baked potato and beans 一份烤土豆加烘豆
• a can of beans 豆罐头