---
url: https://gaojian.site/new-concept/book-3/46-do-it-yourself.md
description: 新概念英语第三册：Do It Yourself。精读、词块回忆、双向译练、句法、逻辑与FSRS复习。
---

# 自己动手DIY

## 课文学习台 {#study}

### 第1段

So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialized labour. No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer, for there are countless do-it-yourself publications. Armed with the right tools and materials, newlyweds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes. Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture. Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own computers. Shops cater for the do-it-yourself craze not only by running special advisory services for novices, but by offering consumers bits and pieces which they can assemble at home. Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy, but unfortunately not all of us are born handymen.

中文理解：现在我们自己动手做事的热情很高，以致对于专业工人的依赖就越来越少了。由于出版了不计其数的教人自己动手做事的书报杂志，没有人再能说对某事一无所知。新婚夫妇找来合适的工具和材料，高高兴兴地开始布置新房。特别是男人，常利用空闲时间安装壁炉、布置花园、建造车库、制作家具。有些热衷于自己动手的人甚至自己组装电脑。为了满足自己动手热的需要，商店不仅为初学者提供专门的咨询服务，而且为顾客准备了各种零件，供他们买回家去安装。这些东西为人们潜在的创造力提供了一个绝妙的用武之地。但不幸的是，我们并非人人都是能工巧匠。

* **so far**：到目前为止 / 从那时起；它们常与完成时一起出现；回到原句看动作还是状态延续。

* **not only**：不仅 / 两者都不 / 是否；找齐成对结构的两端；不是看见 not only 就一律倒装。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①整个状语中有一个which 引导的定语从句。一般说来某一成分下是不细分的，但是从句本书仍然细分。②increasingly = more and more。③plead ignorance = say that you don't know anything about。④gaily embark on the task = happily start the job。 ⑤installing = putting in。⑥novices = beginners。

### 第2段

Some wives tend to believe that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything. Even men who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters, plumbers and mechanics. When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuum cleaners fail to operate, some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things right. The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes even men live under the delusion that they can do anything, even when they have repeatedly been proved wrong. It is a question of pride as much as anything else.

中文理解：有些妻子往往认为，丈夫无所不能，什么都修得好。甚至那些连一枚钉子都钉不直的男人都被认为是天生的电工、木匠、水管工和机械师。每当电灯保险丝烧断、家具榫头松动、管道堵塞、吸尘器吸不动时，有些妻子认为丈夫总有办法。自己动手的例子中最糟糕的是，有时男人尽管接连失败却还误以为自己什么都行，这在很大程度上也关乎面子。

* **fail to**：未能做到；可以客观交代未完成的事，不必总理解为能力不足。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①repeatedly = often , time after time。②that 引导的从句不是定语从句，而应该是同位语从句.\[感谢读者段王爷同学指出20200331]

### 第3段

Last spring my wife suggested that I call in a man to look at our lawn mower. It had broken down the previous summer, and though I promised to repair it, I had never got round to it. I would not hear of the suggestion and said that I would fix it myself. One Saturday afternoon, I hauled the machine into the garden and had a close look at it. As far as I could see, it needed only a minor adjustment: a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new. Inevitably the repair job was not quite so simple. The mower firmly refused to mow, so I decided to dismantle it. The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn mower. But I was extremely pleased with myself. I had traced the cause of the trouble. One of the links in the chain that drives the wheels had snapped. After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again. I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that I was left with several curiously shaped bits of metal which did not seem to fit anywhere. I gave up in despair. The weeks passed and the grass grew. When my wife nagged me to do something about it, I told her that either I would have to buy a new mower or let the grass grow. Needless to say our house is now surrounded by a jungle. Buried somewhere in deep grass there is a rusting lawn mower which I have promised to repair one day.

中文理解：今年春天，妻子让我请人检查一下我家的割草机。那台割草机去年夏天就坏了，尽管我答应修，但一直没抽出时间，我不愿听妻子的建议，说我自己会修。一个星期六的下午，我把割草机拉到了花园里，仔细检查了一番。在我看来，只需稍加调整即可。这儿紧紧螺丝，那儿固定一下，再加一滴油，就会像新的一样了。事实上，修理工作远不是那么简单。修完后割草机还是发动不起来。于是，我决定把它拆开。一会儿工夫，割草机便被拆成一个个金属零件，乱七八糟地堆在花园里。但我却非常高兴，因为我找到了毛病所在。驱动轮子的链条断了一节 。我买来一根新链条后，面临的就是如何把这些令人眼花缭乱的拼板重新组装起来。等我装完后，那台割草机仍然一动不动， 对此我倒并不感到吃惊。原因很简单，因为还剩下几个形状奇特的零件似乎哪里也装不上去。我无可奈何，只好作罢。几个星期过去了，草长了起来。妻子喋喋不休让我想点办法。我告诉她，要么买一台新割草机，要么让草长下去。不用说，我家现在已被丛林包围。深草丛中的某个地方有一台生着锈的割草机，那就是我曾答应某天要修理的割草机。

* **look at**：期待 / 照顾 / 寻找 / 看；介词一变意思就变；look forward to 的 to 后接名词或 -ing。

* **As far as**：从某个角度 / 关于；限定你正在讨论的范围，不能当作所有句子的万能开头。

* **gave up**：放弃 / 让步 / 送出或泄露；先辨认动作和对象，再决定能否替换。

* **in despair**：匆忙地 / 绝望地 / 惊讶地 / 默默地 / 徒劳地；把短语连同动作一起记，观察它如何补出人物状态。

#### 这一段的读法与用法

注释：①snap 在这里表示“突然断裂”；link 是链环。本句是说，驱动轮子的链条中有一节链环断了。“猛咬”和“啪地关上”是 snap 的其他用法，不是此处词义。②该状语中有that 引导的宾语从句和after 引导的状语从句。

\[语法符号讲解] \[1]本句 for the simple reason 后的 that 从句直接说明原因的内容，that 在从句中不充当主语、宾语或原因状语；不宜机械地把它当成可以与 why 互换的关系副词。该 that 从句内还有一个 which 引导的定语从句修饰 bits of metal。句末原有双括号反映层次嵌套，但两层并不都应称为定语从句。

#### Summary 摘要

The author looked at his machine and reckoned that only a minor adjustment was needed. After adjusting a few things, the mower still refused to work, so he dismantled it and traced the cause of the trouble: there was a broken link in the drive chain. After buying a new chain and reassembling the mower, it still did not work. However, he was not really surprised because there were bits left that did not fit anywhere—so he gave up. (80 words)

#### Composition 作文

\[1]Friends have often told me that one of the simplest plumbing jobs in a house is changing the washer(n.垫圈，洗涤器) on a dripping tap(滴水的龙头). We had a dripping tap in the kitchen. It had been dripping for weeks. I didn't want to call in a plumber because they charge a lot of money, so I decided to do it myself. Surely it's a fairly easy job, I thought. What can go wrong?

\[2]I really did not think that it would be difficult. I knew that the first thing I had to do was to turn off the water at the mains(n.总管道). Unfortunately, I couldn't find where to turn off the water. Was it under the sink(n.水槽) in our kitchen? Or was it outside somewhere? Eventually I found it under the kitchen sink on a pipe coming up from the ground that I had never noticed before.

\[3]When I had turned off the mains tap, I turned on the kitchen tap until it stopped running. So far, so good! Then I gaily(ad.欢乐地) embarked on the task of unscrewing the tap and taking off the old washer. When I tried to put the new washer on, however, I realized that I had a problem. Whatever I did, it just wouldn't go on. So I cut it a little and it went on with no problem. Then I put everything back together and turned on the mains. I was so pleased with myself—until, five minutes later, the tap started dripping worse than ever.

\[4]As a result of the experience, I have made a decision. I will never attempt to change a washer again, and I will call in a professional for any plumbing, building or electrical job that ever needs doing in the house. (291 words)

## 学完这一课

保留原段的推进关系，换成自己的经历，写或说一段四五句的话。

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

*译文与解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及本站首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第159—162页，2022年2月第3版。*