重点句型解析
1. It has often been said that life is difficult as it is. 人们常说现实生活已经够艰难的了。
①“It is said that …”是常见的句型，意思是“据说，人们说”再如：
It is said that the population of males is larger than that of females in China.
据说中国男性人口高于女性人口。
It is said that he has gone abroad. 据说他已出国了。
这种句型其实是“People say that …”的被动语态。类似结构还有：It is thought that…；It is reported that …；It is believed that …；It is hoped that…等。
②as it is 也是固定的结构，解释“根据现在情况看；就以现在样子”，常用于句子开头或结尾。例如： I thought things would get better, but as it is they are getting worse.
我原以为情况会好转，但照现在的样子看，只会更糟。
2. For women it sometimes seems twice as difficult. 对妇女来说，有时生活似乎是难上加难。
该句相当于For women life sometimes seems twice as difficult as it is.
倍数的表达法可以有以下几种表示：
The room is twice bigger than mine. The room is twice as big as mine.
The room is twice the size of mine.
注意：倍数词总是位于第一as前，并且第二个as在上下文意义明确的情况下可省略。
3．What kind of people do you think they are? 你认为他们是什么类型的人？
①kind着重指由于具有共同兴趣或特征而在一起的人，动物或物体。
如：Tom is the kind of person who likes outdoor games. 汤姆是那种喜欢户外游戏的人。
This is the kind of room that I feel at home in. 这种房间我感到没有拘束。
②本句为常do you think的特殊疑问句用法，其语序为“疑问词+do you think+疑问句的其他部分（陈述语序）”。如：
Who do you think has taken his wallet? 你认为谁拿了他的钱包？
What do you think I have bought for you? 你猜我为你买来了什么？
可以这样用的动词还有suppose, guess, believe, imagine, expect.
4．What else, but a journey at the opposite end of the world, Antarctica?
除了去世界另一头南极洲旅行，还会干什么呢？
①这是一句省略句，完整的结构是：What else would I do but a journey at the opposite end of the world, Antarctica?句中的but是介词，意为“除了……”，相当于except，常与不定代词、疑问代词等连用。例如：
In winter, bears can do nothing but lie down and sleep. 在冬天，熊只能躺下睡觉。
②else是个形容词，意为“其他的，别的”，不作前置定语，只能用在疑问词where, what, which, who等或不定代词something, anything等后，表示追加说明。如：
Is there anything else you want to say? 你还有什么要说的话吗？
Where else did you go besides Beijing?除了北京，你还到过哪？ else的所有格是else’s, 如： Who else’s advice do you want to take? 你想听谁的劝告？
I’ll have to borrow someone else’s car. 我得借别人的车。
5．Another journey of challenge and danger was about to begin. 又一次具有危险和挑战的旅行即将开始。
①介词短语作定语时，句子的谓语动词应根据被其修饰的前面的中心词来决定。
②be about to do即将发生的动作或动作刚要开始。如：
The teacher is about to write down the new words.
注意：be about to do 不与表示时间的副词或其他时间状语连用，但可以用在be about to do when…结构中，如：
I was about to leave when the telephone began to ring.
6．I had traveled only two hours one day when the winds increased so much that I had to
put my tent up before the wind became too strong. 一天，我刚走了两个小时，突然狂风大
作，我只好趁风力还不算太大之前，支起帐蓬。
①when 表示过早发生某事（常可译为“还没（刚刚）……就”）。例如：
I had hardly opened the door when the dog barked. 我还没把门打开，狗就叫了起来。
The students hadn’t played football long when the bell rang. 学生们足球没踢一会儿，铃就响了。
when还表示突然发生某事（常译为“……正在……忽然”）。例如：
A few days later, I was moving forward over a slope that seemed safe when suddenly without warning my world dropped out from under my skis. 几天以后，我正在一个似乎安全的斜坡上前行，突然，毫不预兆，滑雪板下的大地陷下去了。
from常与另一个介词短语连用。如：
The moon appeared from behind the clouds. 月亮从云层后面露出了脸。
A rat ran out from under the bed. 一只老鼠从床底下跑了出来。
He swam from across the river. 他从河那边游了过来。
②put up 作“举起，抬起，搭起盖房子”讲。例如：
They are putting up several new houses on our street. 我们这条街上正在盖几栋新房子。
Put up your hands if you have any questions. 有问题请举手。