I have got it wrong （我弄错了）

我告诉学生们我的结婚周年纪念日即将来临，他们很快就给我提了一些建议，教我如何好好庆祝那个“大日子”。但后来我发现自己竟然把日期弄错了，所以只好向学生们道歉。

　　TEACHER'S

　　Dear students.

　　SORRY！ SORRY！ I have to say sorry not only to my wife but also to all you. What happened？ Let me tell you my painful story which took place this morning.

　　Early in the morning at about seven o'clock， I was working with my personal computer in the office. Nobody was around because no teachers would come back so early. Accidentally， I caught sight of the school caicndar（time- table） on the white board next to me. I was very disappointed to see that tomorrow after school I have to attend a school meeting. Seeing that nobody was around， I rang home and told the bad news to my wife， i.e.， I cannot leave early tomorrow to meet her for our wedding anniversary celebration. My wife had not yet left home for school（she is also an English teacher）。

　　Having heard what I said， she was very unhappy. She was very unhappy not because I cannot meet her early tomorrow. She was unhappy because I had got the date of our wedding anniversary wrong. "It has been only nine years since we got married and yet you have forgotten the date of our wedding anniversary. You have broken my heart！ Let me tell you—— we got married on the 16th of November， 1986. If you don't believe me， you can check the marriage certificate when you come home tonight."（Don't worry！ She sounded angry but she was not that angry actually. A good wife or a good mother is always like this.）

　　Now you understand why I have to say sorry to my wife and you. Some of you quickly gave me very good ideas about how to celelbrate my wedding anniversary but how I am telling you that it is not that urgent. Sorry！ But it is good in the sense that I have more time to prepare something "special". This time I really have to think about making something by hand myself though I am a bad hand at handicrafts. One of you gave me two nice tiny paper handicrafts（ one skirt for my wife and one worker garment for me）。 I was amazed at her skill. Yan Lun suggested that I should make 99 paper stars for my wife. Good idea！ But I don't even know how to make a paper star. Could anybody help me， please！？ But the Test Week is coming this Thursday. I had better not bother you.

　　May I wish all of you the best of luck in all tests！ See you later.

　　Dennis

　　not only…but also这种句型有以下不同用法：

　　● Not only my wife but also mychildren are ill.

　　● My children not only swim but alsorun in the morning.

　　● I not only love ice- cream but alsochocolate.

　　painful用来形容因某事而带来的痛苦。留意正确用法：

　　● I'm painful. ×

　　● It is painful. √

　　● I'm in pain. √

　　虽然“没有其他老师在”，但习惯上我们还是用复数teachers.

　　Accidentally是副词，意思是“偶然间”；跟表示“意外”的accident无关。

　　留意不同用法：

　　●…was disappointed to see that.

　　●…was disappointed at the result.

　　●…was disappointed in（with） you.

　　●…was disappointed that you…

　　●…It is disappointing to see…

　　●…The result is disappointing.

　　●…you disappointed us.

　　It has been only nine years since…的意思是“从到现在仅仅九年的时间”

　　and yet＝ but

　　留意正确用法：

　　●…we got married on…√

　　●…we married on… √

　　●…I married her on… √

　　●…I got married with her on… √

　　●…I married with her on… ×

　　留意like的用法：

　　● She likes（动词解作“喜爱”） this.

　　● She is like（形容词解作“好像'）this.

　　以下的表达方法都是对的：

　　●…as regards how to celebrate…

　　●…regarding how to celebrate…

　　●…regarding how I can celebrate…

　　●…as to how I can celebrate…

　　当谈及某事情的好坏时，不妨用：…in the sense that…，指明从那个角度看。

　　留意不同解释：

　　●a good hand=技术好的

　　●a bad／poor hand=技术差的

　　●an old hand=老手（经验丰富的）

　　●a new hand=生手（缺乏经验的）

　　留意“衣服”或“衣料”的正确用词：

　　● a clothes ×

　　● a piece of clothes √

　　● a clothing ×

　　● an article of clothing √

　　● a garment √

　　这是因为clothes和clothing都是“集合名词”（collective noun）。

　　留意正确用法：

　　… suggested that I make… √

　　… suggested that I should make… √

　　… suggested me to make… ×

　　I had better not bother you.的意思是“我还是不麻烦你们为好”。

　　LANGUAGE

　　Present participle

　　当动词加上 + ing后，如果不是“动名词”（gerund），便是“现在分词”（present participle）。我们会在不同的时态中使用现在分词。请看以下例子。

　　EXAMPLE

　　1.I was working with my personal computer…

　　2.I have been working with my personal computer…

　　3.I will be working with my personal computer…

　　现在分词有时候可以充当形容词。请参考以下例子：

　　EXAMPLE

　　1.It is an interesting story.

　　2.It is an exciting movie.

　　现在分词也可将两个句子合并为一句，使文章更加精练。但如果学生对这种用法并不熟练，还是不要使用，以免弄巧成拙。此外，在同一篇文章里，也不宜滥用这种形式，因为这会影响阅读。请参考本单元的例子。

　　EXAMPLE

　　1.Seeing that nobody was around， I rang home.

　　2.Having heard what I said， she was very unhappy.

　　总而言之， 如能在文章里适当地使用两三句这种句子，可显示自己的语言能力。不过，如果对自己的语言能力缺乏信心，在文章的主要内容中，还是多用短语和连词较为稳妥。

　　EXAMPLE

　　1.I saw nobody was around. So， I rang home.

　　2.When she had heard what I said， she was very unhappy.

　　其实算起来，学生们与我分担的不愉快远多于分享的快乐。因此，STS也算是一种思考问题及处理问题的训练。请用现在分词短语改写下列画线的句子。

　　Test Your Understanding

　　1.In the P. E. lessons today， we had to take an examination. We had to do a handstand and shoulder balance. Weeks ago when I was practising， I could do them. As the exam was coming nearer. I could not. I felt anxious. So， I prayed right before I took the exam. At last I made it.

　　2.The night before I took the Chinese History test， I worked hard to revise Chinese History. I had read the boring notes for about an hour. But then I unconsciously fell asleep. As a result， I failed.

　　3.Sir， I want to tell you something unhappy. When I was doing the Physics Paper， it seemed that I had forgotten everything. I felt very nervous. I could not think fast enough to complete all the questions. When I heard "time's up； pens down"， I knew I would fail.