【Vocabulary】 P214
Explain the meanings of the following words and phrases as they are used in the passage: inreasingly(l.2); plead ignorance (l.3); gaily embark on the task (l.5); installing (l.7); novices (l.9); repeatedly (l.17)
increasingly: more and more
plead ignorance 找借口辩解说不知情(=get an excuse for not knowing)
gaily embark on the task: happily start the job
installing: fixing
novice: 新手 beginner / learner
repeatedly : 反反复复地,重复地 (=again and again; renewedly)
【Multiple choice questions】
Comprehension
1 Why did the writer’s wife suggest calling in a man to look at the mower?
a. To get her husband to mend it, believing him to be a born carpenter.
b. She had forgotten that her husband had promised to mend it.
c. She suspected it would otherwise remain unrepaired and the grass uncut.
d. Her husband had repeatedly tried mending it already without success.
suspected (that )... / doubt whether...
remain unrepaired uncut
2 The writer decided to dismantle the mower because _____ .
a. it was a Saturday and he had the time to spare
b. he had discovered the cause of the trouble
c. he thought it was a sure way of roving it would not work
d. what repairs he had already carried out had not proved adequate