The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain.

be perched on … ^{位于（比较高、危险）的地方}

• For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water.
• a house perched on a cliff above the town

The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses.

straggle ^{v. grow or spread in an irregular or untidy manner 无规则地或散乱地生长或散布}

• Unpainted wooden buildings straggle along the main road out of town.
• a straggling village
• vines straggling over the fences 

line ^{vt. form a line along sth. 沿某物排成行}

• Tall trees line the road on either side.
• The road is lined with / by tall trees on either side.

Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks.

forbidding ^{adj.（外表）冷峻的，令人生畏的；令人厌恶的；险恶的}

• There was something a little severe and forbidding about her face.  ^{她的脸色严厉且令人生畏。}
• Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. ^{监狱不再是过去那种可怕的、令人生畏的地方。}
• Heidi did not take this for a summons, for the maid's face was scornful and forbidding. ^{海蒂并不认为这是一种召唤，因为女仆的脸带着轻蔑，令人生畏。}

The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby.

形容词 +（连字符）+ looking ^{表示“看起来怎么样的”}

• a very modern-looking woman
• an interesting-looking carved dagger 
• the sorry-looking, blackened figure 
• an ugly-looking black goat

on ^用…拴着

• … on a short length of rope …
• Please keep your dog on a leash.

length ^{（量词）一根、一节…}

• … a short length of rope …
• Each of the four cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire.

tie ^{v. 系绳子}

• She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening.

nearby ^{adv. 在附近}

• The student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on. 

并列形式 ^{不如独立主格简洁，重点不突出} 

The village seemed deserted, and the only sign of life was an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby.

• The book is boring, the only interesting part being its cover.^{这本书很无聊，唯一有趣的部分是它的封皮。}
• The contents of the chest were disappointing, the only valuable find being an interesting-looking carved dagger. ^{箱子里的东西令人失望，唯一有价值的发现是一柄看起来有趣的雕花的匕首。}

Sitting down on a dilapidated wooden fence near the field, we opened a couple of tins of sardines and had a picnic lunch.

非谓动词做状语^{（源自句型简化）}

• After having been instructed to drive out of town, I began to acquire confidence.
• After having spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home with an empty bag.
• Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Tehran saved up for years to buy a real bed.

All at once, I noticed that my wife seemed to be filled with alarm.

all at once ^突然= suddenly = all of a sudden

• All at once, the lights went out. ^{突然间，灯熄灭了。}
• Suddenly, it started to rain heavily.^{突然间，开始下起了大雨。}
• All of a sudden, the dog started barking.^{突然间，狗开始狂吠。}

alarm ^{n. a feeling of fear or worry because sth. bad or dangerous might happen 惊慌，恐慌}

• She looked up in alarm.
• Scientists have said there is no cause for alarm.

be filled with anger / fear / dread / horror / joy / happiness / doubt / alarm / revulsion / admiration / remorse … ^{充满了某种情绪…}

• Their faces were suddenly filled with fear.
• I am filled with admiration for your bravery.
• Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch.

Looking up I saw that we were surrounded by children in rags who were looking at us silently as we ate.

be surrounded by ^被…包围

• I live in a very old town which is surrounded by beautiful woods.
• It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by France on three sides.^{它坐落在地中海沿岸，三面被法国环绕。}
• we are surrounded by a natural playground just perfect for walking, climbing and cycling.^{我们周围是一个天然的场地，非常适合散步、攀岩和骑车。}
• One other painting I really want you to look at is of a young woman surrounded by pumpkins.^{另一幅我很想让你们看的画是一个被南瓜围绕的年轻女人。}

We offered them food and spoke to them kindly, but they remained motionless.

offer sb. sth.   ^{给某人某事}

• The number of companies offering them work increased. ^{给他们提供工作的公司的数量增多了。}
• We offer free technical support. ^{我们免费提供技术支持。}

I concluded that they were simply shy of strangers.

be shy of … ^{对…腼腆羞怯；害怕……}

• Children are often shy of people they don't know. 
• I'm shy of buying shares, in case I lose money.

When we later walked down the main street of the village, we were followed by a silent procession of children.

 … a silent procession of children …^{（silent修饰的是procession不是children）名词前有量词修饰 形容词放在量词前，而不放在名词前}

• a nice cup of tea
• a beautiful stretch of field 
• a stagnant pool of water
• For most of them, 50 pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate. 
• Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across.

The village which had seemed deserted, immediately came to life.

come to life ^{to become more interesting, exciting or full of activity 变活跃起来}

• The match finally came to life in the second half.
• You're very cool with your brother, but with your friends you really come to life. 

Faces appeared at windows. ^{地道表达：传神、形象}

people looked out of the window. ^普通

Men in shirt sleeves stood outside their houses and glared at us.

in shirt sleeves / shirt-sleeves ^{dressed informally without wearing anything, such as a jacket, over a shirt 只穿衬衣的（不正式）}

• He was working in shirt sleeves, not bothered by the cold. ^{他只穿着衬衫在工作，对寒冷毫不在意。}

Old women in black shawls peered at us from doorways.

peer at ^{凝视，盯着看}

• The market people peer at him from their booths and stalls .^{集市上的人从他们的货棚和摊子里凝视着他。}
• A typical telescope is designed to peer at a tiny portion of the sky.^{典型的天文望远镜被设计成专门观测天空中的一小部分。}
• Might central bankers soon start to peer at the monetary dials again?^{中央银行家们很快又会重新注视货币手段吗？}

The most frightening thing of all was that not a sound could be heard.

There was no doubt that we were unwelcome visitors.

there is no doubt / question that ... ^{毫无疑问的是…}

• There is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily. 
• There is no question that the government knew about the deal.

We needed no further warning.

further ^{far的比较级“更多的，进一步的”}

• Let's consider this point further.^{让我们更深入地考虑这一点。}
• The issue needs further examination.^{这个问题需要进一步考察。}
• He made a further interrogative noise.^{他发出了进一步疑问的声音。}

Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream where we hoped the boatman was waiting.

Turning back down the main street, we quickened our pace and made our way rapidly towards the stream, and we hoped that the boatman was waiting there.  ^{相当于是个并列句}

quicken one’s pace ^加快步伐

• He quickened his pace, longing to be home.
• Thinking that she was being followed, she quickened her pace. 

make one’s way ^前往某地

• I made my way to the house.
• I made my way into the backyard. 
• I made my way along the river.
• I made my way up the stairs.
• The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. 

嵌入式定语从句 ^{本身是定语从句修饰先行词，另一方面又是主谓结构的宾语}

In this part of the cave, they could hear an insistent booming sound which they found was caused by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave.

• She has an adopted son who she says is an orphan.^{她有一个养子，这个养子据她讲是个孤儿。}
•  Aleko suddenly acquired a new lamb which he claimed was bought. ^{Aleko 突然得到了一只新的羊羔，这只羊羔他声称是买来的。}