新概念英语第二册 Lesson 55 · 语法精读与固定搭配分类
本课是一则「寻宝落空」的科普小品。语言点集中在 现在完成时的被动语态（has been invented / has been used / has been buried）、would 表过去习惯、分词短语作状语（Armed with… / hoping to find…），以及 in spite of、be confident that 等短语。
| 句子 | 语法点 |
|---|---|
| Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true recently. | dreams of doing sth. 做某事的梦想（of 后接动名词）· come true 变成现实 · recently 最近 |
| A new machine called 'The Revealer' has been invented and it has been used to detect gold which has been buried in the ground. | 被动语态 has been invented / has been used / has been buried：三者都是现在完成时的被动式（has been + 过去分词）· a machine called … 被叫做……的机器 · use sth. to do sth. 用某物做某事 |
| 句子 | 语法点 |
|---|---|
| The machine was used in a cave near the seashore where — it is said — pirates used to hide gold. | 被动语态 was used · 定语从句 where 引导，修饰 a cave · it is said 据说（插入语）· used to do sth. 过去常常做某事 |
| The pirates would often bury gold in the cave and then fail to collect it. | would + 动词原形 表示过去习惯性动作 · fail to do sth. 未能做某事 · collect it 取走它 |
| Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure. | armed with 装备着（过去分词短语作状语，表状态）· a search party 探宝队 · hoping to find 希望找到（现在分词短语作状语，表目的） |
| 句子 | 语法点 |
|---|---|
| The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave when the machine showed that there was gold under the ground. | the leader of the party 队长 · 时间状语从句 when 引导（正在……这时……）· 宾语从句 that 引导，作 showed 的宾语 · the entrance to 通往……的入口 |
| Very excited, the party dug a hole two feet deep. | Very excited 形容词短语作状语，说明队员们的状态 · two feet deep 作后置定语修饰 a hole · dig 的过去式 dug |
| They finally found a small gold coin which was almost worthless. | finally 最后 · 定语从句 which 引导，修饰 a gold coin · worthless 毫无价值的（worth + -less）· 与开篇「梦想找到宝藏」形成强烈落差 |
| 句子 | 语法点 |
|---|---|
| The party then searched the whole cave thoroughly but did not find anything except an empty tin trunk. | search sth. 搜索某地 · thoroughly 彻底地（thorough + -ly）· not … anything except ＝ only，除……之外没有 · an empty tin trunk 一只空铁皮箱 |
| In spite of this, many people are confident that 'The Revealer' may reveal something of value fairly soon. | in spite of 尽管（后接名词/代词，不能接句子）· be confident that … 对……有信心 · 宾语从句 that 引导 · of value ＝ valuable，有价值的 · fairly soon 不久 |
| 短语 | 用法与例句 |
|---|---|
| come true | 变成现实：Dreams of finding lost treasure almost came true。 |
| use sth. to do sth. | 用某物做某事：it has been used to detect gold。 |
| used to do sth. | 过去常常做某事：pirates used to hide gold。 |
| armed with | 装备着，带有：Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave。 |
| the entrance to | ……的入口：the entrance to the cave。 |
| in spite of | 尽管：In spite of this, many people are confident that …。 |
| of value | 有价值的：reveal something of value。 |