Lesson 86 Out of control

Text

As the man tried to swing the speedboat round, the steering wheel came away in his hands. He waved desperately to his companion, who had been water skiing for the last fifteen minutes. Both men had hardly had time to realize what was happening when they were thrown violently into the sea. The speedboat had struck a buoy, but it continued to move very quickly across the water. Both men had just begun to swim towards the shore, when they noticed with dismay that the speedboat was moving in a circle. It now came straight towards them at tremendous speed. In less than a minute, it roared past them only a few feet away. After it had passed, they swam on as quickly as they could because they knew that the boat would soon return. They had just had enough time to swim out of danger when the boat again completed a circle. On this occasion, however, it had slowed down considerably. The petrol had nearly all been used up. Before long, the noise dropped completely and the boat began to drift gently across the water.

Words & Expressions

*desperately [ˈdɛspərɪtlɪ] 绝望地，不顾一切地

--They have made bad mistakes, which they are now desperately trying to put right.

*dismay [dɪsˈmeɪ], the worry, disappointment, or unhappiness you feel when something unpleasant and unexpected happens.

in/with dismay & to somebody's dismay

--They stared at each other in dismay.

--The thought of leaving filled him with dismay.

*internet troll, 网络喷子 to post deliberately inflammatory articles on an internet discussion board

--Even if a troll is kicked off online forum, he can often simply sign up again under a different name.

*cyber crime, computer/information crime 网络犯罪

--The US has demanded a global response to the threat from cyber crime and cyber terrorism.

Sentences

He waved desperately to his companion, who had been water skiing for the last fifteen minutes.

绝望地挥手。

Pronunciations

desperately [ˈdɛspərɪtlɪ]

desperado  [ˌdespəˈrɑ:doʊ]

realize [ˈriəˌlaɪz]

buoy  [ˈbui, bɔɪ]

begun [bɪˈɡʌn]

began [bɪˈɡæn]

tremendous [trɪˈmɛndəs]

considerably [kənˈsɪdərəblɪ]

considerate [kənˈsɪdərɪt]

The word "desperately" appeared in the above text reminds me of a song --"Desperado", sung by the American rock band Eagles. It's one of the Group's best known songs. 

There was a time when I was crazy about this song, and I listened to the same tune again and again.

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