如何使用情态动词表推测 —— 英语微课堂：英语精读讲义

Everyone loves a good mystery.

大家都喜欢精彩的悬疑故事。

We love to imagine what might have happened, 語法

我们喜欢想象到底发生了什么，

who could have done it, 語法

是谁干的，

and there's no better feeling than finally cracking the case. 講解

没有什么比最终破案更让人兴奋的了。

Today, we're going to focus on language

今天，我们要重点学习的语言知识

that you can use to speculate about the past. 表達脈絡

是可以用来推测过去发生之事的表达。

Do you remember Craig from my episode on just?

你还记得关于just那一期里的Craig吗？

He was having a wedding party

他当时正在办一场婚礼派对，

and he wanted Marco to make a few changes.

并且他想让Marco做些改变。

Well, something terrible has happened.

嗯，发生了一件可怕的事情。

Listen to the language that Craig uses

仔细听Craig使用的语言，

to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. 習語

看看他是如何试图查明真相的。

Oh, Sharon, you'll never guess what has happened. 短語搭配

哎呀，Sharon，你绝对猜不到发生了什么。

The place, is ruined.

这个地方全毁了。

There's rubbish everywhere.

到处都是垃圾。

The drapes have been torn. 語法

窗帘被撕破了。

Well, the mirrors have been shattered.

还有，镜子也被打碎了。

It couldn't have been the dog. 語法

肯定不是狗干的。

He's with you.

它跟你在一起。

It could have been Marco. 語法

有可能是Marco。

I know he was angry,

我知道他很生气，

but no, he wouldn't go that far. 短語搭配

但不对，他不会做得那么绝。

It might have been the maid, 語法

可能是保洁阿姨，

but no, she's lovely.

但也不对，她人很好。

She wouldn't have done this. 語法

她不会做这种事的。

Oh,

噢，

there's feathers by the vent shaft.

通风井旁边有羽毛。

Oh, a bird must have flown in. 語法

噢，肯定是有只鸟飞进来了。

But a bird couldn't have done all this. 語法

但是一只鸟不可能造成这么多破坏。

It had to have been something else. 語法

肯定还有别的原因。

But what?

但是是什么呢？

Before we start solving the mystery, 表達脈絡

在我们开始解开这个谜团之前，

let's take a look at the language that Craig used 短語搭配

让我们来看看Craig使用了哪些语言

to speculate about what might have happened.

来推测可能发生了什么。

When he is sure that it wasn't the dog,

当他确定不是狗干的时候，

he says,

他说，

"It couldn't have been the dog."

“It couldn't have been the dog.”

This has the structure couldn't plus have plus the past participle. 語法

这句话使用了couldn't + have + 过去分词的结构。

Here, it's been.

在这里，过去分词是been。

Notice that could and not are contracted 語法

注意could和not缩写了，

and have is in the weak form.

并且have是弱读形式。

It's not stressed.

它是非重读的。

So, we say,

所以，我们说，

"Couldn't have."

“Couldn't have.”

When Craig thinks there's a small chance that it was Marco, 短語搭配

当Craig认为有小概率是Marco干的时候，

he says,

他说，

"It could have been Marco."

“It could have been Marco.”

And then,

然后，

when he thinks there's a small chance that it was the maid,

当他认为有小概率是保洁干的时候，

he says,

他说，

"It might have been the maid."

“It might have been the maid.”

So, when Marco is certain that a bird flew in,

那么，当Marco确定有只鸟飞进来的时候，

he says,

他说，

"A bird must have flown in."

“A bird must have flown in.”

Notice that we're not using been here.

注意这里我们没有使用been。

We're using flown.

我们用的是flown。

Of course, you can use any past participle verb you want. 用詞

当然，你可以使用任何你想要的动词过去分词。

And when he is certain that the bird didn't cause all the chaos, 短語搭配

当他确信这一切混乱不是这只鸟造成的时候，

he says,

他说，

"It had to have been something else."

“It had to have been something else.”

Notice here that have is not contracted,

注意这里have没有缩写，

but it is in the weak form.

但它还是弱读形式。

Had to have been.

Had to have been。

So, okay,

那么，好吧，

what actually did happen? 語法

到底发生了什么？

Craig called the security guard afterwards,

后来Craig给保安打了电话，

and here's what he said. 表達脈絡

这是他所说的话。

Hi, I'm so sorry.

嗨，我非常抱歉。

We meant to call you, 短語搭配

我们本来想打电话给你的，

but we've been so busy.

但是我们太忙了。

I was called up to your apartment by your neighbor. 短語動詞

我是你邻居叫到你公寓来的。

She said she heard noises coming from inside. 語法

她说她听到里面传出噪音。

The moment I opened the door, 語法

就在我打开门的那一瞬间，

this little cat springs out. 短語動詞

这只小猫窜了出来。

I had no idea how it got in. 短語搭配

我完全不知道它是怎么进去的。

I'm sorry.

抱歉。

It's all a mystery.

整个事情还是个谜。

A cat?

一只猫？

Wow.

哇哦。

It's a new piece of information. 短語搭配

这是一个新线索。

Use modals of deduction 用詞

使用推测性情态动词

to speculate about what might have happened.

来推测可能发生的事情。

So, we've got a cat, 短語搭配

那么，我们现在有一只猫，

a bird,

一只鸟，

feathers by the vent shaft,

通风井旁的羽毛，

the drapes are torn,

撕破的窗帘，

the mirrors are shattered.

打碎的镜子。

Oh, yeah,

噢，对了，

and there's rubbish everywhere.

还有到处都是的垃圾。

Hmm.

嗯。

Do you need more time?

你需要更多时间吗？

I'll give you five more seconds.

我再给你五秒钟。

So, here's what happened. 表達脈絡

所以，事情是这样的。

It was the neighbor's cat.

那是邻居家的猫。

And the poor cat was hungry.

这只可怜的小猫肚子饿了。

And it saw the bird flying by the vent shaft, 語法

它看到鸟从通风井飞过，

rubbed its hands together with glee. 習語

高兴得直搓爪子。

Started chasing the bird.

开始追逐那只鸟。

The bird flew into the apartment.

鸟飞进了公寓。

The cat followed the bird.

猫也跟着鸟进去了。

And then all hell let loose. 習語

然后简直乱套了。

Do you remember those standing mirrors? 用詞

你还记得那些落地镜吗？

One bird became six birds reflected in all the mirrors, 語法

一只鸟在所有的镜子里反射成了六只鸟，

flying around the room.

在房间里飞来飞去。

The cat thought it had won the cat lottery, 習語

这只猫以为自己中了猫咪彩票，

started running around, 語法

开始到处乱跑，

destroying everything.

破坏了所有东西。

And then the bird flew out.

然后那只鸟飞了出去。

And the cat was still in the room.

而猫还留在房间里。

So, when the security guard opened the door,

所以，当保安打开门时，

out runs the cat. 語法

猫就跑了出来。

So, next time you have a mystery, 語法

因此，下次你遇到悬疑事件时，

you'll know exactly what to say.

你就会确切地知道该怎么说了。