The Midnight Visitor

1. The Midnight Visitor By Robert Arthur

2. Reference—James Bond

4. James Bond Movie • Although Ian Fleming's James Bond novels first appeared in the 1950's, it was not until the Bond films hit the big screen in 1962's "Dr. No", that the figure of James Bond - 007 - became famous. • Bond became possibly the most instantly recognizable character in cinema, making its star, Sean Connery into the biggest box office attraction in the world.

5. It is difficult to pinpoint a single catalyst for the Bond phenomenon, but by the time that 1964's Goldfinger was released, the Bond image was hotproperty. • the Bond series has progressed, not always smoothly, over a total of 19 (official) films, which have grossed over $1 billion at the box office, making it the most successful film series ever.

6. Due to its longevity, almost everyone has seen a Bond film and many people all of them. Everyone has an opinion on the best film, best actor to have played the lead role, the most villainous villain, or the most beautiful Bond girl - arguments are discussed in pubs and bars throughout the world.

7. Warming-up Discussion • In contrast to 007, what is the image of the secret agent called Ausable in The Midnight Visitor? Try to describe him, please. • Being a secret agent so far away from the commonly accepted image, what is it that makes Ausable so uncommon?

8. The Structure of the text • Part 1 (para. 1- 5 ) about: Who Ausable is & why Fowler wants to see him      • Part 2 (para. 6-16) about: The unexpected visit of Ausable’s adversary Max  • Part 3 (para. 17-26) about: How Ausable outwits Max and makes him jump on the “balcony”

9. Text Glimpse • 1.   What was Fowler’s first impression of Ausable? • 2    How did Fowler get his first thrilling experience of the day? • 3    How did Ausable deal with the situation? • 4.   How did Ausable finally outwit Max?

10. Detailed study • 1.      secret agent: someone who works for a government in order to get secret information about another country; a spy • 2.      read about/of sb./sth.: discover or find out about sb./sth by reading. • e.g. No matter how much you read about something, the best way to really learn is to put it to practice. • I read about/of her in today’s paper.

11. 3. figure: • 1). symbol for a number • He has an annual income of six figures. • 2). diagram • The blackboard is covered with geometrical figures like squares and triangles. • 3). human form • I saw a figure approaching in the darkness. • She is now on a diet to keep her figure.

12. 4). person , esp. person of influence • a great historical figure • figure… out:  calculate; think about until one understands • Can you figure out the total number? • I can’t figure him out.

13. 4. For one thing:一方面。用于解释前面所述事实的原因，可单独使用或与for another连用。如： • I really want to go to that movie. For one thing, Jack Chen is my favorite movie star. • He couldn’t say what he actually heard. For one thing, he seldom stopped to listen. For another, he doubted whether he could make himself clear.

14. 5. deal in: to be interested or involved in sth. • e.g. As a scientist, I do not deal in speculation. • To deal in also means ‘to buy and sell a particular type of product.’ • e.g. deal in antiques/drugs/stolen goods/second-hand books/stocks and shares

15. 6. to slip into one’s hand: to put into one’s hand quietly, secretly and quickly • e.g. He slipped some money into the official’s hand. • She slipped a piece of paper under the door. • We won’t let him slip through our fingers.

16. 7.unlock: • The prefix ‘un’ in ‘unlock’ shows the opposite of the action ‘to lock’. • More examples: • Undress, unzip, unload, unpack, unmask, unscrew, unplug, untie, etc. • 8. disillusioned: feeling disappointed and unhappy because sb./sth. is not as good as you thought. 大失所望，幻想破灭 • be disillusioned with life/love/marriage • She’s disillusioned with love as she is about 30 years old.

17. 10. before long: soon 不久以后 • Before long I’ll come to pick you up. • I hope to hear from you before long. • Review: • long before: 很久以前 • There was an old village here long before. • I heard about this long before. • It is/was not long before: soon 很快 • It wasn’t long before he realized his mistake. • It won’t be long before he recovers from his operation.

18. 11. to risk life/neck(doing/to do sth.)冒着生命危险做某事 • risk life/death/defeat/being fired or defeated/missing the train/losing face/catching a cold • He risked his life/neck helping others to escape. • I’m not going to risk my life/neck just to save a common criminal.

19. 12. affect: • 注意affect 和influence的区别： • 1）两者都可用 于因外界的刺激或行为而发生变化的情况，但有所不同。Affect 多指因物理外力而发生变化，如：affec the size of a crop by using fertilizer. Influence 多指某种隐形力量的作用，如：influence public opinion through the press. 另外，affect 有时隐含变化非人所愿之意，如：overwork may affect the heart. • 2.) affect可指影响人的情感， 如：He is always deeply affected by Handel’s music. • 而influence 多是通过说服或行动来影响别人。如：influenced by his biology teacher to take up the study of medicine.

20. 13. drama: the quality of being exciting, exciting event or set of event 戏剧性，激动人心（的事件） • e.g. His life is always full of drama. • The drama of the prisoner’s capture and recapture • 补充：make a drama out of sth. 小题大做，夸大其词 • He makes a drama out of a simple visit to the dentist.

21. 14. to come on: (of light) to be put/switched/turned on • 15. thrill: a feeling of extreme excitement and pleasure or a thing that makes you feel this. • e.g. It gave me a real thrill to see her again after so many years. • She felt a thrill of pride as her son won the competition.

22. 16. give sb. a start: frighten or shock sb. • ‘start’ here means ‘ a sudden movement of your body, usually caused by fear or surprise’, other collocations: to jump up with a start, to wake up with a start, etc. • 17. to suggest: to remind sb. of sth. Or help them to imagine it. • e.g. The stage was bare, with only the lighting to suggest a prison.

23. 18. except for: apart from(被排除的对象对整体影响不大) • e.g. She felt fine except for being a little tired. • We had a wonderful time except for the weather. • Except for his bad knee he is quite healty. • Except: with the only exception of(被排除的对象是不容忽视的), e.g. • e.g. Everyone is going except Li. • We haven’t told anyone except him. • Money can buy everything except true love and true happiness. • 另外，except 后可直接跟由thant, when, where, what ,if 等引导的丛句，而except for 则不能。

24. 19. to raise the devil with sb. 找某人麻烦 • e.g. That group of men came here just to raise the devil with him. • 20. to save sb. the trouble(of doing sth): if something saves you the trouble (of doing sth.), you needn’t make additional or special effort that causes you problems or difficulties • e.g. If you’d asked me first, I could have saved you the trouble. • I’ll do your shopping to save you the trouble of going out. • 请注意有关trouble的其他重要表达法：take the trouble to do sth. go to the trouble to do sth./ of doing sth. have (no) trouble doing sth.

25. 21. Had I known about it= If I had known about it • more examples: • Had she taken the train, she might have been killed, too. • Had I met him, I would have recognized him. • 22. to block sth. off: to completely close sth. such as a road or an opening. • e.g. Police blocked off the street yesterday afternoon. • The fireplace had been blocked off.

26. 23. wait: a period of time in which you wait for sth. to happen, sb. to arrive etc. • e.g. The average wait for an appointment at the clinic was eight weeks. • A crocodile is lying in wait for its prey. • 24. to learn about/of sth: become aware of sth. through information or observation; realize得知，了解，知道 • e.g. I’m sorry to learn about(of)your illness.

27. 25. to check on: to examine in order to make sure that sb. or sth. is safe, correct or is in a satisfactory state • e.g. Can you go upstairs and check on the kids? • When I was a kid, my Mum usually came to my room to check on me at midnight. • 26. to make sure: to find out whether sth. is really so • e.g. Please make sure whether we are on the right road. • Make sure that everyone is ready before we leave.

28. 27. to answer the door: to open the door when someone knocks or rings the bell. • Similar usages: to answer the phone/ a call, to pick up the telephone and speak when it rings. • 28. to hesitate: vi, vt. • She hesitated for a moment and then said ‘ yes’. • He was still hesitated over whether to leave or not. • Notice that the pattern ‘ to hesitate to do sth.’ is usually used in the negative. • Don’t hesitate to call me if you need any help. • I will not hesitate to help him if he is in trouble.

29. 29. Max’s face was black with anger… • ‘with’ here means ‘because of’(due to, owing to, thanks to) • more examples: • His face was blue with cold.(red with excitement) • She trembled with fear.

30. 30. to back: to (make sb./sth.)move backwards. • back into/out of/away from • e.g. The waiter backed out of the room carrying a tray. • I backed the car into the garage. • 31. or/or else is used to say that sth. bad could happen if sb. does not do a particular thing, • e.g. Wear your coat or you’ll catch cold. • It must be serious, or else they wouldn’t have radioed for help.

31. 32. to take one’s chances: to run risks • e.g. I know I may fail, but I’m willing to take my chances. • 33. to raise one’s voice: to speak more loudly, 其反义词组是：to lower one’s voice • e.g. You’d better not raise your voice to your children. • 34. to cover: to prevent sb. from moving or escaping by pointing a gun towards them • e.g. You go in from the front while we cover the back door.

32. 35. to set sb./sth.(down) on sth.: to carefully put sb./sth. down somewhere • e.g. He set a vase of flowers on the table. • The workmen set the box down carefully on the floor. • 36. stare after: note here ‘ stare after’ is used instead of ‘stare at’ because Fowler was actually staring at the back of Henry who was retreating from the room.

33. ： gaze    stare     glance    glimpse • gaze (at): 尤指以 赞赏、愉快、好奇或饶有兴趣的神态长时间地盯着看，常常达到出神的 地步； • stare (at): 尤指吃惊、恐惧、愤怒或无礼地瞪大眼睛目不转睛地看； • glance: “看一眼” “扫视”，强调匆忙快速的动作过程； • glimpse:“瞥见”，强调动作的偶然性和所见到事物的不充分、不全面。 •      He caught a glimpse of the Town Hall clock as he drove past.

34. examples: •     We stood there, gazing at the beautiful scenery. •     They stared at her clothes in amazement. •      He stared at her straight in the eye. •     She glanced at her watch. •     He glanced through the report.

35. Thanks a million!