课文详注 Further notes on the text
1．Fish and chips has always been a favourite dish in Britain…油煎鱼加炸土豆片一直是英国人喜爱的一道菜……
fish and chips被看做是一个整体，因此，虽然chips是复数形式，它后面却要跟动词的单数形式。（cf．本课词汇学习）dish在这里指“一盘菜”或“菜肴”、“食品”：
I like French dishes.
我喜欢（吃）法国菜。
Would you like a sweet dish?
您要一盘甜食吗？
2．…divers…have been frightened out of their wits by giant fish bumping into them as they work．……潜水员……曾在工作时被撞到他们身上的大鱼吓得惊慌失措。
（1）out of one's wits表示“失去理智”、“惊慌失措”：
She was frightened out of her wits by the great fire.
大火吓得她惊慌失措。
Are you out of your wits?
你疯了吗？
（2）bump into的含义之一是“碰上”、“撞上”：
Wandering in darkness, the drunk bumped into a policeman.
那醉汉在黑夜中闲荡时撞到了一个警察的身上。
bump into也可以表示“偶然遇见”、“碰见”（多用于口语）：
I bumped into Jane at the conference.
我开会时碰见了简。
（3）as在这里相当于when或while。
3．Now they have had special cages made to protect them from these monsters. 现在他们有了特制的笼子，用来保护他们免受大鱼的侵袭。
（1）have had…made 是使役式的完成式。（cf．第66课语法）
（2）protect经常与from或against连用：
He tried to protect the child from the rain/the dog.
他试图使孩子不被雨淋/狗咬。
This coat will protect you against the cold.
这件大衣可以给你御寒。
4．favourite eating varieties, 深受人们喜爱的食用的品种。
eating在这里为形容词，表示“供食用的”，它有时也表示“宜生食的”：
Eating corn is quite sweet.
食用玉米很香甜。
These are eating apples, and those are cooking apples/ones.
这些是生吃的苹果，那些是烹任用的苹果。
5．the total absence of fishing boats around the oil rigs, 钻井平台周围根本没有捕鱼船只。
（1）total在这里表示“完全的”、“彻底的”（相当于complete）：
His letter is a total surprise to her.
他的来信完全出乎她的意料之外。
That girl is a total stranger to me.
我根本不认识那姑娘。
（2）absence of表示“缺少”、“不存在”：
These plants don't grow well because of the absence of rain/sunshine.
由于缺乏雨水/阳光，这些植物长得不好。
6．as a result，结果，因此。
He didn't work hard at mathematics. As a result, he failed in the examination.
他没有用功学数学。因此，他考试没及格。
My husband Spent weeks training our dog to press its paw on the latch. As a result, it has become an expert at opening the gate.
我丈夫花了几个星期的时间训练我们的狗用脚爪按住门闩。结果，它现在成了开门的专家。