Lesson 62 After the fire

Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.

消防队员们同那场森林大火搏斗了将近3个星期才最后把火势控制住。就在不久之前，参天大树还覆盖着方圆数英里的土地。而现在，发热的地面上仍然升腾着烟雾，弥漫在荒凉的山丘上。冬季即将来临，这些山丘对周围的村庄具有毁灭性的威胁，因为大雨不仅会冲走土壤，而且还会引起严重的水灾。在大火最后被扑灭后，森林管理当局订购了好几吨一种生长迅速的特殊类型的草籽。飞机把这种草籽大量地撒播在地上。飞机撒播近一个月后，开始下起雨来。然而到那时，很多地方的草已经生了根。一片片的绿草开始出现在这片烧焦的土地上，代替了多少世纪以来一直生长在那里的参天大树。

Grammar

1. 过去完成进行时

2. 原因状语从句

过去完成时表示一个动作从过去某时开始，一直延续到另一个过去时刻，到那个时刻，该动作可能刚刚终止，也有可能还在继续。其结构是：had been doing.其常用时间提示词有：up to that time; by +过去时间等。

Exercise

1. Up to that time he __________ these letters in his office alone.

A.had been typing   B. had typed   C. typed   D.was typing

2. 用正确的形式填空

Tom was disappointed that most of the guests __________(leave) when he arrived at the party.

解析:

1. 答案：A。过去发生的动作状态保持到现在，并且有时间标志词Up to that time，应该使用过去完成进行时，因此选A。

2. 答案：had left。宾语从句的主句为一般过去时，填空部分的动作发生在表述后，要使用过去完成时。