Lesson 65 Jumbo versus the police

Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed up as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and told him he ought to have gone along a side street as Jumbo was holding up the traffic. Though Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time, but they were most amused. 'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman afterwards, 'so it was fortunate that we didn't have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'

去年圣诞节，马戏团老板吉米•盖茨决定送些礼物给儿童医院。他打扮成圣诞老人，在由6个漂亮姑娘组成的“仪仗队”的陪同下，骑上一头名叫江伯的小象，沿着城里的主要街道出发了。他本该知道警察绝不会允许这类事情发生。一个警察走过来告诉吉米，他应该走一条小路，因为江泊阻碍了交通。虽然吉米同意马上就走，但江伯却拒绝移动。15个警察不得不用很大的力气把它推离主要街道。警察虽然吃了苦头，但他们还是感到很有趣。“江伯一定有好几吨重，”一个警察事后这样说，“值得庆幸的是它没让我们抬它走。当然，我们应该逮捕它，但由于它一贯表现很好，这次我们饶了它。”

Grammar

1. 伴随状态

2. 形式主语

作为形式主语的it并无实际语义，只是为满足语法上的需要，避免句子头重脚轻，它代替的是句子的逻辑主语，如

1）不定式作逻辑主语:It is very kind of you to give me a hand in time.

2）从句作逻辑主语:It so happened that the tickets were sold out.

Exercise

1.  ________ will take you a lot of time to find him in the crowd.

A. It          B. I              C. We             D. The

2.__________ is a fact that English is being accepted as an international language.

A. There         B. This            C. That          D. It

解析：1. 本题考查it 做形式主语，其实是句中的不定式作逻辑主语。故答案为A。

2. 本题考查it 做形式主语，其实是that引导的从句作主语，故答案选D.