初中生英语课外阅读短文:The Handyman Comes
编者按：为了让学生更好地运用英语技能和拓展英语课外知识，需要教师不断地培养学生的课外阅读能力。以下是一篇适合初中生阅读的英语短文，有利于提高初中生的英语阅读能力。
The Handyman Comes
(杂工来啦)
The sinks were leaking.
水槽漏了
David looked in the local paper and saw an ad for Toby the handyman.
大卫看着当地的报纸，看到一个名叫托比的杂工的广告
David left a message on the answering machine.
大卫在应答机上留言
Two days later, he called again.
两天后，他再次打电话
He told Toby that he had left a message two days ago.
他告诉托比他两天前有留言
Toby apologized. He said he hadn’t checked his messages in a couple of days.
托比表示抱歉，他说他已经好几天没有查看消息了
David felt like hanging up.
大卫像是挂了电话
Why was it so hard to find a worker who was responsible?
为什么找一个合适的工人这么难呢
Responsible and clean—many workers were slobs who left messes for the homeowner to clean up.
负责、干净—很多工人在离开?时会留下一地狼藉让主人收拾
Toby doesn’t check his machine, David mused.
托比没有检查机器，大卫嘟囔着
David told Toby that the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room faucets were leaking.
大伟告诉托比，厨房、浴室、以及洗衣房的水龙头都漏水了
Toby said he could come over on Friday; each faucet would cost $20.
托比说她周五可以过来，每个龙头的价格是20美元
If he had to buy any parts, that would be extra.
如果他还不得不买任何其他零件，那将会是额外费用
David was pleased.
大卫很高兴
Sixty dollars was a great price.
六十美元是一个很大的代价
Of course, if Toby fixed faucets like he checked his messages, maybe the deal wouldn’t be so good.
当然，如果托比修理水龙头像他检查留言一样，也许这次交易不会那么好
Then again, it was only a $60 risk.
那么再一次，只有60美元的风险
David asked Toby if a check was okay.
大卫问托比是否接受支票
Toby said no; he only accepted cash.
托比说不可以，他只接受现金
David said that was okay, as long as he got an invoice.
大卫说可以，只要他收到支票
Toby said he would be over Friday at 1:00 p.m.
托比说他会在周五下午一点到
At 3:00 p.m., David left a message on Toby’s machine, asking where he was.
下午三点，大卫给托比留言，问他在哪里
At 3:30, Toby showed up.
下午三点半，托比出现了
David asked if he had brought an invoice.
大卫询问他是否带了发票呢
“Oh, jeez, I forgot. I’m sorry,” Toby said.
“哦，天哪，我忘记了，我很抱歉。”托比说
David shook his head in disbelief.
大为难以置信的摇了摇头
But, since Toby was there, he decided to let him in.
但是既然托比已经在那里了，他决定让他进来
Before Toby walked into David's house, he wiped his feet very carefully on the mat.
在托比进入大卫的房子之前，他非常仔细的在门口的地毯上擦自己的鞋
David noticed that.
大卫注意到了
Maybe Toby will work out just fine, he thought.
也许他会工作的很好，他想。
重点知识解析
【解析】
此句是由"if" 引导的宾语从句。中学阶段我们接触的主要是动词宾语从句，就是放在如 "ask" "know" "say" 等动词之后的从句。其中whether和if都可以引导宾语从句，表示“是否”，在口语或间接引语中两者可以互换使用。
如：I wonder if / whether I can get some advice from you.
Ask him whether / if he can come.
但在有些情况下，whether和if的用法有一定区别。
1、whether引导的从句常可以与连词or或or not直接连用，而if一般不能。
如：Let me know whether you can come or not.
2、当宾语从句提到句首时，只能用whether引导，而不能用if。
如：Whether it is true or not, I can’t tell.
3、whether可以引导带to的不定式，if则不能。
如：I don’t know whether to accept or refuse.
4、whether及其引导的成分可放于介词之后，作介词的宾语，但if不能。
如：I worry about whether I hurt her feelings.
5、whether可以引导从句，作主语、表语或同位语，而if不能。
如：It was uncertain whether he would come.
知识讲解老师：Linda
公众号：小橙少儿英语
本文为原创文章，版权归作者所有，未经授权不得转载!
