【主题】
We have a phrase to express that the speaker takes the view of dim and thinks there's no possibility to do anything, depressed. How should we put it? 【oh , Juliet, it's easy as a pie, they are: The future looks black. /The prospects are dim./Things look very dim. Blah , blah blah...】yeah, Lucy, you are really smart as a whip. However, today I would like to share a classic one with you. Please listen to the dialogue and find it .
A :Why did Jim quit the job.
B : He said his present job seemed to be a blind alley. A : If he doesn't change his attitude toward work, I don't think a new job can make any difference.
【主题点拨】
Now have you found it? 【Juliet，is it "a blind alley".】Yeah, dead right, it is a blind alley. It's an idiom and figure of speech. Alley 是“胡同，巷子”的意思。Blind 是“瞎的，盲目的”意思，a blind alley 字面上的意思是 一条瞎的胡同，we could give our rein into imagination. 一条瞎的胡同是不是黑暗的，黑暗的胡同我们什么都看不到，看不到我们也就不知怎么走，那就是比喻“走不通的，前途暗淡的”意思。And in addition , it is the use of a double meaning. 【Juliet， what's called a double meaning?】A double meaning 就是语义双关的意思。A blind alley 可以说是一条走不通的巷子，也可以说是前途暗淡的。
For example : 1 We drove into a blind alley and had to back out.
我们把车子开进了一条死胡同,只得退出来。
2 His present job seemed to be a blind alley.
他现在的职业看来没什么前途。
3 You are heading into a blind alley. 你的想法行不通。
As far as I'm concerned, there are some more expressions whose meaning is the same as "a blind alley", they are : a dead end, cul-de-sac 这些都是死路，死胡同，绝路的意思。
【短语积累】
All right , let's come to the dialogue study. Please write down the key phrases while listening to the recording. This is of kind of help for your listening comprehension.
A :Why did Jim quit the job.
B : He said his present job seemed to be a blind alley. A : If he doesn't change his attitude toward work, I don't think a new job can make any difference.
Now have you done. They are should be underlined:
1 quit the job 辞职2 a present job 目前的工作3 a blind alley 行不通的，前途暗淡的4 change one's attitude toward ... 对... 改变态度5 make some difference 有些作用或影响, 区别【咬文嚼字】
Let's look at these sentences: 1 I don't think a new job can make any difference. 意思是我认为新的工作对他也没有用。
这里 a new job can make any difference.是个宾语从句，一个主句中有think 这个词， 宾语从句的否定式前置于think，那么宾语从中如果含有some这个单词就要改为any. 因此句中说没有什么区别，用的是make any difference. If we want to express "对......有用" ， we just put a preposition "to' afer difference：make some difference to . If we want to express "对......没有用"，it should be put like this: make no difference to. So the sentence in the dialogue which is " I don't think a new job can make any difference. " can be changed to another way to say "I think a new job can make no difference to his present job. "2 He said his present job seemed to be a blind alley. 他说他目前的工作前途黯淡。
his present job seemed to be a blind alley. 在这里是宾语从句，从句中seem做的是实义动词，后面的不定时做宾语成分。
【译文】
Well , so much explanations to this dialogue. Finally The translation of the whole dialogue is as follows:
A : Jim 为什么要辞职呀?
B : 他说他目前的工作前途黯淡。
A : 如果他不改变对工作的态度，即使换了一份新工作也没有用。
It's time to say goodbye to you . Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for your listening . See you next time.
好了，又要跟大家暂时在空中告别，祝您周末愉快，感谢您的这次收听，下次再会。
【学以致用】
Please translate the following sentences in to English.
1 山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
2 这种人如果指导革命,就会引导革命走上碰壁的地步。
3 这条街道是条死胡同。
4 我要一辈子做这没出息的工作。
5 试验失败了,我们一筹莫展.
【习题答案】
1 An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.
2 If such persons direct a revolution, they will lead it up a blind alley.
3 The street was a blind alley.
4 I'll be in this dead-end job all my life.
5 With the failure of the experiment, we had reached a dead end.
