The Midnight Visitor

By Robert Arthur

Reference—James Bond

James Bond Movie Although Ian Fleming's James Bond novels

first appeared in the 1950's, it was not until the Bond films hit the big screen in 1962's "Dr. No", that the figure of James Bond - 007 - became famous.

Bond became possibly the most instantly recognizable character in cinema, making its star, Sean Connery into the biggest box office attraction in the world.

It is difficult to pinpoint a single catalyst for the Bond phenomenon, but by the time that 1964's Goldfinger was released, the Bond image was hot property.

the Bond series has progressed, not always smoothly, over a total of 19 (official) films, which have grossed over $1 billion at the box office, making it the most successful film series ever.

Due to its longevity, almost everyone has seen a Bond film and many people all of them. Everyone has an opinion on the best film, best actor to have played the lead role, the most villainous villain, or the most beautiful Bond girl - arguments are discussed in pubs and bars throughout the world.

Warming-up Discussion

In contrast to 007, what is the image of the secret agent called Ausable in The Midnight Visitor? Try to describe him, please.

Being a secret agent so far away from the commonly accepted image, what is it that makes Ausable so uncommon?

The Structure of the text

Part 1 (para. 1- 5 ) about: Who Ausable is & why Fowler wants to see him     

Part 2 (para. 6-16 ) about: The unexpected visit of Ausable’s adversary Max 

Part 3 (para. 17-26) about: How Ausable outwits Max and makes him jump on the “balcony”

Text Glimpse

1.   What was Fowler’s first impression of Ausable?

2    How did Fowler get his first thrilling experience of the day?

3    How did Ausable deal with the situation? 4.   How did Ausable finally outwit Max?

Detailed study

1.      secret agent: someone who works for a government in order to get secret information about another country; a spy

2.      read about/of sb./sth.: discover or find out about sb./sth by reading.

e.g. No matter how much you read about something, the best way to really learn is to put it to practice.

I read about/of her in today’s paper.

3. figure: 1). symbol for a number He has an annual income of six figures. 2). diagram The blackboard is covered with geometrical

figures like squares and triangles. 3). human form I saw a figure approaching in the darkness. She is now on a diet to keep her figure.

4). person , esp. person of influence a great historical figure figure… out:  calculate; think about

until one understands Can you figure out the total number? I can’t figure him out.

4. For one thing: 一方面。用于解释前面所述事实的原因，可单独使用或与 for another 连用。如：

I really want to go to that movie. For one thing, Jack Chen is my favorite movie star.

He couldn’t say what he actually heard. For one thing, he seldom stopped to listen. For another, he doubted whether he could make himself clear.

5. deal in: to be interested or involved in sth.

e.g. As a scientist, I do not deal in speculation.

To deal in also means ‘to buy and sell a particular type of product.’

e.g. deal in antiques/drugs/stolen goods/second-hand books/stocks and shares

6. to slip into one’s hand: to put into one’s hand quietly, secretly and quickly

e.g. He slipped some money into the official’s hand.

She slipped a piece of paper under the door.

We won’t let him slip through our fingers.

7.unlock: The prefix ‘un’ in ‘unlock’ shows the opposite

of the action ‘to lock’. More examples: Undress, unzip, unload, unpack, unmask,

unscrew, unplug, untie, etc. 8. disillusioned: feeling disappointed and

unhappy because sb./sth. is not as good as you thought. 大失所望，幻想破灭

be disillusioned with life/love/marriage She’s disillusioned with love as she is about

30 years old.

10. before long: soon 不久以后 Before long I’ll come to pick you up. I hope to hear from you before long. Review: long before: 很久以前 There was an old village here long before. I heard about this long before. It is/was not long before: soon 很快 It wasn’t long before he realized his mistake. It won’t be long before he recovers from his

operation.

11. to risk life/neck(doing/to do sth.) 冒着生命危险做某事

risk life/death/defeat/being fired or defeated/missing the train/losing face/catching a cold

He risked his life/neck helping others to escape.

I’m not going to risk my life/neck just to save a common criminal.

12. affect: 注意 affect 和 influence 的区别： 1 ）两者都可用 于因外界的刺激或行为而发生变

化的情况，但有所不同。 Affect 多指因物理外力而发生变化，如： affec the size of a crop by using fertilizer. Influence 多指某种隐形力量的作用，如： influence public opinion through the press. 另外， affect 有时隐含变化非人所愿之意，如： overwork may affect the heart.

2.) affect 可指影响人的情感， 如： He is always deeply affected by Handel’s music.

而 influence 多是通过说服或行动来影响别人。如： influenced by his biology teacher to take up the study of medicine.

13. drama: the quality of being exciting, exciting event or set of event 戏剧性，激动人心（的事件）

e.g. His life is always full of drama. The drama of the prisoner’s capture

and recapture 补充： make a drama out of sth.

小题大做，夸大其词 He makes a drama out of a simple

visit to the dentist.

14. to come on: (of light) to be put/switched/turned on

15. thrill: a feeling of extreme excitement and pleasure or a thing that makes you feel this.

e.g. It gave me a real thrill to see her again after so many years.

She felt a thrill of pride as her son won the competition.

16. give sb. a start: frighten or shock sb.

‘start’ here means ‘ a sudden movement of your body, usually caused by fear or surprise’, other collocations: to jump up with a start, to wake up with a start, etc.

17. to suggest: to remind sb. of sth. Or help them to imagine it.

e.g. The stage was bare, with only the lighting to suggest a prison.

18. except for: apart from( 被排除的对象对整体影响不大 )

e.g. She felt fine except for being a little tired. We had a wonderful time except for the weather. Except for his bad knee he is quite healty. Except: with the only exception of( 被排除的对象

是不容忽视的 ), e.g. e.g. Everyone is going except Li. We haven’t told anyone except him. Money can buy everything except true love and

true happiness. 另外， except 后可直接跟由 thant, when, where,

what ,if 等引导的丛句，而 except for 则不能。

19. to raise the devil with sb. 找某人麻烦 e.g. That group of men came here just to

raise the devil with him. 20. to save sb. the trouble(of doing sth): if

something saves you the trouble (of doing sth.), you needn’t make additional or special effort that causes you problems or difficulties

e.g. If you’d asked me first, I could have saved you the trouble.

I’ll do your shopping to save you the trouble of going out.

请注意有关 trouble 的其他重要表达法： take the trouble to do sth. go to the trouble to do sth./ of doing sth. have (no) trouble doing sth.

21. Had I known about it= If I had known about it

more examples: Had she taken the train, she might have been

killed, too. Had I met him, I would have recognized him. 22. to block sth. off: to completely close sth.

such as a road or an opening. e.g. Police blocked off the street yesterday

afternoon. The fireplace had been blocked off.

23. wait: a period of time in which you wait for sth. to happen, sb. to arrive etc.

e.g. The average wait for an appointment at the clinic was eight weeks.

A crocodile is lying in wait for its prey. 24. to learn about/of sth: become aware of

sth. through information or observation; realize 得知，了解，知道

e.g. I’m sorry to learn about(of)your illness.

25. to check on: to examine in order to make sure that sb. or sth. is safe, correct or is in a satisfactory state

e.g. Can you go upstairs and check on the kids? When I was a kid, my Mum usually came to

my room to check on me at midnight.   26. to make sure: to find out whether sth. is

really so e.g. Please make sure whether we are on the

right road. Make sure that everyone is ready before we

leave.

27. to answer the door: to open the door when someone knocks or rings the bell.

Similar usages: to answer the phone/ a call, to pick up the telephone and speak when it rings.

28. to hesitate: vi, vt. She hesitated for a moment and then said ‘ yes’. He was still hesitated over whether to leave or not. Notice that the pattern ‘ to hesitate to do sth.’ is

usually used in the negative. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need any help. I will not hesitate to help him if he is in trouble.

29. Max’s face was black with anger…

‘with’ here means ‘because of’(due to, owing to, thanks to)

more examples: His face was blue with cold.(red with

excitement) She trembled with fear.

30. to back: to (make sb./sth.)move backwards.

back into/out of/away from e.g. The waiter backed out of the room

carrying a tray. I backed the car into the garage. 31. or/or else is used to say that sth. bad

could happen if sb. does not do a particular thing,

e.g. Wear your coat or you’ll catch cold. It must be serious, or else they wouldn’t

have radioed for help.

32. to take one’s chances: to run risks e.g. I know I may fail, but I’m willing to take

my chances. 33. to raise one’s voice: to speak more

loudly, 其反义词组是： to lower one’s voice e.g. You’d better not raise your voice to your

children. 34. to cover: to prevent sb. from moving or

escaping by pointing a gun towards them e.g. You go in from the front while we cover

the back door.

35. to set sb./sth.(down) on sth.: to carefully put sb./sth. down somewhere

e.g. He set a vase of flowers on the table. The workmen set the box down carefully

on the floor. 36. stare after: note here ‘ stare after’ is used

instead of ‘stare at’ because Fowler was actually staring at the back of Henry who was retreating from the room.

 ： gaze    stare     glance    glimpse gaze (at): 尤指以 赞赏、愉快、好奇或饶

有兴趣的神态长时间地盯着看，常常达到出神的 地步；

stare (at): 尤指吃惊、恐惧、愤怒或无礼地瞪大眼睛目不转睛地看；

glance: “ 看一眼” “扫视”，强调匆忙快速的动作过程；

glimpse:“ 瞥见”，强调动作的偶然性和所见到事物的不充分、不全面。

     He caught a glimpse of the Town Hall clock as he drove past.

examples:     We stood there, gazing at the beautiful

scenery.     They stared at her clothes in

amazement.      He stared at her straight in the eye.     She glanced at her watch.     He glanced through the report.

Thanks a million!