文章原文：
After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent herchildren to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to doany housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to afancy-dress part with her husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and asshe had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on.Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective. Afterputting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether itwould be comfortable to wear.
Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room, there wasa knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told himto come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the breadon the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richardsquickly hid in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front dooropen and heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the storeroom wasopened and a man entered. Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man fromthe Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried to explain thesituation, saying 'It's only me', but it was too late. The man let out cry andjumped back several paces. When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled,slamming the door behind him.
精讀筆記：
1.She was too excited to do any housework that morning, forin the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress part with her husband.
The words too…to have a negative meaning. It means ‘more than is necessary or desirable’，我們在寫作時可以使用。
修改前：The place was verynoisy. I couldn’t hear anything properly.
修改后：The place was too noisyto hear anything properly.
for在這個句子里表示原因。
2.She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made hercostume the night before, she was impatient to try it on.
(1)intend:to have something in your mind as a plan or
purpose,名詞形式是intention.
常用表達intend to do something
例句：I intend to spend thenight there.
(2)ghost:the spirit of a dead person, sometimes representedas a pale, almost transparent image of that person that some people believeappears to people who are alive.
(3)costume:a set of clothes worn in order to look likesomeone or something else, especially for a party or as part of anentertainment.
(4)impatient:annoyed because of delays, someone else’s
mistakes etc,是由否定前綴im- + patient構(gòu)成。
3.Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was veryeffective.
consist of something:to be formed from two or more things orpeople.
例句：The buffet consisted ofseveral different Indian dishes.
?4.She knew that itmust be the baker.
must:used to say you think something is very likely to be
true or very likely to have happened,是一種肯定的推測。
5.She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed toopen the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table.
straight:immediately, without delay, or without doinganything else first.
例句：I got to the hotel andwent straight to bed.
6.Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quicklyhid in the small storeroom under the stairs.
Not wanting to frighten the poor man在這句話里表示原因。
7.Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man from theElectricity Board who had come to read the meter.
(1)board:the group of people who are responsible forcontrolling the operation of a public or private organization.
(2)read:to look at the number or amount shown on a measuringinstrument.
例句：Someone should becoming to read the gas meter.
8.The man let out cry and jumped back several paces.
let out:If you let out a particular sound, you make thatsound.
9.When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slammingthe door behind him.
slam:if a door,?gate?etc. slams, or if someone slams it, it?shuts?with a?loud?noise.
