‘The play may begin at any moment, ’ I said. ‘It may have begun already, ’ Susan answered.
“剧马上就要开演了，”我说。“也许已经开演了呢，”苏珊回答说。
play n. 演出 ; at any moment 随时 ; at the moment = now;
at that moment = just then 就在那时 ; begin v. 开始 ;
answer v. 回答 = reply;
★ must, can't, may + 动词原形 , 表示对现在未来的推测 ;
must, can't, may + have done 对过去的推测 ; must 一定 很可能 , may 有可能 ,
can't 不可能 ; may begin 在这句话中 , 说话人指的并不是一种确信不疑的事实 , 而是可能发生的事情 , 因此用了 may + 动词原形 ;
may havebegun 这句话同样表示可能发生的事情 , 但与上句的区别在于它指的是可能已经发生的事情 , 因此 , 要用 "may + 动词的完成时 [ have done ];
I said to Susan that the play might begin at any moment. Susan answered me that It might have begun already.
I hurried to the ticket office. ‘May I have two tickets please?’ I asked.
我匆匆赶到售票处，问：“我可以买两张票吗？”
hurry v. n. 匆忙 急忙 in a hurry 时间动作上的匆忙 ;
in no hurry 不匆忙 ; busy 行为上的忙 be busy doing;
ticket office 售票处 ; have 是最活跃的动词 , 可以指任何意思 :
have a coffee/have ticket 买票 ( 习惯说法 ); I will have/take sth. 我买某物 ;
★ may 情态动词 , 询问或说明一件事可不可做 , 回答时多避免 may 这个词 , 而用其它方式 , 以免显得口气太严峻或不客气 : 肯定回答 certainly,
sure; 否定回答：I'm sorry (that) ...; might 是 may 的过去式 , might 比 may 表达的事更不可能 ;
In a hurry, I came to the ticket office and asked the girl who sold ticket at the office that if I might have two tickets.
‘I 'm sorry, we've sold out,’ the girl said. ‘What a pity!’ Susan exclaimed.
“对不起，票已售完。”那位姑娘说。“真可惜！”苏珊大声说。
We have sold out ( the tickets).; sell out 卖完了 ;
sell-sold-sold v. 售卖 ; sale n. 售卖 for sale 待售
on sale 有售 上市 ; exclaim v. 大声说＝call out;
exclaimation n. 感叹号 感叹语 ; what a pity! 真遗憾 , 全句为：what a pity (it is) ! 这是一个感叹句 ;
The girl at the ticket office said to me that she was sorry and they had sold out. Susan was not happy about it.
Just then, a man hurried to the ticket office.
正在这时，一个男子匆匆奔向售票处。
just then = at that moment 就在那时 正好这时 ;
at any moment 在任何时候 随时 ; at the moment = now;
‘Can I return these two tickets?’ he asked. ‘Certainly,’ the girl said.
“我可以退掉这两张票吗？”他问。“当然可以，”那姑娘说。
can 委婉地提出请求 , 也可以用 may, could (could 比 can 更委婉 );
return v. 回到 退回 n. 返回 ; return to 回来 ;
return money 还钱 = repay, pay cack ;
certainly adv. 当然 没问题 = of course ;
certain adj. 肯定 确定 确信 = sure ≠ uncertain, unsure;
Just then a man who hurried to the ticket office asked the girl if he could return these two tickets. The girl said certainly he could.
I went back to the ticket office at once. ‘Could I have those two tickets please?’ I asked.
我马上又回到售票处。“我可以买那两张票吗？”我问。
go/come back 返回 = return to; at once 立刻 马上 = immediately;
could 是代替 can 的一种比较委婉地提出请求的用法 , 在时间上和 can 没有
区别 ; have-had-had v. 得到 拥有 , 这里是实义动词 ; may I ..., can I ..., could I ..., should I..., must I... ;
I came back to the ticket office immediately and asked the girl whether I could have those two tickets.
‘Certainly,’ the girl said, ‘but they're for next Wednesday's performance. Do you still want them?’
“当然可以，不过这两张票是下星期三的，您是否还要呢？”
for prep. 供 ... 用的 ; performance n. 表演 演出 ;
perform v. 表演 执行 履行 ; still adv. 仍然 ; want v. 想要 ;
ticket for + 事情 ; ticket to + 地点 ;
The girl who had just received the two tickets from the man said to me that I could have the two tickets but they were for next
Wednesday's performance and asked me if I still wanted to buy them.
‘I might as well have them,’ I said sadly.
“我还是买下的好，”我垂头丧气地说。
might as well 还是 ... 的好 不妨 , 与 may as well 的意思相同 + 动词原形 , 只是前者更为委婉 ; sadly adv. 悲哀地 丧气地 , 最通用，不管什么样的 " 悲哀 " 都可用 ;
sad adj. 悲伤的 ≠ happy adj. happily adv. happiness n. ;
I said sadly to the girl that I might as well have them.