Lesson FiveFrom Mr. Walton’s Diary

1. Background Knowledge

2. Text Analysis

3. Exercises

4. Questions For Discussion

Background Knowledge

1.Weather:The climate of British Isles is generally mild, not very cold in winter, and never very hot in summer. The rivers seldom freeze in winter, and snow never lies on the ground for long, except in the north, especially in the Highlands of Scotland. Sheep and cattle can graze on the meadows all the year round. All parts of British Isles have a lot of rain in all seasons. In winter, thick fogs occasionally cover many parts of Britain. The mild and damp climate is very good for agriculture, especially for vegetable-farming, sheep- and cattle-farming. But there is always an element of surprise in the British climate. In some countries, people can put away their raincoats for several months and let their fires go out during the burning heat of the summer. Not so in Britain, where we never know from one day to the next what is in store for us. No wonder the most common topic of conversation in British life is the weather.

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Background Knowledge

2.Christmas:Every December 25th the Western countries celebrate the feast of Christmas. This date marks the birth of Jesus Christ who was the founder of the Christian religion. Christmas is the biggest holiday in the year. Two important things, apart form all other: the custom of giving gifts and the habit of spending it with the family. Christmas is a special time for young children. They are the ones who receive most of the presents. The person who brings the gifts is Santa Claus. It is said that he comes to the home about midnight and places the gifts under the family tree and then departs.

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1.  What kind of person do you think Mr. Walton is?

2.  What do you think of life in the village as Mr. Walton describes it?

3.  Can you describe the changes that took place in this small village during the 30 years?

 

Questions for Discussion

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1.True/False Questions

2.Multiple-choice Questions

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True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons.

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain.

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village.

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books.

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life.

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain.

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village.

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books.

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life.

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. (T)

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village.

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books.

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life.

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. (T)

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village. (F)

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books.

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life.

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. (T)

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village. (F)

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books. (F)

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life.

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. (T)

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village. (F)

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books. (F)

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life. (T)

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

True/False Questions

1. This diary describes Mr. Walton’s life in a small village throughout the four seasons. (T)

2. Spring weather is changeable. It is sunny in the morning but in the afternoon it suddenly becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. (T)

3. Not many changes have taken place in recent years in this small village. (F)

4.  Mr. Walton prefers watching TV to reading books. (F)

5. Though the village is no longer what it used to be, Mr. Walton seems still to stick to the old pattern of life. (T)

6. Mr. Walton is an old-fashioned man who enjoys the simple pleasures in life. (T) Return

Multiple-choice Questions

1.The selection from the diary begins in the spring and ends .

A)a week before Christmas

B)when people prepare to sow seeds

C)during a very bad snow storm

D)the following spring

Multiple-choice Questions

1.The selection from the diary begins in the spring and ends .(C)

A)a week before Christmas

B)when people prepare to sow seeds

C)during a very bad snow storm

D)the following spring Next

Multiple-choice Questions

2.We learn from the first diary entry that .

A)Mr. Walton was going somewhere

B)the High Street was rather crowded

C)the weather was good after the rain

D)the temperature was going down

Multiple-choice Questions

2.We learn from the first diary entry that .(D)

A)Mr. Walton was going somewhere

B)the High Street was rather crowded

C)the weather was good after the rain

D)the temperature was going downNext

Multiple-choice Questions

3.All of the following details from the diary support your choice in Question 2, except .

A)his heaviest and warmest coat

B)the wind

C)the car

D)the nine o’clock news from the radio

Multiple-choice Questions

3.All of the following details from the diary support your choice in Question 2, except .(C)

A)his heaviest and warmest coat

B)the wind

C)the car

D)the nine o’clock news from the radio Next

Multiple-choice Questions

4.Mr. Walton says in his diary that elderly people enjoy .

A)talking around the fires

B)visiting friends

C)fires burning wood

D)life in the old days

Multiple-choice Questions

4.Mr. Walton says in his diary that elderly people enjoy .(D)

A)talking around the fires

B)visiting friends

C)fires burning wood

D)life in the old days Next

Multiple-choice Questions

5.According to Mr. Walton, a man is not much use on a farm .

A)if he knows nothing about machines

B)if he knows little about farming

C)if he doesn’t know how to keep animals

D)if he can’t sow seeds at the proper time in the spring

Multiple-choice Questions

5.According to Mr. Walton, a man is not much use on a farm .(A)

A)if he knows nothing about machines

B)if he knows little about farming

C)if he doesn’t know how to keep animals

D)if he can’t sow seeds at the proper time in the spring

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Multiple-choice Questions

6.We can guess from the diary that Mr. Walton is a man who enjoys .

A)the simple pleasures in life

B)swimming in warm weather

C)life not disturbed by the outside world

D)reading good books

Multiple-choice Questions

6.We can guess from the diary that Mr. Walton is a man who enjoys .(A)

A)the simple pleasures in life

B)swimming in warm weather

C)life not disturbed by the outside world

D)reading good books Return

Text

Seven entries are selected from Mr. Walton’s diary. They tell us about the four seasons in England and what village people probably used to do during these seasons, some 30 or 40 years ago.

March 17: It rained heavily all morning. The rain stopped about two o’clock and I went out for a walk. There was a cold wind blowing, so I put on my heaviest and warmest coat. As I was walking along the High Street the wind blew my hat off. I ran after it. The wind carried it into the road and I ran out to get it. I was almost knocked down by a car. I have just listened to the nine o’clock news. It will freeze hard in most parts of the country, they say.

April 20: We’re having spring weather now. The sun shone for several hours during the early part of the day. Now the sky is cloudy and it looks like rain. The rain will help things to grow. The gardens are full of spring flowers and all the people in the village are busy sowing seeds. The man next door has been busy cutting the grass in his garden. I shall have to start cutting the grass in my garden soon. It’s

hard work, but it has to be done.

June 14: I think June is one of the best months in the year. The temperature was almost eighty this afternoon. The children enjoy the warm weather. I saw seven or eight of them in the river after school. Most of them were good swimmers. One small girl was learning. Her elder sister was teaching her. I used to swim in this river when I was a boy. Now I find the water too cold even on a day like this. I can’t remember when I last went swimming. Probably it was during that enjoyable holiday we had ten years ago on one of the Greek islands.

August 5: This is my wife’s birthday. She’s fifty-seven. We asked a few old friends in to dinner:the doctor, the clergyman, the headmaster of the village school, and their wives. Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. This was a quiet little village thirty years ago. Now, every Sunday hundreds of cars and coaches pass through the High Street at what I think is a very dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town.

When I was a boy I used to enjoy riding on the backs of the big farm horses. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses, and a man is not much use on the farm unless he knows all about machines. When I was a boy we had no electricity in the village. Now every house in the village has a radio set and a television set. Is it a good thing for children to sit in front of a television set all evening? It’s probably bad for their eyes. They ought to be outdoors walking or playing. When my young friends ask me why I haven’t bought a television set, I tell them there are thousands of good books I still want to read. I can’t find time for both reading and television.

October 11: It’s beginning to get quite cold. We’re glad to have fires and have been burning wood for the last few weeks. Those old apple trees that were cut down last winter will give us wood for the fires most of this winter. Our neighbours have electric fires. They don’t like fires that burn wood or coal: too much smoke and dirt, they say. I like to see a wood fire in the living-room and I like an electric fire in the bedroom.

December 18: Only a week to Christmas now. We’re looking forward to having the children with us for the holidays, and the three grandchildren. We ought to go to town and buy presents for them. London will be full of people, I suppose, and there will be so many things in the shops that it will be difficult to know what to buy. If we have an early breakfast tomorrow we can catch the half-past-eight train and be in London by ten. We can do our shopping before lunch and go to a theatre in the afternoon. I don’t think we’ve been to a theatre for three or four years.

January 5: It has been snowing for three days and nights now. In places the snow is already three feet deep. The postman was an hour late this morning. The trains are all late, and there are very few cars and vans on the road. If it freezes, the roads will be very dangerous. There’s nothing worse than frozen snow. The birds don’t like this sort of weather. They can’t find food. We’ve put out a lot of bread for them.

The worst winter I remember was the winter we came to live here. The snow was so deep that for several days we were cut off from the rest of the country. We had no letters and no newspapers. I hope it isn’t going to be as bad again this January! Approximately 860 words Return

freeze [] vi. 结冻

=be so cold

e.g. It was freezing last night.

昨夜天气酷寒。

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sow [] vt. 播种

=put seed in soil

e.g. It’s too soon to sow yet.

现在还不到播种的时候。

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seed [] n 种子

=flowering plant’s unit of reproduction, from which another plant can grow.

e.g. It’s not wise to sow the seeds of hatred.

散布仇恨的种子是不明智的。

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enjoyable [] a. 快乐的，有趣的

=pleasant

e.g. The game can be very enjoyable.

这个游戏非常有趣。

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clergyman [] n. 牧师 =priest

e.g. The clergymen are opposed to the plan.

牧师们反对该计划。 Return

headmaster [] n. 校长 =principal master of a school

e.g. Our headmaster gave a speech at the meeting.

我们的校长在会上讲了话。 Return

elderly [] a. 上了年纪的 =rather old

e.g. He gave his seat to an elderly lady.

他把自己的座位让给了一位老太太。

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coach [] n. 长途公共汽车 =long distance, single-decked motorbus

e.g. They decided to travel by coach around Europe.

他们决定乘长途汽车环游欧洲。

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tractor [] n. 拖拉机 =powerful motor-vehicle used in agriculture

e.g. Tractors are widely used in agriculture.

拖拉机在农业中得到广泛应用。

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outdoors [] ad. 在户外

=in the open air

e.g. In hot countries it’s possible to sleep outdoors.

在炎热的国家里可以睡在屋外。 Return

present [] n. 礼物

=gift

e.g. Next he bought Marian’s wedding present.

然后他买了给玛利安的结婚礼物。

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postman [] n. 邮递员 =mailman <A.E>

e.g. The postman brought the parcel we are waiting for.

邮递员带来了我们一直等待的包裹。

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van [] n. 运货车

=roofed motor-vehicle for carrying and delivering goods

e.g. We have to hire a furniture van.

我们得雇一辆运家具的货车。 Return

  run after 追赶

e.g. If you run after two hares, you will catch neither.

如果你一次追赶两只兔子，你就一只也追不到。

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  run for 竞选

e.g. Mr. William wants to run for governor of the state.

威廉姆先生想要竞选州长。

run down 变弱；撞倒

e.g. He is still run down after his illness and unfit for work.

他病后仍然十分体弱不适合工作。

e.g. The motorist ran down a cyclist in the road.

开车的人在路上撞倒了一个骑自行车的人。More

  run into 偶遇

e.g. I ran into Joe yesterday on Main Street.

昨天我在大街上偶然碰见了乔。

run out of 用光

e.g. We ran out of coal and had to burn wood.

我们的煤用光了，不得不烧木材。

run away 逃跑

e.g. He was frightened and ran away.

他受到了惊吓跑掉了。 Return

      knock down 撞倒

e.g. He knocked his opponent down with one blow of his fist.

他一拳打倒了对手。

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      knock out 击倒；出局

e.g. The boxer knocked out his opponent in the second round.

拳击手在第二回合击倒了对手。

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        look like rain 像要下雨

e.g. We must hurry, it looks like rain.

我们必须抓紧，看起来天要下雨了。

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      be busy (doing) 忙于（做……）

e.g. He was busy getting ready for his journey.

他忙于为旅行做准备。

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        enjoy (doing) 乐于（做……）

e.g. I’ve enjoyed talking to you about old times.

我和你谈谈往日时光十分愉快。

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      a radio set 一部收音机

e.g. Jim wants a new portable radio set.

吉姆想要一个新的便携式收音机。

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    a television set 一台电视机

e.g. He can’t afford a color television set.

他买不起彩电。

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    look forward to(doing) 盼望

e.g. We’re looking forward to seeing you again.

我们期待着再次见到你。

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    go to a theatre 去看戏

e.g. He likes to go to the theatre to see a Shakespeare play.

他喜欢去剧院看莎士比亚的戏剧。

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     be cut off from 与……隔绝

e.g. He was cut off from all his friends when he studied abroad.

当他在国外学习时与所有的朋友断绝了联系。

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     cut down 减少

e.g. We must cut down our expenses.

我们必须减少支出。

cut across 走捷径

e.g. We can gain some time if we cut across this field.

如果我们走捷径穿过这块地我们就会赢得一些时间。 Return

    used to do 过去常常做某事（现在已停止）

e.g. He used to play cards a lot (but he doesn’t now).

他过去常常玩牌（但现在不玩了）。

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     be used to do 被用来做…

e.g. This hammer is used to drive in nails.

这个锤子是用来敲钉子的。

be used to doing 习惯于做…

e.g. I am not used to being spoken to in that rude way.

我不习惯于别人对我那样粗鲁地讲话。 Return

     ask sb. in =invite 邀请某人到家做客

e.g. They planned to ask a few friends in on their wedding ceremony.

他们计划在结婚纪念日那天请一些朋友来家做客。

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     pass through 通过；经过

e.g. The road was too narrow for cars to pass through.

这条路太窄，车子过不去。

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find time for 挤出时间干…

e.g. Although he is very busy, he can find time for reading.

尽管他非常忙，他仍能挤出时间读书。

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     There is/are + Noun + Participle = Noun + is/are + Participle

e.g. There are a lot of people waiting at the bus-stop.

=A lot of people are waiting at the bus-stop.

公共汽车站上有好多人在等车。

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      没有什么比结冰的雪更危险了。

Negative + than

在形式上是比较级，但在意思上是最高级；在许多情况下， than引导的成分可省略。

e.g. There is no harder course than grammar.

语法是最难的课程。

e.g. It couldn’t be better.

再好不过了。

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     The High Street:

the main street of the village

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     I ran out :

I ran from the sidewalk into the centre of the road

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eighty: 800Fahrenheit

A thermometer is an instrument for measuring temperature. Most thermometers have scales marked off in degrees, the units in which temperature is measured. The most common scales are:

Fahrenheit, used in everyday temperature measurement in the United States and some other English-speaking countries. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degree and its boiling point 212 degree. Return

    We asked a few old friends in to dinner:

We asked a few old friends to come to our house for dinner.

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    at what I think is a very dangerous speed:

at a speed that I think is very dangerous 

可现在一到星期天，总是有几百辆小轿车和长途公共汽车穿过村子的大街，速度快得吓人。

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    a man is not much use:

a man is almost useless

一个农夫要是不懂机器就无法在农场干活。

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  electric fires:

electric heaters 电炉，电热器，电暖气

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  We are looking forward to having the children with us for the holidays :

We are expecting the children to stay with us for the holidays.

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  we were cut off from the rest of the country :

we lost touch with the other parts of the country.

地上的雪那么厚，有好几天我们和外界完全隔绝了。

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  to be bad again:

to be as bad as that again

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  Which of the four seasons do you like best?

Why?

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  How do you understand the proverb “Plan the whole year in the spring”?

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  What do you do in summer?

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  Can you think of any changes that took place in the last 30 years?

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  Autumn is supposed to be the busiest season for the farmers, what do you think they have to do?

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  How do you like the snow in winter?

What do you know about Christmas?

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  Spring: The weather is changeable. The sun shines brightly in the morning but in the afternoon the sky becomes cloudy and it looks like rain. People are busy sowing seeds and cutting the grass in their gardens.

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  Summer: The weather is warm and children go swimming in the river.

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  Autumn: It’s beginning to get quite cold. People have a wood or electric fire in their houses.

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  Winter: It snows a lot. Christmas falls in this season. People go to town to buy presents for the family members. When it freezes people put out a lot of bread for the birds.

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  The wind carried it into the road and I ran out to get it.

风把我的帽子吹到了路中央，我跑下了人行道去把它捡回来。

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It will freeze hard in most parts of the country, they say.

天气预报说大部分地区都有严重冰冻。

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It’s hard work, but it has to be done.

这活可不轻，但总得干。

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Now I find the water too cold even on a day like this.

而现在即使这么暖和的天气我都觉得水太凉。

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Probably it was during that enjoyable holiday we had ten years ago on one of the Greek islands.

也许我最后一次游泳是十年前在希腊一个岛上愉快地度假的时候。

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I can’t find time for both reading and television.

我可没时间既看书又看电视。

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Those old apple trees that were cut down last winter will give us wood for the fires most of this winter.

去年冬天砍下来的老苹果树可够今年大半个冬天生火了。

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I hope it isn’t going to be as bad again this January!

我希望今年一月可别再那么糟糕。

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