VOA慢速英语:'The Fall of the House of Usher,' by Edgar Allan Poe, Part One

短语讲解：

1. I knew, however, that his family, a very old one, had long been famous for its understanding of all the arts, and for many quiet acts of kindness to the poor.

be famous for 因…而著名
例句：He would be famous for the game.
他将以这场比赛而闻名。

2. The name had passed always from father to son, and when people spoke of the “House of Usher,” they included both the family and the family home.

speak of 说到; 谈到， 讲到
例句：She can speak German and French, not to speak of English.
她能说德语和法语，更不用说英语了。

3. Perhaps the careful eye would have discovered the beginning of a break in the front of the building, a crack making its way from the top down the wall until it became lost in the dark waters of the lake.

in the front of 在最前面，在最重要的位置
例句：There is a table of contents in the front of a dictionary.
词典的开头有目录表。

4. It was, he said, a family sickness, and one from which he could not hope to grow better — but it was, he added at once, only a nervous illness, which would without doubt soon pass away.

pass away 去世; （时间等） 消磨掉; 终止
例句：You will see the storm will pass away.
你可以看到那风波就会过去。