Upon finishing...＝As soon as he finished...，upon也可换成on，意为"一......就......"。

　On reaching the city，he called up Lester.

4. The paintings that David donated to the school are being displayed in the assembly hall. ( p9 ) 大卫捐给学校的图画正在会厅展出。

　are being displayed是被动语态的进行时，表示正在发生的被动动作

　The meeting is being held in the hall and you can go to attend it.

5. Besides，I might be reading books in your father's bookcase instead. (p11)

　另外，我也许在你父亲的书橱里读书。

　Besides adv. in addition , also:

　I don't like those shoes；besides，they're too expensive.

prep. as well as ; in addition to:

Besides good looks，she has a kind heart.

6. I prefer one that has big desks. ( p11 ) 我喜欢有大课桌的(阅览室)。

　prefer vt. 宁愿 更喜欢: prefer sth.

　prefer sth. to sth. prefer doing／to do sth.

prefer doing...to doing... prefer sb. to do sth.

prefer to do...rather than do...＝prefer doing... to doing...)

7. She will be reading newspapers and magazines instead of doing her homework. (p11 ) 她要读报刊杂志而不是写作业。

　will be doing是将来进行时，表示将来某个时候在做的事，也可表示按计划安排将来要执行的动作。

　Will you be seeing the new play this time tomorrow evening?

8. Dates in a programme are usually presented in a short form to save space. (p12 ) 计划表中的日期通常以缩写形式出现以节省版面。

　present vt. n. adj.

　space空间，空白(多为不可数，有时与不定冠词连用); room空间、地方;只作不可数名词

9. When comparing，you must read all the information carefully before you make any decisions ( p14 )作比较时，你必须先认真阅读所有信息然后再做出决定。

when comparing = when you compare, when 引起的时间状语从句可以省略为一个短语。表主动时用-ing形式，表被动时用-ed形式

　When shopping in the supermarket，she had her wallet stolen．(＝when she was shopping)

compare v. 比较

Compare this one with that，you'll see the difference.