He shouted louder and louder，trying to hear his own voice in the whirlwind. No matter how he raised his voice，he couldn't hear himself speak.

　　in a vain desire to do sth：徒劳地想做 ……

　　The poor hu*****and begged in a vain desire to let him in，but the angry wife refused to open the door.

　　那可怜的丈夫徒劳地想求他老婆让他进去，但他的那位生气的老婆就是不给开门 .

　　32.…In the first place，when all I've got to say is done，let me lose my miraculous power；let all these dangerous miracles be stopped. 第一，我要给的那些指令实现了以后，让我失去我的神奇的能力，让所有的危险的奇迹都停止下来。

　　…first，take away my miraculous power and put right all the dangerous things brought about by my miracles.

　　in the first place 首先

　　In the first place，you should set your goal；second you should make a plan.

　　首先，你要定目标，然后作一个计划。

　　33.He had a vague sense of some great thing forgotten，which passed immediately. 他模模糊糊地感到忘记了某些大事，不过这种感觉立即消逝了。

　　have a vague sense of 有一种模模糊糊的感觉

　　I only had a vague sense of seeing her once some time last year.

　　我模模糊糊记得去年某个时候见到过她一次。

　　34. Except for the loss of his miraculous powers，everything was back as it had been. And among other things，of course，he did not believe in miracles. 除了失去他那不可思议的能力之外，一切都回到了以往的状况，其中当然也包括他不相信有奇迹这一情况。

　　except：后面的成分和主语或宾语的成分属于同一种类。

　　To point out his mistakes directly will have no effect except to make him angry.

　　直接指出他的错误除了使他生气，没有任何其他效果。

　　Everyone except Mr. Li is here. 除了李先生其他人都在这儿。

　　except for：后面的成分跟主语或宾语的成分不属同类。

　　The room is bare except for a few chairs. 房里除了几把椅子别的什么也没有。

　　Your picture is good except for some of the colour. 你的画除了有些色彩不太好，别的都很好。