1. It was asserting the impossibility of miracles that he discovered his extraordinarypowers.正是在他斩钉截铁地说奇迹不可能发生的时候，他发现了自己的特异功能。

　　…was saying / stating clearly and forcefully that there were no such things as miracles.

　　assert vt.断言；（坚决）主张，维护

　　He asserted his judgment to be right. 他断言自己的判断是对的。

　　miracle：a surprising and welcome act or event which does not follow the known law

　　of nature and is therefore thought to be caused by God 奇迹

　　power：a particular ability of the body or mind能力，才能；体力，精力

　　special：特别的，格外的when writing a composition，he pays special attention to the correctness of grammar.写作文时，他特别注意语法的正确。

　　extraordinary：非凡的，异乎寻常的He had acquired an extraordinary command of the English language.他对英语语言的掌握非凡的好。

　　2. Toddy Beamish opposed everything he said by a monotonous but effective “So you say，”and drove him to the limit of his patience. 无论他说什么，托德。 比米什都说同一句单调却又很起作用的话加以反对：“这可是你说的，”这真使他忍无可忍。

　　Whatever he said，Toddy Beamish world disagree and say “That's only what you say，in a dull and unchanging，but effective way； this made him so angry that he could no longer put up with it.

　　So you say：是你这么说的（意思是：事实并非如此）

　　drive *****. + adj/prep. phrase/to do sth：cause or force *****. to go into a specific unpleasant state or to do a specific thing…… 将某人逼入不悦的境地；迫使某人去做 …。

　　Unemployment and the death of his wife drove him to desperation. 失业和他的妻子死去把他逼向绝望。

　　Hunger drove him to steal. 饥饿使他去偷窃。

　　the limit of one's patience.忍无可忍，无法忍受

　　The unceasing cries of the children almost drove me the limit of my patience. 孩子不停的哭声几乎使我无法忍受。

　　3. Mr. Fotheringay determined to make an unusual effort 佛泽林盖先生决心作出点不寻常的事来。

　　determine to do/ be determined to do决心，决定，决意，下定决心

　　My mother is determined that I should enter business after graduation. 我母亲决意要我毕业后从商。

　　I determined to continue to work in Tibet though my tenure was over. 尽管我的任期已满，我决定继续在西藏工作。

　　make an effort to do：努力，尽力

　　Every effort should be made to improve the investment environment of Beijing. 应尽一切努力来改善北京的投资环境 .

　　4. It's something contrary to the course of nature done by power of Will.奇迹是通过意志的力量产生违反自然规律的事物。

　　A miracle is something caused by the will of God，which is impossible according to the ordinary laws of nature.

　　contrary to：（介词） 违反，与……相反

　　Contrary to our expectation，the Chinese football team lost all the games in the World Cup.与我们的期望相反，中国足球队在世界杯比赛中一场球也没赢。

　　Contrary to popular belief，the film turned out to be a failure.与大众的