胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯100：橫渡河流 The River Crossing
The fall foliage had turned colors. The weather forecast indicated sunshine and cool temperatures. It was a wonderful day to be outside. I folded my notepaper and headed for the library.
秋天，樹葉改變了顏色。氣象預(yù)報(bào)說天氣晴朗，氣溫涼爽。這是一個(gè)外出的好日子。我折疊起筆記本，往圖書館走去。
As I walked along the river towards the ford, I thought about my forefathers. Did they have the foresight to predict how strong this nation would become? My early forebears were simple farmers. They were probably too busy to foresee anything. Little did they know that they were the forerunners for modern agriculture? Because of their efforts, the pioneers who followed didn’t have to forage for food. However, it wasn’t long before agriculture gave way to industrialization. Our country’s rapid advances during the industrial revolution foreshadowed its development into the world’s most powerful nation. Presently, we’re at the forefront of high technology. There’s no reason why we can’t continue to foment high-level development. Perhaps we should limit the number of military forays into foreign countries and concentrate on domestic matters. An expensive folly could significantly inhibit our economic growth.
我一邊沿著河邊朝淺灘走去，一邊想我的祖先們。他們是否有遠(yuǎn)見預(yù)知這個(gè)國家將變得何等強(qiáng)大?我早期的祖先們是淳樸的農(nóng)民。他們可能忙得沒有時(shí)間預(yù)見任何事情。他們并不知道自己是現(xiàn)代農(nóng)業(yè)的先驅(qū)。由于他們的努力，他們以后的先鋒們就不用搜尋食物了。然而，不久以后，農(nóng)業(yè)就被工業(yè)化取代了。我們國家在工業(yè)革命時(shí)期的迅速發(fā)展預(yù)示著它將成為世界上最強(qiáng)大的國家?，F(xiàn)在，我們處于高科技的最前沿。我們沒有理由不繼續(xù)促進(jìn)高水平的發(fā)展?；蛟S我們應(yīng)該限制對外國的軍事偷襲的次數(shù)，把精力集中在國內(nèi)事務(wù)上。一個(gè)代價(jià)高昂的愚蠢的舉動可能嚴(yán)重阻礙我國經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長。
My thoughts were beginning to digress. Today, my foremost concern should be to research the folklore of my home country so that I can finish the footnote to my report.
我的思想開始開小差了。今天，我最主要關(guān)心的應(yīng)該是研究祖國的民間傳說，那樣我就可以完成我的報(bào)告的腳注了。
As I arrived at the ford in the river, I pulled up my pant legs and prepared to cross. There was a sign there. It said that the law forbids anyone from entering the river. I ignored the sign and started to cross. Then I saw a police officer with a forbidding look on his face.
我來到河的淺灘處，挽起褲腿，準(zhǔn)備趟過去。那有一塊牌子，寫明法律禁止任何人進(jìn)入這條河。我不理會牌子，開始趟水。然后，我看到一位警官，一臉令人生畏的表情。
As I backed out of the river water, I wondered what my forebears would have though if they had had to put up with so many silly laws.
我從河水中退出去的時(shí)候想，如果祖先們必須忍受那么多愚蠢的法律，不知道他們做何感想。
Words:
fold v. 折痕，折
foliage n. 樹葉，植物
folklore n. 民俗學(xué)，民間傳說
folly n. 愚笨，愚蠢
foment v. 煽動，助長
footnote n. 腳注
forage v. 搜尋(食物);n. (牛馬等家畜的)飼料
foray n. 突襲，偷襲
forbid v. 禁止
forbidding adj. 可怕的，令人難親近的，令人生畏的
ford n. 淺灘，水淺可涉處
forebear n. 祖先
forecast n. 預(yù)測，預(yù)報(bào);v. 預(yù)測
forefather n. 祖先，祖宗
forefront n. 最前沿
foremost adj. 最初的，最重要的
forerunner n. 先驅(qū)，前身
foresee vt. 預(yù)見，預(yù)知
foresight n. 遠(yuǎn)見，深謀遠(yuǎn)慮
foreshadow vt. 成為先兆，預(yù)示
