胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第179期:采礦者和火箭推進器 The prospectors and rocket propellant
胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第179期:采礦者和火箭推進器 The prospectors and rocket propellant
中英對照
179 The prospectors and rocket propellant
179 采礦者和火箭推進器
There were a couple of prospectors, Clem and Jake, sitting around a fire at their camp after a hard days'prospecting, just shooting the breeze.
兩個采礦工人，克萊姆和杰克，經過一天艱苦的采礦工作后坐在營地火堆旁閑聊。
Clem, did you hear about the proposal for the new rocket our government is going to develop?
克萊姆，你聽說過政府關于發(fā)展新型火箭的提案嗎？
Yeah, Jake. One of the chief proponents is J.G. Beezwax, the proprietor of our mine and the surrounding property, and he is a politician in the federal government.
聽說過，杰克。其中一個支持者就是J.G．比茲瓦斯，我們礦山的業(yè)主，這周圍的財產也是他的，他是聯邦政府的政治家。
He sure knows how to prosper, doesn't he?
那他應該知道怎樣使這個計劃獲得成功，對不對？
He's got some kind of propensity for prosperity if you ask me, a big wig like that.
像他那樣的大頭目，對于如何興旺發(fā)達好像有天生的直覺傾向。
Yeah, but I don't know if it's such a good idea to be a protagonist of that prospective rocket project.
沒錯。但我不知道他的那些絕妙點子在預期的火箭計劃中是否能起到主導作用。
They were protesting it out in front of City Hall the other day.
前幾天在市政廳門前就有人抗議這個計劃。
If something goes wrong, a man could get prosecuted or something.
如果中途出了什么問題的話，就可能會有人被起訴和發(fā)生什么別的事。
Then the news gets propagated around and all that.
這樣一來，消息就會不脛而走，四處傳播。
It doesn't matter if they have any proof or not.
而且不管他們有沒有證據情況可能都一樣。
Don't worry about old J.G., Clem. He's got money running out his ears.
不要再替那個老家伙J.G.比茲瓦斯擔心了。
If he gets into any trouble, he's got the money to get out of it. Besides, he's got a sense of propriety.
他富得流油。萬一陷入了麻煩，他肯定會有足夠的錢使自己擺脫麻煩。何況他行為舉止一直非常得體，從來沒有遇到過任何麻煩。
He doesn't ever get into any trouble. He's a smooth talker, too. Everything he says sounds like prose.
他說話總是八面玲瓏，油嘴滑舌。他所說的每一件事聽起來都好像是一篇散文。
Well, I guess it pays to be prosperous.
沒錯，為了成功而有所付出，這是劃得來的嘛。
Hey, what do you think propels those rockets, anyway?
嘿，你認為什么東西能推進火箭呢？
I guess they've got some kind of propellant.
我想他們已經研制出了某種推進器，
Maybe something like that moonshine we make. They both laugh.
說不定就是和我們自制的烈性酒一樣的東西呢。他們同時哈哈大笑起未。
They have to keep it in proportion to the weight of the rocket, though, or it won't have enough propulsion to get off the ground.
不管怎樣，他們必須使推進器的重量和火箭的重量保持一定的比例，否則的話就會缺少足夠的推進力，甚至無法離開地面了。
Jake looks up at the stars. What do you propose we do now, Clem?
杰克抬起頭仰望星空。你提議我們現在干什么呢？克萊姆？
I need to go proofread my latest manuscript.
我得去校對我的最新手稿了。
I think we ought to go drink some of that moonshine. After all, we've got to prospect again tomorrow.
我認為我們應該去喝一杯烈性酒。畢竟，明天我們又得采礦了。
重點詞匯
manuscript['mænjuskript]adj. 手抄的
n. 手稿，原稿
adj. 散文的
n. 散文
vi. 繁盛，成功，興旺
propensity[pr?'pensiti]n. 傾向，習性
smooth[smu:ð]adj. 平穩(wěn)的，流暢的，安祥的，圓滑的，攪拌均勻的，可
proposal[pr?'p?uz?l]n. 求婚，提議，建議
property['pr?p?ti]n. 財產，所有物，性質，地產，道具
politician[.p?li'ti??n]n. 政治家，政客
prosperity[pr?s'periti]n. 繁榮，興旺
proportion[pr?'p?:??n]n. 比例，均衡，部份，（復）體積，規(guī)模
vt
