胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第204期:The soloist and the solicitor
胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第204期:The soloist and the solicitor
There was a singer who had retired to a life on the farm. She had been a soloist for the big city opera and had been very famous, but she grew tired of the city life and decided that she needed a change. Now, she spent her days in the soybean field sowing seeds. She enjoyed the solitude of the fields, and it soothed her to sing solos as she worked.
有位歌唱家，退出樂壇后在農(nóng)場生活。她曾是這個城市大歌劇院的獨(dú)唱演員，很有名氣，但她厭倦了城市生活，覺得自己需要改變一下?，F(xiàn)在，她在大豆田里播種。她喜歡田地中的離群索居，勞動時的獨(dú)唱令她感到安慰。
One day, a solicitor appeared on the farm to solicit soluble soybean seeds. He said that these soluble soybeans were the solution to her problems as they would increase her profits and solidify her business. She said that she had tried them before and she found them somewhat sour. He had heard her singing and recognized who she was. He commented that she was a very sophisticated lady and that working on a farm does not carry any sophistication, and he asked her why she didn't return to the city. She said that she had no feeling of solidarity with city folk and that she enjoyed her solitary life on the farm. She said that she had the sovereign right to her lifestyle and that his comments were an insult to her sovereignty. She told him solidly that he could furthermore get his solicitous butt off her property. The solicitor was a little angry and very disappointed. Nevertheless, he felt it a privilege to meet such a famous singer and left her some of his soybeans as a souvenir.
一天，一個推銷員來農(nóng)場推銷溶水性大豆的種子。他稱這些溶水性大豆可以解決她的問題，因?yàn)檫@些大豆會增加她的收益，并鞏固她的生意。她說她以前試驗(yàn)過，發(fā)現(xiàn)這些大豆有點(diǎn)酸味。他聽過她唱歌，認(rèn)出了她。他評論說，她是個溫文爾雅的女人，在農(nóng)場勞動體現(xiàn)不出教養(yǎng)，他問她為什么不回城去。她說她和城里人沒有團(tuán)結(jié)感，她喜歡農(nóng)場獨(dú)處的生活。她說她擁有選擇自己生活方式的自主權(quán)，他的話是對她行使自主權(quán)的侮辱。她嚴(yán)肅地告訴他別在她的地盤里物色他要關(guān)心的對象。推銷員有些惱火，大失所望。但是，能遇見這么一位著名的歌唱家，他感到是一種榮幸，留給她一些大豆作為紀(jì)念。
That night as she prepared for bed, she sang another solo as she found it soporific. She didn't need soundproof walls because there was on one around to hear her.
那天晚上，她鋪床時，又獨(dú)唱了一曲，因?yàn)樗X得這首歌有催眠效果。周圍無人傾聽，所以她不需要隔音墻。
重點(diǎn)詞匯
solicit[s?'lisit]vt. 勾引，乞求，設(shè)法獲得某事物 vi. (妓女)拉客
insult['ins?lt]vt. 侮辱，凌辱，辱罵
n. 侮辱，辱罵
n. 孤獨(dú)
獨(dú)居，荒僻之地，幽靜的地方
n. 獨(dú)奏，獨(dú)唱
adj. 單獨(dú)的
n. 解答，解決辦法，溶解，溶液
soporific[.s?up?'rifik]adj. 催眠的，想睡的 n. 催眠劑
solicitous[s?'lisit?s]adj. 熱切的，焦慮的，掛念的
solitary['s?lit?ri]adj. 孤獨(dú)的，獨(dú)立的，單個的，唯一的，荒涼的
sovereignty['s?vr?nti]
n. 主權(quán)，獨(dú)立國
solidify[s?'lidifai]vt. 使牢固，使團(tuán)結(jié) vi. 變堅固，變結(jié)實(shí)
