胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第235期:A Worldly Wholesaler 老于世故的批發(fā)商
胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第235期:A Worldly Wholesaler 老于世故的批發(fā)商
I'll admit to anyone that I am a worldly person.
我愿意向任何人承認，我是個老于世故的人。
I enjoy wrapping myself in luxury.
我喜歡耽于奢華。
Poverty, or even a middle-class existence, is not something I would be able to withstand.
貧困，或者即使是中產階級的生活，也是我無法承受的。
If I had to give up my fresh pate and my caviar,
如果讓我放棄肉餡餅和魚子醬，
I would suffer such bad withdrawal symptoms that I would most assuredly die.
我會出現(xiàn)嚴重的脫癮癥狀，我確定無疑會死掉。
When people tell me that my extravagant lifestyle is withering away my soul,
當人們告訴我說我奢華的生活方式正消磨著我的靈魂，
I tell them I'd much rather wither away in a mansion than in a shack.
我告訴他們我寧愿在豪宅中消磨，也不想在陋室中生活。
Where money whirs, there I am. It wasn't just on a whim that I became a wholesaler.
哪里金錢叮當作響，我就在哪里。我成為批發(fā)商并非一時的心血來潮。
The wholesaler business was where the action was when I first began.
批發(fā)生意是我最初從事的行業(yè)。
It has since whittled down to just a few companies,
從此以后削減到只剩幾家公司，
but back when I was first starting out in business, a fortune could be made there by just about anyone.
但是如果回到我最初開始做生意的時候，幾乎任何人都可以大賺一筆。
After making a small, modest fortune, I withdrew my interests from the wholesale business.
在適當發(fā)了一筆小財之后，我從批發(fā)生意中撤出股權。
It was still doing well at the time I left, and people thought I was crazy for leaving.
我離開的時候，生意運行得不錯，人們都以為我瘋了。
I didn't wince even once, however.
但我從未退縮過。
What some people refer to as a wily disposition, I simply refer to as a smart business decision.
人們所稱的詭詐脾性，我將其稱為精明的商業(yè)決定。
I wasn't being wily when I left. Now understand, I wasn't being wholesome, either.
我離開時并非表現(xiàn)詭詐。現(xiàn)在明白了，我當時也并非身心健全。
There's limited amount of money out there, and if I don't get it, someone else will.
錢數(shù)有限，如果我不拿，別人也會拿。
By quietly wiggling out of the wholesale industry
我不聲不響地從批發(fā)行業(yè)扭轉屁股就開溜，
instead of making a huge announcement and encouraging others to do the same, I actually made money.
而沒有大張旗鼓，不讓別人效仿，我實際上賺了錢。
There was nothing mean spirited to this. It was just me being a businessman.
這樣做沒有什么卑鄙的。只是因為我是個批發(fā)商。
If the industry is about to have a calamitous wreck,
假如這個行業(yè)要有災難性的破壞，
why should I hold the responsibility of wrestling people away from it?
我為什么要負責拉扯別人從中脫身呢？
I was not going to stand by and witness my own investments become nothing.
我不會眼睜睜她看著自己的投資化為烏有。
That would have been quite a woolly lose.
那將是不明不白的損失。
I'm wistful when I lose money, but as it stands, my wits are still intact.
我賠錢時會愁眉苦臉，但就目前的情況來說，我的神志仍然完好無損。
I just built a new winter residence, a nice cabin, out in the woods of Oregon.
我在俄勒岡的森林中剛剛建造了一處新的冬季住所，一個漂亮的小木屋。
I wrap myself in the finest woolen jackets, made from the most expensive wool.
我身穿用最昂貴的羊毛制成的最漂亮的毛料夾克衫。
I go out in the evenings and listen to the beautiful sounds of the surrounding wildlife.
我在晚上走出屋子，傾聽周圍野生動物美妙無比的叫聲。
I dare not complain about how I made my money.
我絕不抱怨自己賺錢的方式。
重點詞匯
modest['m?dist]adj. 謙虛的，適度的，端莊的
announcement[?'naunsm?nt]n. 通知，發(fā)表，宣布
complain[k?m'plein]vi. 抱怨，悲嘆，控訴
whim[wim]n. 一時的興致，突然的念頭；奇想，幻想
luxury['l?k??ri]n. 奢侈，豪華，奢侈品
fortune['f?:t??n]n. 財產，命運，運氣
wily['waili]adj. 狡猾的
poverty['p?v?ti]n. 貧困，貧乏
intact[in'tækt]adj. 完好無缺的，原封不動的，未經觸碰的
decision[di'si??n]n. 決定，決策
