胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯21：逃避 Escape
Lesson 21 Escape 逃避
I live an isolated life in a small basin between two mountain ridges at the edge of an ocean. Due to the bad soil, the land is barren. However, I have a barn full of animals that supply me with all the food I need. There’s nothing more satisfying than basting pig meat over a barbecue. The weather is pretty good. There is always enough rain to fill my water barrel. But sometimes, a fierce storm will batter the barn all right.
在海邊的兩座山脊間不大的盆地上，我過著遠離塵囂的生活。由于土質(zhì)太差，這里可謂是不毛之地。但我得谷倉里注滿了動物，讓我吃喝不用愁。天下之樂事莫過于野餐時往烤豬肉上抹油了。天氣還不錯，我的水桶總能裝滿雨水。但有時，一場狂暴的大雨能把谷倉嘭嘭拍上一整夜。
The rough life I lead has made me look and feel like a barbarian. The heat from the sun has baked my bare skin brown. I haven’t been to the barber for two years. As a result, I think I would be bashful if anyone found me. I don’t have any money but I don’t need it. You can’t buy anything here. You can’t even barter. However, I’m not completely out of touch with civilization. Every few months, I can hear the sound of an ocean barge passing in the distance. I always run to the ocean side to see it. It reminds me that I’m still human.
生活的艱辛讓我看起來活像個野蠻人，而我自己的感覺也是如此。炙熱的太陽將我裸露的皮膚烤成棕色。我有兩年沒去理發(fā)師那里剪頭發(fā)了。所以，我想我會羞于見人。我沒錢也不需要錢。這里什么也買不到，即便是物物交換都不可能。然而，我并沒有完全脫離文明社會。每隔幾個月，我都能聽到遠處海上的駁船經(jīng)過這里時的聲音。我總是跑到海邊去看船，它提醒著我原來我還是個人。
You might think that I’m barely surviving but the opposite is true. This is the only place where I can escape the horrible war in the city. In my mind, I can still hear the barrage of gunfire smashing through our wooden barriers. I can still remember spending months, helplessly barricaded in the basement of one of our many, once beautiful, baroque style buildings. My life is more peaceful now. Perhaps after the war, I’ll find my way back home.
你也許會認為我?guī)缀鯚o法生存，但事實恰恰相反。只有在這里，我才能遠離城中可怕的戰(zhàn)爭。我的腦海里依然回蕩著槍林彈雨轟然粉碎木質(zhì)障礙物的聲音。我依然記得那幾個月躲在一幢曾因其式樣美觀而風(fēng)光一時的巴羅克式建筑的地下室時的無助場面。現(xiàn)在我的生活平靜多了。也許戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，我會踏上回家的路。
What’s that I hear? It’s the bark of my dog. I’ve got to run. Another barge is passing by.
那是什么聲音?是我的狗在叫。我得跑步了，又有一艘駁船過來了。
Words:
barbarian n. 野蠻人
barbecue n. 吃烤肉的野餐;燒烤
barber n. 理發(fā)師
bare adj. 無遮蔽的，赤裸的，光(禿)的;僅有的，勉強的
barely adv. 僅僅，幾乎不能
barge n. 駁船
bark n. 樹皮;vi./n. 狗叫，咆哮
barn n. 谷倉;牲口棚
baroque adj. (藝術(shù)、建筑等)高度裝飾的，過分雕琢的
barrage n. 火力網(wǎng)，彈幕;(言語等)猛烈攻擊
barrel n. 桶
barren adj. 貧瘠的(不結(jié)果實的);荒涼的(無人煙的)
barricade v. 設(shè)柵欄擋;使躲在路障(或擋墻)后面;n. 柵欄，障礙物
barrier n. 屏障，障礙;柵欄
barter n. 物品交換，易貨貿(mào)易;vt. 物品交換，交換
basement n. 地下室
bashful adj. 害羞的，難為情的
basin n. 盆地
baste vt. (烤肉時)涂油，把油涂在(肉上);毆打，公開責罵
batter v. 打壞，猛擊;n. 擊球手
