胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯030：晚餐時(shí)的來(lái)客 The Dinner Guest

所屬教程:胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯

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2015年12月05日

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Lesson 30 The Dinner Guest 晚餐時(shí)的來(lái)客

My new employer told me that they needed someone with my capabilities to lead their unpopular forest clearing campaign. They said I was the best candidate for the job. I was a canny negotiator and a very capable speaker. To me, it was just a matter of being candid with the resident natives. I would captivate them with money before telling them that we needed to deforest their land. Then, I could easily calculate and negotiate a reasonable price.

我的新雇主告訴我，他們需要一個(gè)像我這樣有能力的人去領(lǐng)導(dǎo)那項(xiàng)不太受歡迎的森林采伐工程。他們說(shuō)我是最佳人選。我是個(gè)精明的談判者，又及其善于言辭。對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)，只需與當(dāng)?shù)鼐用裉拐\(chéng)相待即可。我會(huì)先用錢迷惑住他們，然后再告訴他們我們要采伐森林。接下來(lái)，我可以很容易地計(jì)算出一個(gè)好價(jià)錢，再和他們談妥。

I got the job, rather easily I thought. The company directed me to travel into the wilderness by boat to canvass the resident natives. The night before the trip, I weighed myself. “Could the calibration on this scale the correct?” I said to myself. “I guess I better cancel my dinner plans. Otherwise the boat might sink.” But I knew that such a cancellation would make me too sad to travel, so I ate my usual meal.

我輕而易舉的爭(zhēng)取到這份工作。公司指示我坐船進(jìn)入一片荒野，去游說(shuō)當(dāng)?shù)鼐用瘛３霭l(fā)前的那個(gè)晚上，我稱了體重。“稱的刻度會(huì)不會(huì)不準(zhǔn)呢?”我自言自語(yǔ)道，“我想我還是取消晚餐計(jì)劃好了。否則，那船沒(méi)準(zhǔn)會(huì)沉。”但我知道取消晚餐只會(huì)讓我憂傷得無(wú)意出差，所以我一如平常地吃了晚飯。

The boat was capacious. The boat’s large canopy was made of green and brown canvas. It served as a nice camouflage for the boat. We floated down through the canyon for hours until we finally stopped. “You’ll travel by foot now, alone!” the boat captain said. He filled my water bottle to capacity and pointed the way with a strange smile.

船很寬敞，它的頂蓬是一塊綠褐色的帆布，算是這艘船不錯(cuò)的偽裝。我們順流直下，漂了幾個(gè)小時(shí)才穿過(guò)大峽谷，最后船停了。“現(xiàn)在你得步行了，一個(gè)人!”船長(zhǎng)說(shuō)道。他將我得水瓶裝滿水，然后怪怪地笑著為我指路。

Not long after, I ran into a resident native. He led me deep into the forest where I met their chief. He smiled and said, “You’ve had a long trip. My family would love to have you for dinner.” Expection a feast, I replied, “I’d be honored.”

很快，我就遇上了一個(gè)當(dāng)?shù)厝?，他領(lǐng)著我往森林深處走去。在那里，我見(jiàn)到了他們的酋長(zhǎng)。他微笑著說(shuō)：“你經(jīng)歷了一番長(zhǎng)途跋涉，我的家人會(huì)很高興與你共進(jìn)晚餐。”我料想會(huì)是一頓豐盛的晚宴，便回答到：“不勝榮幸。”

Well, I’ve been in captivity for several hours now, awaiting the feast. What a pity. I was prepared for everything but cannibalism.

哎，現(xiàn)在我已被囚禁好幾個(gè)小時(shí)，等待著那頓豐盛的晚宴。真可惜，我設(shè)想到了一切，除了同類相食的野蠻。

Words:

calculate vt. 計(jì)算，估計(jì)

calibration n. 校準(zhǔn);規(guī)定;刻度

camouflage n./v. 偽裝

campaign n. (政治或商業(yè)性)活動(dòng)，競(jìng)選活動(dòng);vi.競(jìng)選;作戰(zhàn)

cancel vt. 取消

cancellation n. 取消

candid adj. 率直，坦白而誠(chéng)實(shí)的

candidate n. 候選人

cannibalism n. 同類相食