胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯031：狂歡節(jié) The Carnival
I can’t wait until the next carnival comes to town. I love the casual atmosphere and the taste foods. There’s nothing like watching a cascade of popcorn flowing out of the machine. In fact, I eat so much of it that my friends call me “the cast-iron stomach!”
我?guī)缀跻炔患叭ハ乱淮纬抢锱e行的狂歡節(jié)了。我喜歡那里的隨和的氣氛和美味的食物?？粗欢讯驯谆ㄏ衿俨妓频膹臋C(jī)器里涌出來真乃一大爽事。事實上，我吃了太多的爆米花，以至于朋友們都叫我(什么都消化得了的)“鐵胃”。
I especially enjoy the wide variety of entertainment, including the animal shows. The lions are the most exciting because they’re carnivorous. Imagine the carnage if they ever escaped their cages. I would suffer a cardiac arrest. I’d probably be the first casualty since I’m so fat and slow. That’s why I also like the tortoise. He’s sluggish, just like me, although I don’t have a huge carapace on my back to slow me down. It looks like he’s carrying cargo in that big shell of his. However, the cardinal rule is not to bring too much money.
我尤其喜歡欣賞豐富多彩的娛樂節(jié)目，比如動物表演。獅子是最激動人心的，因為它們是食肉動物。想象一下它們一旦逃出鐵籠后會出現(xiàn)的殘殺景象!我會犯心臟病的。我很可能是第一例傷亡，因為我又胖又笨重。這也是我為什么喜歡烏龜?shù)脑颉觚斅掏痰?，跟我一樣，只不過我用不著背著那塊大龜甲而放慢速度?？雌饋頌觚斚袷窃诎徇\裝在它那大甲殼里的貨物。但首要準(zhǔn)則是別帶太多錢。
You can buy lots of things at a carnival. You can shop for 24 carat gold jewelry. You can ask an artist to draw you a caricature of a famous person. You can watch someone carve your name into a piece of wood. You can even buy a type of superglue that comes in two parts. After you use the catalyst to catalyze the glue, it takes only five minutes to form a solid bond.
在狂歡節(jié)上，你可以瘋狂采購。你可以選購24克拉的金首飾;你可以請一名畫家為你畫一幅某名人的漫畫;你可以看著你的名字被人刻在一塊木頭上;你甚至可以買一種由兩部分組成的超級膠水。你先用催化劑催化膠水，5分鐘后，膠水就粘得很牢固了。
There are a lot of unusual attractions too. Often there will be a fortuneteller who will seem pretty skilled at predicting cataclysms. Sometimes, they will have a wizard who pretends to cast spells.
此外，還有很多稀奇古怪的東西吸引你。時常會有一位善于語言災(zāi)難的算命先生。有時，又有一位巫師假裝在那里下魔咒。
Occasionally, there will be a show that appeals solely to carnal desires. I always stay away from these shows. The last thing I need it to be castigated by my parents, again!
偶爾，在狂歡節(jié)上會有單純滿足肉欲的表演，遇上這些表演，我總會離得遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的。我才不愿意再讓父母訓(xùn)斥一番呢!
Words:
carapace n. (蟹或龜?shù)鹊?甲殼
carat n. (寶石重量單位)克拉
cardiac adj. 心臟的
cardinal adj. 首要的，主要的;紅衣風(fēng)頭鳥(一種美洲鳥，雄性有深紅色羽毛)
cargo n. 船貨，貨物
caricature n. (滑稽模仿的)諷刺畫
carnage n. 大屠殺，殘殺
carnival n. 狂歡節(jié)
carnivorous adj. 食肉的
carve vt. 切開，雕刻
cascade n. 小瀑布;一連串，連續(xù)大量涌出(或落下)的東西
cast vt. 澆鑄;投、拋
castigate v. 譴責(zé)，訓(xùn)斥
cast-iron adj. 鑄鐵的
casual adj. 非正式的，隨便的;漫不經(jīng)心的
casualty n. 傷亡人員，意外事故
cataclysm n. 大災(zāi)難，大變動(常指大洪水或地震)
catalyst n. 催化劑;促使事情發(fā)展的因素
catalyze vt. 促使;激勵;(化)催化
