The smell of roasted chillis filled the air as the chef moved the large chunks of charcoal around in the fire. He chilled a bottle of red wine as he waited for the fire to build. I’m at a chateau in France. By the way, French chefs love to chat, and they usually have a fair amount of charisma. However, they will chide you if you try to speak French. Fortunately, I do not speak French.
空氣中彌漫著烤辣椒的味道,廚師正忙著將火里燒著的大塊木炭鋪開。他涼了瓶紅葡萄酒,一面等著火旺起來。我在一座法國城堡里。對了,法國廚師喜歡聊天,而且他們通常很有魅力。但如果你試圖講法語,就會遭到他們的責罵。幸好我不說法語。
Did I mention that I’m a well-trained secret agent? I keep my edge by remaining chaste. I’m also chary. I never work without a disguise that matches my assignment. I’m also an expert at using chicanery to accomplish my mission.
我提到我是個訓練有素的密探了嗎?我為人正派,故總能勝人一籌。我還非常謹慎,工作時我總會偽裝起來,以配合任務需要。我尤其善用詭計,從而圓滿完成任務。
By the way, I’m working undercover at this moment. My job is to investigate Joe Banana who is the head of a big charity. I followed him to this island chateau where he’s holding a party. It was pretty tough getting here. I had to charter a private boat and even the captain had problems charting his course. It was a pretty chilly night to be on a boat.
順便說一下,我現(xiàn)在正秘密工作。我的任務是調(diào)查一家大型慈善組織的頭目喬巴拿納。我跟蹤他來到這座島上城堡。他將在這里舉辦宴會。要來這里可不容易。我得租上一條私人小船,而船長甚至很難把航線在海圖上標示出來。這天晚上坐在船上感覺相當寒冷。
Gaining entry to the chateau was just as difficult. They always check you at the door for weapons. Also, you have to make a charitable contribution to gain entry to these types of parties. I used my disguise to sneak in through the kitchen. I wish that noisy bird hadn’t chirped.
進城堡也同樣困難。他們總是在門口檢查你有沒有攜帶武器。而且,你還得慷慨解囊,方能參加這種慈善宴會。我靠偽裝通過廚房混了進去。要是那只吵死人的鳥沒喳喳叫就好了。
I really cherish these successful infiltrations. Now, all I need to do is to charm my way into a seat at Joe Banana’s table so that I can hear everything he says. I probably should have used a different disguise but this was the only one that seemed to match the assignment. I hope he likes chimpanzees!
我非常珍惜這些能成功潛入的機會。現(xiàn)在,我只需一路應酬地做到喬巴拿納的那桌酒席上就行了,這樣,我就可以一字不漏地聽他發(fā)表講話。我也許改用別的偽裝,但只有這一身才適合這次任務。我希望他喜歡黑猩猩!
Words:
charcoal n. 炭;木炭
charisma n. (大眾愛戴的)的領(lǐng)袖氣質(zhì),魅力
charitable adj. 慈善的,慈善事業(yè)的;仁慈的;施舍慷慨的
charity n. 施舍,慈善(事業(yè)、機構(gòu))
chart n. 海圖,圖表;vt. 制圖
charter vt. 準許(某人或某物)包租。。。;特許;n.憲章,章程
chary adj. 小心的,謹慎的
chaste adj. 貞潔的;純潔的,正派的,高雅的;(思想、言論)樸素的
chat vi. 閑談
chateau n. 城堡,高級賓館
check vt. 檢查,核對;阻止,加以控制;n. 支票
chef n. 廚師
cherish vt. 懷抱(希望等);珍愛
chicanery n. 詭計,詐騙
chide vt. 斥責
chill vt. 使變冷;冷卻;n. 寒意,寒戰(zhàn)
chilli n. 紅辣椒
chilly adj. 寒冷的
mpanzee n. 黑猩猩
chirp vi. 喳喳(蟲和鳥的叫聲)