胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯026：湯姆的探索 Tom’s Search
Tom was a product of the baby boom generation. He had a bold personality. His passion for adventure seemed boundless.
湯姆是嬰兒潮時(shí)代的產(chǎn)物。他的性格大膽，對(duì)冒險(xiǎn)似乎擁有永無止境的熱情。
He worked as a supervisor at a mining company, boring holes in boulders to extract mineral samples. To measure the mineral content, the samples were heated to a temperature that was nearly 100 times the boiling point of the water. A certain percentage of gold content would indicate the presence of a new gold mine. Although the long hours sometimes made Tom feel like he was in bondage, Tom was bound to his job. Mining was not at all boring to him. The prospect of finding a bonanza was exciting and he felt a special bond with his workers. They bolstered his confidence that he would someday find gold.
他是一家礦業(yè)公司的主管，他的工作是在巨石上鉆洞以獲取礦物標(biāo)本。為檢驗(yàn)礦物成分，標(biāo)本又被加熱到水的沸點(diǎn)的近100倍。如果其中含有一定比例的金將意味著存在新的金礦。盡管有時(shí)長時(shí)間的工作讓湯姆感覺身處桎梏，但他還是深愛自己的工作。采礦對(duì)他而言一點(diǎn)也不無聊。找到富礦帶的希望令人興奮，他感到有一種特殊的紐帶鏈接著他和他的工人。他們使他鼓起信心，堅(jiān)信總有一天會(huì)找到金礦。
In the early years, the mining company’s stock had boomed in value. However, it had recently decreased in worth. The company desperately needed to find a new source of gold to boost its profits and to bounce back from its losses. Tom knew this. So he spent most of his time collecting mineral samples from the western boundary line of the new frontier. It was a dangerous area, but he knew that finding gold there would save the company and could earn him a bonus. It would also be a boon to his future with the company.
早年，這家礦業(yè)公司的股票一度暴漲，但最近股價(jià)已經(jīng)下跌。公司急于找到新的金礦，以提高利潤，扭虧為盈。這些湯姆都知道。所以他大部分時(shí)間都在新礦帶的西邊界采集礦物標(biāo)本。這是個(gè)危險(xiǎn)地帶，但他知道在這里找到金礦不僅能挽救公司，還能為自己掙得獎(jiǎng)金。這還將有利于他今后在公司的發(fā)展。
Tom was right. He found a huge gold source that year. The company promoted him to general manager, doubled his salary and held a grand celebration. Tom’s increase in importance did not lead him to make bombastic speeches at the party. Tom was not like that and it certainly would have created boredom at the gathering. Instead, he praise his men and yelled, “Let’s get boisterous tonight!”
湯姆是對(duì)的，那一年他找到了富含大量金礦的礦源。公司將他晉升為總經(jīng)理，給他加了雙倍的薪水，還舉行了隆重的慶典。湯姆的榮升并未導(dǎo)致他在聚會(huì)上夸夸其談。湯姆不是那種人，如果真是那樣，聚會(huì)豈不乏味之極。相反，湯姆將手下的工人稱贊了一番，然后喊道：“今晚讓我們盡情歡鬧吧!”
Words:
boiling point 沸點(diǎn)
boisterous adj. 喧鬧的，歡鬧的
bold adj. 大膽的;放肆無禮的
bolster n. 墊子，枕墊;vt. 支持
bombastic adj. 夸大的，言過其實(shí)的
bonanza n. 富礦帶;興旺發(fā)達(dá);帶來好運(yùn)之事
bond n. 聯(lián)結(jié)，聯(lián)系;粘連;化學(xué)鍵;公債
bondage n. 奴役，束縛
bonus n. 紅利，獎(jiǎng)金
boom n. 繁榮;vi. 急速發(fā)展
boon n. 恩惠，恩賜;神益，非常有用的東西
boost vt. 增加，提高，促進(jìn)
bore vt. 鉆孔
boredom n. 煩惱，無聊
boring adj. 令人厭煩的
boulder n. 巨石
bounce vi. 跳起，彈回
bound adj. 被束縛的;負(fù)有義務(wù)的;深切的愛;注定的，必然的;n.范圍，限定
boundary n. 分界線，邊界
boundless adj. 無限的，無邊無際的
