胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯040：鮑勃 Bob
Long ago, it wasn’t unusual for colossal countries to establish colonies in distant lands. They were often successful at colonizing weaker kingdoms. However, some small nations were able to resist colonial rule. This brings to mind a rather comical case involving a man named Bob.
很久以前，一個龐大的國家在海外建立殖民地是司空見慣的事。這些大國常常能在弱國成功拓殖。然而，一些小國卻能抵制殖民統(tǒng)治。這讓我想起一件非常滑稽的事，事關(guān)一個名叫鮑勃的人。
Bob was a colonel in a large country. Although he held the title of commander, he wasn’t a very good one. The men didn’t like him because of his comic ways and because he had obtained his position through influence rather than hard work. This was a bad combination for a leader. Nevertheless, Bob’s supervising officer commended him and recommended that Bob be sent to lead the colonization of a far-away country. Some believed that Bob was given this job because it was commensurate with his abilities. Others commented that the military just wanted to send Bob far away.
鮑勃是某大國的陸軍上校。他雖說擁有統(tǒng)帥的頭銜，但還算不上一個好統(tǒng)帥。將士們不喜歡他，因?yàn)樗e止滑稽可笑，而且他是通過關(guān)系而不是刻苦努力才獲得這一要職的。對一名領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者而言，這可不是一個好的組合。盡管如此，鮑勃的上司仍對他稱贊有加，并推薦鮑勃到一個遙遠(yuǎn)的國家去領(lǐng)導(dǎo)拓殖行動。一些人認(rèn)為鮑勃有相稱的能力勝任這一職務(wù)，其他人則議論說軍方只不過想把鮑勃趕得遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的。
Bob commenced his assignment and reached the distant country by boat. It wasn’t long before Bob found himself facing the native resistance. By then, all of Bob’s men had combined to desert him. So Bob tried to hold off the natives with the only weapon he knew how to use-fire. He planned to scare the natives at night by creating a huge wall of fire in their village.
鮑勃走馬上任，坐船來到這個遙遠(yuǎn)的國家。鮑勃很快就遭到當(dāng)?shù)厝说姆纯?。那時(shí)，鮑勃手下的所有將士早已聯(lián)合起來叛離了他。于是，鮑勃只好用他唯一會使的武器——火來抵擋當(dāng)?shù)厝?。他打算在晚上圍著村子點(diǎn)一圈大火，嚇唬嚇唬當(dāng)?shù)厝恕?/p>
At midnight, he started pouring combustible liquids around the village. Unfortunately, he got some on the seat of his pants. Lighting a match to see, he achieved combustion. The natives said that Bob looked like a comet as he ran around the village trying to find water.
半夜時(shí)分，他開始圍著村子倒易燃液體。不幸的是，他臀部的褲子上也沾了點(diǎn)液體。他點(diǎn)了根火柴想看個究竟，卻見他自己也惹火燒身了。當(dāng)?shù)厝苏f鮑勃滿村跑著找水時(shí)，看起來就像一顆彗星。
Back at home, radio commentators laughed and newspapers published humorous commentaries about the event. But the natives liked Bob. In fact, they commemorate Bob every year on the anniversary of his arrival.
在他的家鄉(xiāng)，廣播評論員捧腹大笑，報(bào)紙上登出各種關(guān)于此事的搞笑評論。但是家鄉(xiāng)人喜歡鮑勃。事實(shí)上，每逢一年一度的鮑勃返鄉(xiāng)紀(jì)念日，他們都會紀(jì)念鮑勃。
Words:
colonel n. 陸軍上校
colonial adj. 殖民的，殖民地的
colonize vt. 建立殖民地，拓殖;(生物群體)定居，居于
colony n. 殖民地;群體
colossal adj. 巨大的
combination n. 化合，組合
combine v. 聯(lián)合，結(jié)合
combustible adj. 易燃的
combustion n. 燃燒
comet n. 彗星
comic adj. 滑稽的，好笑的;喜劇的
comical adj. 好笑的，滑稽的
commander n. 司令官，指揮官
commence v. 開始，著手
commend v. 稱贊，頌揚(yáng)
commemorate vt. 紀(jì)念
commensurate adj. 相應(yīng)的，相稱的
comment n. 注釋，評論;vi. 談及;注釋，評論
commentary n. 注釋，解說詞;評論
commentator n. 評論員，講解員
