胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯093：建議 The Proposal
“Don’t pay any attention to the fa?ade,” said Ruth. “The external part of the restaurant is being renovated. It’s much nicer inside.” Ruth had extolled the restaurant so much that Linda felt compelled to try it.
“別注意飯店的正面，”魯絲說，“它外面的部分正在重修，內(nèi)部要漂亮的多。”魯絲對飯店大為贊賞，琳達(dá)覺得非得進(jìn)去去試試。
Linda sat down and stared at the menu. “The prices are extravagant.”
琳達(dá)坐下來，瞪大眼睛看著菜單：“價(jià)格太高了。”
“Don’t worry, I’ll treat you,” Ruth replied. She had an exuberant smile. “Don’t you think this place exudes charm? Even the napkins are made of special fabric.”
“不必?fù)?dān)心，我請客。”魯絲回答，她興高采烈地笑著，“你不認(rèn)為這個(gè)地方魅力四射嗎?就連餐巾都是由特別織物做的。”
“I thought places like this were extinct in our district,” Linda said. She lit a cigarette and began to smoke.
“我認(rèn)為這樣的地方在我們地區(qū)已經(jīng)滅絕了。”琳達(dá)說，她點(diǎn)著一只煙開始抽起來。
“Speaking of extinction, you’re not going to be in existence for much longer if you keep smoking,” Ruth said. Ruth thought Linda’s extremities were losing color due to her smoking. “Besides, it’s against the law to smoke in a public restaurant.”
“說我‘滅絕’，如果你繼續(xù)抽煙，你也不會(huì)活多久。”魯絲說，魯絲認(rèn)為琳達(dá)的雙手由于吸煙正在失去光澤。“而且，在公共飯店吸煙是違法的。”
Just then, a police officer approached. “Madam, please extinguish your cigarette,” the policeman said. “I’m not trying to extort money from you but the law requires that you pay me a $300 fine.” The officer turned to Ruth. “You’re an eyewitness.”
正說著，一個(gè)警官過來了。“小姐，請滅掉你的煙。”警官說，“我不是在勒索你，但法律規(guī)定，你得交300美元的罰款。”他又轉(zhuǎn)向魯絲，“你是目擊人。”
“Well, you’re going to have to extract it from somebody else because I don’t have $300,” Linda said.
“那么，你得從別人那兒榨取這筆錢，因?yàn)槲覜]有300美元。”琳達(dá)說。
Ruth and the police officer laughed. “He’s being facetious,” Ruth said. “This is my boyfriend, James. He’s humorous, isn’t he?”
魯絲和警官都笑了。“他在開玩笑。”魯絲解釋說，“這是我的男朋友，詹姆斯。他很幽默，不是嗎?”
Linda wasn’t amused. “Sure,” Linda said. “His joke was an funny as my last facelift. Next time, just tell me a fable.”
琳達(dá)可不覺得好笑，“的確，”她說，“他的玩笑跟我上次整容一樣荒唐，下次直接跟我講個(gè)神話得了。”
“I thought it might facilitate your effort to quit smoking,” James said. “I’m dory if my facile effort upset you. Come to the police facility someday and I’ll show you around. However, the real reason I’m here is to give Ruth this diamond ring.”
“我原以為這會(huì)促使你努力戒煙，”詹姆斯，“如果我輕率淺薄的做飯冒犯了你，我像你道歉。改天到警察署來，我?guī)銋⒂^。不過，我來這兒的真正原因是送給魯絲這個(gè)鉆石戒指。”
“It was so many beautiful facets!” Ruth sighed.
“它有那么漂亮的琢面。”魯絲感嘆道。
James kneeled. “Will you marry me?”
詹姆斯跪下來：“你愿意嫁給我嗎?”
Words:
external adj. 外部的，表面的
extinct adj. (動(dòng)物)滅絕的;(火山)不再活躍的;熄滅的
extinction n. 消失，滅絕
extinguish v. 熄滅，消滅，撲滅
extol vt. 贊美
extort v. 勒索，強(qiáng)奪
extract n. 榨出物，精華;vt. 得到;榨出
extravagant adj. 過分的，過度的，放肆的;奢侈的
extremity n. 末端;極度;(人的)手足
exuberant adj. 充滿活力的
exude v. 使慢慢流出，四溢
eyewitness n. 目擊者
fable n. 寓言，神話;無稽之談
fabric n. 織物，布;結(jié)構(gòu)，構(gòu)造
fa?ade n. 正面，表面
facetious adj. 幽默的，滑稽的;好開玩笑的
facile adj. 容易做的;敏捷的;輕率淺薄的，非發(fā)自內(nèi)心的
facilitate vt. 使容易;有助于，促進(jìn)
facility n. 設(shè)施，設(shè)備;(供特定用途的)場所，軍事機(jī)構(gòu)
