胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯106：腦筋急轉(zhuǎn)彎 Quick Thinking
Lydia gazed across the restaurant at the woman dressed in elegant garments. She was a good example of a genteel woman, Lydia thought. Lydia looked back down at the piece she had been reading in the local gazette. It was an article about the science of genetics. It made Lydia wonder whether gentility might be a product of genetic engineering. Could that be the genesis? If so, she was doomed. She was meeting her rich boyfriend’s family next weekend. She would never be able to fit in with the gentry.
利迪婭凝視著餐館那頭那個身穿精美服飾的女人。利迪婭想，她是有教養(yǎng)的女性中的一個范例。利迪婭回過來看一直在讀的當(dāng)?shù)卣珗笊系哪瞧恼隆＿@是一篇關(guān)于遺傳學(xué)的文章。它使利迪婭考慮文雅是不是遺傳工程的成果。那有可能是起源嗎?如果是這樣，她就死定了。下個周末，她就要見男友的家人了。她永遠(yuǎn)也不可能與貴族相配。
“Sometimes, I feel as plain and insignificant as a gear in a giant machine,” said Lydia.
“有時候，我覺得自己像一臺巨型機器上的一個齒輪一樣普通而平凡。”利迪婭說。
“I don’t think you’re a gear” Ruth giggled. “But even if you were, at least you would be working towards generating useful. Frankly, I think you are more like a precious gem in a jewelry store. In fact, you’re like a diamond in the rough.”
“我不覺得你是齒輪，”露絲咯咯地笑道。“但即使你是，至少你也會努力造出有用的東西。坦率地說，我覺得你更像珠寶店里的一塊貴重的寶石。事實上，你像‘一顆未經(jīng)加工的寶石。’”
“Please don’t gibe me,” Lydia said. “I feel as repulsive and small as one of those deadly germs often portrayed in the horror movie genre.”
“請不要嘲笑我，”利迪婭說。“我覺得自己令人討厭，渺小，像恐怖類電影描述的那些致命的細(xì)菌那樣。”
“I’m not trying to mock you,” said Ruth. “It was a genuine observation. You are the most genial person I know. People born in the North are known for their manners.”
“我不是要嘲笑你，”露絲說，“這是我觀察到的真實情況。你是我認(rèn)識的最和藹可親的人。出生在北方的人以他們的風(fēng)度著名。”
“Thanks,” replied Lydia. “That was a very kind generalization. However, I was born in the South. Can you generalize about people in the South?”
“謝謝，”利迪婭答道。“這是一個很友好的概括。但是，我出生在南方。你能概括一下南方人的特征嗎?”
“Well, eh,” Ruth stuttered. Ruth reached into her pocket and realized that she didn’t bring enough money to pay her half of the restaurant bill. “I know,” said Ruth. “People born in the South are known for being very generous! By the way, can I please borrow five dollars from you?”
“唔，嗯，”露絲口吃了。魯斯把手伸進(jìn)口袋，發(fā)現(xiàn)她帶的錢不夠支付餐館賬單的一半。“我知道，” 露絲說，“出生在南方的人以其慷慨大方而著稱。順便問一下，我能從你這里借5美元嗎?”
Words:
gaze v. 盯，凝視
gazette n. 政府的公報
gear n. 齒輪，傳動裝置
gem n. 寶石，珠寶
generalization n. 概括
generalize vt. 歸納，概括
generate vt. 造成，產(chǎn)生;產(chǎn)卵
generous adj. 慷慨的;大量的
genesis n. 起源，產(chǎn)生
genetic adj. 遺傳學(xué)的，起源的
genetics n. 遺傳學(xué)
genial adj. 和藹可親的
genre n. 文學(xué)上的流派和體裁
genteel adj. 有教養(yǎng)的，文雅的
gentility n. 有教養(yǎng)，文雅
gentry n. 貴族
genuine adj. 真正的，真實的
germ n. 細(xì)菌
giant n. 巨人，巨大的怪物;adj. 龐大的，巨大的
gibe vi. 嘲弄，譏笑
