365个英语简短小故事- 51. Trash Truck

Every Monday night, Felix checked the big blue container in the carport behind his apartment building. If the container was at least a third full, he would take it out to the street for pick-up. Monday night, it was two-thirds full. He rolled it out into the street.

The next day, he checked the container. It was still almost full of recyclables. That was odd, because all the other blue containers across the street were empty. He could tell because a couple of lids were open. He walked across the street to double-check. Hmm, he wondered. Then he looked up his side of the street. There were two blue containers standing¹ there. He walked about 120 feet up the street and lifted each lid. Both containers were empty. How could the truck have missed his container?

He went upstairs to his apartment and called city hall. They connected him to the public works department. Susan said she would call Acme² Trash to let them know about the missed container. On Wednesday, Felix checked the container again. It was still full. But, the big green dumpster in the carport was missing. Apparently³, the message that Susan sent to Acme Trash had been misunderstood. Acme picked up the big green dumpster, which had already been emptied on Tuesday, instead of the blue container.

Felix left a message on Susan’s answer machine, saying to forget it. Then he went downstairs and pulled the almost full container back into its space in the carport. Let it sit there till next Tuesday, he told himself. Had he left another message, he was worried that his building would accidentally get dropped permanently⁴ off Acme’s pick-up list.

 

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 acme   

n.顶点，极点

参考例句：

• His work is considered the acme of cinematic art. 他的作品被认为是电影艺术的巅峰之作。
• Schubert reached the acme of his skill while quite young. 舒伯特的技巧在他十分年轻时即已达到了顶峰。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。