365个英语简短小故事-152. Fire-Starters

Police arrested five young men for setting the Malibu Canyon¹ fire that recently destroyed 53 homes, resulted in the temporary evacuation of 12,000 people, and burned 5,000 acres of woodland. The fire began in a small public park that prohibited alcohol and fires. The men, with seven friends, were drinking beer and wine; a campfire helped keep them warm that chilly², windy evening. They were roasting hotdogs and marshmallows on the campfire.

Firemen and deputy sheriffs searched the park afterward³, and found some food, food packages, empty bottles and cans, and even a few receipts. The deputy sheriffs went to Ralphs, the local supermarket that the receipts came from. The assistant manager was there the night the food and booze were sold.

“Oh, yes, I remember them very well,” he said. The men were regular customers, who showed up at least once a month on Friday or Saturday night. They usually bought firewood, food, and alcohol, often with a credit card. He wondered if they might be using the firewood in a prohibited area, but he never said anything about it. “They seemed like intelligent people,” he told a deputy sheriff.

At a televised news conference, County Sheriff Lee Baca announced the arrests. However, at least one homeowner was still bitter. “That’s good detective work, but so what?” asked Martha Knapp. “These arrests aren’t going to rebuild our homes or diminish our misery⁴. These guys are young—half of their income for the rest of their lives should go toward paying for our losses. But that will never happen. I wish they had all been in my home when it burnt down. I would have enjoyed kicking their dead bodies.”

 

1 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。