365个英语简短小故事-264. The Man Who Loved Women

Grady was rich, but he was 78 and on his deathbed. No amount of money—or love—could save him now.

In his youth, Grady had been a major skirt-chaser. No woman was safe from his charm¹. He used to juggle² three or four girlfriends at a time.

He’d often accidentally³ call them by the wrong names. The first time that happened to a new girlfriend, she would get upset. Instead of lying, Grady would admit that he had another girlfriend—or two. “But,” he would quickly add, “you are my number one. You’ll always be my number one.”

Somehow, this little white lie often worked. Sometimes his various girlfriends would even end up meeting each other and become fast friends.

Any attractive⁴ woman was a target for Grady. He would walk right up to her and say, “You’re very attractive. Are you single and unattached?” If she said yes, he’d invite her out for a cup of coffee right then and there. If she said yes, but she didn’t have time just then for coffee, he’d get her phone number and ask for a rain check. If she said no, he’d ask her if she had a twin sister who was single and unattached. This often made the woman smile or laugh. Sometimes she would change her no to a yes.

Grady was a wonderful dancer. He was just average-looking, but he carried himself with confidence⁵ and had a ready smile and a pleasant laugh. He was well-read, he knew a thousand jokes, and he had no bad habits. Perhaps most important, he made a woman feel like a woman, according⁶ to many of his girlfriends.

Even in his old age, Grady hadn’t slowed down. Tending to his dying⁷ needs were Didi and Mimi, a pair of 40-year-old twins that Grady had finally “settled down” with.

 

1 charm   

vt.使着迷，使陶醉；n.招人喜欢之处，魅力

参考例句：

• With all imperfections the short play has a real charm.尽管有不少缺欠，这出小戏仍颇具魅力。
• He could resist her charm no longer.他再也抗拒不住她的魅力。

2 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

3 accidentally   

adv.偶然地；意外地

参考例句：

• Mary accidentally let out that her mother had telephoned.玛丽无意中说出她的母亲来过电话。
• As I turned around,I accidentally hit him in the face.我转身时不经意撞了他的脸。

4 attractive   

adj.有吸引力的；引起注意的

参考例句：

• Bright colours are attractive to children.鲜艳的颜色对儿童有吸引力。
• The food has an attractive taste.这食品的味道很诱人。

5 confidence   

n.信任，信托，自信，信心，把握，大胆，厚颜，过于自信，狂妄

参考例句：

• We have full confidence in our victory.我们有必胜的把握。
• I should like to exchange a few words with you in confidence.我想私下和你交换点意见。

6 according   

adj.按照，根据

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。

7 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。