背诵为王 第 三 册 第 42 课

Lesson42 An Affable Man
J.S. Minion¹ was a maintenance foreman in the Public Works department ofExcelsior City. He was a favorite of the senior officials at City Hall. Theyall praised his unfailing affability.
"I like Minion,"said the Superintendent² of Works. "He has good judgment³ andis always pleasant and agreeable."This behavior was appropriate for Minion's position: he was not supposed tomake policy, so he had no need to disagree with his superiors.
The Superintendent of Works retired⁴ and Minion succeeded him. Minioncontinued to agree with everyone. He passed on to his foreman everysuggestion that came from above. The resulting conflicts in policy, and thecontinual changing of plans, soon demoralized the department. Complaintspoured in from the Mayor and other officials, from taxpayers⁵ and from themaintenance workers"union. The Maintenance Department regularly exceeds itsbudget, yet fails to fulfill⁶ its program of work.Minion still says "Yes" toeveryone, and carries messagesbriskly back and forth⁷ between his superiors and his subordinates.

unfailing 经久不衰的，无穷尽的
affability 和蔼，亲切

一个和蔼可亲的人
密尼是埃克斯塞尔市公共事业部的一个维修工长。市政厅里的高级办公人员都很喜欢他。他们都赞赏他，因为他总是和蔼可亲。
“我喜欢密尼，”公共事业部的主管说。“他有很好的判断力，总是和蔼可亲容易相处。”
这样的举止与密尼的职位很相配：他无权决策，所以他没有必要与领导的意见相左。
事业部的主管退休了，密尼接替了他的职位。密尼继续与每个人融洽相处。他向下属传达每一个领导的建议。决策上的冲突，计划的不断变更很快使部门士气受挫。市长和其他官员、纳税人和维修工人协会都怨声载道。维修部门经常超出预算，却无法完成工作目标。
密尼仍旧对每个人说着“是”，并且在上级和下属之间传递着信息。

1 minion   

n.宠仆；宠爱之人

参考例句：

• At worst some egregious minion had conducted a childish private enterprise.这最多也不过是一批低能的小人物自己干的无聊把戏而已。
• She delegated the job to one of her minions.她把这份工作委派给她的一个手下。

2 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。