胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇008

Lesson 8 Funny Things Happen 趣事发生

Words:

alignment¹ n. 成一条直线；直线排列；队列；联合，联盟

alike adj. 相同的，相似的

allege² v. 宣称，主张，断言

allegory n. 寓言

alleviate³ v. 缓和，减轻

alliteration⁴ n. 头韵

alloy⁵ n. 合金；vt. 使成合金

allude⁶ v. 间接提到，暗指

allure⁷ v. 引诱 n. 诱惑，吸引

ally n. 联盟，同盟者

aloft adv. 在高处；在空中

aloof⁸ adj. 远离的，冷淡的，漠不关心的

alter vt. 改变，修改

alteration⁹ n. 变更，改造

alternate adj. 交替的，轮流的；替代的，另选的；vi. 轮流，交替

alternative adj. （两种或以上的东西中）另一可选的，另外的；n. 可选事物，另一选择

altitude n. (海拔）高度

altruism¹⁰ n. 利他主义

altruistic¹¹ adj. 利他的，无私的

alumnus n. 男校友

Yesterday, I decided¹² to get my pants altered. I had $200 in my wallet, which was more than enough for the alteration. Foolishly however, I got lost taking an alternate route to the tailor shop. Fortunately, I had aspirin¹³ to alleviate my headache.

Walking further, I noticed a red balloon aloft, rising to the higher altitude. It distracted me, causing me to bump into two young brothers. They look alike but seemed opposite in personality. One was clearly aloof but the other appeared to be an altruistic individual. He could sense I was lost and happily gave me directions. Such altruism is so rare there days. What an ally he can be to a lost person! The contrast in their personalities¹⁴ reminded me of the biblical allegory of Cain and Abel. But it would be too hasty to allege such a contrast given that I didn't really know them.

I continued on my way but was allured¹⁵ into a bike shop by a windown photo of a lovely girl on a mountain bike. Below the photo, it said, "ride rough, ride real," a clever alliteration. I felt there was no alternative but to enter the shop.

The ower was an alumnus from my university. He alluded¹⁶ that the best bike for me would be the $200 bike that was displayed in the window photo. It was made out of a special lightweight alloy. He also offered to adjust my tire alignment for free.

Well, I didn't make it to the tailor that day. But I did ride home on a new bike. As for my pants? Well, the bike shop owner cut the pant legs off for free. Now I have a cool pair of shorts for riding.

昨天，我决定去裁缝店改裤子。我钱包里有200美金，改条裤子是绰绰有余了。但我在另选路线去裁缝铺时竟傻巴拉叽的迷路了。幸好我带着阿司匹林，头痛才得以减轻。

往前走不远，我注意到一只红气球飘在空中，它越飞越高。我盯着气球出神，不小心跟两个小兄弟撞了个满怀。他们长的很像，但性格迥异：一位是明显的不关心，另一位看起来则是个利他主义者。他能感到我迷路了，便欣然为我指路。这种利他主义现在实属罕见。对一位迷途者而言，他可谓盟友了！二人性格的反差让我想起来《圣经》里该隐和亚伯的寓言。不过，我并不真正了解他们，所以当下断言二人性格如该隐和亚伯那般迥异未免过于草率。

我继续往前走，不一会儿，我在一家自行车商店的橱窗里看见一张骑山地车的美女照片。在照片的诱惑下，我走进了这家商店。照片下有一行字：“骑山地才是真我体验。”很聪明的押头韵嘛。我觉得除了走进商店外无别的选择。

店主是我所在大学的校友。他暗示到，最适合我的自行车就是橱窗照片上价值200美元的那辆。它用一种特殊的轻型合金制成。他还提出为我免费调整轮胎，使之成直线排列。

这样一来，那天我就没能去成裁缝店。不过，我确实骑着一辆崭新的自行车回家。至于我得裤子嘛，自行车店的店主免费帮我剪短了。现在我就有了一条骑车时的酷酷短裤啦！

1 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

2 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 alliteration   

n.（诗歌的）头韵

参考例句：

• We chose alliteration on the theory a little vulgarity enhances memory.在理论上我们选择有点儿粗俗的头韵来帮助记忆。
• It'seems to me that in prose alliteration should be used only for a special reason.依我看，在散文里，头韵只能在一定的场合使用。

5 alloy   

n.合金，(金属的)成色

参考例句：

• The company produces titanium alloy.该公司生产钛合金。
• Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.青铜是铜和锡的合金。

6 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

7 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

8 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

9 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

10 altruism   

n.利他主义，不自私

参考例句：

• An important feature of moral behaviour is altruism.道德行为一个重要特点就是利他主义。
• Altruism is crucial for social cohesion.利他主义对社会的凝聚是至关重要的。

11 altruistic   

adj.无私的，为他人着想的

参考例句：

• It is superficial to be altruistic without feeling compassion.无慈悲之心却说利他，是为表面。
• Altruistic spirit should be cultivated by us vigorously.利他的精神是我们应该努力培养的。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

14 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

15 allured   

诱引，吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They allured her into a snare. 他们诱她落入圈套。
• Many settlers were allured by promises of easy wealth. 很多安家落户的人都是受了诱惑，以为转眼就能发财而来的。

16 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。