胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇030

Lesson The Dinner Guest 晚餐时的来客

Words:

 

calculate vt. 计算，估计

 

calibration n. 校准；规定；刻度

 

camouflage¹ n./v. 伪装

 

campaign n. (政治或商业性)活动，竞选活动；vi.竞选；作战

 

cancel vt. 取消

 

cancellation² n. 取消

 

candid³ adj. 率直，坦白而诚实的

 

candidate n. 候选人

 

cannibalism⁴ n. 同类相食

 

canny⁵ adj. 精明的，节约的

 

canopy⁶ n. 天蓬，遮蓬

 

canvas n. 帆布，画布

 

canvass⁷ v. 征求意见，游说拉票

 

canyon⁸ n. 峡谷

 

capability⁹ n. 能力

 

capable adj. 有能力的

 

capacious adj. 容量大的

 

capacity n. 容量，能力

 

captivate vt. 迷惑，迷住

 

captivity¹⁰ n. 囚禁，拘留

 

My new employer told me that they needed someone with my capabilities¹¹ to lead their unpopular forest clearing campaign. They said I was the best candidate for the job. I was a canny negotiator and a very capable speaker. To me, it was just a matter of being candid with the resident natives. I would captivate them with money before telling them that we needed to deforest their land. Then, I could easily calculate and negotiate a reasonable price.

 

I got the job, rather easily I thought. The company directed me to travel into the wilderness¹² by boat to canvass the resident natives. The night before the trip, I weighed myself. “Could the calibration on this scale the correct?” I said to myself. “I guess I better cancel my dinner plans. Otherwise the boat might sink.” But I knew that such a cancellation would make me too sad to travel, so I ate my usual meal.

 

The boat was capacious. The boat’s large canopy was made of green and brown canvas. It served as a nice camouflage for the boat. We floated down through the canyon for hours until we finally stopped. “You’ll travel by foot now, alone!” the boat captain said. He filled my water bottle to capacity and pointed¹³ the way with a strange smile.

 

Not long after, I ran into a resident native. He led me deep into the forest where I met their chief. He smiled and said, “You’ve had a long trip. My family would love to have you for dinner.” Expection a feast, I replied, “I’d be honored.”

 

Well, I’ve been in captivity for several hours now, awaiting the feast. What a pity. I was prepared for everything but cannibalism.

 

我的新雇主告诉我，他们需要一个像我这样有能力的人去领导那项不太受欢迎的森林采伐工程。他们说我是最佳人选。我是个精明的谈判者，又及其善于言辞。对于我来说，只需与当地居民坦诚相待即可。我会先用钱迷惑住他们，然后再告诉他们我们要采伐森林。接下来，我可以很容易地计算出一个好价钱，再和他们谈妥。

 

我轻而易举的争取到这份工作。公司指示我坐船进入一片荒野，去游说当地居民。出发前的那个晚上，我称了体重。“称的刻度会不会不准呢？”我自言自语道，“我想我还是取消晚餐计划好了。否则，那船没准会沉。”但我知道取消晚餐只会让我忧伤得无意出差，所以我一如平常地吃了晚饭。

 

船很宽敞，它的顶蓬是一块绿褐色的帆布，算是这艘船不错的伪装。我们顺流直下，漂了几个小时才穿过大峡谷，最后船停了。“现在你得步行了，一个人！”船长说道。他将我得水瓶装满水，然后怪怪地笑着为我指路。

 

很快，我就遇上了一个当地人，他领着我往森林深处走去。在那里，我见到了他们的酋长。他微笑着说：“你经历了一番长途跋涉，我的家人会很高兴与你共进晚餐。”我料想会是一顿丰盛的晚宴，便回答到：“不胜荣幸。”

 

哎，现在我已被囚禁好几个小时，等待着那顿丰盛的晚宴。真可惜，我设想到了一切，除了同类相食的野蛮。

1 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

2 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

3 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

4 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

5 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

6 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

7 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

8 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。

9 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

10 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。