社交生活篇：垃圾处理系统（1）

A: Hi, Tom. This is Hannah calling.

B: Hi, Hannah. What's up?

A: I think my garbage disposal kicked the bucket.

B: Is it dying, or is it dead?

A: Turning on the switch is the same as not turning on the switch.

B: Did it make strange sounds before it croaked¹?

A: Last week I noticed that it sounded strange.

B: You haven't been putting mango or avocado seeds in there, have you?

A: I use the disposal rarely. When I do use it, I put only soft food into it.

B: I think a disposal freezes up when it's not used frequently.

A: You mean it's sort of like use it or lose it?

B: Try loosening it up by using the disposal key.

A: Disposal key? I have a house key and a car key, but no disposal key.

B: Well, I've got an extra key. I'll bring it over.

A: Okay, Come on over, and show me how to fix this thing.

B: Sometimes the key works, sometimes it doesn't. I still might have to call a plumber².

A: Well, there's no big hurry, as far as I am concerned.

B: If we don't fix it sometime, your apartment might start to attract bugs³ or rodents⁴.

1 croaked   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• The crow croaked disaster. 乌鸦呱呱叫预报灾难。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• 'she has a fine head for it," croaked Jacques Three. “她有一个漂亮的脑袋跟着去呢，”雅克三号低沉地说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

2 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

3 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句