原版英文小故事 12. Unhappy Birthday

A drunk driver speeding along in his SUV on the 60 freeway last night killed three of four people in a sedan. The sedan had slowed to a crawl because of construction work on the 60. Four lanes were merged¹ into two. The Department of Transportation crew was making repairs to a three-mile stretch of highway. Hundreds of bright orange traffic cones² guided the merger³. Four heavy duty trucks were parked in the emergency lanes. Their brightly glowing signs said, “Slow. Be prepared to stop. Construction ahead.” Vehicle traffic had slowed to about 3 mph.

Missing all of these warnings, the drunk driver, going at least 50 mph, plowed⁴ into the sedan. The sedan driver, a computer programmer, was a recent immigrant to America. In the passenger seat was his wife, and in the back seat were his 6-year-old daughter and his 8-year-old son. It was 9 p.m. The family had been at a restaurant to celebrate the little girl’s birthday. They never knew what hit them.

The impact of the collision caused the sedan to explode in flames. Somehow, the sedan driver managed to crawl out of the car seconds after the explosion. Third degree burns covered much of his body. His chances for survival are slim. His life, as he knew it, is over. His loved ones were burned beyond recognition. The car was a skeleton of metal.

The 28-year-old drunk was not only unhurt, but was able to escape from his smoldering⁵ SUV and run away, leaving two whisky bottles behind. The police tracked him down this morning. He claimed that his brakes had failed. It was revealed that he had four prior convictions for driving under the influence in the past 10 years.

 

1 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

2 cones   

n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒

参考例句：

• In the pines squirrels commonly chew off and drop entire cones. 松树上的松鼠通常咬掉和弄落整个球果。 来自辞典例句
• Many children would rather eat ice cream from cones than from dishes. 许多小孩喜欢吃蛋卷冰淇淋胜过盘装冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

3 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

4 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

5 smoldering   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mat was smoldering where the burning log had fallen. 燃烧的木棒落下的地方垫子慢慢燃烧起来。 来自辞典例句
• The wood was smoldering in the fireplace. 木柴在壁炉中闷烧。 来自辞典例句