原版英文小故事 44. Are You Busy Friday Night?

One night a motorcyclist crashed into a bridge. The rider was on his way home from a party. Traveling at about 70 mph on the unlit, two-lane road, he lost control on a curve. He lay next to his motorcycle for 20 minutes before a passerby¹ noticed the wreckage².

A half hour later, the rider was lying on a gurney in the local hospital. Moaning in pain, he was unaware³ of his condition or whereabouts. The emergency room doctors gave him no medication—they needed to examine him thoroughly⁴ before taking him to surgery.

His jaw⁵ was broken, as were all three bones in his right leg. Part of his femur was protruding⁶ through his thigh⁷, and there was a deep hole in his shin just below his knee. Dr. Kildare wanted to amputate the rider’s leg just below the knee. He said the hole in the shin was so deep that infection would be inevitable⁸. He figured amputation⁹ now would be better than amputation later.

Dr. Welby disagreed. He said the patient was young enough to heal rapidly, with little possibility of significant infection. Since Dr. Welby was in charge, the patient was allowed to keep his leg.

The day following surgery, the patient achieved brief consciousness in his hospital room. He didn’t notice that his leg was suspended and completely immobilized. He didn’t notice that there was an IV tube and needle taped into the back of each hand. He didn’t notice that his jaw was wired shut. All he noticed was that a beautiful young nurse was looking at him. He tried to introduce himself, but he had no idea what his name was. He went right back to sleep.

 

1 passerby   

n.过路人，行人

参考例句：

• We had our photo taken by a passerby.我们请了一个路人为我们照相。
• A passerby heard her screams and rushed to her aid.一个过路人听见她的尖叫，便冲过去帮助她。

2 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

3 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

4 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

6 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

7 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。