原版英语小短文 105. Don't Be Stupid

　　Why do people do stupid things? Some people try to walk across freeways. They get run over. Some people stand on the edge¹ of cliffs². They slip³ and fall to their death. Some people think a gun is not loaded. They point the gun at a friend. They pull the trigger⁴. They kill their friend. Some people want to watch a storm up close. They go to the ocean. They feel the wind. They see the big waves. They are excited. Then a big wave takes them out to sea. They drown. Many people drop out of school. They say that school is boring. They want to have fun. School is not fun. They hate homework. They get a job at McDonald's. All day long they ask the customers, "Do you want fries with that?" Is that fun? No, but it is stupid. Some people cheat on their wives or husbands. They get caught. Their marriage ends. They are alone. Many people smoke cigarettes. They get cancer. Many people drink and drive. Drinking and driving is against the law. It's dangerous. It's stupid. But people do it every day.

1 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

2 cliffs   

n.悬崖，峭壁（cliff的复数形式）

参考例句：

• the chalk cliffs of southern England 英格兰南部的白垩质峭壁
• Local folklore has it that prehistoric men drove cattle over these cliffs. 当地民间传说中称，史前人类把野牛从这些悬崖上驱赶下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 slip   

n.滑倒，事故，片，纸片；vi.滑动，滑倒，失足；减退；vt.使滑动，滑过，摆脱，闪开，塞入；adj.滑动的，活络的，有活结的

参考例句：

• One slip and you could fall off the building.脚下一滑就可能从建筑物上跌下去。
• I hope you will pardon me for that slip.我希望您原谅我那次失误。

4 trigger   

n.触发器，板机，制滑机；v.触发（事件）

参考例句：

• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again.他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。
• He pulled the trigger but the gun didn't go off.他打了一枪，没有发火。