英语美文背诵 我们的好房东

Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University.

在爱荷华州大学读大三时，我和两个朋友从宿舍搬出来，租了一间房子。

We were all a bit afraid of our landlord, a gruff middle aged¹ man who was "all business" when we signed the lease.

房东是一个粗鲁的中年人，我们都有点怕他。

He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and maintaining the house and appliances. We weren't really supposed to, but during the fall semester, my housemates and I threw a party.

他交代我们要及时交房租，好好爱护房子和电器。下半学期，我和室友举办了一个聚会。

We sent invitations to many friends and told everyone that we knew to come to our house on Friday night. We drew a large crowd and everyone had a great time. The last guests left in the wee hours of the morning.

我们邀请许多朋友，让他们星期五晚上都到家里来玩。我们一大群人玩得很尽兴，最后一个客人在天快要亮时才离开。

Exhausted², we decided³ to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning. Well, you guessed it!

玩得筋疲力尽的我们决定先睡觉，第二天早上起来再清扫房子。噢，你猜怎么着。

We were awakened⁴ about 7:00 a.m. by our landlord, who was knocking on the door. Sheepishly, we let him in, expecting to incur⁵ his wrath⁶. Instead, he picked up a party invitation that had been laying on the sidewalk and asked, "Why didn't you girls invite me?"

早上七点时，房东的敲门声把我们吵醒，我们不好意思地让他进来，料想会遭他怒骂。谁知，他捡起道边的一张宴会请柬，问道：“你们这些女孩子怎么不邀请我呢?”

He came into the house, made a minor⁷ repair, and spent a few minutes helping⁸ us pick up trash from the yard. We weren't quite sure what to make of our unexpected luck, but we were thrilled that our landlord had been so understanding.

他走进屋子，简单清理了一下，又帮我们把院子里的垃圾清扫了。我们也不知道怎么这么走运，兴奋地发现我们的房东竟如此通情达理。

A few months later, I made a mathematical error while balancing my checkbook and my bank soon notified me that I had bounced a check. I was mortified⁹ when I discovered that it was my rent check and that I had to notify my landlord.

数月后，由于计算失误，账户上没有余额了。银行很快给我发了退票。我羞愧地发现那是我给房东的月租支票，而我又不得不告诉房东.

I figured that he viewed my housemates and I as irresponsible after the party incident and this would prove him right. I was certain that he would evict¹⁰ me. Somehow, I mustered¹¹ the courage to call him and explained what had happened.He said, "I have a daughter about your age, and the same thing happened to her once. Would you like to wait until next month and send a double payment then?" I've never forgotten our landlord's kindness and understanding.

那次聚会后，我想他一定以为我的室友们都是不负责任的人，现在更证实了他的看法。他一定会把我们赶出去的。可不知为什么，当我鼓起勇气给他打电话解释时，他说：“我有一个女儿，跟你们差不多大，她曾经也干过同样的事。你不想等级到下个月给我双份月租吗?”我永远都忘不了房东的善心和通情达理。

He also taught me an important lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I'm proud to say that I have not bounced a check since (though I have thrown a few more parties)!

他教给我一个重要的人生道理：不要以书皮来判断书的好坏(切勿以貌取人)。我自豪地说，从那以后银行再也没给我发过退票(尽管我又举办过几次聚会)。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

6 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

11 mustered   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• We mustered what support we could for the plan. 我们极尽所能为这项计划寻求支持。
• The troops mustered on the square. 部队已在广场上集合。 来自《简明英汉词典》