英文短篇故事（纽约）133 Drug Addict Shoots Four People

 　　Four people lost their lives last Sunday morning. A man walked into a Long Island drugstore. He and his wife needed painkillers¹. He shot and killed everyone in the drugstore. Then he stole about 5,000 painkillers. Police arrested him several days later. He was mowing² the lawn at his mother's house. "Why did he have to kill four people?" asked Mrs. Smith, the wife of the pharmacist. Mr. Smith was filling in on Sunday for the regular pharmacist. The regular pharmacist had stayed home for Father's Day. A young woman, Miss Garcia, was assisting Mr. Smith on Sunday. She would have graduated from high school yesterday. An elderly grandfather, Mr. Jones, was picking up a prescription³ for his ailing⁴ wife. A single mother, Miss Evans, was picking up a prescription for her son. She was to get married next month. "Why did he have to kill ANYBODY?" wailed⁵ Mrs. Smith.

1 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

2 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

5 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句