英文短篇故事（纽约）204 Brother, Can You Spare a Grand?

 　　Ben was¹ in bed. He could² hear his uncle in the kitchen. He was arguing³ with Ben's father. "Do I look like a bank? You're always asking me for money," Ben’s uncle said⁴. "And it always takes you years to pay⁵ me back." Ben's father said, "I ask you because you're my well-off brother. Look at you. You own⁶ your own business⁷. You're debt⁸ free⁹. You're single¹⁰. You party all the time. You have your own boat. You have a huge¹¹ condo in Manhattan. My wife¹² and I are trying to raise¹³ five kids¹⁵. We have this small apartment¹⁶ in Brooklyn. I work two jobs. I only borrow¹⁷ money in emergencies¹⁸." Ben's uncle said, "You shouldn't have had¹⁹ so many kids. Why would²⁰ anyone²¹ have five kids? You should have stopped after the first kid¹⁴. But you didn't. I should start charging²² you interest²³. Then maybe you'll have fewer²⁴ 'emergencies.'"

1 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

2 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

3 arguing   

v.争吵，辩论( argue的现在分词 )；坚决主张；提出理由证明；说服

参考例句：

• My brothers are always arguing. 我的兄弟们总是争论不休。
• an economist arguing against the current financial orthodoxy 一位批驳现行正统金融观念的经济学家

4 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

5 pay   

v.付钱；n.付钱；薪金

参考例句：

• How much did you pay?你付了多少钱？
• His pay is below the average.他的工资低于一般水平。

6 own   

v.拥有，持有；adj.(属于)自己的，特有的

参考例句：

• I need my own space.我需要自己的空间。
• Everything I own is yours.我所有的一切都是你的。

7 business   

n.商业， 买卖， 交易， 生意， 事情， 事物， 营业， 商行

参考例句：

• My father built his business on years of hard work. 我父亲多年奋斗创立了自己的事业。
• We must finish up this business in a day or two. 我们必须在一两天内把这事结束。

8 debt   

n.债务，义务，负债状态，罪，过失

参考例句：

• The man was pressed to pay off his debt.那人被逼还债。
• The firm had to charge off the debt as hopeless.公司只得把那笔没希望要回的债务注销。

9 free   

adj.自由的，免费的；v.使自由；adv.随意地

参考例句：

• I don't have much free time.我没有多少空闲时间。
• There really is no free lunch.天下果然没有免费的午餐。

10 single   

adj.单人的；单一的，单个的；未婚的，独身的

参考例句：

• I want a single room.我想要一个单人房间。
• Does he mind still being single?他对自己仍然单身在意吗？

11 huge   

adj.巨大的，庞大的

参考例句：

• He gave me a huge apple.他给了我一个大苹果。
• His acting raised a huge laugh.他的表演引起一阵大笑。

12 wife   

n.妻子，太太，老婆

参考例句：

• She is my wife.她是我妻子。
• He is a tall man but his wife is a short woman.他是个子很高的男人，但他妻子很矮。

13 raise   

v.提高，举起；饲养，养育；引起，惹起

参考例句：

• Why didn't you raise the question at the meeting? 这问题你怎么没有在会上提出来？
• He went to ask for a raise.他要求增加工资。

14 kid   

n.小孩；v.开玩笑，哄骗，嘲弄

参考例句：

• The kid was playing with his ball.孩子在玩皮球。
• Look at that cute kid.瞧瞧这可爱的小家伙。

15 kids   

n.小孩( kid的名词复数 )；年轻人；小山羊；小山羊皮

参考例句：

• My funny drawings amused the kids. 我的滑稽图画把孩子们逗乐了。
• The neighbours' kids are the bane of my life . 街坊邻居的孩子让我生活得很不安宁。

16 apartment   

n.（美）公寓住宅，公寓房间；单元房间

参考例句：

• How big is the apartment?这公寓有多大？
• Remember to clean your apartment.记得打扫你的公寓。

17 borrow   

vt.借，借入，借用；vi.借

参考例句：

• Can I borrow two books at a time?我可以一次借两本书吗？
• You can borrow this dictionary from the library.你可以从图书馆借到这本字典。

18 emergencies   

n.紧急事件，紧急需要；紧急情况，不测事件，非常时刻( emergency的名词复数 )；以备万一

参考例句：

• He deals with emergencies promptly. 他迅速处理突发事件。 来自辞典例句
• The hospital will cater only for emergencies. 那家医院只看急诊。 来自辞典例句

19 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

20 would   

aux.will的过去式；愿，要；常常；大概；将要，会

参考例句：

• Why would you say that?为什么你会这么说？
• Would you please help me?你能帮帮我吗？

21 anyone   

pron.(=everybody)任何人

参考例句：

• Anyone who wants to can join.愿意的都可以参加。
• Have you got anyone to speak for you?你找到人代表你们发言了吗？

22 charging   

n.装料，炉料v.装( charge的现在分词 )；控诉；记账；使充电

参考例句：

• I'm charging you with cleaning the room before you go. 我要你负责把房间打扫干净再走。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is charging a storage battery. 他在为蓄电池充电。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 interest   

v.引起…关注；使…感兴趣

参考例句：

• She lost interest in him.她对他失去兴趣。
• He developed an interest in science.他养成了对科学的兴趣。

24 fewer   

int.较少数；adj.较少的

参考例句：

• We need more apples and fewer oranges.我们需要多些苹果，少些橘子。
• Now I meet with fewer difficulties in my work.现在我工作中困难少些了。