英语小达人 98 Road Trip

 　　Road Trip

　    开车旅行

　　Tired and frustrated¹ of working as a waitress, Mary decided² to take a road trip. She loaded³ up her VW van and headed south. She didn’t know where she was going. She was just going to go until her money ran out.

　　玛丽是一名女侍，因为工作上带来的疲累和挫败，她决定开车旅行。她把要带的东西装进她那台VW 货车上，然后往南开。她不知道自己要去哪里，目的只是想旅行到钱花光为止。

　　On her way out of town, she stopped at a corner store to pick up some road maps, chocolate, and dried dog food for her dog. One day in a restaurant, a strange-looking man approached⁴ Mary. He seemed familiar⁵, but she didn’t know from where.

　　她出城的路上，在街头小店买了些公路图、巧克力和她的狗要吃的干狗食。有一天在一家餐厅里，有个陌生面孔向玛丽这边走过来；他看起来有点面熟，但就是想不起来在哪里见过。

　　He invited her to sit at his table. “I have a message for you,” he said. He handed Mary an envelope. She took the envelope. Inside was a note. It read, “You already have everything you are searching for. Go home.”

　　他邀请她坐到他那一桌，然后说∶“我有信息要给你。”他交给玛丽一个信封，于是玛丽打开信封，里面是一张纸条，上面写着∶“你想寻找的一切都已经有了，回家吧。”

　　Mary was confused⁶ by the letter, but had an idea about what it meant. Mary always got in her van and ran away when life was tough⁷. She was always searching for a better place, and of course never found it. That same day, Mary turned around and went home. He was right; she already had everything she was searching for.

　　玛丽被那封信弄糊涂了，但她知道纸条写的是什么意思。玛丽碰到生活不如意时总是会开着她的货车离家。她一直在寻找一个更好的地方，不过当然啰，她从来没有找到过。于是那一天，玛丽便掉头打道回府了。他说得对，所有她想找的东西她都已经有了。

1 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 loaded   

adj.载重的，有负荷的；充满…的；〈美俚〉喝醉了的；〈美俚〉富有的v.把…装上车[船]( load的过去式)；装…

参考例句：

• a fully loaded truck 满载货物的卡车
• They loaded themselves with food, medical supplies, and oxygen equipment. 他们携带了食物、医疗器具和氧气设备。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 approached   

v.接近，走近，靠近( approach的过去式和过去分词 )；（在性质、数量、质量、情形、时间等方面）近似；接洽；使移近

参考例句：

• The sky began to darken as the storm approached. 暴风雨来临时天空变得黑沉沉的。
• She felt her heartbeat quicken as he approached. 随着他的走近，她觉得自己的心跳加速了。

5 familiar   

adj.熟悉的，常见的，亲密的；n.熟友，常客

参考例句：

• I've only just come here.I'm still not familiar with the work.刚到这里，工作很生。
• The man seemed familiar,but I could not quite place him.这人很面熟，但是我记不清在哪儿见过他。

6 confused   

adj.困惑的，烦恼的

参考例句：

• They asked so many questions that they confused me.他们问了许多问题，都把我弄糊涂了。
• A wise man is never confused.智者不惑。

7 tough   

adj.坚硬的，咬不动的；棘手的，难办的；强健的，吃苦耐劳的；粗暴的，凶恶的

参考例句：

• The meat was so tough that I simply couldn't get it down.这肉太老了，我简直咽不下去。
• When there's a tough job,he always rushes to do it.什么时候有重活，他都抢着干。