英语小达人 278 Tax Collector

 　　Tax Collector

　　收税员

　　Little Johnny was playing with his father's wallet when he accidentally swallowed a quarter. He went crying to his mom, choking on the quarter.

　　小约翰尼在玩爸爸的钱包时，不小心吞下了一枚25分硬币。硬币卡在嗓子里，他哭着跑去找妈妈。

　　They took him to a doctor, who said that the quarter ws impossible to remove without surgery. They consulted a specialist who was of the same opinion.

　　爸爸妈妈带他去看医生，医生说只能做手术取出来。他们又咨询了一位专家，专家也说没别的办法。

　　Then came a man who said he could get the money out in a jiffy.

　　然后又来了一个人说他能马上就把钱取出来。

　　He turned little Johnny upside down and patted him with great precision on the back of neck and, sure enough, the quarter rolled out.

　　他把小约翰尼头朝下拎起来，精确无误地在他的后脖子上拍了拍，那枚硬币就真的掉出来了。

　　Everyone was amazed, the father said, "You must be an expert!"

　　每个人都很吃惊，爸爸说：“你一定是个专家！”

　　The man replied, "No, sir. I'm just a tax collector."

　　那人答道：“我不是的，先生。我只是个收税员。”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. be of the opinion

　　持…观点；认为；相信；

　　eg. Frank is of the opinion that the 1934 yacht should have won.

　　弗兰克认为本该是那艘1934年的帆船获胜。

　　eg. I'm of the same opinion as you.

　　我和你的观点一致。

　　2. in a jiffy

　　很快；瞬间；

　　eg. We will do it in a jiffy.

　　我们马上去做。

　　eg. She conjured¹ up a whole meal in a jiffy.

　　一眨眼工夫她就变出了一桌饭菜。

　　3. upside down

　　倒置地；颠倒过来；

　　eg. The painting was hung upside down.

　　油画挂倒了。

　　eg. Salter held the bag by the corners and shook it upside down.

　　索尔特捏住包的外角，把它倒过来晃了晃。

　　4. sure enough

　　果真，果然（尤用在讲故事时）；

　　eg. I say it will happen, and sure enough it do.

　　我说过会发生这样的事，果然如此。

　　eg. He said he would come, and sure enough he came.

　　他说过要来，果然，他来了。

1 conjured   

用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
• His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话，使得我的怒气顿消。