英语小达人 292 Forgotten Pillowcases

 　　Forgotten Pillowcases

　　忘了拿的枕套

　　A stingy old lawyer who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness was determined¹ to prove wrong the saying, "You can't take it with you."

　　一个吝啬的老律师被诊断出得了不治之症。于是他决定要证明“生不带来，死不带去”这句老话说错了。

　　After much thought and consideration, the old ambulance chaser finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died.

　　经过深思熟虑，这个怂恿事故受伤者起诉的律师终于想出了让自己在死的时候至少能带走一部分钱的方法。

　　He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases. He then directed her to take the bags of money to the attic² and leave them directly above his bed.

　　他要妻子去银行取出能塞满两只枕套的现金。然后又让她把装满钱的枕套放在阁楼上正对着他的床的位置上。

　　His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to heaven.

　　他的如意算盘是：他死了的时候，就能在去往天堂的路上抓起那两只钱袋。

　　Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased lawyer's wife, up in the attic cleaning, came upon the two forgotten pillowcases stuffed with cash.

　　葬礼过后几个星期，律师的妻子在打扫阁楼的时候发现了那两只装满了钱的枕套。

　　"Oh, that darned old fool," she exclaimed, "I knew he should have had me put the money in the basement."

　　“噢，这个下地狱的老笨蛋，”她大叫道：“我就知道他本该让我把钱放在地下室里的。”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. be diagnosed with

　　被诊断出；被诊断为；

　　eg. Susan had a mental breakdown³ and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

　　苏珊精神崩溃，被诊断为得了精神分裂症。

　　eg. Aidan was diagnosed with the illness when he was five months old.

　　艾当五个月大的时候，被诊断得了这种病。

　　2. be determined to do sth.

　　下定决心的；决意的；坚定的做某事；

　　eg. His enemies are determined to ruin him.

　　他的敌人决意要毁了他。

　　eg. She's determined to win, by fair means or foul⁴.

　　她决心要赢，那怕是不择手段。

　　3. instruct sb. to do sth.

　　指示；吩咐；命令某人做某事；

　　eg. The family has instructed solicitors⁵ to sue Thomson for compensation.

　　那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

　　eg. The installer will instruct you to shut down your browser⁶.

　　安装将会提示你将要关闭你的浏览器。

　　4. irect sb. to do sth.

　　指示；命令某人做某事；

　　eg. They have been directed to give special attention to the problem of poverty...

　　他们得到指示要特别关注贫困问题。

　　eg. The Bishop⁷ directed the faithful to stay at home.

　　主教要求信徒们呆在家中。

　　5. pass away

　　去世；逝世；谢世；

　　eg. He unfortunately passed away last year.

　　他去年不幸逝世。

　　eg. We were shocked to learn of his passing away.

　　我们惊悉他不幸逝世。

　　6. come upon

　　偶然碰到（或发现）；

　　eg. I came upon an irresistible⁸ item at a yard sale.

　　在一次庭院拍卖会上，我偶然发现了一个忍不住想买的东西。

　　eg. I may come upon something that'll throw some extra light on this.

　　说不定我会发现什么新线索，把这件案子的眉目弄得更清楚些。

　　7. be stuffed with

　　填满；装满；塞满；

　　eg. My daughter asked me to buy her a pillow stuffed with feathers.

　　我女儿请求我给她买一个羽绒枕头。

　　eg. His head is stuffed with silly romantic ideas.

　　他满脑子天真的想法。

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

3 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

4 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

5 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

6 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

7 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。