67. Long Life

　　A man was selling medicines at a fair. At first he sold bottles of a cure¹ for colds for just a dollar a bottle.

　　Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cold cure.

　　Then, when he had a big crowd, the man held up a very small bottle.

　　"And now, ladies and gentlemen, " he shouted. "here is the medicine you have been waiting for. The cure for old age. Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever²."

　　 "And, ladies and gentlemen," the man continued, "I'm not going to charge³ you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine. I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle. I'm not going to charge you twenty five dollars a bottle. No, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think, my friends, for ten dollars you can live forever."

　　Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this.

　　One person shouted, "if it will make you live forever, why don't you drink it?"

　　Then another person cried , "Yes, you look as if you're at least sixty years old. "

　　"Thank you, sir, thank you," the man replied, "I'm so glad you said that. My real age is three hundred and twenty nine. "

　　The crowd laughed at this but there were still a few people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke⁴ to the man's assistant as she passed by. "Is that true," he asked, "that he's three hundred and twenty-nine?"

　　“Don't ask me," the assistant said, "I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years."

Notes:

　　(1) fair n.集市

　　(2) charge v.收钱；要价

　　(3) look as if看上去

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① What did the man sell at first?

　　A. a cure for colds

　　B. empty bottles

　　C. a cure for old age

　　D. a medicine that made people live forever.

　　② Why didn't the people believe the man was selling medicine that could cure old age?

　　A. The medicine was too cheap.

　　B. The medicine was too expensive.

　　C. He looked quite old himself.

　　D. He didn't look honest.

　　③ How old did the man selling medicine say he was?

　　A. at least sixty

　　B. over three hundred

　　C. a hundred and fifty

　　D. he didn't say

　　④ How much did the man charge for the cure for old age?

　　A. one dollar a bottle

　　B. twenty-five dollars a bottle

　　C. ten dollars a bottle

　　D. fifty dollars a bottle

　　⑤ We can infer⁵ from the passage that_____ .

　　A. the man was very honest

　　B. the assistant was also very honest

　　C. the man was very stupid⁶

　　D. neither the man nor the assistant was honest, for they were cheating⁷ people

67.长生不老

　　一人在集市卖药。起先他卖一美元一瓶的治感冒的药。

　　很多人想买药，那人的年轻助手迅速穿行于人群中，一边收钱，一边递药。

　　然后当围观的人多起来时，那人举起一个小瓶子。

　　“听着，女士们，先生们，”那人喊道，“这就是你们一直想要的药。

　　消除衰老的药。只吃一瓶，就会长生不老。”

　　“女士们，先生们，”那人接着说道，“对这种神奇的药，我不打算卖一瓶100美元。我不打算卖一瓶50美元，我也不打算卖一瓶25美元。我只打算卖一瓶10美元。想想吧，朋友们，只花10美元，你们就能长生不老。”

　　人群中大多数人不相信他的话。

　　一人喊道：“如果这药能使人长生不老，你为什么不吃？”

　　接着另一人叫道：“是哇，你看上去至少60岁。”

　　“谢谢，先生，谢谢，”那人回答，“我很高兴你这么说。我的实际年龄是329岁。”

　　听到他的话，人群中发出一阵笑声，但仍有几个人愿意相信他的话。其中一人当那个助手经过时问她，“他已329岁了，这是真的吗？”他问。

　　“别问我，”助手说，“我只为他工作了150年。”

练习参考答案：

①A②C③B④C⑤D

1 cure   

n.治疗，治愈，治疗法，怪人&vt.治疗，治愈，改正，腌制，加工处理

参考例句：

• He says he can cure me but I still doubt him.他说他能治好我的病,但我还是不相信他。
• The only way to cure backache is to rest.治疗背痛的唯一办法是休息。

2 forever   

adv.(=for ever)永远；总是

参考例句：

• Teacher is powerful in a child's eyes forever.老师在孩子们的心中永远是强者。
• You can't depend on your parents forever.你不能永远依赖你父母。

3 charge   

n.指控；费用；冲锋；电荷；炸药；主管；被托管人；嘱咐；vt.控诉，加罪于；使充满

参考例句：

• The cook is in charge of the kitchen helper.这位厨师负责管理厨工。
• The policeman said he would take charge of the gun.那个警察说他来看管这支枪。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 infer   

vt.推论，推断；猜想

参考例句：

• People usually infer an unknown fact from a known fact.人们通常从已知的事实中推断未知的事实。
• From your smile I infer that you're pleased.从你的笑容，我断定你很高兴。

6 stupid   

adj.愚蠢的，笨拙的，麻木的，无趣味的；n.傻瓜

参考例句：

• The boy is too stupid.那个男孩太笨了。
• He must be really stupid.那他一定很傻。

7 cheating   

adj.欺骗的，（考试）作弊

参考例句：

• He had been cheating the taxman for years. 数年来，他一直欺骗税务部门。
• He dishonored his team by cheating during the competition. 他在比赛时作弊，使他的队蒙受耻辱。