85. Post Haste

　　My husband asked me to go to the post office to mail his resume in anticipation¹ of a job interview. He instructed me to send it the fastest way possible.

　　Struck by the urgency in his voice, I grabbed a handful of change and dashed out the door. Arriving at the post office, I rushed to the counter and breathlessly explained to the clerk that my envelope had to be delivered immediately . He casually² weighed the envelope and said it would cost $ 10.03.I fumbled⁴ through my pockets and tallied⁵ up my coins. "But I don't have $ 10. 03, " I said. He punched some more buttons and said, "Okay, that will be $ 7. 40, ma am.

　　Once more I said in dismay, "Sorry, I don't have $ 7.40.

　　"Well," he sighed, "exactly how much do you have?"

　　I meekly⁶ answered, "I have exactly $ 2. 15, sir."

　　With that, he yelled over his shoulder to a coworker, "Hey, Charlie, get the pigeon ready.

Notes:

　　(1) resume n. 履历

　　(2) anticipation n.期望

　　(3) dash v.急奔；猛冲

　　(4) breathlessly adv.上气不接下气地

　　(5) casually adv.漫不经心地

　　(6) fumble³ v.摸索

　　(7) tally⁷ up算上

　　(8) punch v.敲；击

　　(9) dismay n.困惑；茫然

　　(10) meekly adv.谦和地

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① What did the husband asked the wife to do?

　　A. to get up early

　　B. to get out of the door

　　C. to post his resume

　　D. to go to his office

　　② From the passage we can see

　　A. the husband was applying for a job

　　B. the husband was bad tempered

　　C. the husband was always rude to his wife

　　D. the husband was anticipating a new clerk

　　③ How was the wife when she got to the post office?

　　A. She was pale.

　　B. She was breathless.

　　C. She was angry.

　　D. She was worried.

　　④ How much money did the wife have in total?

　　A. $ 10.03

　　B. $ 7.40

　　C. $ 2.15

　　D. $ 9.55

　　⑤ What does the last sentence in the passage imply?

　　A. The woman would get the letter posted in the fastest way

　　B. The woman probably wouldn't get the letter posted fast.

　　C. A pigeon would be used to post her letter fast.

　　D. The clerk refused to post the letter for her.

85.邮政快递

　　我丈夫让我到邮局寄他的履历，期望能得到工作面试的机会。他告诉我要用尽可能快的方式把它寄出去。

　　我感到他语气紧急，就抓了一把零钱，冲出了家门。到了邮局，我冲到柜台，上气不接下气地向职员解释说我的信必须马上寄出。他漫不经心地称了一下信的重量，说邮费是十元零三分。我翻遍了我的口袋，把所有的硬币都算上。“可是我没有十元零三分，”我说。他又敲了几个键，然后说：“那好吧，七元四角，夫人。”

　　我又一次茫然地说：“对不起，我没有七块四。”

　　“那，”他叹了口气，“确切地说你有多少？”

　　我很谦和地回答道：“我有整整两块一角五分，先生。”

　　听了这话，他转过头向身后的同事喊道：“嗨，查理，准备好鸽子。”

练习参考答案：

①C②A③B④C⑤B

1 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

2 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

3 fumble   

vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索

参考例句：

• His awkwardness made him fumble with the key.由于尴尬不安，他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。
• He fumbled his one-handed attempt to light his cigarette.他笨拙地想用一只手点燃香烟。

4 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

5 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

6 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。