英语美文：亚克天使

 　The Arc Angels

　　Several years ago, Iris¹ Arc Crystal, a company I co-founded with Francesca Patruno, experienced a lull² in business. We had recently hired several new employees and hoped that the slowdown was only temporary. However, in the meantime, we had work enough for only four days of the week. So, instead of letting 20 percent of our work force go or sending them home one day per week, we decided³ that we would keep everyone on the payroll⁴ for the entire week, working from Monday through Thursday, and taking Fridays to do service projects in our hometown of Santa Barbara.

　　I remember phoning several service agencies to find out what was needed in the community. We divided up into three groups and showed up where the agencies said they most needed us. The first week, the group was involved with went to a very old Ukrainian gentleman's home to do a total cleanup of his house and garden. When we arrived, an elderly woman greeted us at the door. We thought she was the wife, but it turned out she was the daughter. She was 75, and her father was 97! She told us what we needed to do, and we proceeded to clean the house from floor to ceiling and clean up the yard as well. It is amazing how much work a group can get done when everyone is working together and being of service to someone who really needs the help. That gentleman's house went from dirt and dinginess⁵ to a sparkling clean palace by the time we finished at the end of the day.

　　The thing I most remember about that day, however, was not the great cleaning job that we did, but something altogether different. When we first walked into the house, I noticed the wonderful pen-and-ink drawings that adorned⁶ the walls in all the rooms of the house. I asked the daughter who had done them. She said that her father had, and that he hadn't taken up art until he was 80 years old! I was dumbfounded: these drawings were works of art that could have easily been hanging in a museum. At the time, I was in my early 30s and wanted to do something that would utilize⁷ my creative and artistic⁸ capabilities⁹ more than being the president of a giftware company would allow. I had been feeling that it would be too difficult to make a change at this "advanced"stage of my life. Boy, did my limited belief system get expanded that afternoon!

　　We continued to do service projects around town for several more weeks, including completely painting someone's home and setting up a large bleacher for a horseback riding academy for physically¹⁰ challenged children. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of good. We ended up with the nickname The Arc Angels. In addition to the good feelings that came from helping¹¹ out others, the good feelings we shared as employees of a company that cared for both its employees and the community, went a long way toward creating a work atmosphere that was a joy to be part of.

1 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

2 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

3 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。

4 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

5 dinginess   

n.暗淡，肮脏

参考例句：

• Mary was appalled by the dinginess of the house. 玛丽被那肮脏的房子吓坏了。 来自辞典例句
• She hated dinginess as much as her mother had hated it. 她同母亲一样，对贫困寒酸的日子深恶痛绝。 来自辞典例句

6 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

7 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。