原版英语小短文 140. The 2010 Census (1)

　　He opened his mailbox¹. He looked at the envelope. It was the U.S. census² questionnaire³. He shook his head. How long would this take, he wondered. He went back to his apartment. He opened the envelope. Another envelope was inside. He unfolded⁴ the questionnaire. He read the instructions. What a pleasant surprise, he thought. This looks easy. He only had to answer 17 questions. They were on the first two pages. He picked up a pen. He filled in the boxes for his name. He filled in the boxes for his date of birth. He filled in the boxes for his phone number. He answered the questions. How many people live in your home? Do you own or rent your home? What is your sex⁵? What is your age? Are you Hispanic? What is your race? Do you live somewhere else sometimes? He marked an X in the correct boxes.

1 mailbox   

n.邮筒；邮箱

参考例句：

• You can put the newspaper into the mailbox.你可以把报纸放进邮箱里。
• Please drop these letters in the nearest mailbox.请把这些信投入最近的邮箱。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 questionnaire   

n.问卷，调查表

参考例句：

• Headteachers will be asked to fill in a questionnaire.校长们将被要求完成一份问卷调查。
• It took me quite a while to fill out the questionnaire.填写那份问卷花了我好长一段时间。

4 unfolded   

adj.展开的，解开的v.显露，展现( unfold的过去式和过去分词 )；展开，打开

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll, a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded. 我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节，孩子们都听得入迷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sex   

n.性别，男性或女性，性欲；vt.区别…的性别，引起…的性欲

参考例句：

• What sex is this fish?这条鱼是什么性别的？
• She does not enjoy the company of the opposite sex.她不喜欢由异性奉陪。