Al Gore was entertaining Joe Leiberman and decided to show off his new home.Upon entering the bedroom,Joe noticed a very large wooden box with 5 empty beer cans and about$1500.00 in cash.
Out of curiosity,Joe asked“AL,I see you're a beer drinker,Me too!you see,we DO have something in common.”
With a condescending voice,Al quipped,“yes,of course we do,Joe.”
Joe then asked“Al,why do you have the 5 empty cans and all that cash?”
Al gladly told Joe about his new program.“Joe,since last month,I have decided to turn a new leaf and become a more accountable person,while at the same time rewarding myself for my efforts.Whenever I tell a lie,I drink a beer and put the can in this box.”
“That's really impressive.”Joe replied,“only 5 beer cans in a whole month,but tell me,where do all that cash come from?”
Without missing a beat,Al responded,“Whenever the box gets full of beer cans,I take it down to the recycling center,you know I amhow concerned about environmental issues.”
阿尔·戈尔招待乔·利伯曼,他想向乔炫耀一下自己的新家。乔走进卧室之后,注意到一个很大的木箱子,里面有5个空啤酒罐和1500美元现金。
出于好奇,乔问道:“阿尔,看来你也爱喝啤酒,我也是!你看,咱们还是有些共同点的嘛!”
阿尔不屑地说道:“是的,乔,咱们当然有共同点!”
乔问道:“阿尔,那为什么还有5个空罐子和一些现金呢?”
阿尔把他的做法告诉了乔。“乔,从上个月开始,我打算改过自新,做一个负责任的人,同时呢,我也要奖励自己的努力。每次我撒谎,我都会喝一罐啤酒,并在这个箱子中放些钱。”
“真令人钦佩,”乔说,“你在一个月中只喝了5罐啤酒,可是,怎么会有那么多钱呢?”
阿尔不想失去这次说教的机会,答道:“当箱子中盛满了啤酒罐的时候,我就会把它送到回收中心,我对环境问题很关心,这你是知道的。”
1.entertain vt.招待;娱乐;怀抱;容纳vi.款待
E.g.They do most of their entertaining in restaurants.
他们多数都在餐馆请客。
He secretly entertained thoughts of revenge.
他暗中怀有报复的想法。
2.condescending adj.故意屈尊的;谦逊的;有优越感的v.屈尊(condescend的ing形式)
Condescend vi.屈尊;谦逊
E.g.She is so proud that she will not condescend to speak to us.
她非常骄傲,不肯放下架子同我们说一句话。
Mr Brown condescends to all his neighbors.
布朗先生总是以高人一等的态度对待他所有的邻居。
3.quip n.妙语;嘲弄;讽刺语vi.嘲弄;讥讽vt.嘲弄
E.g.If,this,indeed,is the pattern of history,we are tempted to paraphrase Shaw's deadly serious quip and say.
如果这确实是历史发展的一种模式,那么我们禁不住要对肖伯纳的警言妙语进行诠释。
4.accountable adj.有责任的;有解释义务的;可解释的
E.g.Everyone is unique.I allow others to be themselves so they have a chance to be accountable for their own lives.
每个人都是与众不同的,我能让其他人扮演他们的角色,让他们有机会为自己的人生负责。
5.reward n.报酬;酬谢;报答vt.奖赏;奖励
E.g.The school rewarded him with a prize for excellence in his studies.
他因学习成绩优秀而受到学校的奖赏。
How can I reward you for your kindness?
我怎样才能报答你的好意呢?
6.impressive adj.感人的;令人钦佩的;给人以深刻印象的
E.g.It is an impressive sight.
这是副壮观的景象。
1.show off卖弄;炫耀
E.g.to show off one's talent卖弄才华
2.Out of curiosity 出于好奇心
curiosity:好奇心
E.g.Many young people begin to smoke out of curiosity.
许多年轻人出于好奇而开始抽烟。
3.turn a new leaf改过自新;翻开新的一页
E.g.Every January first,many people turn over a new leaf and try to live better lives.
每个新年的第一天,人们揭开生活新的一页并期望更美满的生活。
4.tell a lie 撒谎
E.g.Father,you know that I cannot tell a lie.
爸爸,你知道我从来不说谎的。
5.recycling center 回收中心,回收站
E.g.Old fire extinguishers hang from a wall at a recycling center.
旧灭火器挂在回收站的墙上。