365个英语简短小故事-182. I’ll Get a Job

Ida came to America four years ago. Her main reason for coming was to give her 13-year-old son the best education possible. But also, she did not want Perry to meet the wrong kind of people and end up using drugs or joining a gang, or both.

Divorced shortly after Perry's birth, Ida had been a successful entrepreneur in her home country. She had saved a lot of money for their new life in America. Or so she had thought. But two failed business ventures in America had been costly¹. Had either succeeded, she would have been well off. The second failure was especially painful, because she had known it would leave her with little money.

Her poor English was her downfall. American business people were not patient; they did not want to waste their time trying to figure out what she was trying to say. Equally bad, she couldn’t understand their rapid English. She had sadly underestimated how long it would take her to become proficient² in English.

Now she was almost broke. Her boyfriend didn’t make enough money to support Ida and Perry. She had to go to work. A business executive in her homeland, Ida would try to find work as a waitress in America. “You’ll be lucky to make $8 an hour,” her boyfriend Tony groused³. “What kind of an income is that?”

“Yes, but you’re forgetting about the tips. That’s where the big money is,” she said, laughing. “I’m not upset about working as a waitress. Any work is honorable. I took my chances, and they didn’t pan out. Now I have to go to work to pay the bills.”

“Well, I don’t like it,” Tony said.

 

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

3 groused   

v.抱怨，发牢骚( grouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When they groused about the parking regulations, they did it with good humor. 他们总是非常幽默地表达对泊车规定的不满。 来自辞典例句
• It was a sad end to her career but she never groused. 这是她事业的不幸结局，但她从不抱怨。 来自辞典例句