胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇022

Lesson 22 Killing¹ with Kindness 以柔克刚

 

Words:

 

bead² n. 珠子；（液体）小滴

 

beak³ n. 鸟嘴

 

beam n. 大梁；（光线的）束，柱

 

bear vt. 负担，支撑；生产，生育；n. 熊

 

beard n. 胡须

 

beat v. 打击，敲击；打败；adj. 疲倦的，拍子

 

becoming adj. 合适的，相称的；好看的，有吸引力的

 

bedrock n. 基础，基石

 

beforehand adv. 事先地

 

befuddle⁴ vt. 使酒醉昏迷；使迷惑，使迷糊

 

befuddled⁵ adj. 酒醉的，迷路的，困惑的

 

beget⁶ vt. 引起，产生

 

begrudge⁷ vt. 嫉妒；吝啬，舍不得给，勉强给

 

behalf n. on behalf of…..代表，作为。。。的代表

 

behave vi. 举止，表现

 

behavior n. 举止，行为

 

behold⁸ v. 目睹，看见

 

belie⁹ vt. 给人错觉，掩饰

 

belittle¹⁰ vt. 轻视，贬低

 

belligerent¹¹ adj. 交战的，好斗的，好战的

 

Sometimes, it’s difficult t behave like a gentleman. It’s especially hard when the person talking to you is belligerent and trying to belittle you in front of others. You might feel like beating him and burying him as deep as bedrock, but don’t. Remember, violence begets¹² more violence. Of course, it’s easier said than done.

My cousin Tom comes drunk to our family reunions every year and always manages to insult my family members. “Your nose is looking more and more like the beak of a bird,” he would tell my daughter. “Those red beads¹³ don’t look becoming on you,” he would say to my wife. “Is that your beard or a bird’s nest,” he would ask me.

I think, deep in his heart, Tom has always begrudged¹⁴ me. His occasional smile belies¹⁵ his true feelings of envy. I wish that someone would shine a beam of light in his eyes and ask him why he feels this way.

In any event, because I must act as the host of the reunion on behalf of my parents, I have to be on my best behavior. As my mother keeps reminding me, I must bear the responsibility of keeping things friendly. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have agreed to be the host if I had known it was going to be like this beforehand.

Well, this year, I decided¹⁶ to change my strategy with Tom. Instead of reacting to his insults with anger, I tried to befuddle him with kind words. Strangely enough, when he becomes befuddled, he can’t speak and he just walks away. The kindness just kills him. It’s truly a sight to behold.

 

有时，表现的像个绅士并不容易，当你面对一个好斗而又极力在众人前贬低你的人时尤为如此。你也许很想揍他一顿，然后把他埋得深如一块基石，但还是别那样。记住，暴力只会招致更多的暴力。当然，这话说起来容易做起来难。

每年我的表兄汤姆都会醉醺醺地前来参加家庭聚会，而且总是设法将我的家人羞辱一番。“你的鼻子越来越像鸟嘴了。”他对我的女儿如是说。“那些红珠子带在你身上不好看。”他对我的妻子这般说。“你那是胡子还是鸟窝？”他会这样问我。

我想在汤姆的内心深处，他一贯是嫉妒我的。他脸上偶尔出现的微笑掩盖了他的嫉妒心。我真希望有人能让他的眼前亮一束光，问问他为什么要嫉妒。

无论如何，我得代表父母主持家庭聚会，因此我必须举止得体，令人无可挑剔。正如母亲时常提醒我的，我必须负责营造一种和睦相处的家庭气氛。说实话，要是事先知道做主人会是这样，我就不会答应这差事了。

不过今年，我觉得改变对汤姆的战略。对他的羞辱，我非但不会火冒三丈，还会用甜言蜜语来迷惑他。奇怪的是，他被我弄得困惑不解时，竟一声不吭的走开了。那番甜言蜜语反倒把他给镇住了。真是值得一看的洋相啊！

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 bead   

n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠

参考例句：

• She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.她不小心吞下了一颗玻璃珠。
• She has a beautiful glass bead and a bracelet in the box.盒子里有一颗美丽的玻璃珠和手镯。

3 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

4 befuddle   

v.使混乱

参考例句：

• This is clearly designed to befuddle the public.这显然是为了蒙蔽舆论。
• Don't befuddle me with all those masses of detail.不要拿一大堆琐事把我搞迷糊。

5 befuddled   

adj.迷糊的，糊涂的v.使烂醉( befuddle的过去式和过去分词 )；使迷惑不解

参考例句：

• He was befuddled by drink. 他喝得迷迷糊糊的。
• John is very amusing when he is completely befuddled. 当约翰喝得完全糊涂了的时候，他非常有趣儿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 beget   

v.引起；产生

参考例句：

• Dragons beget dragons,phoenixes beget phoenixes.龙生龙，凤生凤。
• Economic tensions beget political ones.经济紧张导致政治紧张。

7 begrudge   

vt.吝啬，羡慕

参考例句：

• I begrudge spending so much money on train fares.我舍不得把这么多钱花在火车票上。
• We should not begrudge our neighbour's richness.我们不应该嫉妒邻人的富有。

8 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

9 belie   

v.掩饰，证明为假

参考例句：

• The gentle lower slopes belie the true nature of the mountain.低缓的山坡掩盖了这座山的真实特点。
• His clothes belie his station.他的衣服掩饰了他的身分。

10 belittle   

v.轻视，小看，贬低

参考例句：

• Do not belittle what he has achieved.不能小看他取得的成绩。
• When you belittle others,you are actually the one who appears small.当你轻视他人时， 真正渺小的其实是你自己。

11 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

12 begets   

v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• It begets at least seven standard type offspring from such matings. 这类交配中生下至少七个标准型后代。 来自辞典例句
• Violence begets violence until the innocent perish with the guilty. 暴力招致暴力直到这因罪行而无缘无故的毁灭。 来自电影对白

13 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

14 begrudged   

嫉妒( begrudge的过去式和过去分词 )； 勉强做； 不乐意地付出； 吝惜

参考例句：

• She begrudged her friend the award. 她嫉妒她的朋友获奖。
• Joey, you talk as if I begrudged it to you. 乔艾，你这话竟象是我小气，舍不得给你似的。

15 belies   

v.掩饰( belie的第三人称单数 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His appearance belies him. 他的外貌给人以假象。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The modesty of their home belies their great wealth. 他们简朴的家使人们看不出他们拥有巨额财富。 来自辞典例句

16 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。