胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇029

Lesson 29 A Bump in the Night 夜晚一击

Words:

 

bump n. 肿块；突起；v. 碰（伤），撞（破）；猛击；冲撞

 

bunch n. 串，束；群；vi. 捆成一束；聚焦

 

bundle n. 捆，束，包；vt. 捆

 

burgeon¹ vi. 迅速成长，发展

 

burgeoning² adj. 迅速成长的，发展的

 

burglar n. 夜盗，窃贼

 

burnish³ v. 磨光，使光滑，擦亮

 

burrow⁴ n. 洞穴；vi. 挖地洞

 

bush n. 矮树丛

 

bust⁵ n. 半身（雕）像

 

butter n. 奶油

 

buzz n. 嗡嗡声

 

buzzer⁶ n. 蜂鸣器

 

bypass vt. 绕过，迂回；n. 旁道，旁路

 

by-product⁷ n. 副产品；附带产生的结果

 

cab n. 出租马车，出租汽车

 

cabin n. 小屋，船舱

 

cabinetmaker n. 家具师，细工木匠

 

cadence⁸ n. (音乐、舞蹈动作步伐等的)节律，节拍，节奏；（说话时语调的）抑扬顿挫

 

calamity⁹ n. 灾难，不幸事件

 

I don’t care to live in a burgeoning city. When a city burgeons¹⁰ too rapidly, it creates two unfortunately by-products, crime and pollution.

That’s why I live in a cabin in the woods. It’s miles away from the nearest bypass. It’s the perfect place for a retired¹¹ cabinetmaker. It’s relatively¹² quiet except for the buzz of the bees and the occasional cadence of horses galloping¹³ in the distance. Nobody comes to visit me, although a mouse did burrow into my cabin once. You can’t even get a cab here. The isolation¹⁴ has left me with plenty of time for hobbies. I’ve ever had time to sculpt¹⁵ a bust of my father and to burnish it.

 

I don’t need to travel very far. The furthest I need to go is through the trees and bushes to collect a bundle of firewood and a bunch of fruit. I do wish I had some animals. Perhaps a cow for milk and some chickens for eggs. It would be interesting to make butter with the milk.

 

The woods are a relative safe place, so calamities¹⁶ are rare. The closest misfortune I came to was the time a burglar broke into my cabin and tried to steal some food. It was late at night. Fortunately, the buzzer of my homemade burglar alarm woke me up. I bumped him on the head with my broom and he went running out the door.

 

I didn’t get a clear look at his face because of his black mask. Although I was angry, I didn’t call the police. You don’t bother the police with these kinds of things in the woods, especially if your burglar is just a raccoon.

 

我不喜欢生活在一个日益发展的城市。如果一个城市发展过快，就将带来两大不幸的后果：犯罪与污染。

 

所以我选择住在树林里的小木屋，这里距离最近的旁道有数里之遥，这里还是退休细木工人的最佳选择。除了蜜蜂的嗡嗡声和远处偶然疾驰而来的有节奏的马蹄声，树林里相对安静。没有人来拜访我，不过确实有一只耗子曾挖洞来过我的小木屋。这里甚至叫不到出租车。远离尘嚣的我有充足的时间搞些业余爱好。我甚至花时间雕了一尊我父亲的半身像，并把它擦得锃亮。

 

我不用走很远，我最远只需穿过树林和灌木丛，去找一堆柴火、摘一串水果。我真希望我能拥有一些动物，也许是一头能挤奶的母牛和几只能下蛋的鸡。用牛奶做奶油应该很有趣。

 

树林里相对安全，极少有灾难发生。我遇上的最能称之为不幸的事就是一个试图偷食物的夜贼闯进我的小木屋。那是深夜，幸好我自制的警报器把我吵醒了。我用扫把猛抽了他脑袋一下，然后他夺门而出，逃之夭夭。

 

我没有看清他的脸，因为他蒙着黑色的面罩。我尽管很生气，但还是没有叫警察。你不会为树林里发生的这点小事麻烦警察的，尤其当你遇到的夜贼不过是只浣熊。

 

1 burgeon   

v.萌芽，发芽；迅速发展

参考例句：

• Seeds begin to burgeon at the commencement of spring.春天开始时种子开始发芽。
• Plants burgeon from every available space.只要有一点空隙，植物就会生根发芽。

2 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

3 burnish   

v.磨光；使光滑

参考例句：

• Many people,fearful for their jobs,are trying to burnish their contacts at other firms.许多人因为担心自己的工作，正在努力抹去和其他公司接触的痕迹。
• I burnish joyful sparks from my sorrows.我从伤痛里擦亮喜悦的火花。

4 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

5 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

6 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

7 by-product   

n.副产品，附带产生的结果

参考例句：

• Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
• The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。

8 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

9 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

10 burgeons   

v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的第三人称单数 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

14 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

15 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

16 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》