胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇236

　　Former football glory
For one season in the national football league , I was in the zone.
It's not one of those things that you can explain.
That one year as a running back with the miami dolphins , I was zig zagging past defendors almost effortlessly.
I had zest¹ and pizzazz.
I had a right sense of humour , that the press just loved.
Then after that season , it was like I couldnt play anymore.
I don't know what happened.
I knew i wasn't my ususal zealous³ self.
The zeal² i had previously⁴ possessed⁵ for football was gone.
I didn't hate it.
I just wasn't in love with the game anymore.
The zenith of my career came and went like a lightning bolt.
At one time just the mention of football produced a smile on my face , later the best I could do was yawn.
After two more years in the NFL , in which I yielded no memorable⁶ performances at all.
I quit and went back home.
I suppose I could have rung my hands and cried , letting out a big yelp⁷ of depression , but that wouldn't have helped anything.
I was lucky and that I had made some good money during the three years that I had spent as a professional athlete.
I wasnt stupid like someguys .
They spent all the money even before it arrives.
I wasn't going to do that.
I had my mother to take care of.
she took care of me when I was young by stringing together bits of yarn⁸ to make mittens⁹ for children.
She looked after me dearly and always encouraged my football career.
She was the yolk¹⁰ at the centre of our family's egg.
It was now time for me to take care of her and her old age.
I bought her a nice house in a rural area , by some beautiful mountains.
She loves it and so do I.
We live a simple life.
Its a long way from the fame of glory from the NFL.
But I will take it.
Sure sometimes I yearn¹¹ for my glory days on the grid¹² iron.
But I know that will never be again.
I can be happy that I atleast made a wrinkle , however small in the world of professional sports.
I will always be mentioned in the history books and thats good enough for me.

1 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

2 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

3 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

8 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

9 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

10 yolk   

n.蛋黄，卵黄

参考例句：

• This dish would be more delicious with some yolk powder.加点蛋黄粉，这道菜就会更好吃。
• Egg yolk serves as the emulsifying agent in salad dressing.在色拉调味时，蛋黄能作为乳化剂。

11 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

12 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。