大学英语精读预备1册 lesson 3

At a Railway Station

Once, a long time ago, I went to a railway station. I planned to take the ninth train to New York and go on a journey with a friend. Many people were on the platform and they were pushing onto the long passenger train. It was already full. I asked the man at the booing office if I could have two tickets. He answered sharply¹, “no !” I felt hurt. It was important for me to have the tickets.

I found a railway official and asked him if I could have a place some where in the sleeping-car, but he said sharply, “no! you can’t .the train is full. Don’t trouble me any more.”

I felt very hurt indeed. I said to my friend, “they talked to me like this because they don’t know who I am. If they knew…” but my friend said:

Don’t be foolish. Do you think it would help you to get a seat on the train? There are no empty seats.”

I went up to the same official and said very politely that my name was Mark Twain. But he only replied:

“I told you not to trouble me any more.”

I said to my friend: “he may not have heard my name.” But my friend said that official had heard my name quite clearly, but that he didn’t care, that was all.

Just then I noticed a young porter² in a sleeping-car was looking at me. He breathed something in the train conductor³’s ear, and the conductor came over to me, removed his cap and said very politely.

“Can I help you, sir? Do you want a place in a sleeping-car?”

“Yes , I certainly do.” I said.

The porter took our case and we got in to the sleeping-car. The porter saw that we were comfortably settled⁴ in our places. Then he said, “Now, is anything you want, sir?”

When the porter left I smiled at my friend and said: “well, what do you say now?”

My friend looked ashamed⁵.

“Well,” He said, “you were right, I’m sorry I said all those things to you on the platform. I was foolish, not you. I’m glad I came here with you.”

Just then the porter came to the door again and said:

“Oh, sir, I recognized you at once when I saw you. And I told the conductor so.”

“Really,” I said, and I gave him twice as much as I usually give to a porter. Who am I then?”

“You are Mr. McClellan, of course, the Mayor⁶ of New York,” he said and disappeared.

 

1 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

2 porter   

n.搬运工人；守门人，门房

参考例句：

• The hotel porter will help you.旅馆的门童可以帮你的忙。
• The porter and I looked at each other and smiled.我和脚夫微笑着你看着我，我看着你。

3 conductor   

n.领队，指挥；售票员，列车员；导体

参考例句：

• The conductor handed the sick man out of the bus.售票员扶病人下公共汽车。
• Copper is a good conductor of heat.铜是热的良导体。

4 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

5 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

6 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。