原版英文小故事 26. Stuck in the Desert

Patricia asked for the cheapest car available at Acme¹ Car Rental². She needed a car for 48 hours. Because it was the weekend, there was only one car available at the moment—an SUV. Patricia was an environmentalist. SUVs, which are big cars consuming a lot of gasoline, offended her greatly.

But she needed something to get to Baker³, a town that was 100 miles from the small airport. So she went to RentMe instead. “I need a car for 48 hours,” she said, “and I don’t want an SUV. I want something cheap.” They told her they had just the vehicle for her, a 1998 Fiat⁴. It was only thirty dollars a day, including insurance and other incidental fees. All she had to do was to pay for her own gasoline. Patricia was very pleased. Thirty dollars a day was a good rate even for a weekday. She signed all the paperwork, and they gave her the keys.

The Fiat was a 4-speed, 4-cylinder, 2-door beauty. The paint, tires, and the interior⁵ were like new. It was comfortable, even though the air-conditioner was not the frostiest. She got in and drove north. It was a two-lane road all the way to Baker, with only one town between the airport and Baker. That town was Norris, 40 miles from Baker.

Patricia didn’t make it to Norris. The car refused to run 30 minutes after she had been driving it. Fortunately, her cell phone was able to connect back to the RentMe desk. “My car stopped running, and I’m out here in the middle of nowhere in the hot sun!” she said.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said the clerk. “You did put gas in the car before you left town, didn’t you?”

“No, of course not!” yelled⁶ Patricia. “Why would I put gas in the car before I even got out of town?”

“Well, why do you think you got such a good rate—we save money by having the customer gas up instead of us having to put gas in the car.”

“I was in a hurry,” said Patricia.

“Well, sometimes you pay a price for being in a hurry,” said the clerk. “We’ll send a man out with some spare gas for you, if you’d like.”

“Of course I’d like,” said Patricia. “How long will it be?”

The clerk told her it would be within the hour. He didn’t tell her that there would be a $50 service charge for delivering the gas, or that the 3 gallons of fuel would cost her $7 a gallon. She would get that bad news when she returned the car to the airport.

 

1 acme   

n.顶点，极点

参考例句：

• His work is considered the acme of cinematic art. 他的作品被认为是电影艺术的巅峰之作。
• Schubert reached the acme of his skill while quite young. 舒伯特的技巧在他十分年轻时即已达到了顶峰。

2 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

5 interior   

adj.在内的，内部的，内地的，国内的；n.内部

参考例句：

• There is water in the interior of the cave.在山洞的内部有水。
• They went into the interior room.他们进了内室。

6 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》