原版英文小故事 28. Sign Right Here

Chad had worked hard all his young life, and then his father died. Unknown to Chad and almost everyone else, his father was a very rich man. The will disclosed the astounding¹ amount of money his father had accumulated during his lifetime. Chad, the sole survivor², was now rich beyond his wildest dreams. It was as if he had won the state lottery³.

So, there was only one thing to do. Ever since he was a little boy living in a 19-foot trailer, Chad had dreamed of living in a big house with a big yard and a big dog. Well now, the dream would come true.

Chad called up several realtors and invited them to his apartment so that he could tell them about his dream. The first three realtors pretended to believe that Chad could afford the type of house he described to them. They all said they would get back to him. They didn’t. Two weeks later, Chad talked to a pretty female realtor, who said she would find him one of the best and biggest houses in the world.

A month later, she called to tell him that she was going to pick him up and drive him to his dream house. It was even better than Chad had imagined. It was a three-story, 20,000 square feet behemoth.

It had a two-lane “driveway” that was almost half a mile long. It had porches, balconies, fireplaces, gardens, and all kinds of trees. It had a heated swimming pool, a lighted tennis court, a gymnasium, a bowling⁴ alley⁵, a theater, a music room, and a ballroom⁶.

It had four master suites⁸, each containing a huge bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and dining room. Each suite⁷ had its own temperature controls. There were two staircases and three elevators in the house, each elevator big enough to hold a grand piano. The main kitchen had five refrigerator/freezers lined up side by side. The formal dining room seated 60. Next to it were a menu-planning room and a silverware room.

The living room easily had space for eight or nine sofas and as many coffee tables. The library, next to the reading room, had enough shelving for almost 10,000 books. The property also had two guest houses. It had everything except a big dog.

Chad took it. A month later he bought four big dogs, and a year later he married his realtor.

 

1 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

3 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

4 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

5 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

6 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

7 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

8 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句