美国保安一生清贫 死后捐款600万刀

 　　A Vermont man who during his lifetime foraged¹ for wood and held down jobs as a janitor³ and at a filling station, has left his local hospital and library $6million (?3.95 million).

　　美国佛蒙特州一位老人的一生非常普通，曾在加油站工作过，后来又在商场做看门人，可他去世后遗产竟达到600万美元，而且还把这些钱全部捐给了当地的医院和图书馆。

　　The bequest⁴ from Ronald Read, who died last June, aged² 92 has stunned⁵ residents of Brattleboro, Vermont.

　　这位老人名叫罗纳德·里德，他于去年6月份去世，享年92岁，他的这份巨额遗产让佛蒙特州布拉特尔伯勒市的居民们震惊不已。

　　Little did they know that the man whose clothes were held together by safety pins was a remarkably⁶ adroit⁷ stock market investor⁸.

　　大家只知道他是个着装普通、生活节俭的人，却不知道他其实是个股票投资高手。

　　Rather than a sharp suit he usually sported the traditional New England attire⁹ of a flannel¹⁰ shirt and baseball cap.

　　罗纳德不像其他的投资人一样经常西装革履，他平时总是身穿格子衬衫、头戴棒球帽。

　　美国保安一生清贫 死后捐款600万刀

　　He drove an old Toyota Yaris which he would leave away from the centre of town rather than pay to park.

　　他开着一辆老式丰田雅力士，为了省下停车费还总是将车停在离市中心很远的地方。

　　Mr Read’s frugality¹¹ was legendary¹². One woman knitted him a hat to help him get through the ferocious¹³ New England winters.

　　罗纳德的节俭是出了名的。曾有一位女士给他织了顶帽子才帮他度过了新英格兰的严冬。

　　She even bought some old fence wiring from him, because she thought he could do with the money.

　　这位女士甚至还向他买过一些旧的围栏线，因为她觉得他需要钱。

　　But life had always been tough for Mr Read, who was a widower¹⁴ after his wife died in 1970.

　　事实上，罗纳德生活确实一直比较艰难，他的妻子于1970年过世。

　　As a child he walked four miles each way to school and then after his military service in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific, he worked at a filling station for 25 years and then spent another 17 as a janitor at a branch of J.C Penney, a department store.

　　小的时候，罗纳德每次都要步行四英里才能到学校，之后他曾在北非、意大利、太平洋等地区服兵役，他曾在一家加油站工作了25年，之后在一家商场里做了17年的看门人。

　　The only hint that there might have been a bit more to Mr Read than met the eye was that his chosen newspaper was the Wall Street Journal.

　　唯一能够让人会觉得他和股票投资有关系的地方就是他常看《华尔街日报》。

　　According to Laurie Rowell, the lawyer administering his estate, his fortune grew steadily¹⁵ thanks to his shrewd stock market strategy.

　　据罗纳德的遗产管理律师劳里·罗厄尔说，罗纳德生前所做的投资大幅升值，所以他的资产不断上升。

　　"He had two lifelong hobbies: investing and cutting wood," she added.

　　劳里说：“他一生最大的爱好有两个：投资和砍柴。”

　　Philip Brown, Mr Read’s stepson, knew nothing of his wealth.

　　罗纳德的继子菲利普·布朗对于罗纳德的巨额财富完全不知情。

　　“I was tremendously surprised,'’ he said. “He was a hard worker, but I don't think anybody had an idea that he was a multi-millionaire.’’

　　“我非常惊讶。”他说，“他工作很努力，但我想估计没人会想到他其实是个百万富翁。”

　　The bequests¹⁶ of $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and $1.2 million to the town’s library are the largest both institutions have ever had.

　　在罗纳德600万美元的遗产中，他将480万美元捐给了伯瑞特波罗纪念医院，另外120万美元捐给了当地的图书馆。这两笔捐款是两家机构迄今为止收到过的数额最大的捐款。

1 foraged   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• He foraged about in the cupboard. 他在碗橱里到处寻找食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She foraged about in her handbag, but she couldn't find her ticket. 她在她的手提包里搜寻，但她没能找到她的票子。 来自辞典例句

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

4 bequest   

n.遗赠；遗产，遗物

参考例句：

• In his will he made a substantial bequest to his wife.在遗嘱里他给妻子留下了一大笔遗产。
• The library has received a generous bequest from a local businessman.图书馆从当地一位商人那里得到了一大笔遗赠。

5 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

6 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

7 adroit   

adj.熟练的，灵巧的

参考例句：

• Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。
• His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。

8 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

9 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

10 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

11 frugality   

n.节约，节俭

参考例句：

• We must build up our country with industry and frugality.我们必须勤俭建国。
• By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。

12 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

13 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

14 widower   

n.鳏夫

参考例句：

• George was a widower with six young children.乔治是个带著六个小孩子的鳏夫。
• Having been a widower for many years,he finally decided to marry again.丧偶多年后，他终于决定二婚了。

15 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

16 bequests   

n.遗赠( bequest的名词复数 )；遗产，遗赠物

参考例句：

• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He left bequests of money to all his friends. 他留下一些钱遗赠给他所有的朋友。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》