365个英语简短小故事- 4. Grab Your Umbrellas

It looked like rain. The sky was gray. It was almost noon, but the sun was hidden by a gray blanket. It was cool. There were no birds flying anywhere. A couple of birds sat on the telephone wire. Bob was standing¹ outside talking to Bill. They both had their hands in their pockets. They knew that it was probably going to rain shortly². A sudden³ breeze⁴ blew some leaves off a tree onto the sidewalk.

A young woman wearing a dark blue coat and jeans walked by. She was walking a small dog. It was pure white, and pretty. It sniffed⁵ at a tree trunk. The woman waited patiently. Finally, the dog lifted its leg.

Bob said that he liked the rain. It was a nice change from the usual hot Los Angeles weather. And the plants could always use the extra water. Bill said the only thing he didn’t like about rain was that all the motor⁶ oil on the streets would get washed into the ocean, and so would all the trash.

"But that never stops the surfers," Bob said. "They don’t seem to care what’s in the water, as long as there are waves to surf on."

 

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 shortly   

adv.立即，不久；简略地，简言之

参考例句：

• You go along with him. I'll come shortly.你陪陪他，我马上就来。
• He answered my questions rather shortly.他相当简慢地回答我的问题。

3 sudden   

n.突然，忽然；adj.突然的，意外的，快速的

参考例句：

• All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
• The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。

4 breeze   

n.微风；轻而易举的事；vi.来去匆匆，急速走

参考例句：

• A little breeze is blowing in from the window.微风从窗户里吹进来。
• The clouds are pale and a light breeze is blowing.云淡风轻。

5 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 motor   

adj.机动的，有引擎的，汽车的；n.发动机，马达，汽车；v.（用引擎）驱动

参考例句：

• A washing machine is run by a small electric motor.洗衣机由一台小电动机驱动。
• The motor usually operates well.这台发动机通常运转良好。