365个英语简短小故事-286. Can You Spare a Carburetor

Daniel needed a new carburetor for his car. Well, not a new one. A new one would cost at least $250. Even a rebuilt one would cost about $110. The cheapest thing to do was to go to a salvage¹ yard.

California has about 50 salvage yards. Most of them are in southern California. The yards range in size from 10 acres to 70 acres, holding anywhere from 300 to 3,000 abandoned, wrecked², or cheaply sold cars. The yards are usually located outside of downtown but near a freeway ramp³.

A salvage yard might pay you up to $200 to take your rundown car off your hands. Before they place it in the yard, however, they will remove all its liquids—oil, gas, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering⁴ fluid, and windshield washer solvent⁵. Vehicles usually sit in the yard for only a month before they are crushed, stacked, and then transported to a recycler.

Vehicle parts are inexpensive, but you have to remove them yourself. The carburetor that Daniel needed was only $20. Nothing in the yard, however, comes with a guarantee. If it doesn’t work or fit, you can replace it with a similar item, but you won’t get your money back.

Daniel borrowed his brother’s car. After paying the $3 entry fee to the man in the little wooden shack⁶, Daniel walked into the yard. He walked about five minutes before he found the foreign car section. It looked like there were at least 200 cars. It was sunny and hot. There was no shade anywhere in the yard. Carrying his toolbox, Daniel went searching for a matching carburetor.

Almost three hours later, Daniel was back at the shack. He bought himself a cold soda⁷ from a machine. A few minutes later, he paid the $20 plus tax and walked out of the yard. Driving home, he wondered if all the work was worth the savings⁸. If the carburetor didn’t work, he’d have to do this all over again.

When he got home, his brother Monty was standing⁹ next to Daniel’s car. Monty had a big smile on his face. “Hey, guess what? It wasn’t your carburetor. It was the fuel filter. I changed it, and your car runs great now.”

 

1 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

2 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

3 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

4 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

5 solvent   

n.溶剂；adj.有偿付能力的

参考例句：

• Gasoline is a solvent liquid which removes grease spots.汽油是一种能去掉油污的有溶解力的液体。
• A bankrupt company is not solvent.一个破产的公司是没有偿还债务的能力的。

6 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

7 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

9 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。