多功能英语阅读07 The Sign Makers

The Sign Makers²

Do the Sign Makers control us? They must have quite a profitable income

and prestige. I wonder if they are the ones down the street with the large

houses. I feel jealous. If I had thought about it when I was younger, I would

have pointed³ my career that way. The Sign Makers always indicate what to do,

when to do it and where to do it.

I see several signs on the way home today. One says, "Watch for idle

cattle." O.K. and if I see one, what am I supposed to do? I have seen the

same sign for deer and children. There is no phone number to call. I think

they forgot to put in on there.

"Patrolled by Aircraft" is another sign. I relly do feel safer when I see

that sign. I often wonder, "What kind is it?" Is there an F-15 soaring above

to protect me? If someone cuts me off is he going to zoom⁴ down and blow the

car off the tarred road? I tend to think, though, it is a Stealth Fighter

because I have never seen it. I wonder if those Sign Makers have a contract

with the U.S Goverment. Does it help the pilots with target practice? Do the

Sign Makers receive a certain mount of money for each car that gets blown off

the road?

I have to disagree with one that instructs me not to "Feed the Bears".

I'm sorry, if a bear wants my lunch, it can have it. What am i going to do?

"No, you big ugly hairy thing, you can't have my loaf." I hate to tell the

Sign Makers, but that bear is much bigger and meaner than I am. It semms the

Sign Makers have seen too many cartoons with Yogi in them.

Another sign casually⁵ says "Workmen Ahead." That's O.K., if there are

workmen ahead, I should slow down. Every time I go by, Though, there is no one

working but there is gang of people on the side of the road drinking coffee.

Looks as if it is a social gathering⁶ of some kind. Maybe there should be

another sign for those times. "Workman on Break", would probably be erected⁷

more often, it would get much more use. Maybe they should be on the Sign

Makers payroll⁸.

"Slippery When Icy", you really have to love that sign. When I walk to my

car in the morning and fall on my ass⁹, I think I can figure out that it is

slippery. "Watch for Blowing Snow" is another one that fits into that season.

I hate to tell them this but when there is blowing snow, there is no way I

can read the notation¹⁰ on their signs. Tell me, why are those signs out there

in the summer when the mercury thermometer reads one hundred degrees? Isn't

it a paradox¹¹?

I have often wondered about the "Stop" signs. Do they get an extra amount

of money for making them a perfect octagon? Is there an underground industry

that cuts them so perfectly¹²? They must have a monopoly in the market and their

business is really flourishing. Why is it that most of the world thinks they

are suggestions anyway? Do they have any influence over the Sign Makers or are

they a subculture of the Sign Makers? Where is the "Go" sign? Is that the one

that says, "Go to your Local Toyota dealer¹³ for Big Savings¹⁴?" If you ask me

they are very confusing. Then there is "Field Sign", how much am I suppose to

give?

This time of year in the United States, the Sign Makers are very busy, so

many bulletin boards are pounded into the ground with big pegs¹⁵. One will say,

"A Vote for me is a Vote for your Kids." Now, I don't know about you, a great

statesman, senator, or whatsoever¹⁶, but I do know this is propaganda and I

don't want to be misled. I really don't vote for my kids, they are too young.

Another will say, "He will Lower Taxes." I see so many tax dollars imposed,

it seems to me that he isn't telling the truth. The truth of the matter is

that after the election, the signs are left there. After we decide they

aren't going anywhere, someone gets hired to remove them. Shouldn't the Sign

Makers pay for part of the expense? No, I suppose they are immune from that.

There are even signs tacked¹⁷ on cars these days. I have always thought that

your car is and always should be your sanctuary¹⁸. I really don't want people

reading my car. I saw one the other day that had two mouse ears on it. On the

side it said, "Let us Eliminate Your Pests." I think maybe they should first

eliminate the car. We really don't need cars driving down the roads that look

like Mickey Mouse. Yes, those Sign Makers have become very creative.

There are signs in multitude everywhere. Some tell me how far I have to

go, others tell me how fast I can go. Some tell me where to shop or where to

go on excursion; still some others urge me to protect the ozone¹⁹ layer and stop

abortion²⁰. In retrospect²¹, the handwriting was on the wall, I really should have

become a Sign Maker¹.

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

5 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

8 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

9 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

10 notation   

n.记号法，表示法，注释；[计算机]记法

参考例句：

• Music has a special system of notation.音乐有一套特殊的标记法。
• We shall find it convenient to adopt the following notation.采用下面的记号是方便的。

11 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

14 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。

15 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

16 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

17 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

18 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

19 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

20 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

21 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。