读者文摘:100字讲述自己的故事

The Cold, Hard Facts. I once overheard a group of people exchanging science-based trivia questions.

冰冷的艰难的事实。有一次，我无意中听到一群人在谈论科学冷知识问题。

Chiming in with one of my own, I asked, "At what temperature are Fahrenheit¹ and Celsius² equivalent?"

我带着自己的问题加入了谈话，我问道，“在什么温度下华氏温度和摄氏温度相等？”

One guy said, "Minus 40 degrees." Not expecting him to know this off the top of his head, I said, "Impressive.

有个家伙说，“负四十度。”没有期待他能凭自己的脑子知道这个事情，我说，“真厉害。

How did you know that?" His reply: "I've been to Minnesota."

你是怎么知道的？”他回答说：“我去过明尼苏达州。”

The Snow Job. My son-in-law Chuck snow-blows and shovels³ driveways for several clients in the winter.

除雪工作。我的女婿查克在冬天为几个客户除雪和铲车道。

Once while he was shoveling, a little old lady came by and asked if he could do her driveway too.

有一次他在铲雪，一位老太太过来问他能不能帮他铲雪。

Chuck agreed. When he finished, she asked him how much she owed him. Chuck told her "Twenty-five."

查克同意了。他完成后，老太太问他多少钱。查克告诉她“25”。

She went into the house, came back out, and gave him a quarter.

她走进屋子，出来给了查克25美分。

She then asked if he was sure that was enough. Chuck just smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess that is good."

然后她问他这些钱够不够。查克笑了笑说道，“够了，我觉得够了。”

He kept clearing the snow from her driveway for "twenty-five" until she passed away.

后来查克一直以25美分的价格为她铲雪，直到她去世。

When the Frog Croaks⁴. One of my young son's friends called us on FaceTime.

青蛙呱叫时。我小儿子的一个朋友在FaceTime上给我打电话。

"I got some really bad news," the friend said in a solemn tone. Concerned, I listened closely.

这个朋友用严肃的声调说，“我有一些很坏的消息。”我有点担心，仔细地听着。

My son asked, "What happened?" His friend said, "Jeff died."

我儿子问道，“发生什么事了？”他的朋友说，“杰夫死了。”

My wife, also concerned, asked, "Who's Jeff?" "He's my frog," the friend replied.

我的妻子也担心地问道，“杰夫是谁？”“他是我的青蛙。”这个朋友回复道。

He then said a sweet prayer about the frog, thankful for their time on earth together and the joy he brought to their lives.

然后，他为青蛙做了一个甜蜜的祈祷，感谢他们在地球上一起度过的时光，以及他给他们的生活带来的欢乐。

It was a pretty mature eulogy⁵ for a kid. He ended it with "Amen." Before I could raise my bowed head, the toilet flushed.

那对孩子来说是很成熟的悼词。最后他说了“阿门”。在我抬起头之前，就传来了冲马桶的声音。

1 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

4 croaks   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• A burst of noisy croaks came from the pond. 从池塘里传来了一阵喧噪的蛙鸣。 来自互联网
• The noise in the zoo turned out to be the croaks of bullfrogs. 动物园里喧噪得很，原来是一群牛蛙在叫。 来自互联网

5 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。