英语听力文摘 English Digest 56、买不起订婚戒指

　　Dear Annie:
My girlfriend and I have been together for three years. When we first started dating, "Mary" unexpectedly became pregnant¹ and we now have a beautiful child who is our life's joy. I would like to ask Mary to become my wife. Here's the problem: Money is pretty tight with a toddler, so buying an expensive engagement² ring will be difficult. Is cubic zirconium worth looking into? I thought I'd get a nice-looking CZ ring and, when things settle down, maybe replace it with a real diamond.
My initial³ thought is to be upfront with Mary and tell her. Do you think that's a good idea? We have a joint⁴ checking account, so she'll know all about my purchases. Is there a good way to mask how much the ring costs? － Perplexed⁵ in the Midwest
Dear Perplexed:
Don't lie to Mary about the value of the ring. Women can be very understanding about not getting a diamond, but they don't like being fooled. And if you are serious about replacing the ring later, it doesn't matter what the original is made from. As for hiding the cost, you can put aside small amounts of cash until you have enough to purchase the ring and Mary will never know what you paid for it. P.S.: Best wishes on your upcomingengagement.
engagement  (n.)   订婚；约会
unexpectedly  (adv.)   意外地；突然地
toddler  (n.)   幼儿；刚学步的小孩
to look into   研究；考虑
to settle down   稳定；安身
to be upfront   直接；坦白
purchase  (n.)   购买；採购
perplexed  (adj.)   令人困惑的；麻烦的
to be fooled   被欺骗；遭愚弄
upcoming  (adj.)   接近的；即将来临的

1 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

2 engagement   

n.订婚，婚约，约定，约会

参考例句：

• I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你，因为我有约在先。
• It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。

3 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。