胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇133

An irreverent attitude from inverse¹ to irreversible

“ Smithers, don’t you think it’s ironic² that your irregular night-time activities are in inverse proportion to your reputation as an expert in the area of invertebrate³ research?” the director of the academy demanded to know.

“ I should like to invoke⁴ my right to remain silent, sir,” Smithers defiantly⁵ replied.

“ Your invocation of some right or other will do you no good at all. I find your irresponsible behaviour, coupled with your irreverent attitude, quite irreconcilable⁶ with your position. Unless you come clean, Smithers, we shall have to investigate those allegations against you very seriously, indeed. That’s not an inviting⁷ prospect⁸, neither for you, nor for the academy. Pending⁹ the outcome of the investigation¹⁰, you will be put on involuntary leave.”

“Sir, my behaviour both in and out of work has been irreproachable¹¹, apart only from the fact that I have found the odd glass or two of gin and tonic¹² irresistible¹³.”

“Listen, man, the damage you have done to the reputation of this institution of learning and research is probably already quite irreparable, and I find your answers so far have been quite irrelevant¹⁴. Your irresolute¹⁵ attitude, coupled with your irrepressible sense of nonchalance¹⁶ simply is inappropriate to the seriousness of the situation. You simply leave me no choice. My decision is irreversible: You are on indefinite leave pending the investigation. The irony¹⁷ of it is, of course, Smithers, that you were such an outstanding member of our team when you first got here. Tell me, what’s got into you lately?”

Smithers stood in silence.

不敬的态度

“斯密德斯，难道你不认为自己无规律的夜生活与你作为无脊椎动物研究领域的专家的声望成反比是具有讽刺意味的吗？”研究院的主任要求知道答案。

“我希望援用我保持沉默的权利，先生，”斯米德斯反驳道。

“你援用这样或那样权利对你一点好处都没有。我认为你不负责的行为，加上你不敬的态度与你的地位非常不能协调。斯米德斯，除非你坦白交代，否则我们真的必须对反对你的主张进行严肃调查。这个前景对你和研究院来说都不诱人。在等待调查结果的时候，你必须强制离开。”

“先生，我除了觉得古怪的玻璃杯和两杯松子酒和滋补品无法抗拒之外，在工作中和工作以外的行为都是无可指责的。”

“听着，老兄，你对这所学术研究机构的声誉造成的破坏可能已经无法挽回了，我发现你到目前为止的回答都与此无关。你犹豫不决的态度以及抑制不住的冷淡与事态的严重性完全不相称。你让我没有选择的余地。我的决定是不可更改的：在进行调查期间，你必须无限制地离岗。当然，斯密斯德，有讽刺意味的是你刚来这儿的时候，使我们团队里那么出色的成员。告诉我，你最近中了什么邪了？”

斯密斯德站着，缄默不语。

1 inverse   

adj.相反的，倒转的，反转的；n.相反之物；v.倒转

参考例句：

• Evil is the inverse of good.恶是善的反面。
• When the direct approach failed he tried the inverse.当直接方法失败时，他尝试相反的做法。

2 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

3 invertebrate   

n.无脊椎动物

参考例句：

• Half of all invertebrate species live in tropical rain forests.一半的无脊椎动物物种生活在热带雨林中。
• Worms are an example of invertebrate animals.蠕虫是无脊椎动物的一个例子。

4 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

5 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 irreconcilable   

adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的

参考例句：

• These practices are irreconcilable with the law of the Church.这种做法与教规是相悖的。
• These old concepts are irreconcilable with modern life.这些陈旧的观念与现代生活格格不入。

7 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 irreproachable   

adj.不可指责的，无过失的

参考例句：

• It emerged that his past behavior was far from irreproachable.事实表明，他过去的行为绝非无可非议。
• She welcomed her unexpected visitor with irreproachable politeness.她以无可指责的礼仪接待了不速之客。

12 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

13 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

14 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

15 irresolute   

adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的

参考例句：

• Irresolute persons make poor victors.优柔寡断的人不会成为胜利者。
• His opponents were too irresolute to call his bluff.他的对手太优柔寡断,不敢接受挑战。

16 nonchalance   

n.冷淡，漠不关心

参考例句：

• She took her situation with much nonchalance.她对这个处境毫不介意。
• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance.他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。

17 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。