原版英文小故事 8. Rest in Peace

A routine check of the main building on the Rest in Peace Cemetery¹ in Santa Fe turned up thousands of cardboard boxes containing the remains² of cremated³ people. An inspector⁴ from the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau found the boxes stacked neatly⁵ in various rooms of the cemetery’s main building. Instead of having names of the departed, most boxes simply had dates inscribed⁶ on them. The dates went all the way back to June 14, 1930.

The owner of the cemetery, Mrs. Marbles, said she had just bought the property a year ago. She said she had never even been in many of the rooms of the main building. She said that she had bought the cemetery solely⁷ for its land value.

“As we all know,” she said, “God keeps making people, but He’s not making any more land. It’s only a matter of time before all this land is going to be needed for the living. When that happens, this property will be worth at least ten times what I paid for it. I’m already in discussions with several condo developers.”

The inspector said that it looked like most of the remains were from the 1930s to the 1970s. He figured that the people were probably homeless people whose bodies were never claimed at the funeral homes. The funeral homes cremated the bodies and then gave the remains to the cemetery for proper burial. He said that even though these remains were up to 75 years old, they would be buried with dignity and respect.

“After all,” he said, “all of these people had relatives at one time. They might even have children and grandchildren living right here in Santa Fe.”
 

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

4 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

5 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

6 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。