英语美文背诵 最后一美元(上)

Ballad¹ of the Bottom Dollar

最后一美元

Cameron , Mounger and I have been friends since we were teenagers.

卡梅伦，我和mounger自从我们青少年的时候就是朋友。

Both of us liked rock'n'roll, and several years after we left high school, Cam became a disc jockey.

我们都喜欢摇滚乐，我们离开高中几年之后，卡梅伦成了一名DJ。

Recently he told me the story about the day he was down to his last dollar.

最近有一天他告诉了我他只剩一美元那天的故事。

It was the day his luck and his life changed.

那一天，他的运气和他的生活都改变了。

In the early 1970s, Cam was an announcer and disc jockey at KYAL in McKinney, Texas, and had attained² celebrity³ status.

在上世纪70年代早期，卡梅伦在德克萨斯，麦金尼的kyal当一个播音员和电台主持人。并颇有一点名气。

He met many country-music stars, and he enjoyed flying to Nashville in the company plane with the owner.

他遇到了许多的乡村音乐明星，他喜欢和飞机公司的老板一起乘坐飞机飞到纳什维尔。

One night Cam was in Nashville for an evening at the Grand Ole Opry.

一天晚上，卡梅伦在纳什维尔的Grand Ole Opry大剧院享受夜晚。

After the show an acquaintance invited him backstage with all the Opry stars, "I didn't have any paper for autographs, so I took out a dollar bill," Cam told me, "Before the night ended, I had virtually every Opry personality's autograph, I guarded that dollar bill and carried it with me always, I knew I would treasure it forever."

表演结束后，一位熟人邀请他和后台所有该大剧院的明星留个纪念，“我没有一张纸可以拿来签名，所以我拿出一美元，“卡梅伦告诉我，“那晚之后，我几乎有Opry明星的个性签名，我谨慎的保存着这张美元而且就一直带在身边，我知道我会永远珍惜它。”

The station KYAL was put up for sale, and many employees found themselves without a job, Cam landed part-time work at VBAP in Fort Worth and planned to hang on to this job long enough for a full-time⁴ position to open up.

kyal关闭出售了，很多员工发现没有了工作，卡梅伦便在沃斯堡VBAP做兼职，希望能在那工作足够长时间等到一个全职的站点开放。

The winter of 1976-77 was extremely cold. The heater in Cam's old Volkswagen emitted only a hint of warm air; the windshield defroster didn't work at all.

1976到1977年的冬季非常寒冷。卡梅伦的老大众加热器发出只有一丝温暖的空气；挡风玻璃的除霜器也坏了。

Life was hard, and Cam was broke.

生活是艰苦的，卡梅伦破产了。

With the help of a friend who worked at a local supermarket, he occasionally intercepted⁵ outdated⁶, dumpster-bound TV dinners. "This kept my wife and me eating, but we still had no cash."

在一个朋友在当地一家超市工作的朋友的帮助下，他偶尔得到一些过期的，和一些冷冻餐。“我和我妻子就这样一直吃这些过活，但我们仍然没有钱。”

1 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

2 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

3 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。