英文短篇故事（纽约）140 A Sunny Fourth of July in Manhattan

 　　"What do you want to do on the Fourth?" he asked his wife. She said she was up for almost anything. He looked online. A tour company offered boat tours along with double-decker bus tours. It had downtown¹, uptown, and night bus tours. It had a Hudson River tour. "We'll start with a nice boat ride on the Hudson. Then we'll sightsee Manhattan from the top of a bus," he said. She asked him about the weather. "It's going to be hot," he said. "July Fourth is always hot." She said, "I mean, what if it rains?" He said not to worry. "The buses and boats run in the rain," he said. "Well, I don't run in the rain," she said. "If it's raining, you can go by yourself." He told her not to worry. "It never rains on July Fourth," he said. "It would ruin² too many church barbecues³."

1 downtown   

n.市中心区，市中心；adj.市中心的；adv.往闹区

参考例句：

• You have to be downtown in a hurry.你得赶快去市中心。
• How often does the bus to downtown run?到市中心的公共汽车多久来一班？

2 ruin   

vt.（使）毁坏；（使）毁灭；n.(复)废墟；遗迹

参考例句：

• How can you stand by and watch the country go to ruin?你怎么可以看着国家将亡而无动于衷呢？
• The old empty house soon went to rack and ruin.这所旧的空房子很快就毁坏了。

3 barbecues   

n.（常用于室外的）金属烤架( barbecue的名词复数 )；烧烤野餐

参考例句：

• Glorious beaches, wide open spaces, barbecues after work on balmy evenings. 美丽的沙滩，广濶的空间，在宜人的傍晚下班后烤肉。 来自互联网
• Wal-Mart wasn't just selling barbecues and board games. It was selling experiences. 所以说，除了卖烤肉架和棋盘游戏外，沃尔玛还卖体验。 来自互联网