英文短篇故事（纽约）235 Can I Undo That Wish?

 　　Life was hard. Life was tough. John had no family. He had no friends. He had no future. He had given up. In the last month, he had probably said, "I wish I was dead," 1,000 times a day. Sometimes he would repeat the words for five minutes at a time. All he thought about was death. When he saw a rope, he thought about hanging himself. When he saw a knife, he thought about stabbing himself. He went to the beach. He looked at the ocean. He thought about drowning himself. He walked along the beach. He found an old, slimy, green bottle. He picked it up. There was a cork¹ in it. He pulled out the cork. Maybe the fumes² will kill me, he thought. Instead, a genie³ appeared. "I will grant you any wish," the genie said. "I wish I was dead," John said out of habit.

1 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

2 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

3 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。