英文短篇故事（纽约）436 Burn a Pile of Cash

 　　He needed money. He went to a crowd-funding website. On it, anyone could try to raise money for any purpose. His purpose was: "Give me a million dollars, and I'll burn it all in Union Square. The bonfire will show our contempt¹ for cash and greed²." A year later, site visitors had donated a million dollars. His friend asked, "Well, when are you going to burn it?" He said, "Burn it? Who would burn a million bucks³? I'm going to buy myself a condo." She said, "But you made a deal with the donors⁴. They did their part; now you must do your part." He said, "Forget it! If I'd known I'd collect a million, I wouldn't have offered to burn it." She said, "You're not keeping your part of the bargain. How can you live with yourself?" He said, "I'm a millionaire now. It's easy to live with myself."

1 contempt   

n.轻视，藐视，受辱，丢脸

参考例句：

• She looked at him with immediate and undisguised contempt.她用毫不掩饰的轻蔑眼光看着他。
• He refused to answer in contempt of the rules of the court.他藐视法院规章，拒绝回答。

2 greed   

n.贪食，贪心，贪婪

参考例句：

• His greed knows no limits.他的贪心永无止境。
• Greed was his only motive for stealing.贪婪是他盗窃的唯一动机。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》