英文短篇故事（纽约）516 The Missing Marker Cap

 　　The tutor handed the black marker to his student. She was learning English. She constantly spoke¹ to him in Russian, even though he hardly knew "net" from "da." She wrote the two contractions² for "he is not" on the whiteboard. He said, "Very good." She smiled. She started to hand him back the marker. Then she pointed³ to the tip. She shrugged⁴ her shoulders. She looked at him quizzically. He realized what she meant. Using the marker, he wrote on the board, "Where's the cap?" He said the words. She repeated them. They looked everywhere for the cap. He even dug through his workbag filled with pencils and other supplies. They gave up. He picked up the marker. He was going to throw it out. Then he noticed something. The cap was actually on the marker. It was snapped into the bottom of the marker. He had put it there.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》