英语小达人 313 Brain Transplant

 　　Brain Transplant¹

　　脑移植

　　A patient needed a brain transplant and the doctor told the family, "Brains are very expensive, and you will have to pay the costs yourselves."

　　一个病人需要进行脑移植，医生对他的家属说：“脑器官是很贵的，而且是自费的。”

　　"Well, how much does a brain cost?" asked the relatives.

　　“那么，一个大脑到底要多少钱呢？”病人家属问道。

　　"For a male brain, $500,000. For a female brain, $200,000," replied the doctor.

　　“男人的大脑50万美元，女人的要20万，”医生答道。

　　All the male relatives nodded because they thought they understood.

　　病人所有的男性亲属都故作理解地点点头。

　　But the patient's daughter was unsatisfied and asked, "Why the difference in price between male brains and female brains?

　　但是病人的女儿并不满意，问道：“男人大脑的价格和女人的为什么差这么多？”

　　"Standard pricing practice," said the doctor.

　　“这是标准的价格规范，”医生说。

　　"Men's brains cost more, for they are brand-new and women's brains have to be marked down because they're actually been used."

　　“男人的大脑贵是因为它们是全新的，而女人的大脑要价低，是因为它们确实是使用过的二手货。”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. difference between

　　差别；差异；不同之处；

　　eg. That is the fundamental difference between the two societies.

　　那是这两个社会之间的根本性差异。

　　eg. She can see the difference between good and bad.

　　她能看出好与坏的区别。

　　2. brand-new

　　崭新的；簇新的；

　　eg. The rising sun suggests a brand-new day has come.

　　东升的太阳表明崭新的一天已经来临。

　　eg. When she returned, she found that a rock had fallen on her brand-new car.

　　当她回来的时候，她发现一块石头掉在她的新车上。

　　3. mark down

　　减价；降低…的价钱；

　　eg. Retailers² will have to mark down prices sharply³ to bring in sales.

　　零售商将不得不为了提高销量而大幅降价。

　　eg. Clothes are the best bargain, with many items marked down.

　　买衣服是最划算的，许多衣服都降价了。

1 transplant   

n.移植的器官或植物；v.使迁移，使移居

参考例句：

• Some plants do not transplant well.有些植物不宜移植。
• Several of the patients had received kidney transplant.病人中有几位已接受了肾移植手术。

2 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

3 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。