英语小达人 315 How About My Stone?

 　　How About My Stone?

　　我的石头怎么样？

　　Sometime after Paul died, his widow¹, Lily, was finally able to speak about what a thoughtful² and wonderful man her late husband had been.

　　在丈夫保罗去世一段时间之后，莉莉终于能对朋友们讲她的老公是个多么善解人意的好男人了。

　　"Paul thought of everything," she told her friends. "Just before he died, Paul handed me three envelopes. 'Lily,' he told me, 'I have put all my last wishes in these three envelopes. After I am dead, please open them and do exactly as I have instructed. Then, I can rest in peace.'"

　　“保罗想到了每一件事，”她说，“他死前给了我三个信封，对我说‘莉莉，我把我最后的三个心愿放在这三个信封里了。我死后，请你打开它们，按照我说的做，我就能在九泉下安息了。’”

　　"What was in the envelopes?" her friends asked.

　　“那些信封里有什么？”她的朋友们问。

　　"The first envelope contained $ 5,000 with a note, 'Please use this money to buy a nice casket.' So I bought a beautiful mahogany casket with such a comfortable thing that I know Paul is resting very comfortably."

　　“第一个信封里有5000块钱，还有一张纸条写着，‘请用这笔钱买一口上好的棺材。’于是我给他买了一副衬有舒适衬里的上好的红木棺材。我知道保罗躺在里面一定很舒服。”

　　"The second envelope contained $ 10,000 with a note, 'Please use this for a nice funeral.' I arranged Paul a very dignified³ funeral and bought all his favorite foods for everyone attending."

　　“第二个信封里有1万块钱，还有一张纸条写着，‘请用这笔钱帮我办一个体面的葬礼。’于是我为他办了一个庄严肃穆的葬礼，为所有的来宾准备了他最爱吃的食物。”

　　"And the third envelope?" asked her friends.

　　“第三个信封呢？”她的朋友们问。

　　"The third envelope contained $ 30,000 with a note, 'Please use this to buy a nice stone.'"

　　“第三个信封里有3万钱，还有一张纸条写着，‘请用这笔钱买一块上好的石头（墓碑）。’”

　　Holding her hand in the air, Lily said, "So, do you like my stone?" showing off her 10 carat diamond ring.

　　莉莉把手举了起来，炫耀着手上10克拉的钻石戒指，说：“我这块石头怎么样？”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. think of

　　想到；想起；想出；

　　eg. I can't think of any reason why he should do that.

　　我想不出来他为什么非要那样做。

　　eg. I don't know why I never thought of that.

　　我怎么就从未想到过那一点。

　　2. rest in peace

　　安息；

　　eg. May his soul rest in peace!

　　让他的灵魂安息吧！

　　eg. Baby, rest in peace, wish you be happy in other world.

　　孩子，你们安息吧，希望你们在另一个世界能够快乐！

　　3. show off

　　炫耀；卖弄；显摆；

　　eg. He actually enjoys his new hairstyle and has decided⁴ to start showing it off.

　　实际上他很喜欢自己的新发型，决定要炫耀一番。

　　eg. He had been showing off for her at the poker⁵ table.

　　牌桌上他一直在她面前表现自己。

1 widow   

n.寡妇

参考例句：

• Martha was a very rich young widow.玛莎是个很有钱的年轻寡妇。
• All this money was appropriated for the support of his widow.所有这些钱作为给他的遗孀的抚养费。

2 thoughtful   

adj.思考的，沉思的，体贴的，关心的

参考例句：

• She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
• This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。

3 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。