60. Which One to Call Back

　　After I took office as mayor of a small Kentucky city, an unfortunate incident precipitated² some hateful phone calls to my home. One night while I was conducting a city-council meeting, my wife answered the phone.

　　"Is this the home of Bert May, the mayor?" a woman's voice asked.

　　When my wife explained that I was at a meeting and would return her call if she left a name and number, the caller said. "That's confidential³. This is his girlfriend. "

　　My wife, knowing this was all a ruse⁴, calmly responded, "Lady, if you don't leave your name and number, he won't know which one to call back

Notes:

　　(1) take office 任职 (4) confidential adj.保密的

　　(2) precipitate¹ v.使突然发生 (5) ruse n.欺诈

　　(3) conduct v.主持

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① What did the husband take office as?

　　A. president of a big company

　　B. mayor of a big city

　　C. mayor of a small city

　　D. mayor of Kentucky

　　② What happened after he took office?

　　A. an unfortunate incident

　　B. an earthquake

　　C. the opening ceremony of a company

　　D. his wife got ill

　　③The word "precipitate" in "an unfortunate incident precipitated some hateful phones to my home" probably means _____.

　　A. to return

　　B. to receive

　　C. to initiate⁵

　　D. to get

　　④ Why wouldn't the woman on the line leave her name and number?

　　A. Because she had no name or number.

　　B. Because she was not allowed to do so by her husband.

　　C. Because she was too nervous to remind herself of her name and number.

　　D. Because she was just playing a dirty trick.

　　⑤ From the passage we can see that _____.

　　A. the mayor had many girlfriends

　　B. the woman on line had dialed the wrong number

　　C. the wife of the mayor was quick-minded

　　D. the mayor would return the woman's call

60.给哪一个回电话

　　我上任为肯塔基州的一个小城的市长后，发生了一件不幸的事，从而招致了一些可恨的电话打到我家里。一天夜里，我还在主持市政会议，我妻子接到了一个电话。

　　“是伯特·麦因、市长的家吗？”一个女人的声音问道。

　　我妻子向她解释说我还在开会，如果她留下姓名和电话号码的话，我会给她回话。通话人马上说：“这个保密。我是他的女朋友。”

　　我妻子知道这完全是欺诈。她镇静地回答说：“女士，如果你不留下姓名和号码的话，他就不会知道给哪一个回话。”

练习参考答案：

①C②A③C④D⑤C

1 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

2 precipitated   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
• He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

4 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

5 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。