胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯061：神經(jīng)兮兮的罪犯 A Crazy Criminal
“Don’t delay, put him in jail!” said the constable. “It was a deliberate act of stealing. He is nothing less than a juvenile delinquent who commits deleterious acts.”
“不要耽擱，把他關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄!”警官說道，“這是蓄意偷盜，他簡直就是一個犯有傷害罪的少年罪犯。”
“I don’t think his delinquency is the issue,” I replied. “He committed these crimes while in a state of delirium. His demeanor is typical of someone who is mentally ill. We must delve into his mind and find the source of his delusions. It is a delicate process.”
“我想問題并不在于他的過失。”我說，“他是在精神錯亂的情況下犯罪的。他的行為明顯表明他患有精神性的疾病。我們必須深入探究他的精神狀態(tài)，找到錯覺的根源。這個過程需要我們做到細(xì)致入微。”
“All right, we’ll do it in your way.” said the constable, losing his patience. “Let’s interview him.”
“那好吧，就照你說的做。”警官說著，顯得不耐煩。“提審他。
“Who are you, young man?” I asked the strange boy, raising my eyebrows in curiosity.”
“小伙子，你是什么人?”我好奇地?fù)P起眉毛問這個奇怪的年輕人。
“I am a delegate appointed by the President of the United States,” replied the boy. “He has dispatched me to the Colorado river delta. I must help the two warring factions to delineate their territories and to establish a fair demarcation line between their realms.”
“我是美國總統(tǒng)委任的代表，”男孩回答，“他派我到科羅拉多河三角洲地帶。我必須幫助那里兩個交戰(zhàn)的派別劃分領(lǐng)地范圍，確定雙方公正的邊界線。”
“Delete those fancy words, boy,” said the constable with a stern voice. “Don’t delude yourself into thinking that you’re someone important.”
“別說大話了，小伙子。”警官嚴(yán)肅地說，“不要欺騙自己，總以為自己是個很重要的人物。”
“I don’t wish to demean you,” I said to the strange boy. “However, can you explain why an important delegate like you would need to steal so many expensive chocolates for such a mission?”
“我不想貶低你，”我對這個怪里怪氣的小伙子說，“但是你能解釋你這么重要的人物為了完成使命需要偷那么昂貴的巧克力這件事嗎?”
“It was necessary,” replied the boy. “How else was I supposed to make them share in celebration. You know the wise saying, don’t you?”
“這很必要，”男孩回答，“不然的話，我又如何能讓他們遣散他們大批的軍隊(duì)呢?”我必須給他們送去和平的禮物，這樣我們可以一起慶祝分享。你不知道那句至理明言嗎?
“What wise saying?” we asked with interest.
“什么至理明言?”我們好奇地問。
“Delectable treats can achieve great feats!” shouted the boy.
“好吃好喝，業(yè)績顯赫。”男孩大聲說。
“Did it work?” we asked with greater curiosity.
“行得通嗎?”我們更好奇地問。
“Yes, but only for a short while,” he replied in a dejected voice. “The chocolates were so delicious that they started fighting over them.”
“還行，但持續(xù)不了多長時間。”他沮喪地回答，“巧克力太好吃了，他們又開始為巧克力而戰(zhàn)了。
Words:
delay vt./n. 推遲，耽擱
delectable adj. 美味的
delegate n. 代表; vt. 委派，授權(quán)
delete vt. 刪除
deleterious adj. (對身心)有害的，有毒的
deliberate adj. 謹(jǐn)慎的，不慌不忙的;蓄意的，故意的
delicate adj. 脆的，易損的;嬌弱的;精致的，細(xì)膩的
delicious adj. 美味的，可口的
delineate v. 勾畫，劃出;描述，刻畫
delinquency n. 行為不良，錯失
delinquent adj. 失職者，違法者(特指少年犯罪)
delirium n. 精神錯亂，發(fā)狂
delta n. (河流的)三角洲
delude vt. 欺騙，迷惑
delusion n. 錯覺，幻想
delve v. 深入探究，鉆研
demarcation n. 界限，區(qū)分
demean v. 貶抑，降低
demeanor n. 舉止，行為
demobilize vt. 遣散(軍人)，使復(fù)員
