胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯102：化石的悲慘下場 The Fossil Fiasco
“I still can’t believe you fractured the oldest fossil in the museum,” Bessie said “How are you going to explain this to the founder? He is an old and frail man. You might give him a heart attack.”
“我還是不相信你弄碎了博物館里最古老的化石。”貝西說。“你怎么像創(chuàng)建人解釋?他年紀大，身體脆弱。你可能會讓他得心臟病。”
“It’s not my fault,” replied Alice. “I think the framework around the fossil was faulty. Whoever framed it must be a fraud. Nobody would make it that fragile. I would bet his credentials are fraudulent too. Besides, I don’t think anyone is going to miss one foul smelling fossil, do you? Anyway, I only broke off a small fraction of the fossil.”
“這不是我的過錯，”愛麗絲回答。“我認為化石周圍的那圈架子有問題。建造它的人肯定是個騙子。沒有人會把它做的那么脆弱。我敢打賭他的各項證件也是騙人的。另外，我認為沒有人會懷念一具散發(fā)著惡臭的化石，你覺得呢?反正，我只打碎了化石的一小部分。”
“Yes, but that small fraction just happened to be the head,” Bessie laughed. “Without is, it looks fragmentary. Weren’t you aware of its fragility?”
“沒錯，但是那一小部分恰好是頭部，”貝西笑道。“沒有它，化石看上去就不完整了。你沒有意識到他的脆弱嗎?”
“Yes, but at that moment, I was frantic,” Alice said. “I just needed something solid to stop the fray between those fraternal twins. I was trying to foster peace and cooperation. How was I supposed to know that the one twin would break it with his head?”
“我意識到了，但那時候，我不顧一切，”愛麗絲說，“我正好需要一個堅硬的東西阻止雙胞胎兄弟之間的沖突。我在試圖促進和平與合作。我怎能料到雙胞胎中的一個會用頭把他弄碎呢?”
“Let us be frank,” said Bessie. “You smashed him over the head with it. Then you picked up the broken fragment and threw it at the other twin. Need I say more?”
“讓我們坦率一點吧，”貝西說。“是你手持化石砸向他的頭部的。然后，你撿起碎片，往雙胞胎中的另一個扔過去。我還需要說下去嗎?”
“It all so fast, I really don’t remember,” Alice said with a grin. “I guess I better apologize to the founder now. First, I should spray on a little more fragrance. Maybe he won’t yell at me if I smell like a flower.”
“一切發(fā)生得太快了，我不太記得了。”愛麗絲咧嘴笑著說。“我想我最好現在向創(chuàng)建人道歉。首先，我得再噴一點香水。也許我聞起來像鮮花一樣，他就不會朝我大喊大叫了。”
“Trust me,” Bessie giggled. “You’re fragrant enough to turn him into a fossil.”
“相信我，”貝西咯咯地笑道。“你已經香得足以把他變成化石了。”
Words:
fossil n. 化石，僵化的事物
foster vt. 鼓勵，促進;養(yǎng)育，撫養(yǎng)
foul adj. 惡臭的
founder n. 創(chuàng)建者，創(chuàng)始人
fraction n. 小部分，少量;分數
fracture n. 骨折;破碎;vt. 使破裂，斷裂
fragile adj. 易碎的，脆的;脆弱的
fragility n. 脆弱
fragment n. 碎片，破片
fragmentary adj. 不完整的，片段的
fragrance n. 芬芳，香味
fragrant adj. 香的，芬芳的
frail adj. 脆弱的，意志薄弱的
frame n. 框架; vt. 幀，外加框;提出，制定;構造，組織，建筑
framework n. 構架;骨架
frank adj. 坦白的，直率的
frantic adj. 情感處于極度狀態(tài)的(尤指恐懼或焦急)，發(fā)瘋的，不顧一切的
fraternal adj. 兄弟的，友善的
fraud n. 騙子，欺騙，欺詐
fraudulent adj. 欺詐的，欺騙性的
fray vi. 磨損，破裂;n. 吵架，沖突
