The government passed a stipulation that stocky stonemasons would no longer be receiving their stipends. The edict stipulated that in six months, if they had not made great strides in losing weight, they would face a lot of strife. Even though he found his work rather stodgy and strenuous, Ed Branson always managed to stitch together some pride in his work. Besides, he still needed his salary. While he was a stout man, he was not lazy. He was in fact looking forward to the exercise program that awaited him.
政府通過(guò)了一項(xiàng)規(guī)定,內(nèi)容是肥胖的石匠再也領(lǐng)取不到薪水。這項(xiàng)法令規(guī)定,六個(gè)月之后,如果他們沒(méi)有在減輕體重方面取得巨大進(jìn)展,他們就會(huì)面臨許多挑戰(zhàn)。盡管埃德·布蘭森覺(jué)得自己的工作很乏味,而且勞累,但是他總能在工作中拼湊出一些足以令人自豪的事情。而且,他還需要薪水。他雖然肥胖,但并不懶惰。實(shí)際上他在盼望著即將到來(lái)的鍛煉計(jì)劃。
Ed lived near a strait. Everyday he began walking along the strand, straying far away from the pizza parlors that people from his social stratum usually frequented. At first, he was failing to stretch before each workout. Then he strained his lower back muscle and learned his lesson. While he was recovering from his ailment, he couldn't exercise and began to eat heavily. To offset the effects of the heavy eating, he began taking stimulants. This caused a sharp sting in his chest one day, so he soon quit taking them. He soon ceased to exercise at all.
埃德生活在海峽附近。每天他都遠(yuǎn)離他這個(gè)社會(huì)階層的人們經(jīng)常光顧的比薩屋,開(kāi)始沿著海濱散步。起初,在每次鍛煉之前,他腰都伸不直。后來(lái),他拉傷了后背下部肌肉,吸取了教訓(xùn)。在恢復(fù)的過(guò)程中,他無(wú)法鍛煉,開(kāi)始大吃大喝。為了抵消多吃的影響,他開(kāi)始服用興奮劑。結(jié)果,有一天胸部出現(xiàn)一陣劇烈疼痛,因此他不久就戒掉了興奮劑。緊接著,他又徹底放棄了鍛煉。
"What I need are some outside stimuli, a few things that will get me interested in exercising again," he thought to himself. He recalled that along the strand, there were many women of striking beauty from all social strata. In addition, strings of birds would fly by and sing. These memories strengthened his resolve to lose weight and retain his income. Still, sometimes it was difficult to stay motivated, so he had to resort to his imagination. Whenever he caught himself slowing down while jogging, he imagined his old football coach chasing behind him with a strap in one hand, eager to slap idle legs.
“我需要的是一些外部刺激,一些能讓我對(duì)鍛煉重新產(chǎn)生興趣的東西,”他心里想。他記得在海濱,有很多來(lái)自各個(gè)社會(huì)階層的極為漂亮的女人。此外,一行行的鳥(niǎo)兒經(jīng)常鳴叫著飛過(guò)。這些記憶加強(qiáng)了他減輕體重、保住收入的決心。然而,有時(shí)候難以保持原有動(dòng)力,所以他只得借助于想象。每當(dāng)他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己跑步的速度減慢時(shí),他就想象著他的老足球教練在后面追他,手里拿著皮帶,準(zhǔn)備抽打偷懶的腿。
Ed kept up the exercise regimen, lost the required weight, and saved his job. A stocky stonemason he was no longer.
埃德堅(jiān)持這種鍛煉養(yǎng)生法,體重達(dá)到了要求,保住了工作。他再也不是肥胖的石匠了。
adj. 塞滿的,笨重的,沉悶的,式樣難看的,難消化的
coach[k?ut?]n. 大巴,教練;(火車)客車車廂,四輪馬車,經(jīng)濟(jì)艙striking['straiki?]
adj. 吸引人的,顯著的
n. 打擊
adj. 無(wú)目的的,無(wú)聊的; 懶惰的,閑散的; 無(wú)根據(jù)的
social['s?u??l]adj. 社會(huì)的,社交的
n. 社交聚會(huì)
n. 增加,附加物,加法
resolve[ri'z?lv]n. 決定之事,決心,堅(jiān)決
vt. 決定,解決
n. 抵銷,支派,平版印刷,彎管,[計(jì)]偏移量
stratum['streit?m]
n. 地層,階層
stipulation[.stipju'lei??n]n. 約定,契約,條款