胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯051：在會上 At the Convention
“Tom, are you enjoying the automobile convention?” I asked. Tom did not answer. He was too busy conversing with the pretty salesgirl sitting next to him. “I hate to break up your conversation, Tom, but I really need your help. I’m not conversant with the theory behind this new fuel converter. What causes the conversion and why does it have a convex casing?”
“湯姆，這次汽車會議感覺怎么樣?”我問道。湯姆沒有回答。他正忙著與坐在身邊的那位漂亮的金發(fā)女推銷員交談。“我不愿打擾你們的談話，湯姆，但我的確需要你的幫助。關于這個新型燃料轉換器的工作原理我不太熟悉，是什么引起的轉變?它為什么有個凸起的外殼呢?”
“I’m not sure how it converts fuel to energy,” Tom replied with a contrite smile. “But their salesgirls are very convincing.” Tom returned his attention to the attractive young salesgirl.
“我不太清楚它是如何把燃料轉變成能的。”湯姆回答道，臉上露出歉疚的笑容。“但他們的女推銷員是令人信服的。”說完，他的注意力又回到那個迷人的女推銷員身上去了。
Contrary to popular belief, attending an automobile convention is hard work. I say this with conviction. In contrast with Tom’s goals of socializing, I contrive to learn new and complex things. Some of the brightest inventors converge at these automobile conventions. I enjoy listening to them discuss the latest controversies. I love it when they argue about how to replace conventional technology. I’ve heard some convincing arguments in favor of converting to electric cars. However, it is still a controversial issue. One thing is for true. We will not be seeing any electric can in our lifetime.
與普通人的想法相反，參加汽車會議對我來說是件艱苦的工作。這一點我確信不疑。湯姆來的目的是社交。相比之下，我想設法學些新鮮、復雜一點的東西。這些汽車會議云集了一些最優(yōu)秀的發(fā)明家。我喜歡聽他們討論最近引起爭議的問題。他們關于如何取代傳統(tǒng)技術的爭論的爭論我更是津津有味。我還聽見了贊成轉變?yōu)殡娏ζ嚨暮苡姓f服力的論點。但是我電力汽車仍然是一個有爭議的話題。有一件事是肯定的——我們在有生之年是看不到電力汽車了。
“Hey, Tom,” I whispered, rather harshly. “Come on. You’re 75 years old and you can barely walk. She’s only 20. You conduct contravenes the rules of etiquette!”
“嗨，湯姆，”我壓低聲音很嚴肅的說，“算了吧，你都75歲了，老的快走不動了。她才剛剛20歲。你的行為不合道德規(guī)范。”
“I don’t care!” He snapped back in a shaky voice. “Convict me if you want, but I’m only guilty of true love.” The salesgirl smiled politely.
“我不管!”他反駁道，聲音有些顫抖。“如果想判我有罪，你只管判好了。但我只會因真愛而判有罪。”聽了這話，女推銷員彬彬有禮地報以微笑。
“Oh, no, not again!” I said, shaking my head with a smile.
“噢，別再這樣了!”我邊說邊笑著搖了搖頭。
Words:
contrary adj. 相反的，對抗的
contrast vt. 對照之后的懸殊差別/對比，對照
contravene v. 違反，抵觸
contrite adj. 悔悟的，悔罪的，痛悔的
contrive vt. 設計，發(fā)明;設法
controversial adj. 引起或可能引起爭論的
controversy n. 爭論，辯論
convention n. 會議，傳統(tǒng)
conventional adj. 傳統(tǒng)的，習俗的
converge vi. 聚合，集中于一點，會聚
conversant adj. 親近的，熟悉的
conversation n. 會話，非正式會談
converse vi. 談話，交談
conversion n. 轉變;改變信仰
convert vt. 轉換;轉變信仰
converter n. 煉鋼用的轉爐;轉換器
convex adj. 凸出的
convict vt. 證明…有罪，宣判…有罪
conviction n. 確信，深信，堅信
convincing adj. 令人信服的，有說服力的
