“The letters ‘CD’denote ‘Church of Dentistry’,” the man with a mask said, pointing to the door. “It is a fact a denomination of the New Wave Church. Have you studied demography? A demographic analysis indicates that most of our members are dental assistants.”
“字母‘CD’表示‘Church of Dentistry’,即牙科教會(huì),”戴口罩的男人指著門(mén)說(shuō),“事實(shí)上它是‘新浪潮教會(huì)’的一個(gè)宗派組織。你研究過(guò)人口學(xué)嗎?一份人口統(tǒng)計(jì)分析表明我們的大多數(shù)成員都是牙科助手。”
“The church bishop wants to demolish all of the candy stores in the neighborhood,” he continued. “But many of the church elders have objected to the proposal. Let us enter and listen.”
“教會(huì)主教要拆除周?chē)用駞^(qū)的所有糖果商店,”他繼續(xù)說(shuō),“但很多教會(huì)長(zhǎng)老反對(duì)這個(gè)提議。讓我們進(jìn)去聽(tīng)聽(tīng)吧。”
“I demur to the demolition idea,” said one elder. “It will cause outsiders to denigrate our church.”
“我反對(duì)這項(xiàng)拆除計(jì)劃,”一個(gè)長(zhǎng)老說(shuō),“它會(huì)引起外界詆毀我們的教會(huì)的。”
“I must also denounce your plan,” said the senior minister. “The candy stores are located in a dense neighborhood. You can’t deny that the density of the area would make a demolition too risky.”
“我也必須譴責(zé)這個(gè)計(jì)劃,”一個(gè)高級(jí)牧師說(shuō),“糖果商店都位于人口稠密的居民區(qū)。不可否認(rèn)這個(gè)地區(qū)的人口密度過(guò)大使得拆除工作風(fēng)險(xiǎn)很大。”
“I think your denunciation of my plan demonstrates your ignorance of the problem,” said the church bishop. “Candy is the root of all evil. I should demote you from senior minister to elder. Do you think I’m running this church like a democracy? I make the decisions here.”
“我認(rèn)為你譴責(zé)我的計(jì)劃證明了你對(duì)問(wèn)題的無(wú)知。”主教說(shuō),“糖果是萬(wàn)惡之源。我要把你從高級(jí)牧師降級(jí)為長(zhǎng)老。你真以為我在以民主國(guó)家的方式管理教會(huì)嗎?這里我說(shuō)了算。”
Just then, a demure female entered the room. “Daddy, what are you doing?” she said to the church bishop. She proceeded to denude the statue, fronting the church bishop’s podium. It was a sculpture of a dentist. Using a hammer, she put a big dent in it. It caused the statue to crack. “You’re the worst hypocrite in the world,” she said, shaking her head back and forth.
正在這時(shí),一個(gè)端莊的女子走進(jìn)來(lái)。“爸爸,你在干什么?”她對(duì)主教說(shuō)。接著她掀去面對(duì)主教講臺(tái)的那座雕像的外套。原來(lái)是個(gè)牙醫(yī)的雕像。她拿起錘子砸下去,雕像被砸了一個(gè)大缺口,這就導(dǎo)致了雕像的破裂。“你是世界上最虛偽的人。”她說(shuō)著,一邊不停的來(lái)回?fù)u著頭。
My jaw dropped as I saw the pieces of candy flowing from the crack. “What’s going on?” I asked the man with the mask.
當(dāng)我看到一塊塊糖果從裂縫里滾落出來(lái)時(shí),令人張口結(jié)舌、不勝驚訝。“怎么回事?”我問(wèn)戴口罩的人。
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But like the denouement of a complex plot, the final resolution of this scandal will take time to discover.”
“我不知道,”他回答,“但就像一個(gè)情節(jié)復(fù)雜的小說(shuō)的結(jié)尾一樣,這件丑聞的最終解決辦法要花很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能找到。”
Words:
democracy n. 民主,民主國(guó)家(政府)
demography n. 人口統(tǒng)計(jì),人口學(xué)
demolish vt. 破壞,摧毀
demolition n. 破壞,拆除
demonstrate vt. 演示;論證
demote v. 降級(jí),降職
demur v. 抗議,反對(duì)
demure adj. 嫻靜的,端莊的
denigrate v. 詆毀,貶低,污蔑
denomination n. 宗教組織,(貨幣的)面額
denote vt. 指示,表示
denouement n. (小說(shuō)的)結(jié)尾,結(jié)局
denounce vt. (公開(kāi))譴責(zé),斥責(zé)
dense adj. 密集的,厚重的
density n. 密度
dent n. 缺口,凹陷
dental adj. 牙齒的
dentistry n. 牙科
denude v. 使裸露,剝下
denunciation n. 譴責(zé),告發(fā)
deny vt. 否認(rèn),否定;剝奪,拒絕……的要求