胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯第208期:Office dreams 辦公室夢(mèng)想

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2018年07月15日

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胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯第208期:Office dreams 辦公室夢(mèng)想

It was July 1830. On a sunny, hot day, feeling as if all his stamina had left him, Case Steele staggered up the staircase and into his office. A stack of papers nearly reaching the ceiling greeted him. His assistant, Ward Stevens, came in and stood next to him. Case was a staggering 2.2 meters tall. Since this was the case, he stood in stark contrast to the rest of his staff, and Ward, at 1.6 meters tall, was no exception.

1830年7月。晴朗、炎熱的一天，感覺(jué)好像沒(méi)了一切體力，凱斯·斯蒂爾搖搖晃晃地上了樓梯，走進(jìn)他的辦公室。迎面一堆文件幾乎堆到屋頂。他的助手沃德·史蒂文斯走進(jìn)來(lái)，站在他身旁。凱斯身材驚人，高達(dá)兩米二。正因?yàn)檫@樣，他和他的其余員工對(duì)比分明，沃德一米六的身材，也不例外。

"Good morning, sir," Ward greeted him.

“早上好，先生，”沃德向他打招呼。

"Is that the stale smell of alcohol on your breath, Ward? Are you still stashing a bottle of whiskey in your desk drawer?"

“沃德，是你嘴里難聞的酒氣嗎？你還在你的辦公桌抽屜里暗藏一瓶威士忌酒嗎？”

"Yes sir. It's the one stain on my personal character that I regret. Please don't let others know, sir, for I have good standing in our company, and it is my desire to move up in the business. If I were forced to stay stationary for too long, my ambition would become stagnant. The whiskey simply helps me deal with the pressure."

“是的，先生。這是我個(gè)性上的一個(gè)污點(diǎn)，我為此感到遺憾。請(qǐng)不要讓別人知道，先生，因?yàn)槲以谠蹅児久暡诲e(cuò)，我希望在業(yè)務(wù)上有所發(fā)展。如果我長(zhǎng)時(shí)間原地踏步，我的抱負(fù)就會(huì)止步不前。威士忌只是有助于我對(duì)付壓力。”

"I understand. This city can really feel like it's stalking you at times. You know, sometimes, Ward, I think we should just hop onto a stagecoach and go out west, Missouri territory or some place like that."

“我明白。這座城市的確感覺(jué)好像有時(shí)在悄悄地追蹤你。你知道，有時(shí)，沃德，我覺(jué)得我們應(yīng)該跳上驛站馬車(chē)去西部，密蘇里地區(qū)或者和那里相似的某個(gè)地方。”

“I'll admit, it sounds like an adventure, sir. But I've heard reports of starvation out there. I don't care to starve, sir.”

“說(shuō)實(shí)在的，這聽(tīng)起來(lái)像是歷險(xiǎn)，先生。但我聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)那里挨餓的報(bào)道。我可不想挨餓，先生。”

"Oh, you won't starve, Ward. It's a land of plenty out there, and beautiful. I love nature and I bet I could write some nice stanzas of poetry about the wilderness. Things here in the city were static, with stately, ornate buildings and the same people seeking temporary stardom within those confines. I need change and excitement!"

“哦，你不會(huì)挨餓，沃德。那里是富庶之地，風(fēng)景迷人。我喜歡大自然，我一定可以寫(xiě)出有關(guān)荒野的優(yōu)美詩(shī)節(jié)。盡管城市里的建筑雄偉華麗，并且總是有那么一批人在這個(gè)范圍之內(nèi)追求一時(shí)的明星地位，還是無(wú)法改變它那死氣沉沉的氣氛。我需要改變和激動(dòng)。”

"But sir, nothing out there has been standardized like here in the city. Maybe one day you do things one way, then the next, another. I find it too dangerous. I think that's the reason shy folks have starved out there."

“但是先生，那里和城市不同，什么都沒(méi)有規(guī)范化?；蛟S今天你這么做，第二天又那么做。我覺(jué)得太危險(xiǎn)。我認(rèn)為這是人們?cè)谀抢锇ゐI的原因。”

"Oh, Ward, no one out there is hungry. They have plenty of staple foods. You know, flap jack, beans, and other starches."

“哦，沃德，那兒沒(méi)有人餓肚皮。他們有大量的主食。你知道，烙餅、豆子和其他淀粉類(lèi)食品。”

"Isn't this really just a fantasy, sir? We aren't really going to get a stagecoach and go out west, are we?"

“難道這不是幻想嗎，先生？我們并非是真想去找驛站馬車(chē)去西部，不是嗎？”

"Probably not, Ward. But it never hurts to dream."

“或許是的，沃德?？墒腔孟虢^沒(méi)有害處。”