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大学英语精读第四册 Unit One:Big Bucks the Easy Way

时间:2005-04-20 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)

Text
Two college-age boys, unaware1 that making money usually involves hard work, are tempted2 by an advertisement that promises them an easy way to earn a lot of money. The boys soon learn that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

BIG BUCKS3 THE EASY WAY

John G. Hubbell
"You ought to look into this," I suggested to our two college-age sons. "It might be a way to avoid the indignity4 of having to ask for money all the time." I handed them some magazines in a plastic bag someone bad hung on our doorknob. A message printed on the bag offered leisurely5, lucrative6 work ("Big Bucks the Easy Way!") of delivering more such bags.
"I don't mind the indignity," the older one answered.
"I can live with it," his brother agreed.
"But it pains me," I said,"to find that you both have been panhandling so long that it no longer embarrasses you."
The boys said they would look into the magazine-delivery thing. Pleased, I left town on a business trip. By midnight I was comfortably settled in a hotel room far from home. The phone rang. It was my wife. She wanted to know how my day had gone.
"Great!" I enthused. "How was your day?" I inquired.
"Super!" She snapped. "Just super! And it's only getting started. Another truck just pulled up out front."
"Another truck?"
"The third one this evening. The first delivered four thousand Montgomery Wards8. The second brought four thousand Sears, Roebucks. I don't know what this one has, but I'm sure it will be four thousand of something. Since you are responsible, I thought you might like to know what's happening.
What I was being blamed for, it turned out, was a newspaper strike which made it necessary to hand-deliver the advertising9 inserts that normally are included with the Sunday paper. The company had promised our boys $600 for delivering these inserts to 4,000 houses by Sunday morning.
"Piece of cake!" our older college son had shouted.
" Six hundred bucks!" His brother had echoed, "And we can do the job in two hours!"
"Both the Sears and Ward7 ads are four newspaper-size pages," my wife informed me. "There are thirty-two thousand pages of advertising on our porch. Even as we speak, two big guys are carrying armloads of paper up the walk. What do we do about all this?"
"Just tell the boys to get busy," I instructed. "They're college men. They'll do what they have to do."
At noon the following day I returned to the hotel and found an urgent message to telephone my wife. Her voice was unnaturally11 high and quavering. There had been several more truckloads of ad inserts. "They're for department stores, dime12 stores, drugstores, grocery stores, auto13 stores and so on. Some are whole magazine sections. We have hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of pages of advertising here! They are crammed14 wall-to-wall all through the house in stacks taller than your oldest son. There's only enough room for people to walk in, take one each of the eleven inserts, roll them together, slip a rubber band around them and slide them into a plastic bag. We have enough plastic bags to supply every takeout restaurant in America!" Her voice kept rising, as if working its way out of the range of the human ear. "All this must be delivered by seven o'clock Sunday morning."
"Well, you had better get those guys banding and sliding as fast as they can, and I'll talk to you later. Got a lunch date.
When I returned, there was another urgent call from my wife.
"Did you have a nice lunch?" she asked sweetly. I had had a marvelous steak, but knew better by now than to say so.
"Awful," I reported. "Some sort of sour fish. Eel15, I think."
"Good. Your college sons have hired their younger brothers and sisters and a couple of neighborhood children to help for five dollars each. Assembly lines have been set up. In the language of diplomacy16, there is 'movement.'"
"That's encouraging."
"No, it's not," she corrected. "It's very discouraging. They're been as it for hours. Plastic bags have been filled and piled to the ceiling, but all this hasn't made a dent17, not a dent, in the situation! It's almost as if the inserts keep reproducing themselves!"
"Another thing," she continued. "Your college sons must learn that one does not get the best out of employees by threatening them with bodily harm.
Obtaining an audience with son NO. 1, I snarled18, "I'll kill you if threaten one of those kids again! Idiot! You should be offering a bonus of a dollar every hour to the worker who fills the most bags.
"But that would cut into our profit," he suggested.
"There won't be any profit unless those kids enable you to make all the deliveries on time. If they don't, you two will have to remove all that paper by yourselves. And there will be no eating or sleeping until it is removed."
There was a short, thoughtful silence. Then he said, "Dad, you have just worked a profound change in my personality."
"Do it!"
"Yes, sir!"
By the following evening, there was much for my wife to report. The bonus program had worked until someone demanded to see the color of cash. Then some activist19 on the work force claimed that the workers had no business settling for $5 and a few competitive bonuses while the bossed collected hundreds of dollars each. The organizer had declared that all the workers were entitled to $5 per hour! They would not work another minute until the bosses agreed.
The strike lasted less than two hours. In mediation20, the parties agreed on $2 per hour. Gradually, the huge stacks began to shrink.
As it turned out, the job was completed three hours before Sunday's 7 a.m. deadline. By the time I arrived home, the boys had already settled their accounts: $150 in labor21 costs, $40 for gasoline, and a like amount
for gifts—boxes of candy for saintly neighbors who had volunteered station wagons22 and help in delivery and dozen roses for their mother. This left them with $185 each — about two-thirds the minimum wage for the 91 hours they worked. Still, it was "enough", as one of them put it, to enable them to "avoid indignity" for quite a while.
All went well for some weeks. Then one Saturday morning my attention was drawn23 to the odd goings-on of our two youngest sons. They kept carrying carton after carton from various corners of the house out the front door to curbside. I assumed their mother had enlisted25 them to remove junk for a trash pickup26. Then I overheard them discussing finances.
"Geez, we're going to make a lot of money!"
"We're going to be rich!"
Investigation27 revealed that they were offering " for sale or rent" our entire library.
"No! No!" I cried. "You can't sell our books!"
"Geez, Dad, we thought you were done with them!"
"You're never 'done' with books," I tried to explain.
"Sure you are. You read them, and you're done with them. That's it. Then you might as well make a little money from them. We wanted to avoid the indignity of having to ask you for……"

New Words
buck
n. (sl.) U.S. dollar
plastic
a. 塑料的
n. (pl) 塑料

doorknob
n. 门把手

leisurely
a. unhurried 从容的,慢慢的

leisure
n. free time 空闲时间,闲暇

lucrative
a. profitable 有利的;赚钱的

pain
vt. cause pain to

panhandle
vi. (AmE) beg. esp. on the streets

delivery
n. delivering (of letters, goods, etc.)投递;送交

enthuse
vi. show enthusiasm

inquire
vt. ask

super
a. (colloq.) wonderful, splendid; excellent

snap
vt. say(sth.) sharply 厉声说

insert
n. 插页

normally
ad. in the usual conditions; ordinarily 通常

company
n. 公司

echo
vt. say or do what another person says or does; repeat 附和;重复

ad
n. (short for) advertisement

inform
vt. tell; give information 告知

porch
n. (AmE) veranda28 门廊

armload
n. as much as one arm or both arms can hold; armful

walk
n. a path specially29 arranged or paved for walking 人行道

unnaturally
ad. in an unnatural10 way 不自然地

quaver
vi. (of the voice or sound) shake; tremble 颤抖

truckload
n. as much or as many as a truck can carry

department store
n. store selling many different kinds of goods in separate departments 百货公司

dime
n. coin of U.S. and Canada worth ten cents

dime store
n. (AmE) a store selling a large variety of low-priced articles; variety store 廉价商品店;小商口店

drugstore
n. (AmE) a store that sells not only medicine, but also beauty products, film, magazines, and food 药店,杂货店

grocery
n. a store that sells food and household supplies 食品杂货店

section
n. part of subdivision of a piece of writing, book, newspaper, etc.; portion (文章等的)段落;节;部分

cram
vt. fill too full; force or press into a small space 把……塞满;把……塞进

stack
n. an orderly; heap or group of things 一叠(堆、垛等)

band
n. flat, thin piece of material 带;带状物
vt. tie up with a band 捆扎

rubber band
n. 橡皮筋

takeout
a. (餐馆)出售外卖菜的

range
n. the distance at which one can see or hear (听觉、视觉等)的范围

marvel(l)ous
a. wonderful; astonishing

steak
n. 牛排;大块肉(或鱼)片

sour
a. 酸的

eel
n. 鳗鲡

diplomacy
n. 外交

encouraging
a. 鼓舞人心的

dent
n. a hollow in a hard surface made by a blow or pressure; initial progress凹痕,凹坑,初步进展

reproduce
vt. produce the young of (oneself or one's own kind) 生殖,繁殖

bodily
a. of the human body; physical

harm
n. damage or wrong 伤害

audience
n. the people gathered in a place to hear or see; a chance to be heard 观众;听众;陈述意见的机会

snarl
vt. speak in a harsh voice 咆哮着说

bonus
n. an extra payment to workers 奖金

thoughtful
a. give to or indicating thought 沉思的,思考的

cash
n. money in coins or notes 现金

activist
n. a person taking an active part esp. in a political movement 激进分子

work force
n. total number of workers employed in a particular factory, industry or area 工人总数;劳动人口

competitive
a. 竞争的

organizer
n. person who organizes things 组织者

mediation
n. 调解

party
n. one of the people or sides in an agreement or argument 一方;当事人

gradually
ad. slowly and by degrees.

gradual
a.

shrink (shrank, shrunk)
vi. become less or smaller 减少;变小

deadline
n. fixed30 limit of finishing a piece of work 最后期限

station wagon
n. 小型客车,客货两用车

minimum (pl. minima or minimums)
n. the smallest possible amount, number, etc. 最低限度的量、数等

minimum wage
n. the lowest wage permitted by law or by agreement for certain work 法定最工资

odd
a. strange; unusual

goings-on
n. activities, usu. of an undesirable31 kind

carton
n. a cardboard box for holding goods 纸板箱(或盒) curbside
n. the area of sidewalk at or near curb24 (curb: 人行道的镶边石)

enlist
vt. obtain the support and help of; cause to join the armed forces 取得……的支持和帮助;征募

trash
n. waste material to be thrown away; rubbish 垃圾

pickup
n. a small light truck with an open back used for light deliveries 小卡车;轻型货车

overhear
vt. hear by chance; hear without the knowledge of the speaker(s)无意中听到;偷听到

finance
n. money matters; (used in pl.) money; (science of ) the management of funds 财政;钱财;金融

geez
int.哎呀,呀

sale
n. the act of selling sth.

Phrases & Expressions

pull up
bring or come to a stop (使)停下

a piece of cake
(informal) sth. very easy to do

even as
just at the same moment as

know better than
be wise or experienced enough not (to do sth.) 明事理而不至于

be at
be occupied with, be doing

make a dent (in)
make less by a very small amount; reduce slightly; make a first step towards success(in)减少一点;取得初步进展

cut into
reduce; decrease 减少

have no business
have no right or reason 无权,没有理由

settle for
accept, although not altogether satisfactory (无可奈何地)满足于

settle one's account
pay what one owes 结帐

quite a while
a fairly long time

draw(sb.'s) attention to
make sb. notice, or be aware of

for sale
intended to be sold

for rent
available to be rented

be done with
stop doing or using; finish 做完,不再使用

may/might/could as well
with equal or better effect 不妨,还不如,最好

Proper Names
Montgomery Ward
蒙哥马利—沃德百货公司

Sears, Roebuck
西尔斯—罗百克百货公司


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的,未意识到的
参考例句:
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
2 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
3 bucks a391832ce78ebbcfc3ed483cc6d17634     
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 );钱;(英国十九世纪初的)花花公子;(用于某些表达方式)责任v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句:
  • They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
  • They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 indignity 6bkzp     
n.侮辱,伤害尊严,轻蔑
参考例句:
  • For more than a year we have suffered the indignity.在一年多的时间里,我们丢尽了丑。
  • She was subjected to indignity and humiliation.她受到侮辱和羞辱。
5 leisurely 51Txb     
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的
参考例句:
  • We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
  • He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
6 lucrative dADxp     
adj.赚钱的,可获利的
参考例句:
  • He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
  • It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。
7 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
8 wards 90fafe3a7d04ee1c17239fa2d768f8fc     
区( ward的名词复数 ); 病房; 受监护的未成年者; 被人照顾或控制的状态
参考例句:
  • This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
  • It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区,下设三个分区。
9 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
10 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
11 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地;不自然地;勉强地;不近人情地
参考例句:
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮,但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 dime SuQxv     
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角
参考例句:
  • A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
  • The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
13 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
14 crammed e1bc42dc0400ef06f7a53f27695395ce     
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
  • All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。
15 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句:
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆,他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
16 diplomacy gu9xk     
n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕
参考例句:
  • The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
  • This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
17 dent Bmcz9     
n.凹痕,凹坑;初步进展
参考例句:
  • I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事,但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
  • That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大,用不着把它锤平。
18 snarled ti3zMA     
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
参考例句:
  • The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
  • As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时,它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
20 mediation 5Cxxl     
n.调解
参考例句:
  • The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
  • The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。
21 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
22 wagons ff97c19d76ea81bb4f2a97f2ff0025e7     
n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车
参考例句:
  • The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
  • They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。
23 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
24 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
25 enlisted 2d04964099d0ec430db1d422c56be9e2     
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持)
参考例句:
  • enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
  • He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
26 pickup ANkxA     
n.拾起,获得
参考例句:
  • I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。
27 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
28 veranda XfczWG     
n.走廊;阳台
参考例句:
  • She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
  • They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。
29 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
30 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
31 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

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