第33章 镇上的人 The People in the Town
佚名/Anonymous
A young mother was moving to a small town. She wanted to make sure it would be a good place for her to raise her two small children.
On the outskirts of the town was a gas station. The young mother pulled over and went in. The gas station was empty. The only person she could see was the woman working behind the counter. She was reading the newspaper. The young mother approached her.
“Excuse me,”she said,“Do you live in the town?”“Yes, I do,”said the woman as she put her newspaper away.
“I was wondering,”the mother continued,“what kind of people live there?”
The woman behind the counter gave the mother an appraising glance.“That's an interesting question,”she replied,“Why do you want to know?”
“I really want to move but I'm very reluctant to move away from my friends and loved ones,”the young mother said,“I come from the city. I want to make sure I've made the right choice.”
The gas station attendant nodded,“What were the people in the city like?”
The young mother smiled,“People in the city are warm and welcoming. They are friendly and caring. They all seem to be good people. I just want to find good people like that to settle in with.”
“Well,”the woman behind the counter said,“I think you'll be very happy here. I think you'll find the people in this town to be as nice as those city folks. I think you and your family will fit right in.”
The young mother was pleased. She bought some cold drinks for her children, thanked the gas station attendant for her time, and left.
Another car pulled up. A man got out and walked inside. He found some cold drinks for his family and came to the counter. The man started to ring up his purchase.“Excuse me,”he said,“Do you live in the town?”“Yes I do,”said the woman as she put the drinks in a bag.
“I was wondering,”the man continued.“What kind of people live there?”
The woman behind the counter gave the man an appraising glance.“That's an interesting question,”she replied,“Why do you want to know?”
“Well, you see,”the man said,“I really want to move to a small town like this. I want my family to be happy. I just want to know I've made the right decision.”
The woman nodded.“What are the people like where you're from?”she asked.
“Well,”the man replied, shaking his head,“What a lousy place to live. The people are all stupid and ignorant. They're the worst drivers on the planet. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not yelling at someone for driving like an idiot. That's why we're moving. I can't stand that place. What a bunch of losers.”
“Hmm,”said the woman behind the counter,“I think you would be very miserable here. I think you would find the people in this town to be the same as those folks where you come from.”
The man thanked the woman for saving him lots of trouble. He grabbed the bag of drinks and went out to his car. When he pulled back on to the highway, he went back in the direction he'd come from.
一位年轻的母亲即将搬到一个小镇居住。她想确定一下，那里是不是适合她两个孩子成长的好地方。
小镇的边界处有一个加油站。年轻的母亲下了车，走进站内。加油站空****的，她只看到一位女士，正在柜台后面看报纸。年轻的母亲走过去。
“打扰一下，您在这个镇上住吗？”母亲问。
“是的。”那位女士边回答边收起报纸。
“我想问一下，都是些什么人住在这个镇上？”母亲接着说。
“这是个有趣的问题。”女士打量了那位母亲一眼说，“你为什么想知道这些？”
“我想搬家，可又舍不得我的伙伴和挚友。我是从城里来的，想确定一下我做出的选择是否正确。”年轻的母亲回答道。
加油站女士点点头，问道：“城里的人怎么样？”
“城里人热情、善良。他们友好而充满爱心，似乎都是好人。我想在这里也碰到像那样的好人。”母亲笑着回答。
“原来如此。我想你住在这里一定会愉快的，而且你一定会发现，这个小镇的人和城里人一样好。我想你和你的家人会适应这里的”女士告诉她说。
年轻的母亲很高兴。她给孩子买了冷饮，谢过加油站服务员后便离开了。
另一辆车停了下来。一个男人下了车，向里面走来。他为家人选了些冷饮后，来到柜台前。结账时他问那位女士：
“打扰一下。您在这个镇上住吗？”
“是的。”那位女士边装饮料边回答。
“我想问一下，住在这里的人怎么样？”
“这是个有趣的问题。你打听这个干嘛？”那位女士打量了男士一眼说。
“噢，你不知道，我想搬到一个像这样的小镇生活。我希望我的家人过得开心。我只是想知道我的这个选择是不是正确。”男士回答道。
女士点点头，问道：“你原来住的那个地方的人怎样？”
“唉。那是个难以生存的地方。那里的人都愚蠢无知！他们的驾车技术是世界上最烂的，我每天都要骂某个人的技术像白痴一样差。这正是我搬家的原因。我不能忍受那里，他们全都是些失败者。”男士无奈地回答。
“但是，我想你在这里也会很痛苦的。你会发现这里的人跟城里人一样差劲。”女士告诉他说。
男士感谢那位女士替他省了许多麻烦，之后拿起饮料开车原路返回了。
记忆填空
1.On the outskirts of____________was a gas station. The young mother pulled____________and went in. The gas station was empty. The____________person she could see was the woman working behind the counter. She was____________the newspaper.
2.The gas____________attendant nodded,“What were the people in the city____________?”The young mother smiled,“People in the city are____________and welcoming. They are friendly and caring. They all seem to be good people. I just____________to find good people like that to settle in with.”
佳句翻译
1.她想确定一下，那里是不是适合她两个孩子成长的好地方。
译___________________________________________________
2.我想你住在这里一定会愉快的，而且你一定会发现，这个小镇的人和城里人一样好。
译___________________________________________________
3.我不能忍受那里，他们全都是些失败者。
译___________________________________________________
短语应用
1.She wanted to make sure it would be a good place for her to raise her two small children.
make sure：确信；证实
造___________________________________________________
2.The man thanked the woman for saving him lots of trouble.
lots of：许多；大量
造___________________________________________________