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6. The Elderly Couple at McDonald’s 麦当劳的老夫妻
A keen young man saw an elderly couple sitting down to lunch at McDonald’s. He noticed that they had ordered one meal, and an extra drink cup. As he watched, the older gentleman with a beard carefully divided the hamburger in half, then counted out the fries, one for him, one for his mate, until each had half of them. Then the old man poured half of the soft drink into the extra cup and set that in front of his wife. The old man then began to eat, showing good appetite, and his darling wife sat watching, with her hands folded in her lap. The young man decided to ask if they would allow him to purchase another meal for them so that they didn’t have to split theirs. “Oh, no,” the old man declined,“We’ve been married 50 years, and everything has always been and will always be shared, 50/50.” The young man then asked the humble housewife if she was going to eat, and she replied, “Not yet. It’s his turn with the teeth. ”
译文
一个热心的年轻人看到一对老夫妻坐在麦当劳吃午餐。他发现他们只点了一份食物，还多要了一个杯子。他正看着的时候，这位蓄着胡子的老先生小心地把汉堡分成两半，然后数着那份薯条，一根给自己，一根给老伴，直到最后，一人有一半薯条。然后这个老人又把半杯饮料倒到多拿的杯子里，把它放到他妻子面前。这个老人开始吃了，胃口很好，而他心爱的妻子却坐在那儿看着，双手交叉放在腿上。年轻人决定问问他们是否允许他为他们再买一份午餐，这样他们就用不着分着吃了。“哦，不用，”老人谢绝说，“我们结婚50年了，从来都这样，所有的东西都对半分。”年轻人问这谦卑的主妇是否她也要开始吃了，她回答说，“还不可以，现在轮到他和他的牙齿分享的时候了。”[HK]
四级词汇
1.couple n. (一)对, (一)双,夫妇‖ vt. 连合,连接,结合‖ vi. 结合,结婚
2.keen a. ① (on)热心的，渴望的 ② 敏捷的，敏锐的 ③ 锋利的，刺人的 ④ 激烈的，强烈的
3.hamburger n.〈美〉 ① 碎牛肉 ② 牛肉饼；汉堡包
4.fry vt.油煎，油炸，油炒
5.mate n. ① 伙伴，同事 ② 配对，配对物 ③ (商船上的)大副‖ v. (使)成为配偶，(使)交配
6.pour v.① 灌注,倾泻,涌入,流 ② 倾盆大雨
7.appetite n. ① 食欲，胃口 ② 欲望
8.darling n. ① 心爱的人，可爱的人 ② \[用于称呼\]亲爱的‖ a.可爱的，心爱的
9.fold n.折,折痕‖ vt. ① 折叠；包,合拢,抱住；笼罩 ② 调入‖ vi. 折叠起来
10.lap n. ① 大腿上方 ② (跑道的)一圈 ③ (旅途的)一段‖ v. (动物)舔着喝(水等) ② (波浪等)拍打
【搭配】lap up欣然接受
11.purchase vt.买，购买‖ n. ① 购买 ② 购买的物品
12.decline vi. ① 下降，减少 ② 衰退，衰落 ③ 谢绝，拒绝‖ vt. 谢绝，拒绝‖ n. 下降，减少，衰退
13.humble a. ① 恭顺的，谦卑的 ② 地位(或身份)低下的，卑贱的 ③ 简陋的‖ vt. 使谦恭，使卑下
14.housewife n. ① 主妇,家庭主妇 ② 针线盒
反馈测试
1.Mrs. Brown insists that Tom marry Stella, but he is not ____ on her.
A) keen B) eagerC) fond D) sympathetic
2.The long walk gave him a good ____ .
A) appetite B) applauseC) appliance D) application
3.He ____ up the letter and put it in his pocket.
A) folded B) bent C) turned D) curved
4.Last year, the crime rate in Chicago has sharply ____ .
A) declined B) lessenedC) descended D) slipped
5.Even when she became rich and famous, she never forgot her ____ background.
A) humble B) humidC) meek D) humility
答案详解
1.【答案】A。译文：布朗太太极力主张汤姆娶史蒂拉，但他不喜欢她。keen热心的，be keen on喜欢；be eager for渴望的；fond喜欢，be fond of喜欢；sympathetic同情的。
2.【答案】A。译文：走很长的路之后他的胃口很好。a good appetite在句中是“胃口很好”的意思；applause鼓掌，喝彩；appliance器械，器具；application申请。
3.【答案】A。译文：他把信折起来放进他的口袋。fold折，叠；bend弯曲，折弯；turn旋转，转向；curve弄弯，使成曲线。
4.【答案】A。译文：芝加哥去年的犯罪率大幅度下降。decline下降，强调数量的下降或减少；lessen减少，强调大小、程度、重要性等的减弱或减少；descend下来，指从高处来低处；slip下降，指水平或标准的降低。
5.【答案】A。译文：即使当她变得很有钱很有名之后，依然忘不掉自己那卑微的出身。humble卑微的，常用来表示人的地位、出身，在表示人的地位低下时，也可用low和lowly表示，如：a man of low ［lowly］ birth出生卑微的人；humid潮湿的；meek温和的，温顺的；humility谦逊，谦逊品格。
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