The End of A Dream
雖然這是一篇有點好笑的短文,但卻是習作的好范本。
Tired of sleeping on the floor, a young man in Teheran saved up for years to buy a real bed. For the first time in his life, he became the proud owner of a bed which had springs and a mattress. Because the weather was very hot, he carried the bed on to the roof of his house. He slept very well for the first two nights, but on the third night, a storm blew up. A gust of wind swept the bed off the roof and sent it crashing into the courtyard below. The young man did not wake up until the bed had struck the ground. Although the bed was smashed to pieces, the man was miraculously unhurt. When he woke up, he was still on the mattress. Glancing at the bits of wood and metal that lay around him, the man sadly picked up the mattress and carried it into his house. After he had put it on the floor, he promptly went to sleep again.
[注釋]:
tired: impatient; bored 厭煩的
Teheran: 德黑蘭(伊朗首都)
spring: to move suddenly on or as if on a spring 彈簧
mattress: 床墊
gust: a strong, abrupt rush of wind 一陣風
sweep: to clean or clear, as of dirt, with or as if with a broom or brush 掃,刮
courtyard: an open space surrounded by walls or buildings, adjoining or within a building such as
a large house or housing complex 院子
smash: to break (something) into pieces suddenly, noisily, and violently; shatter 碰碎,摔碎
miraculously: able to work miracles 奇跡般地
unhurt: 沒有受傷的
glance: to direct the gaze briefly 掃視
promptly: 迅速地