胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯20：圣黎各的投票日 Voting Day in San Rico

所屬教程:胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯

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2015年08月21日

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Lesson 20 Voting Day in San Rico 圣黎各的投票日

Initially, I balked at my editor’s request that I cover the presidential elections in San Rico. San Rico was known for its bandits. Just one year ago, we had been banned from traveling there because of the danger. This year, the government promised political reforms and crime control.

一開始主編讓我報(bào)道圣黎各舉行的總統(tǒng)選舉時(shí)，我猶豫不決。圣黎各以其土匪之多聞名。一年前，當(dāng)?shù)卣褪且驗(yàn)樘ｋU(xiǎn)才禁止人們來(lái)圣黎各旅游的。今年，政府承諾進(jìn)行政治改革同時(shí)打擊犯罪。

Could thing have changed so much in only one year? Not in my mind. I imagined the worst. I anticipated burly bald man wearing bandannas, riding around on motorcycles and harassing voters. I pictured a bankrupt candidate, making a banal speech to a bored crowd, and claiming that his bankruptcy would not interfere with his government duties. I even expected the ballot box to be wrapped in barbed wire, with blood dripping from some of the barbs. What I didn’t expect was a bandmaster and the bang of a drum!

僅一年的時(shí)間情況就會(huì)有所改觀嗎?我看未必。我做了最壞的打算：我指望看到些戴大手帕的高大禿頂男人，他們騎著摩托車四處騷擾投票者;我想象著一個(gè)破產(chǎn)的候選人的樣子，人們不耐煩的聽(tīng)著他乏味的演說(shuō)，他還一面聲明破產(chǎn)不會(huì)影響他執(zhí)政;我甚至能看到裹著鋼絲網(wǎng)的投票箱，血液正從倒鉤上一滴滴落下來(lái)。但我萬(wàn)萬(wàn)沒(méi)想到會(huì)有樂(lè)隊(duì)指揮和擊鼓聲!

When our foreign press plane arrived in San Rico, we were greeted by a cheering crowd and a marching band. There was even a bald eagle. The bandleader led us from the plane, through the throngs of smiling people, and into the packed center of the city. There was big red banners hanging from every building, encouraging people to vote. Secure voting booths stood on every corner with people standing in long lines to cast their ballot. I had never seen so much enthusiasm for an election.

當(dāng)外報(bào)記者搭乘的飛機(jī)到達(dá)圣黎各時(shí)，迎接我們的是歡呼的人群和行進(jìn)中的樂(lè)隊(duì)，甚至還有一直禿頭鷹。樂(lè)隊(duì)指揮領(lǐng)著我們走下飛機(jī)，穿過(guò)面帶微笑的人們，來(lái)到人山人海的市中心。每座建筑物上都掛有鼓勵(lì)人們投票的紅色大標(biāo)語(yǔ)。每一條街道拐角處都有安全的投票亭，在那里，人們排著長(zhǎng)隊(duì)等候投票。我還從未見(jiàn)過(guò)對(duì)選舉這般熱衷的場(chǎng)面。

It was a new and exciting beginning for the people of San Rico. I reported it all in my story and faxed it back to my editor. After attending a wonderful banquet, I found myself sitting at a bar, listening to the banter about the election.

對(duì)圣黎各人民而言，這是一個(gè)嶄新而又令人興奮的開端。我全面報(bào)道了這一切，然后將稿子傳真給主編。參加完一個(gè)豐盛的晚宴后，我在一家酒吧坐了下來(lái)，聽(tīng)人們戲說(shuō)今天的選舉。

Words:

bald adj. 禿頭的，光禿的

bald eagle 禿頭鷹(美國(guó)國(guó)鳥)

balk vi. 阻礙;猶豫，不愿做

ballot n. 選票

ban vt. 禁止;查禁

banal adj. 陳腐的

band n. 樂(lè)隊(duì);隊(duì);(光或顏色的)帶;vi. 聯(lián)合，集合

bandanna n. 大手帕

bandit n. 強(qiáng)盜

bandleader n. 樂(lè)隊(duì)指揮