胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯049：萬能博士——門門皆通，樣樣稀松 Jack-of-all-trades, Master of None
I like being a congressman because I am fond of helping people. Many citizens think that it is an easy job, but in fact, it is very different. I get many calls from people who need things or want to complain about someone. Often, I do not have the answer.
我喜歡做個(gè)議員，因?yàn)槲蚁矚g幫助別人。許多公民認(rèn)為當(dāng)議員是份簡單的差事，實(shí)則不然，議員難做啊。我接到許多人打來的要東西或是抱怨人的電話，我常常是無言以對。
Last week, a constituent contacted me and asked me to help him construe an article contained within the constitution. I had to hire a lawyer as a consultant. After consulting the lawyer, I was able to give the constituent some constructive suggestions and to constrain him to follow the law.
上星期，一位選民跟我聯(lián)系，讓我?guī)退忉屢幌聭椃ㄖ邪哪硠t條款。我只好請來一位律師做顧問。向律師請教一番后，我方才為那位選民提供了一些建設(shè)性意見，并強(qiáng)制他依法辦事。
Consumers often call to complain about bad products or bad services. I recall one instance where a man complained that a restaurant had contaminated his container of food. He was very angry and showed no constraint. Fortunately, he did not consume the bad food. I asked him to contemplate who might have done it. At my request, he constructed a time line of the previous day’s events. We concluded that, after he departed the restaurant, he had momentarily left his food container within the reach of some monkeys in his laboratory. He conceded that the monkeys were probably responsible for the partial consumption of his food and the soiling of his food container.
消費(fèi)者常常打電話，抱怨劣質(zhì)產(chǎn)品或劣質(zhì)服務(wù)。我記得有一次一個(gè)男人投訴飯店弄臟了他的飯盒。他火冒三丈，一點(diǎn)也不克制自己的脾氣。幸好他沒有吃那些臟食。我讓他好好想想還有誰可能這么干。在我的請求下，他編制出一份羅列前一天所有活動的時(shí)間表。我們得出的結(jié)論是，他離開飯店后，曾有片刻時(shí)間將飯盒放在實(shí)驗(yàn)室里一些猴子能夠得到的地方。他不情愿地承認(rèn)也許是猴子偷吃了部分食物，還弄臟了他的飯盒。
Other voters call for emergency reasons. For example, one person called to report the outbreak of a contagious disease that constricts breathing. I had no idea what he was talking about. All I could do was to notify the local police and the World Health Organization.
其他一些選民則是為急事打來電話。例如，一個(gè)人打電話舉報(bào)一些突發(fā)的窒息性傳染病。我根本不明白他在講什么，只能通知當(dāng)?shù)鼐竭€有世界衛(wèi)生組織。
The position of congressman truly constitutes several different jobs.
議員的職務(wù)實(shí)則由幾個(gè)不同的工作構(gòu)成!
Words:
constituent n. 成分，要素
constitute vt. 建立(政府)，組成，構(gòu)成
constitution n. 組織，憲法
constrain n. 約束，限制
constrict vt. 約束;收縮;壓緊;堵塞
construct vt. 建造;創(chuàng)立
constructive adj. 建設(shè)性的，有積極效果的
construe v. 解釋，把。。。理解為
consult vt. 咨詢，請教
consultant n. 顧問，咨詢者
consume vt. 消費(fèi)，消耗;大吃大喝
consumer n. 消費(fèi)者
consumption n. 消耗，消費(fèi)
contact vt. 使接觸，與。。。聯(lián)系
contagious adj. 傳染性的，會感染的
contain vt. 包含，容納
container n. 容器，集裝箱
contaminate vt. 弄臟，污染，感染
contemplate v. 沉思，對……做周密考慮
