胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第213期:The superficial superintendent 膚淺的校長
胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯 第213期:The superficial superintendent 膚淺的校長
The superficial qualities of the superintendent of the school led many to question his suitability for the job.
這所學校的校長資質膚淺，令很多人對他能否勝任工作提出質疑。
Most couldn't wait for a new supervisor to supersede him.
大多數(shù)人迫不及待地希望有個新的校長取代他。
He acted so superior and thought he possessed superb good looks.
他舉止傲慢，認為自己擁有第一流的長相。
He would lay out in the sunlight in order to get a tan.
他經常躺在陽光下曬皮膚以使膚色變深，
But the joke was on him, because his sunburn would be so bad that he looked like an evil, supernatural being.
但弄巧成拙，他的曬斑往往太嚴重，使他看上去像個邪惡的精靈。
He was superbly unknowledgeable, reaching unseen summits of ignorance,
他的知識極為貧乏，無知到了極點，
but because he had powers of supervision over young students,
但是因為他有管理年輕學生的權力，
he thought he could get away with supplanting truth with lies.
他覺得自己可以用謊言代替真相。
He claimed he had a beautiful sunlit in Beverly Hills.
他聲稱自己在貝弗利山莊擁有一套充滿陽光的漂亮房子。
He would pack his suitcase and go across the country every weekend to stay there.
他會在每個周末打點手提箱，穿過鄉(xiāng)村去那里小住。
"I eat the most sumptuous food in Beverly Hills restaurants," he claimed.
“我在貝弗利山莊的飯店里吃最豐盛的飯菜，”他說。
While chatting about history, he even tried to claim that an ancestor of his invented the sundial!
在閑聊歷史的時候，他甚至宣稱他的一個祖先發(fā)明了日晷！
Sometimes the stories would border on the absolutely fantastic.
有時他的說法簡直荒唐可笑。
He once told the students that he could hover in the middle of the air when on one was looking.
他曾告訴學生，沒人在場時，他可以在空中飛旋。
He also claimed to be able to summon dead spirits.
他還說自己可以召喚亡靈。
Did he think the students were believers in superstition?
他認為學生們信迷信嗎？
It seemed he needed a psychiatrist to closely supervise his activities.
似乎他需要有位精神病醫(yī)生來密切監(jiān)督他的行為。
On one occasion, the students paid one to listen to the superintendent's rants.
有一次，學生們雇了一位醫(yī)生來聽這位校長的夸夸其談。
"What I see," the doctor said afterward, "is a very sullen man. He actually has a very supple mind.
“我所看到的，”后來這位醫(yī)生說，“是個郁郁寡歡的人。
He suffers from an overly strong desire to make his agile mind public knowledge.
實際上他頭腦靈活。他有一種過分強烈的欲望，要讓大家知道他頭腦靈活。
This desire is supplemented by a fear of dying as an unknown."
這種欲望被死于默默無聞的擔心所取代。”
Whatever the situation, the superintendent remained as he always had been.
不管怎樣，這位校長依然故我。
重點詞匯
claim[kleim]n. 要求，要求權;主張，斷言，聲稱;要求物
agile['æd?ail]adj. （動作）敏捷的，靈活的，（頭腦）機靈的
hover['h?v?]vi. 盤旋，翱翔，徘徊
n. 盤旋，翱翔，徘
vt. 召喚，召集，振奮
superior[su:'pi?ri?]n. 上級，高手，上標
adj. 上層的，上好
n. 精神病醫(yī)師，精神病學家
ignorance['ign?r?ns]n. 無知
supernatural[.sju:p?'næt??r?l]adj. 超自然的，神奇的
fantastic[fæn'tæstik]adj. 極好的，難以置信的，奇異的，幻想的
absolutely['æbs?lu:tli]adv. 絕對地，完全地;獨立地
