胡敏读故事记托福词汇045：公园里的午餐 Lunch in the Park
Lunch break at the hotdog stand in the park is the most enjoyable and interesting time of day for me. There’s nothing like putting your favorite condiments on your hotdog and feeling the condensation on an ice-cold can of coke. And there’s nothing like eavesdropping on the conversations.
对我来说，在公园里热狗摊旁度过的午餐休息时间是我一天中最快乐、最有趣的时光。在热狗上涂一层你最爱吃的调料，在感受一下冰镇可乐罐上的冰凝水珠实在是惬意。而且偷听别人的谈话也是再有趣不过的事。
“I like collecting old things,” bragged a collector to his friend. “I have a collection of belt buckles that were owned by a confederate General back in the days of the confederacy, 140 years ago, Some of these were actually worn to the conferences he had with the Union. I also own a piece of copper wire that was used 160 years ago as a conductor for the original Morse telegraph system. Copper wire was used because of its great conductivity. I even have a wooden mallet that was used by a judge over 300 years ago during condemnation proceedings in Salem. Imaging condemning someone for refusing to confess to witchcraft! Even a confession would result in condemnation!”
“我喜欢收集古老的东西，”一位收藏家对他的朋友吹嘘道，“我收集了一位南部联军将领成用过的一些皮带扣，那可是140年前南部联邦时期的东西。有些皮带扣还是他参加南北会谈时带过的。我还有一根铜丝，那是160年前最早的摩尔斯电报系统曾用过的导体。之所以使用铜是因为它导电性能良好。我甚至还有一把300多年前的木槌。那是一位法官在撒冷进行判决的程序中用过的。想想吧，不过是拒绝承认使用巫术就能给人判刑。甚至是一招供就能判。”
“I’ve just conferred with the prosecutor and the judge on both of your cases,” said a lawyer to his criminal client. “It was a long meeting so I’m going to condense what we discussed into a few sentences. The prosecutor has concrete evidence that could put you in jail for two consecutive five-year terms. That’s a total of ten years. But if you plead guilty today, I’m confident that you’ll receive two concurrent five-year terms. That means you’ll be out of jail in five years.”
“我已就你的两个案子同检察官和法官谈过了，”一位律师对他的行事委托人说，“会谈过程很长，我现在把我们讨论的内容精简为以下几句话：检察官有确凿的证据证明你有罪，这样你就的连续坐上两个5年的牢，加起来一共是10年。但如果你今天服罪，我有信心你将被判同时进行的5年刑期，也就是说5年后你就能出狱。”
“I can’t condone your cheating on the examination,” said a father to his son. “But I’m glad that you conduct yourself honestly next time.”
“我无法容忍你考试作弊的行为，”一位父亲对儿子说道，“但我很高兴你向我吐露了这一令人遗憾的举动。我对你有信心，儿子。我知道下次你一定会诚实地做人。”
See how interesting lunchtime can be?
你瞧，午餐时间多有趣!
Words:
concrete n. 水泥;adj. 具体的，实体的
concurrent adj. 同时发生的
condemn v. 谴责，判刑
condemnation n. 谴责，定罪
condensation n. 谴责，定罪
condense vt. 使浓缩;精简
condiment n. 调味品
condone v. 宽恕，不咎(过错);宽容，容忍
conduct vt. 做(试验，研究等);引导，带领;传导;表现，为人;n. 举止，行为
conductivity n. 导电率;传导率
conductor n. 导(电、热等)体
confederacy n. 联盟
confederate n. 同盟者，盟友
confer v. 颁给，赋予;协商;商谈，交换意见
conference n. 会议;协商会，讨论会
confess vt. 坦白承认
confession n. 承认，招供
confide vt. 吐露(心事)，倾诉
confidence n. 信心
confident adj. 有信心的，自信的
