胡敏读故事记托福词汇088：葬礼 The Funeral
“Do you want me to escort you to the funeral?” Laura asked.
“你要我陪你参加史密斯先生的葬礼吗?” 劳拉问。
“It might violate the rules of etiquette,” replied Kathy. “Perhaps I had better err on the side of caution. Why don’t we meet later at the new ethnic restaurant downstairs? Say, about 6 p.m.?”
“那可能不合礼仪规定，”凯西说，“我还是多多谨慎不出错为好。我们晚一点，比如下午6点，在那家新开的民族饭店楼梯处见面好吗?”
“Okay.’ Laura said.
“好吧。”劳拉说。
Kathy took the escalator down to the lobby where she found a taxi waiting. “Take me to the Smith estate,” she told the driver. Kathy eschewed funerals, but she had no choice. Attending this one was essential to her job as the family’s estate lawyer. The deceased, John Smith, was an estimable man in the community. He was a famous professor of ethics at the local university. His behavior was a bit erratic in the final years of his life but he as careful not to evade his responsibilities. Before he died, he hired Kathy to evaluate his estate holdings and to draft an indisputable will. He did not want any differences of opinion between his heirs to escalate into a family feud. The will required Kathy to estimate the value of Mr. Smith’s assets, to sell them for a reasonable price, and then to distribute the proceeds.
凯西乘自动扶梯来到中央大厅，一辆出租车正等在门外。“到史密斯庄园。”她对司机说。凯西向来回避葬礼，但她别无选择。作为史密斯的财产律师，她必须参加这个葬礼。史密斯再当地是个受人尊敬的人，他是当地大学著名的伦理学教授。虽然他晚年行为有写古怪，但他谨慎小心，从不逃避责任。去世前，他委托凯西对他的全部财产进行评估，而后草拟了一份无可争议的遗嘱。他不愿意财产继承人之间的意见分歧扩大而升级为家庭不和。遗嘱要求凯西对史密斯先生的资产进行评估，并以合理的价格出售，然后把所得收入分给继承人。
The eulogy was the standard speech. The priest talked about eternal life as reward for living a good life. At the end of the speech, applause erupted from the audience. In Kathy’s opinion, the eruption was loud enough to wake to dead.
悼词采用标准的哀悼语言。牧师谈论着人一生积德，作为回报，死后才能永生。悼词结束的时候，人群中突然爆发出一阵掌声，在凯西听起来，这掌声爆发得足以可以把死去的人惊醒。
“Was it that bad?” Laura asked.
“葬礼就那么糟糕吗?”劳拉问。
“The music wasn’t bad,” Kathy replied. “I thought the violin and the piano produced a euphonious combination.”
“音乐还不错，”凯西回答，“我觉得小提琴和钢琴演奏出了悦耳的合音。”
Words:
err vt. 做错，出差错
erratic adj. 古怪的，不稳定的
erupt vi. 喷出，爆发
escalate vi. 升级，逐步增强
escalator n. 电动扶梯
eschew vi. 避开，危害
escort v. 护送，伴随
essential adj. 绝对必要的，基础的
estate n. 财产，庄园
estimable adj. 可估计的，值得尊敬的
estimate vt. 估计
eternal adj. 永恒的，永远的
ethics n. 伦理学
etiquette n. 礼仪，礼节
eulogy n. 颂词，颂文;悼文，悼词
euphonious adj. 悦耳的
evade vt. 躲避，逃避
evaluate vt. 评价，估价
