胡敏读故事记托福词汇146：一座奇迹般的砖石建筑 a marvelous bit of masonry
My maid Matthew has always been a bit of maverick. His No.1 macsome appears to be “look out for No.1”, by that expression, he means himself. He does whatever he thinks is right, and he offers his comments on whatever comes into his mind. He even wrote to the Los Angeles zoo not so long ago to offer his suggestions on getting their reluctant giant pandas to mate.
我的丈夫马修一直是个有点不遵守传统的人。他的人生格言好像是“努力争取拿第一”(这句话是他对自己说的)。他会做任何一件自己认为是对的事情，他对自己想到的任何一件事情发表看法。前不久他甚至为了大熊猫不愿交配的问题还写信给洛杉矶动物园，对此提出了他的建议。
Matthew can afford to do his own thing. He came into a large inheritance when he was still quite young. One of his prime pieces of real estate is a villa outside of town above the marsh by the sea. It is a marvelous and matchless masterpiece, a marvel of late 19th century Neel Gothic architecture. One can only stand and marvel at the mind of the mason who brought this artistry into being.
马修能够做自己想做的事情。他很年轻的时候就得到一大笔遗产。他的财产中最主要的一宗是小镇外海边湿地以上的一栋别墅。那是一件不可思议并且无可比拟的杰作，一个19世纪末期新哥特式建筑的罕见的例子。面对这一奇迹，你只能为石匠师傅的创意所折服，是他把这一艺术珍品奉献于世的。
A masker of Matthew’s grandfather graces the main entrance, and the matching drawing is found in the villa’s cavernous library. Sadly the villa stands empty much of the time, as Matthew does not seem to be able to find the time to care for its upkeep. Every once in a while therefore a piece of masonry will drop off its massive facade.
大门口马修爷爷的面具为门厅增光添色，与之相配的图画挂在别墅宽敞深遂的图书馆里。可惜的是，别墅里没有什么摆设，因为马修好像没有时间来保养它。因此，偶尔会有一块石片从庞大的建筑物外表脱落下来。
The marsh expands below was the scene of March marshal activity during the war of independence. Soldiers would march off to marine engagements with Britain, that great marry time nation. Newly-weds, many of them, marital bless was abruptly cut short by marshal endeavor.
下面大片的沼泽地是独立战争时进行很多军事活动的场所。士兵们会从此出发去和海上强国——强大的英国进行海战。他们中很多人是刚结婚的，婚姻的幸福突然由于军事行动中止了。
Words
marine adj. 海报的，航海的，海产的
marital adj. (有关)婚姻的
maritime adj. 海上的，海事
marsh n. 湿地，沼泽
marshy adj. 沼泽的
martial n. 军事的
marvel n. 奇异的事物，罕见的例子 v. 惊奇，惊异
marvelous adj. 不可思议，了不起
mask n. 面具 v. 掩盖，掩饰
mason n. 石匠
masonry n. 石工术，石匠职业，泥瓦砖石结构
massive adj. 大而重的，庞大的，可观的
masterpiece n. 杰作，名著
matching adj. (尤指颜色或外表)相配的，一致的
matchless adj. 无敌的，无比的
mate v. 交配 n. 配偶，丈夫妻子
maverick adj. 独行的，不遵守传统的
maxim n. 格言，普通真理
