胡敏读故事记托福词汇084：一条令人兴奋的法令
“Why did you emit that scream?” Alice asked. Alice wasn’t the emotional type. She always placed emphasis on being cool.
“你为什么发出那种尖叫声?”爱丽丝问。她不是那种易动感情的人。她总是强调保持冷静沉着。
“Sorry, I can’t control my emotions.” Rosie said. Rosie came from a rich family and she loved animals. She was particularly enchanted with the idea of protecting animals from those who endanger them. Her father had endowed the local veterinary hospital on her behalf. It was a very large endowment. However, today’s news of a recent enactment gave her a bigger reason to scream. “Finally, they passed a law that penalizes private landowners who encroach on protected wildlife areas. This new law will defend animals in an endless number of ways.”
“对不起，我控制不了我的情感，”罗西说。罗西出生于富贵家庭。她很喜欢动物，尤其热心于保护动物免遭人类危害的倡议。她父亲代表她像当地动物医院捐款，那是一笔数目可观的捐款。然而，今天听到最近已通过一条保护动物的法令，她更有理由抒发自己的情感，于是就出现了故事开头的尖叫。“最后，他们终于通过了法令，处罚那些侵占动物保护区的私人土地所有者。这条新法令将利用一切手段来保护动物。”
“You couldn’t have emphasized that point more clearly,” Alice said. Alice knew very little about wildlife conservation except for what she read in her outdated encyclopedia. “If I was the President, I would build a special enclosure to house endangered animals. That way, they wouldn’t have to worry about encountering poachers and other dangerous humans. I would also enclose all of the wildlife areas.”
“这个观点你已经强调得再清楚不过了。”爱丽丝说。除了从过时的百科全书里了解的知识外，爱丽丝对野生动物保护几乎一无所知。“如果我是总统，我会专门建起一道围墙来安置濒危动物。这样就不必担心他们遭遇偷猎者和其他危险分子了。我还会圈起所有的野生动物保护区。”
“Why not just encase them in plastic?” Rosie said with a giggle. “You don’t really know much about wildlife conservation, do you? I think your entire knowledge of animals is encompassed within that ancient set of encyclopedias. You shouldn’t let those heavy books encumber you. This weekend, why don’t you come with me to see a wildlife area with your own eyes?”
“为什么不干脆用塑料把他们包起来?”罗西咯咯的笑着说，“事实上你对野生动物保护了解得不是很多，对不对?你关于动物的全部知识都局限在那本古老的百科全书中。你不该让这些沉重的书阻碍你学习。这个周末，为什么不跟我一起用自己的眼睛来观察野生动物保护区呢?”
“Okay,” Alice said. “I know my knowledge of animal life is limited, but why should I endeavor to learn more? I’ll never be the President anyway.”
“好的。”爱丽丝说，“我知道关于动物生活习性的知识我知之甚少，但干嘛我还要努力再去学习呢?反正我永远也当不上总统。”
Words:
emit vt. 发出，发射
emotion n. 情绪，强烈的情感
emotional adj. 情绪的，情感的
emphasis n. 强调，重点
emphasize vt. 强调，着重
enactment n. 设定，定制
encase vt. 装入，包住
enchant vt. 对…施魔法，使着迷
enclose vt. 装入，装入封套;围绕
enclosure n. 围绕，围墙
encompass vt. 包括，包含
encounter vt. 遭遇，遭到
encroach vi. 侵占，蚕食
encumber v. 阻碍，妨碍
encyclopedia n. 百科全书
endanger vt. 危及，危害
endeavor vi. 尝试，努力;n. 努力，尽力
endless adj. 无止境的
endow vt. 捐赠，赋予
endowment n. 禀赋;捐款
