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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Commentator1 Jill Vaughan has a small farm in upstate New York. And right now, that means she's hiring teenagers who aren't afraid of really working at their summer jobs.
We still need peasants in our corner of the country. On our farm, we make hay the old fashioned way. Small square bales are conveyed on a hay elevator to a tall loft2. Adolescents with strong backs are a necessary part of the process. The kids lift and swing the bales into high stacks after they fall off the elevator, and bounce end to end on the wood floor. The heat is crippling.
When a hay wagon4 is emptied, kids swing down from the hill mill, their broad backs glistening5 with sweat and dusted with hay. They gulp6 cold water, and stick their heads under the faucet7 in the milk house. Then they sprawl8 under the maple9 trees. A few head out on the tractor to get another full wagon. The cows watched them over the fence, their nostrils10 flaring11 at the scent3 of clover and alfalfa.
The tractor is back and kids pry12 themselves off the grass. They bump into each other's shoulders and box on the way back to the barn. Conversations center around cars, and sports, and local gossip. Our little girls hang around, listening to these exotic adolescents.
During the morning, the kids belt out songs from this year's school musical. By suppertime, the sweltering heat and heavy bales have taken their toll13. So they eat their pizza in silence. We paid them what we can, but money is not the only reward they get. Their parents hayed as youngsters, now they want their kids to have the experience.
Haying is teamwork, but it's different than sports. There is no adult on the team. The adults are running the machinery14 in the field. No coach is urging competitiveness. They have to cooperate for efficiency.
Teens have a sharp sense of justice that keeps the workload15 fair. If someone doesn't pull their weight, they'll be left out of conversations and not asked back. If a regular has a bad day though, the others take up the slack.
At dusk, the air looses its heat and their spirits perk16 up. The moon rises and the kids shoot baskets under the light of the front door bulb. I write checks, giving them extra if the day was more grueling than usual. They've worked harder than I have a right to expect. And they've learned more than they will / most days of their lives. They've formed the team, taken the lead if they needed to, problem solved, and physically17 endured.
The haying crew changes every year, by the time they're 18, other jobs are available. Why wear yourself out when you can wash dishes and run a cash register? It's getting harder to find help, but new kids stop by and give us their phone number. They're not sure what they are getting into, but they want the camaraderie18 and confidence they've sensed in the others who have worked here.
Jill Vaughan's farm is in Amarro, New York.
【WORLD BANK】
upstate
in the northern part of a particular state
upstate New York
bale
a large quantity of something such as paper or hay that is tightly tied together especially into a block
a bale of straw
loft
??ON A FARM??
a raised area in a barn used for keeping hay or other crops
a hayloft
wagon
a strong vehicle with four wheels, used for carrying heavy loads and usually pulled by horses
??see also cart
tractor
a strong vehicle with large wheels, used for pulling farm machinery
flare19
[intransitive and transitive] if a person or animal flares20 their nostrils (=the openings at the end of the nose) , or if their nostrils flare, their nostrils become wider because they are angry
The bull flared21 its nostrils and charged.
clover
[植]三叶草, 苜蓿
alfalfa
[植]紫花苜蓿
box
also box up
[transitive] to put things in boxes
Want to help me box up the Christmas tree lights?
??see also boxed
belt something out phrasal verb
to sing a song or play an instrument loudly
She was belting out old Broadway favourites.
musical
a play or film that includes singing and dancing
Webber had three musicals playing in London at one time. Broadway/West End musical (=one that is performed in New York's or London's important theatres) Carroll appeared in a number of Broadway musicals.
toll
a very bad effect that something has on something or someone over a long period of time
toll on
Years of smoking have taken their toll on his health. a heavy toll on the environment
pull your weight
to do your full share of work
He accused me of not pulling my weight.
take up/pick up the slack
a) to make a system or organization as efficient as possible by making sure that money, space, or people are fully22 used
Without another contract to help pick up the slack, employees may face job losses.
to do something that needs to be done because someone else is no longer doing it
c) to make a rope tighter
perk up phrasal verb
1
to become more cheerful, active, and interested in what is happening around you, or to make someone feel this way
She seemed kind of tired, but she perked23 up when Helen came over.
perk somebody ?? up
There's no doubt coffee perks24 you up.
2
to become more active, more interesting, more attractive etc, or to make something do this
perk something ?? up
A little chili25 will perk up the sauce.
cash registe
<美>收银机, 现金出纳机
crippling
1
causing so much damage or harm that something no longer works or is no longer effective
the crippling effects of war on the economy
2
a crippling disease or condition causes severe pain and makes it difficult or impossible for someone to walk
We still need peasants in our corner of the country. On our farm, we make hay the old fashioned way. Small square bales are conveyed on a hay elevator to a tall loft2. Adolescents with strong backs are a necessary part of the process. The kids lift and swing the bales into high stacks after they fall off the elevator, and bounce end to end on the wood floor. The heat is crippling.
When a hay wagon4 is emptied, kids swing down from the hill mill, their broad backs glistening5 with sweat and dusted with hay. They gulp6 cold water, and stick their heads under the faucet7 in the milk house. Then they sprawl8 under the maple9 trees. A few head out on the tractor to get another full wagon. The cows watched them over the fence, their nostrils10 flaring11 at the scent3 of clover and alfalfa.
The tractor is back and kids pry12 themselves off the grass. They bump into each other's shoulders and box on the way back to the barn. Conversations center around cars, and sports, and local gossip. Our little girls hang around, listening to these exotic adolescents.
During the morning, the kids belt out songs from this year's school musical. By suppertime, the sweltering heat and heavy bales have taken their toll13. So they eat their pizza in silence. We paid them what we can, but money is not the only reward they get. Their parents hayed as youngsters, now they want their kids to have the experience.
Haying is teamwork, but it's different than sports. There is no adult on the team. The adults are running the machinery14 in the field. No coach is urging competitiveness. They have to cooperate for efficiency.
Teens have a sharp sense of justice that keeps the workload15 fair. If someone doesn't pull their weight, they'll be left out of conversations and not asked back. If a regular has a bad day though, the others take up the slack.
At dusk, the air looses its heat and their spirits perk16 up. The moon rises and the kids shoot baskets under the light of the front door bulb. I write checks, giving them extra if the day was more grueling than usual. They've worked harder than I have a right to expect. And they've learned more than they will / most days of their lives. They've formed the team, taken the lead if they needed to, problem solved, and physically17 endured.
The haying crew changes every year, by the time they're 18, other jobs are available. Why wear yourself out when you can wash dishes and run a cash register? It's getting harder to find help, but new kids stop by and give us their phone number. They're not sure what they are getting into, but they want the camaraderie18 and confidence they've sensed in the others who have worked here.
Jill Vaughan's farm is in Amarro, New York.
【WORLD BANK】
upstate
in the northern part of a particular state
upstate New York
bale
a large quantity of something such as paper or hay that is tightly tied together especially into a block
a bale of straw
loft
??ON A FARM??
a raised area in a barn used for keeping hay or other crops
a hayloft
wagon
a strong vehicle with four wheels, used for carrying heavy loads and usually pulled by horses
??see also cart
tractor
a strong vehicle with large wheels, used for pulling farm machinery
flare19
[intransitive and transitive] if a person or animal flares20 their nostrils (=the openings at the end of the nose) , or if their nostrils flare, their nostrils become wider because they are angry
The bull flared21 its nostrils and charged.
clover
[植]三叶草, 苜蓿
alfalfa
[植]紫花苜蓿
box
also box up
[transitive] to put things in boxes
Want to help me box up the Christmas tree lights?
??see also boxed
belt something out phrasal verb
to sing a song or play an instrument loudly
She was belting out old Broadway favourites.
musical
a play or film that includes singing and dancing
Webber had three musicals playing in London at one time. Broadway/West End musical (=one that is performed in New York's or London's important theatres) Carroll appeared in a number of Broadway musicals.
toll
a very bad effect that something has on something or someone over a long period of time
toll on
Years of smoking have taken their toll on his health. a heavy toll on the environment
pull your weight
to do your full share of work
He accused me of not pulling my weight.
take up/pick up the slack
a) to make a system or organization as efficient as possible by making sure that money, space, or people are fully22 used
Without another contract to help pick up the slack, employees may face job losses.
to do something that needs to be done because someone else is no longer doing it
c) to make a rope tighter
perk up phrasal verb
1
to become more cheerful, active, and interested in what is happening around you, or to make someone feel this way
She seemed kind of tired, but she perked23 up when Helen came over.
perk somebody ?? up
There's no doubt coffee perks24 you up.
2
to become more active, more interesting, more attractive etc, or to make something do this
perk something ?? up
A little chili25 will perk up the sauce.
cash registe
<美>收银机, 现金出纳机
crippling
1
causing so much damage or harm that something no longer works or is no longer effective
the crippling effects of war on the economy
2
a crippling disease or condition causes severe pain and makes it difficult or impossible for someone to walk
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1
commentator
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| n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员 | |
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2
loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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3
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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5
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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6
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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7
faucet
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| n.水龙头 | |
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8
sprawl
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| vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延 | |
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9
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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10
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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11
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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pry
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| vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起) | |
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13
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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14
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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15
workload
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| n.作业量，工作量 | |
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16
perk
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| n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费； | |
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17
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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18
camaraderie
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| n.同志之爱，友情 | |
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19
flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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20
flares
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| n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开 | |
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21
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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22
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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23
perked
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| （使）活跃( perk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣 | |
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24
perks
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| 额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 ) | |
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25
chili
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| n.辣椒 | |
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