胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇112

Childhood dreams come back to haunt me

童年的梦重又萦绕我心头

Running along the brook¹, down to the hatchery, what heavenly joy this was when school was over! We would play in the hay, the constant tweeting of the hatchlings—a constant background symphony. Then on to our old haunt, the hazel grove³. No hazards there, nothing but the healing sound of silence.

There was that freckled⁴ little girl with her hazel eyes who would come with us. Oh, was she a cutie! “when I grow up, I’m going to marry you.” I said to her on more than one occasion. “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched!” she would invariably reply with a haughty⁵ laugh. “time will tell.” I would sigh to myself. At least, I did not detect any note of rejection⁶ or hatred⁷, she was just playing hard to get.

Well, time has moved on, and my hasty words of all those years ago have come back to haunt me . I did marry that girl, but now she is gross and fat. Some people talk of marriage as a safe haven⁸, heaven even, but for me it has turned out to be nothing less than purgatory⁹ here on earth. My innocent childhood dreams have vanished in a haze², trapped as I am in a monotonous¹⁰ routine of bondage¹¹.

How am I to heal my broken heart? Would I feel better if I took a hatchet¹² to her, just to end this nightmare? Nonsense! Let me hasten to say that I could never do such a thing! Anyway, it would be far too hazardous¹³ for my own well-being¹⁴. I would get caught, and then what?

放学后，有什么比沿着小溪跑到孵卵处更能给人如在天堂般的快乐！我们会在干草中嬉戏，孵出的小鸟不停地鸣叫，这是不间断的背景交响乐。接着，到我们经常去的小榛树林。那儿除了有治疗功用的寂静之外，没有任何危险的东西。

有一个长着雀斑的、淡褐色眼睛的小女孩会跟着我们。噢，她真漂亮！“我长大了要娶你，”我不止一次这么对她说，“不要在蛋还没孵出时就数鸡！”她总是高傲地笑着回答。“等着瞧，”我会对自己叹气道。至少，我没有从中听出任何拒绝或者憎恨的意思。她只是让我觉得很难做到。

好了，时间过去了，这么多年前我说的草率的话重又萦绕在我心头。我的确娶了那个女孩，但是，她现在既粗俗，又肥胖。有的人说婚姻是安全的避难所，甚至说是天堂，但对于我来说，它简直是地球上的炼狱。由于如今的我已深陷在单调乏味的日常生活的束缚中而难以自拔，那么童年时间的天真梦想自然也就随着薄雾的消失而消失殆尽了。

我如何为我破碎的心疗伤呢？如果我向她举起一把短柄斧，结束这场噩梦，我会感觉好一些吗？胡说八道！让我赶快说我永远不能做这样的事情！总之，对于我自己的幸福来说，那样太冒险了。我会被捕，然后呢？

Hasten vt.加速

Hasty adj.急急忙的，草率的

Hatch vt.孵化

Hatchery n.孵卵所

Hatchet n.短柄斧

Hatchling n.人工孵化的鱼苗或小鸟

Hatred n.憎恶，憎恨

Haughty adj.（指人或态度）高傲自大的

Haunt vt.（思想，回忆等）萦绕心头。 n.（某人）常去的地方。

Haven n.避难所，安全地。

Heaven n.天，天堂

Heavenly adj.天空的，天上的，超绝的

Hay n.干草

Hazard n.危险，危害物

Hazardous adj.危险的，冒险的

Haze n.薄雾

Hazel adj.榛树的，淡褐色的

Heal vt.康复，治愈

Healing adj.有治疗功效的。

1 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

2 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

3 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

4 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

5 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

6 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

9 purgatory   

n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的

参考例句：

• Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
• Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

10 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

11 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

12 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

13 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

14 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。