胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇155

155 the other side of a bank clerk’s character

John Brigs was known for always being nice, neat and tidy, at least to his colleagues. Little did they know about the negative side of John’s character, which manifest itself on a Friday or a Saturday night. Those were the times when John did his best to neglect, negate¹ and neutralize² his orderly daytime image as a bank clerk. John’s outing is among the neon lights where noisy affairs, filled up with alcohol and nicotine³, John would unsteadily navigate⁴ the streets of Granidg village until the amount of money in his pocket was only a negligible quantity. On such nights, John would find himself seeking shelter in some niche⁵, unable even to afford the cab fare home. The streets would already be completely empty, almost as if a neutron⁶ bomb had been dropped. John would amuse, and he would still be sitting there, trying to figure out a way to get home.

One night, he had not even a nickel left to give to some needy⁷ people begging at the street corners. “How negligent⁸ of me to get myself into this state?” John sighed. At last he saw a police patrol car and try to enter into an unsteady negotiation⁹ with the officers to give him a ride home, but to no avail. They just left him sitting there.

When he finally did manage to get home, his wife gave him a stern lecture, “John, this is getting to be too much, I can no longer remain neutral to your nocturnal forays. John, look at yourself, do you realize that you are turning me into a nervous wrack¹⁰. My neurons are shore, that’s what my doctor told me.”

1 negate   

vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效

参考例句：

• Our actions often negate our principles.我们的行为时常与我们所信奉的原则背道而弛。
• Mass advertising could negate the classical theory of supply and demand.大宗广告可以否定古典经济学的供求理论。

2 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

3 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

4 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

5 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

6 neutron   

n.中子

参考例句：

• Neutron is neutral and slightly heavier than the proton.中子是中性的，比质子略重。
• Based on the neutron energy,the value of weighting factor was given.根据中子能量给出了相应的辐射权重因子的数值。

7 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

8 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 wrack   

v.折磨；n.海草

参考例句：

• Periodic crises wrack the capitalist system,and they grow in size and duration.周期性的危机破坏着资本主义制度，这种危机的规模在扩大，时间在延长。
• The wrack had begun to stink as it rotted in the sun.海草残骸在阳光下腐烂，开始变臭了。