胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇174

　　174. The postgraduate¹ potter preacher拥有研究生身份的制陶传教士 posterity²-precedent³
There was a postgraduate student in postwar England who had had to postpone⁴ his studies because of the war. To avoid living in poverty, he made a meager⁵ living as a potter and by the precarious⁶ profession of preaching to the farmers on the English prairie. He was inhibited⁷ from finding a decent job because of a postoperative condition stemming from an operation to repair a wound he received in the war.
One day, realizing the potentiality of selling pottery⁹ to the English farmers, he loaded up his beat-up, old truck with as much pottery as practicable. He took the precaution of tying it down to avoid any potential accidents. He drove outside the city to the prairie lands and stopped on the property of a farmer he knew. He unloaded his wares¹⁰ from the back of the truck, stood on the back, and as he began to preach, a crowd gathered.
“Posterity may not remember what we will have said here today,” he began to speak of the war. “There have been many who have preceded me in this matter, but never a precedent set.” He postulated¹² the need to remember the war heroes and gave posthumous¹³ praises to one of his comrades that had fallen in battle. He then spoke¹⁴ of the practicality of being generous and giving to war veterans. The crowd was so moved by his potent⁸ sermon that they gave him one British Pound for every pot that he had. Later, he mused¹⁵ that it was indeed a practical way to make ends meet.
posterity n.子孙,后代
postgraduate n.研究生
posthumous adj.死后的,身后的
postoperative adj.手术后的
postpone vt.推迟,使延期
postulate¹¹ vt.要求,假定
postwar adj.战后的
pot n.罐,壶
potent adj.强有力的,有效的
potential adj.可能的,潜在的n.潜力
potentiality n.潜能,潜力
potter n.陶工,制陶工人
pottery n.陶器,陶器场
pound n.磅,英磅vt.强烈打击
poverty n.贫困
practicable adj.可实行的,可用的,可能的
practical adj.实际的,现实的,实用性的
practicality n.实用性
prairie n.大草原
preach v.布道;鼓吹
precarious adj.不稳定的,危险的
precaution n.预防措施,警惕
precede vt.在…之前,早于
precedent n.先例

1 postgraduate   

adj.大学毕业后的，大学研究院的；n.研究生

参考例句：

• I didn't put down that I had postgraduate degree.我没有写上我有硕士学位。
• After college,Mary hopes to do postgraduate work in law school.大学毕业后， 玛丽想在法学院从事研究工作。

2 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。

3 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

4 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

5 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

6 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

7 inhibited   

a.拘谨的，拘束的

参考例句：

• Boys are often more inhibited than girls about discussing their problems. 男孩子往往不如女孩子敢于谈论自己的问题。
• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。

8 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

9 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

10 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

11 postulate   

n.假定，基本条件；vt.要求，假定

参考例句：

• Let's postulate that she is a cook.我们假定她是一位厨师。
• Freud postulated that we all have a death instinct as well as a life instinct.弗洛伊德曾假定我们所有人都有生存本能和死亡本能。

12 postulated   

v.假定，假设( postulate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They postulated a 500-year lifespan for a plastic container. 他们假定塑料容器的寿命为500年。
• Freud postulated that we all have a death instinct as well as a life instinct. 弗洛伊德曾假定我们所有人都有生存本能和死亡本能。 来自辞典例句

13 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史