胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇182

　　182. The raft漂流筏 quiver-rationing¹
I left the small village on my way to my destination, and I quivered at the thought that my next step was to take a raft down the raging rapids of a river. The sun was radiant, and the people about me, some with ghetto³ blasters listening to rap music as they walked by, radiated with the happiness that comes from doing their daily activities.
I located a ragged⁴ looking rancher, who gave me a very high quotation⁵, which rankled⁷ me a bit, on a ragged looking raft. “I am being held ransom⁹,” I thought, “but I know that due to the recent floods and the subsequent rationing of rafts, rafts have been rarefied. Besides, extortion is rampant¹⁰ in this country.” So I rallied my gumption¹¹ and bought it at the extortionate price he asked for and headed, along with my rare raft, for the river. As I left, I thought, “It is certainly a rapacious¹² age we live in. I wonder if he has his quota⁶ for the day.”
It is difficult to describe the rapture¹³ one receives as one goes down the rapids. It ranks up there with beautiful music or riding a bull. You may think it is radical¹⁴, but it is a ration² of the senses as your senses are taken to the brink¹⁵. As the raft rocks and the water sprays, you never know if that next big rock has your name on it. It is the danger, the not knowing that makes it exciting.
I did not rashly decide to take the rapids, nor was it a rational decision. There was no need to have it ratified¹⁶ by a governing body, for there was no other choice if I wanted to get where I was going. I simply got in and rode the rapids as best I could.
quiver vt.振动,颤抖
quota n.配额,限额
quotation n.引用语,报价单
radiant adj.(向四面八方)发光的,光芒四射的
radiate v.放射,辐射
radical adj.根本的,激进的
raft n.筏,救生艇
rage n.时尚,风靡一时的事物;狂暴,狂怒
ragged adj.槛褛的,破烂的
rally v.召集,集合;恢复
rampant adj.蔓生的,猖獗的
rancher n.大农场经营者
rank vt.排列,归类n.等级
rankle⁸ vt.激怒,使怨恨
ransom n.赎金v.敲诈
rap vt.敲,拍,斥责
rap music说唱音乐
rapacious adj.强夺的,贪婪的
rapture n.狂喜,极高兴
rare adj.稀有的
rarefy vt.使稀少,使稀薄
rashly adv.轻率地,卤莽地
ratify¹⁷ vt.批准
ration n.定量,配给量;(配给量的)一份vt. 定量配给
rational adj.理性的,合理的
rationing n.(食物等的)配给

1 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

2 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

3 ghetto   

n.少数民族聚居区，贫民区

参考例句：

• Racism and crime still flourish in the ghetto.城市贫民区的种族主义和犯罪仍然十分猖獗。
• I saw that achievement as a possible pattern for the entire ghetto.我把获得的成就看作整个黑人区可以仿效的榜样。

4 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

5 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

6 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

7 rankled   

v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。
• The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rankle   

v.（怨恨，失望等）难以释怀

参考例句：

• You burrow and rankle in his heart!你挖掘并折磨他的心灵！
• The insult still rankled in his mind.他对那次受辱仍耿耿於怀。

9 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

10 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

11 gumption   

n.才干

参考例句：

• With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干，他将大有作为。
• Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑，有经营头脑的人在一年的任何时节都应该能够卖掉好书。

12 rapacious   

adj.贪婪的，强夺的

参考例句：

• He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup.他吃燕窝汤吃个没够。
• Rapacious soldiers looted the houses in the defeated city.贪婪的士兵洗劫了被打败的城市。

13 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

14 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

15 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

16 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

17 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。