原版英文小故事 48. Problems at Home

Emily sat down on the sofa. She took off her shoes. She put her feet on the coffee table. She leaned¹ back. She picked up the remote² and turned on the TV. It was 6 o'clock. The news was on three channels. She didn't want to see the news. The news depressed³ her. It was usually about accidents and murders. There was too much bad news on the TV news.

She found a talk show to watch. It was Ellen. She liked Ellen. Ellen was a comedian⁴. She told good jokes. She showed animals doing funny things. She gave expensive gifts to her fans⁵ occasionally⁶. This show was a rerun, because Ellen's "live" show was usually on at 4 o'clock. But that didn't matter to Emily.

All she wanted to do was relax. Her life was one problem after another. Her husband had just lost his job. Her only child had dropped out of high school. Even worse, he had left home. He told Emily he would call from time to time. But he hadn't called in two weeks.

She was worried sick. She didn't know where he was. She didn't know if he was dead or alive. Her husband said she shouldn't worry. He had done the same thing when he was 17. But when he found out that life on the road wasn't as easy as he thought it was, he returned home and got his high school diploma⁷.

 

1 leaned   

v.（使）倾斜，屈身( lean的过去式和过去分词 )；倚；依赖；使斜靠

参考例句：

• He leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly together. 他俯身向前，双手十字交错地紧握着。
• He leaned back, exulting at the success of his plan. 他向后一靠，为自己计划成功而得意扬扬。

2 remote   

adj.遥远的，僻远的；细微的，稀少的，漠然的

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your chances of success are rather remote.我担心你成功的机会极小。
• The thing happened in the remote past.这件事发生在遥远的过去。

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

5 fans   

n.粉丝，指超迷某人或某物的一类人；扇子( fan的名词复数 )；风扇；扇形物；狂热爱好者v.扇( fan的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The announcement of her retirement caused consternation among tennis fans. 她宣布挂拍告退的消息引起了网球迷的震惊。
• Her decision to cancel the concert is bound to disappoint her fans. 她决定取消这场音乐会，肯定会使她的歌迷失望。

6 occasionally   

adv.偶然地；非经常地

参考例句：

• He went on talking,occasionally wiping at his face with a towel.他继续说着，偶尔用毛巾擦一下脸。
• I like playing football best,but occasionally I play table tennis,too.我最喜欢踢足球，偶尔也打打乒乓球。

7 diploma   

n.毕业文凭，学位证书

参考例句：

• She won her diploma in only three years.她仅用三年时间就取得了毕业文凭。
• She worked hard to earn her music diploma.她刻苦用功，以求获得音乐学位证书。