英语小达人 250 I'm Free Now

 　　I'm Free Now

　　现在我自由了

　　A couple were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary¹ at their home.

　　一对夫妇在家庆祝结婚30周年。

　　Everyone was having a great time except for the wife who sat off in a corner with a tear in her eye. The family attorney² came over to her and asked what was wrong.

　　每个人都很尽兴，只有那个妻子坐在角落里，暗自垂泪。家庭律师走过来问她怎么了。

　　The wife told him, "Remember when we first got married and I told you that I couldn't stand him after about a month into the marriage? I really hated him at the time."

　　她说：“我们婚后大约一个月时，我对你说过我受不了他，你还记得吗？那时候我真的很讨厌他。”

　　"Yeah, I remember those trying times," replied the attorney.

　　“是的，我记得那段难捱的日子，”律师说。

　　"I absolutely hated him. I even had bad thoughts of killing³ him, remember?"

　　“当时我真是恨他呀。我甚至想过杀了他，记得吗？”

　　"Yes, I do."

　　“是的。”

　　"But you kept telling me to get rid of those thoughts. You said that I would get up to thirty years for such a crime⁴."

　　“是你一直劝我不要那样想。你说那样的话，我最高会获罪30年。”

　　"That was a long time ago though. Why are you so sad now?"

　　“那是很久以前的事了。你现在干吗这么伤心。”

　　"Because... I could have been a free woman by now!"

　　“因为从现在起，我就重获自由了！”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. have a great time

　　玩得高兴；过得非常愉快；玩得愉快；

　　eg. We'll have a great time camping out, I'm sure.

　　我确定我们会在露营时玩得很开心。

　　eg. Users⁵ can still have a great time singing songs while stuck in a traffic jam.

　　塞车时，车内的人仍可以尽情歌唱来欢度时光。

　　2. except for

　　除了；除…之外；唯有；

　　eg. He hadn't eaten a thing except for one forkful of salad.

　　除了一餐叉色拉，他什么都没吃。

　　eg. Everyone was late, except for Richard.

　　除了理查德，其他所有人都迟到了。

　　3. get rid of

　　扔掉；丢弃；摆脱；甩掉；赶走；

　　eg. The owner needs to get rid of the car for financial reasons.

　　因为经济原因，车主必须把汽车处理掉。

　　eg. She will have to get rid of the excess⁶ weight on her hips⁷.

　　她得减去臀部多余的脂肪。

　　eg. You seem in rather a hurry to get rid of me.

　　看起来你急于想摆脱我。

　　4. up to

　　高达；多达；

　　eg. Up to twenty thousand students paid between five and six thousand dollars.

　　多达20，000名学生支付了5，000到6，000美元。

　　eg. It could be up to two years before the process is complete.

　　这一过程可能要两年时间才能完成。

1 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

2 attorney   

n.（业务或法律事务上的）代理人，辩护律师

参考例句：

• He acted as attorney for me.他充当我的律师。
• The attorney for the union accused the Mayor of playing politics.工会的律师谴责市长在这次罢工中耍阴谋。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

5 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

6 excess   

n.过量，过度；超越；adj.过量的，附加的

参考例句：

• He advised his son never to spend in excess of his income.他劝儿子开支不可超过收入。
• You're too fat;try and run off all those excess pounds.你太胖了，要跑跑步减肥。

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》