英语小达人 371 Legal Advice

 　　Legal Advice法律咨询费Mitchell Palmer was a young lawyer. One day, a neighbor entered his office and asked: "What could I do if another man's dog entered my yard and killed one of my chickens?"密切尔·伯默先生是个青年律师。有一天，他的一个邻居来到他的办公室问他：“如果别人的狗跑进我的院子并咬死了我的一只鸡，我怎么办？”

　　Mr. Palmer replied that the damage done could be collected from the owner of the dog.

　　伯默先生回答道，这损失应上狗的主人赔偿。

　　"Well," said the man, "since it was your dog, you might as well pay me the worth of the chicken, about one dollar, Mr. Palmer."“那好，”那个人说，“那恰是你的狗，伯默先生，你该赔我的鸡，大约一美元！”

　　Mr. Palmer smiled as he handed the man the amount named, and said: "Now, then, as I have paid all that I owe you, don't you think i's only fair you settle up that matter of the little bill you owe me?"伯默先生微笑着按那个人要的钱付给了他，然后说：“我欠你的钱付清了。你不觉得现在你也该了结一下你欠我的那笔小数目了吗？”

　　"But", protested¹ the neighbor, "I don't owe you a penny."那邻居抗议说：“我一分钱也没欠你。”

　　"Ah," smiled Mr. Palmer, "don't you? Kindly² pay me five dollars for the legal advice which I gave you concerning³ the loss of your chicken."伯默先生微笑着说，“是吗？我为你损失一只鸡的事作了法律咨询，请你付我五美元。”

1 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 concerning   

prep.关于，论及

参考例句：

• What do you know concerning this?关于这事你知道些什么？
• Some senior students wrote in asking for information concerning postgraduate studies.一些四年级学生写信询问有关研究生课程的信息。