64.It's a Puzzlement

　　The fine-furniture store where I work has been in business since the 1920s.Recently I received a call from a woman who wanted to replace some chairs from a dining set purchased from us in the 1930s.I assured² her we could help and sought the assistance³ of the office manager. "You'll never believe this one, " I told him." I just got a call from a customer who bought some chairs from us in the 1930s. "

　　Before I could finish repeating her request, he interrupted and said, "Don't tell me she hasn't received them yet!"

Notes:

　　(1) replace v.更换；替换

　　(2) purchase v.购买

　　(3) assure¹ v.有信心地说

　　(4) seek v.寻求

　　(5) assistance n.帮助

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① Since when has the fine-furniture store been in business?

　　A. since the 1910s

　　B. since the 1920s

　　C. since the 1930s

　　D. since the 1940s

　　② When did the woman customer buy the chairs in the store?

　　A. in the 1910s

　　B. in the 1920s

　　C. in the 1930s

　　D. in the 1940s

　　③ What did the woman customer want to do?

　　A. She wanted to return the chairs.

　　B. She wanted to sell the chairs.

　　C. She wanted to replace the chairs.

　　D. She wanted to repair the chairs.

　　④Purchase " in " a dining set purchased from us" means _____.

　　A. to sell

　　B. to replace

　　C. to buy

　　D. to return

　　⑤ Why did the office manager interrupt before the man finished?

　　A. Because he thought it impossible for the woman not to have received the chairs.

　　B. Because he was angry with the poor efficiency⁴ of the store.

　　C. Because he was bad tempered⁵.

　　D. Because he had something else to do at the moment.

63.匆忙的打断

　　我所工作的精品商店是从二十年代以来就营业的。最近我接到一个妇女的电话。她想换一套餐具中的一些椅子。这套餐具她是在三十年代从我们这儿买的。我向她保证说我们可以帮忙并向部门经理提了出来。“你永远也不会相信，”我对他说，“我刚接到一个顾客的电话，她在三十年代从我们这里买了一些椅子。”

　　我还没来得及说她的要求，经理就打断了我的话：“不要告诉我她到现在还没收到货！”

练习参考答案　　I asked a colleague of mine how he liked the shirt his daughter had given him as a gift. "The color and the design are nice," he said. "But the sleeves are three inches too long."

　　I suggested that perhaps it was made for a much taller man. "I don't think so," he said. "If I stand on my toes, it still fits the same."

Notes:

　　 (1) puzzlement n.困惑；苦恩 (2) colleague n.同事

Exercises:

根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

　　① The daughter gave the father a coat as a gift.

　　② The father thought that the color was nice, but he did not like the design

　　③ The sleeves were two inches long.

　　④ The shirt was made for a much taller man

　　⑤ The father liked the shirt very much.

64.难解的问题

　　我问我的同事是否喜欢他女儿送他的衬衣。“颜色和款式嘛是无可挑剔，”他说，“就是袖子长了三英寸。”

　　我对他说或许衬衣是为个头更高的人做的。“我想不是吧，”他说，“我踮起脚尖，它还是一样长。”

练习参考答案：

①F②F③F④T⑤F
：

①B②C③C④C⑤A

1 assure   

vt.使确信；向…保证，使有保证

参考例句：

• The only ladder to assure success is to work hard.确保成功的惟一途径是刻苦努力。
• I assure you that she can be trusted to do the job.我担保她能做好这项工作。

2 assured   

a.确实的，深信的

参考例句：

• He spoke in a calm, assured voice. 他冷静自信地说。
• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。

3 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

4 efficiency   

n.效率，效能，功效

参考例句：

• We were most impressed with your efficiency.你的效率给我们留下很深刻的印象。
• Our goal is to achieve the maximum of efficiency.我们的目标是取得最高的效率。

5 tempered   

adj.调节的，缓和的；调和的；温和的；适中的

参考例句：

• She gets very bad-tempered when she's tired. 她累的时候就爱发脾气。
• a disagreeable bad-tempered man 一个脾气不好难以相处的男人