胡敏读故事记托福词汇057：好奇的看守人 The Curious Custodian
It was midnight in the old Public Records Depository. “Curiosity kills the cat,” muttered the custodian as he nervously descended the stairs. The curious custodian felt drawn to the dark basement. Moisture from an underground river had dampened the walls. “There’s a secret down here, and it’s got to be worth some currency,” he said to himself. “I’ll just make a cursory search.”
故事发生在午夜时分的公共档案储存处。“不要太好奇。”看守人一边紧张地沿着楼梯往下走，一边嘟囔着。好奇的看守人感到自己被什么东西吸引着来到黑暗的地下室。地下河的湿气使周围墙壁也很潮湿。“这下边有秘密宝库，它肯定能值不少钱币。”他自言自语道，“我先大致地搜查一下。”
“What is that?” he screamed as his flashlight lit the darkest and dampest corner of the basement. It appeared to be an ancient dagger, angling in the air. The situation was rather daunting. “What should I do?” he asked himself as he dabbed the sweat from his brow. He was not a daring man. He grabbed a small seat cushion from an old chair and threw it at the dagger. It triggered a howling sound and a concurrent gust of wind, both of which sent him scurrying up the stairs.
“什么东西?”当他的手电筒照到地下室最黑暗、最潮湿的角落时，他尖叫起来。看上去是把古代短剑，它悬在空中。眼前的一切使他畏缩胆怯。“怎么办?”他边问自己，边轻轻擦去额头上的冷汗。他并不勇敢。他抓起一把旧椅子的小坐垫朝短剑投过去，这一下引起一阵吼叫声和随之而来的一阵狂风，吓得他抱头鼠窜奔上楼梯。
The following night, he returned to the basement with the curator of a local museum. The curator was a dauntless man.
第二天晚上，他和当地博物馆的馆长又来到地下室。馆长很胆大。
“Don’t dally, go get it,” said the custodian.
“别磨磨蹭蹭的，快去拿短剑。”看守人说。
“Don’t be curt.” replied the curator. “The study of ancient daggers was not part of my college curriculum. You’ve just lucky that the museum has a current need for artifacts. I know you’re only interested in the reward money.”
“不能鲁莽。”馆长回答道，“我读大学时全部课程中并不包括古代短剑的研究。你很幸运，因为我们博物馆正需要一些人工制品。我知道你对酬金感兴趣。”
“That’s a cynical remark,” the custodian snapped back.
“别挖苦我了。”看守人反驳道。
The curator entered the darkest part of the basement to search for the dagger. The custodian could see him darting back and forth in the darkness. He finally emerged.
馆长开始走进地下室最黑暗的地方去寻找短剑。看守人看见他在黑暗中奔来跑去。最后他终于出来了。
“There’s nothing here,” the curator said, staggering out of the darkness. “Perhaps you should curtail your alcohol consumption.”
“这什么都没有。”馆长跌跌撞撞地从黑暗中跑来说，“也许你该削减酒的消费量了。”
“Okay, I will,” the custodian replied, as his jaw began to drop, “but what’s that stuck in your back?”
“好吧，”看守人回答道，同时他惊讶得张口结舌，“可你背上插的是什么?”
Words:
curator n. (博物馆等)馆长
curiosity n 好奇心
curious adj. (令人)好奇的
currency n. 通货，货币
current n. (液体，气体的)流，趋势;adj. 现今的
curriculum n. 学校的全部课程
cursory adj. 仓促的，粗略的，草率的
curt adj. (言辞，行为)简略的，唐突草率的
curtail v. 缩短，删减
cushion n. 垫层
custodian n. 看守人，保管人
cynical adj. 愤世嫉俗的;挑剔挖苦的
dab vt. 轻拍
dagger n. 短剑
dally v. 闲荡，嬉戏;蹉跎，磨蹭
damp adj. 潮湿的，有时期的
dampen vt. 使潮湿
dangle vt. 悬摆
daring adj. 大胆的，勇敢的
dart vi. 飞奔，飞快的动作
daunting adj. 使人畏缩的
dauntless adj. 勇敢的，无谓的
