Why does the water always turn colder in the middle of my shower? 淋浴时水怎么越变越冷？

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

Harry has invited Cathy, whom he has the hots for, back for a coffee:  哈利邀请他「肖想」的卡西回他家喝杯咖啡：

 

H: Did I tell you my shower’s acting up again? That’s why I was late earlier.

我跟你说过我的莲蓬头又出毛病了吗？那就是我之前迟到的原因。

 

C: Excuses, excuses – what’s wrong with it, then?

借口，借口──它是怎样了？

 

H: It’s a little like you, Cathy: it blows hot then cold.

它跟你有点像，出来的时候热，然后就变冷了。

 

C: Very droll – but it’s infuriating isn’t it? It’s because heat causes the rubber washer inside the hot faucet to expand and create a bottleneck.

很冷的笑话──但那很叫人火大不是吗？那是因为热使水龙头里的橡胶垫圈膨胀而造成阻塞。

 

H: I forgot your old man’s a plumber! So, tell me, what can I do?

我忘了你老爸是做水电的！所以，跟我说，我要怎么办？

 

C: Replace the washer for a “sandwich” type; it has fiber on each side, which doesn’t expand and contract as much.

把垫圈换成一种「三明治」型的：它两边都有纤维，不那么会热胀冷缩。

 

H: That sounds troublesome; isn’t there a simpler solution?

那听起来好麻烦；没有比较简单的解决方法吗？

 

C: Yes, but it goes against everything you stand for, Harry: You need to be less stingy with the hot water; the wider the faucet is opened, the less noticeable the reduction of flow becomes.

有啊，但哈利，那跟你一向的行径相违：你对热水不能太吝啬；水龙头开得越大，热水量的减少就越不明显。

 

H: How about if I let the hot water run for a while before mixing it with the cold – to preshrink the washer, as it were?

那这样行不行，我先开一阵子的热水，再调冷水──好比说让垫圈先收缩？

 

C: That’d work; you’d have the correct mix right from the start.

那有用；你一开始就会有适当的冷热水比例。

 

H: Cool! Let’s take a shower to put it to the test!

酷！让我们一起冲个澡实验看看！

 

C: Harry!? Maybe it’s a cold shower you needed all along!

哈利！？我看你自始至终都得去冲冲冷水才行！

 

－by Sean McCormack

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

hots [hɑts] n.【非正式】情欲

act up【口】出毛病, 犯病 to malfunction

droll [drol] adj.【过时或幽默】逗乐的﹐ 有趣的

infuriating [ɪnˋfjurɪ͵etɪŋ] adj. 非常令人恼火的

washer [ˋwɑʃɚ] n. 垫圈〔塑料﹑金属﹑橡胶等做的扁环﹐置于螺母和螺栓或两条管子之间﹐使之接得更紧〕

faucet [ˋfɔsɪt] n. 【美】水龙头; 旋塞

plumber [ˋplʌmɚ] n. 水管工人

troublesome [ˋtrʌb!səm] adj. 麻烦的，使人苦恼的

stand for 代表, 象征, 意味着  to advocate or support

stingy [ˋstɪndʒɪ] adj. 吝啬的，小气的

preshrink [priˋʃrɪŋk] v. 预收缩

all along【口】一直,  始终,  从开始起就

 

 

Sentence of the Day

She threw cold water on his plans.

她对他的计划泼冷水。

 

throw cold water on  泼冷水, 使气馁