读故事记单词四级1-12

1. abandon ~ accent

The Absent-minded Academic

At times I like to abandon my ability to speak and write in an academic way, which my friends call an abuse of language. When I am about to go aboard a plane to go abroad, I often still think about this. At these times I am so absent-minded that I almost miss the call for "all aboard". In another country I often avoid abstract language when talking to other academics and try not to accent every word. Instead, I aim for clear and simple communication to help others absorb what I am saying. This is not easy since I like to abuse language and always try to use the full range of language to the best of my ability. However, I think that one can abandon oneself to new experiences when overseas without treating one's training with abandon. It has also been suggested that I get rid of my strong accent, and my absence from my country might accelerate this change. In the meantime, I'll think of ways to use Band 4 words, in concrete ways, rather than in the abstract. Readers can then abstract what suits them best, from the book, towards developing absolute faith in their ability to master English.

2, acceptance ~ accuse

Mrs. Black in the Red

Mrs. Black has a savings account with a nearby bank, and recently she started to receive statements not in accordance with her books. According to one notice, it said that she owed the bank $200,200. "Are they really expecting my acceptance of this?" she thought. So, accompanied by Mr. Black she marched into the bank the next morning. After hearing her story the accountant behind the counter explained that "there has been an accidental miscounting." "But this is not the first time. The book keeping has never been in accord with reality!" Mrs. Black argued, and she insisted on withdrawing all her money. However, she was told that "the computer is down" and she couldn't even access her money! By this time there were quite a few people standing in the access to the counter. They heard the conversation and of their own accord all took a stand in support of Mrs. Black. With one accord, they all accused the bank of not being accurate with their bookkeeping and insisted that measures be taken accordingly to achieve accuracy. As the number of customers accumulated, the Board members met and were in accordance that inaccuracy couldn't be accepted and sent for the manager from his office accommodation to account for the mistakes. Dissatisfied with the fact that the manager failed to accomplish his duty and achieve accuracy in his performance, the Board reached an accord and fired the manager. They also accorded Mrs. Black "favored Customer" of the month.

3. accustomed ~ admission

A Little Lion Tamer

A young acquaintance of mine is not accustomed to achievement In fact, in the administration of his duties as trainee lion tamer, he is not usually considered adequate and often has to acknowledge the acid remarks of his father, the head lion tamer, for his lack of action. His father often uses the adjective "sleepy" to describe the lack of activity of both him and the lions. In addition, he has been told adjust his attitudes and acquire a greater sense of showmanship if he wishes to gain admission to the main ring in the circus tent. His need is acute, because acquisition of performing skills would be an addition to his natural ability to communicate with lions, and enable him to step into the main ring when his father is out of action. In addition to this, even though he is only 3 years old and gets very tired following the lions around their one acre park, he is already famous as a lion tamer because he appears in an ad for the circus, and is even being sought by a manufacturer to promote acid adapted specially for use in animal food.

4. adopt ~ airline

You Can’t Teach an Old Dog Ne w Tricks

James walked out of the travel agency and looked very angry. He had decided to take a trip around the world and planned to take Jimmy, his dog, with him. But the travel agent refused to write a ticket for Jimmy, because pets were not allowed to board the aircraft. Although they called afterwards to say they were sorry--even using the adverb "terribly"--James was still very upset. He had adopted Jimmy before Jimmy was an adult, and the affection between them was very strong. Since seeking aid from the airline wasn't advisable, James advertised in the newspaper for a nanny to take care of Jimmy during his absence.

Many people replied to the advertisement, but James was very cautious because he didn't want to be taken advantage of. An aggressive young man caught James' attention; he had graduated from an advanced nursing school, and called himself an advocate of animal rights. "This is a big advantage", thought James. He then dropped the agenda he was preparing for the next day's meeting and took Jimmy to meet the young man.

Jimmy was an old dog, and his hair was a mix of all colors: a bit gray, a bit brown and a bit black, and he was almost deaf too, so he always wore his hearing aid. Luckily, it didn't affect Jimmy's activity. You know what happened when the young man who advocated himself as an animal lover saw Jimmy?

He refused to look after Jimmy and said a surgical operation would be to advantage for both of them!

5. alarm ~ amid

For Whom The Clock Ticks

Michael is flying back to Australia after visiting his aunt in New York. He is an amateur clown and his ambition is to become a full-time performer. Before he boards the airplane, Michael goes into the airport store for a gift for his wife. With his small allowance, he has the two alternatives of a teddy bear or an alarm clock made of aluminum. He takes the clock, as he always needs to make allowances for her never being on time. Fifteen minutes later, Michael is sitting comfortably in his seat. He says hello to the man sitting alongside, asks for some alcohol, and dozes off. Suddenly, a tap on the shoulder awakens him. He looks around and finds that the plane hasn't gained any altitude; it's still on the ground. What amazes him is that two policemen then force him to get off the plane and into a police car. Michael also notices that the police take a suitcase into an ambulance. The suitcase and his own look very alike. This alerts Michael that something has happened. When they arrive at the police station, Michael is very surprised to see the Australian Ambassador there, talking to an officer from the office of Alliance of Allies against Terrorism, who keeps looking at Michael with alert eyes. Michael's suitcase is lying on one of the tables, with everything thrown out: some clothes, a key ring with the alphabet on it, a bottle of wine and the clock. The policemen seem to be on the alert against something and their expressions alter when they see the clock--the crew thought it was a bomb and alerted the police!

6. amount ~ apology

Weighing up the Anchor

I once knew a woman who had a grandmother. Apart from that, she was always as busy as an ant, trying to angle for buyers to take her grandmother's unwanted goods for a large amount of money. Once, when I was reading a college annual, she came to my apartment to pay a visit because she wanted me to buy an anchor as a wedding anniversary gift for my wife! She said it was an antique that her grandmother got from her ancestors. I took a quick look at it; it was old, even ancient, perhaps. Anyhow, it was certainly no more antique than her grandmother, so I said no. She was that sort of person, anyway; what you said amounted to nothing. She then tried to show me the ugly thing from different angles while we stood apart. At that point, her behavior reminded me of someone who might be anchoring a shopping program on television trying to angle the exhibit towards the camera. However, it fell over, hurting my ankle badly. What annoyed me most was that she was so amused, and burst into laughter. So I refused to invite her to my annual Valentine's Day party, and anticipated that I wouldn't see her again. She must have wondered with anxiety and started to analyze the whole thing. I wasn't surprised when she announced that according to her analysis I owed her an apology.

7. apparent ~ approximate

Applying for a Job

To appeal to an employer, the applicant decided to apply in person, rather than wait to be offered an appointment. She didn't appreciate that her sudden appearance might not be appreciated. The employer was in the appliance industry. He didn't approve of her approach and said that if he was going to appoint anybody, there must be a written application. He said he needed to decide whether an interview would be applicable and if so, he could then make an approximate time to see her. He added that she could not expect to appropriate his time or approximate his staff in the way she did. The staff immediately broke into loud applause. They thought this would be a way to gain his approval, because the employer had a huge appetite for new experiences. They didn't expect that he also had an apparent dislike of not being in control. To all appearances it seemed that no appeal would be possible now, to have the employer approach this situation in her favor. However, he then said that because she had appropriate experience, he would give her a job on approval for 2 weeks.

8. arbitrary ~ asset

The Big Draw

The most popular TV talk show in town arranged for two architects to talk about architecture on screen. But as soon as they saw each other, an argument arise as both men insisted on being called the greatest artist. Each attacked the other person from different aspect. One said, "There's nothing artistic in your works, they look so artificial." "What about you?", the other replied. "You can't even do arithmetic, and the best thing you've ever made is an ash tray." Soon they engaged in a fight. Security guards rushed in and took them aside. Police came and arrested them, and arrangements were made to take them to court. The judge was an arbitrary person, who had no interests aside from food. He was annoyed at being aroused from his afternoon nap, and sent the two to jail without listening to the case. While they were under arrest, families of both men sold their assets, offered the warden the money, and soon both men were set free, But the Assembly discovered this and its members were assembled to hear the case. The TV station televised and assessed the whole process. Its viewing rate took off like an arrow.

9. assign ~ attractive

An Brief Encounter

A male athlete named Bruce was annoyed by an atomic plant near his house, because it polluted the area by its waste. Bruce decided to take the plant to court and hired an attractive female attorney named Brenda to represent him. However, she was busy with some other assignment as an associate partner, and sent her associate to assist him instead. Bruce was unhappy about it as he thought such an association between himself and his lawyer was not going to help him attain his goal. He insisted Brenda assign his case back to herself. His attitude created an atmosphere of tension. When the case came to court, Brenda assumed that he would attach himself to her for assistance. But to her surprise, he did a good job on his own. She started to feel an attraction towards Bruce and assured him that he would have her assist, and that she wanted to associate with him personally. Both were astonished that their love for each other exploded like a split atom. In the end, Bruce won both the case and the woman he loved.

10. attribute ~ axe

A Right Way to Rob?

The author carefully parked his automobile in an available space along the avenue heading to the lecture hall. He was on auto-pilot as he was still preparing his speech. He was going to receive the award of the "golden axe" and was to speak in front of the audience. As far as he was aware, this prize was usually given in an awful hurry, followed by some awkward event, the main attribute of which was boredom. He was advised to avoid the experience, stay in his car, and await the full authority of the Academy. However, he decided they might not attribute his absence to some type of automatic shyness, and that they might even award the prize to his rival, a member of the non-writing group, who only published his work by audio cassette. So he hurried towards the hall, opened the door and was amazed at what he saw: a man had an automatic gun in one hand, the trophy in the other, and was robbing the members of the Ladies Auxiliary!

11. background～barely

Barber Shop Music

A barber who was also a music lover organized a band to play background music at a small bar. But soon, neighbors accused them of playing some banned music. The sheriff issued a ban. It said that they were not allowed to play music anymore, otherwise they'd be kept behind bars. So they packed their baggage and moved to another city. However, as they had no jobs and were bankrupt, they could barely exist, and had great trouble just to keep a balance in their account. They could only afford bare necessities. To make things worse, one of them had bacon with bacteria in it and his life was in the balance. All these troubles would not make them stop playing music or take a backward move, though. To cheer their sick friend up, they brought a balloon with a banner on it to the hospital. They even held a concert in the balcony. They banged their instruments and the bang was deafening. They threw off their shirts and bared their chests, as it got hotter. The patients were very excited about it too, and a man with an arm banded with plaster even danced to their music, but when he moved backwards, he threw himself off balance. The band then became a big success and were even invited to perform in a concert to raise funds for bankrupts and homeless people.

12. bark～behavior

Barking up the Wrong Tree

A man tried to sell his neighbor a new dog for five dollars. "This is a talking dog." He said. "Stop behaving stupidly," the neighbor replied, "how can a beast like that talk? Or you mean bark?" Suddenly, the dog looked up and said with tears in his eyes, "Please buy me, Sir. This man is mean. He keeps me in a barn and I have to sleep in a barrel. He feeds me only beans and never walks me to the bay, and the only toy I have is a waste battery. Basically speaking, he treats me like a beggar. On the basis of his behavior, I'm sure he'll abuse me with his baseball bat one day. And mind you, I hate his ugly beard. I used to be the richest trick dog in the country, and have the best bearing, too. I can jump over the highest barrier and barrel over any high beam. I attended the Animals Olympics on behalf of the country. I had so many fans who loved me so much that my body guards had trouble keeping them at bay." The dog beamed with pride.

"Hey," said the neighbor, "he can talk! How come you want to sell him for just five dollars?" "I'm selling him on my own behalf. I'm getting tired of his lies, which have a bearing on my kids, too, and wish he would only talk with a bark." the seller said.