A Vermont man who during his lifetime
foraged for wood and held down jobs as a
janitor and at a filling station, has left his local hospital and library $6million (￡3.95 million).
美國(guó)佛蒙特州一位老人的一生非常普通，曾在加油站工作過(guò)，后來(lái)又在商場(chǎng)做看門人，可他去世后遺產(chǎn)竟達(dá)到600萬(wàn)美元，而且還把這些錢全部捐給了當(dāng)?shù)氐尼t(yī)院和圖書館。
易詞解詞（BY 摩西）
janitor n.看門人；守衛(wèi)；門警。Janus是羅馬神話中的門神，具有前后兩個(gè)面孔或四方四個(gè)面孔。羅馬士兵出征時(shí)，都要從象征Janus的拱門下穿過(guò)，后來(lái)歐洲各國(guó)的凱旋門形式都是由此而來(lái)。January一月是因其承前啟后、辭舊迎新的作用而得名。
The
bequest from Ronald Read, who died last June, aged 92 has stunned residents of Brattleboro, Vermont.
這位老人名叫羅納德·里德，他于去年6月份去世，享年92歲，他的這份巨額遺產(chǎn)讓佛蒙特州布拉特爾伯勒市的居民們震驚不已。
易詞解詞（BY 摩西）
Vermont n.佛蒙特州。美國(guó)東北部新英格蘭地區(qū)一州，名字由兩部分組成：ver+mont，ver-，verd-詞根表示綠色（植物），-mont部分同mountain，因此字面意思是“綠山”，因其境內(nèi)有The Green Mountains綠山山脈得名。美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間愛(ài)國(guó)者Thomas Young（這家伙非常狠，是參與波士頓傾茶事件中唯一沒(méi)有裝扮成印第安人并因此而幾乎被英國(guó)處死的愛(ài)國(guó)者）提議將此州叫做“綠山”之州。再如單詞verdure n.翠綠。
Little did they know that the man whose clothes were held together by safety pins was a remarkably adroit stock market investor.
大家只知道他是個(gè)著裝普通、生活節(jié)儉的人，卻不知道他其實(shí)是個(gè)股票投資高手。
Rather than a sharp suit he usually sported the traditional New England attire of a flannel shirt and baseball cap.
羅納德不像其他的投資人一樣經(jīng)常西裝革履，他平時(shí)總是身穿格子襯衫、頭戴棒球帽。
He drove an old Toyota Yaris which he would leave away from the centre of town rather than pay to park.
他開(kāi)著一輛老式豐田雅力士，為了省下停車費(fèi)還總是將車停在離市中心很遠(yuǎn)的地方。
羅納德的節(jié)儉是出了名的。曾有一位女士給他織了頂帽子才幫他度過(guò)了新英格蘭的嚴(yán)冬。
She even bought some old fence wiring from him, because she thought he could do with the money.
這位女士甚至還向他買過(guò)一些舊的圍欄線，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得他需要錢。
But life had always been tough for Mr Read, who was a widower after his wife died in 1970.
事實(shí)上，羅納德生活確實(shí)一直比較艱難，他的妻子于1970年過(guò)世。
As a child he walked four miles each way to school and then after his military service in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific, he worked at a filling station for 25 years and then spent another 17 as a janitor at a branch of J.C Penney, a department store.
小的時(shí)候，羅納德每次都要步行四英里才能到學(xué)校，之后他曾在北非、意大利、太平洋等地區(qū)服兵役，他曾在一家加油站工作了25年，之后在一家商場(chǎng)里做了17年的看門人。
The only hint that there might have been a bit more to Mr Read than met the eye was that his chosen newspaper was the Wall Street Journal.
唯一能夠讓人會(huì)覺(jué)得他和股票投資有關(guān)系的地方就是他?？础度A爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》。
According to Laurie Rowell, the lawyer administering his estate, his fortune grew steadily thanks to his
shrewd stock market strategy.
據(jù)羅納德的遺產(chǎn)管理律師勞里·羅厄爾說(shuō)，羅納德生前所做的投資大幅升值，所以他的資產(chǎn)不斷上升。
"He had two lifelong hobbies: investing and cutting wood," she added.
勞里說(shuō)：“他一生最大的愛(ài)好有兩個(gè)：投資和砍柴?！?/div>
Philip Brown, Mr Read’s stepson, knew nothing of his wealth.
羅納德的繼子菲利普·布朗對(duì)于羅納德的巨額財(cái)富完全不知情。
“I was tremendously surprised,'’ he said. “He was a hard worker, but I don't think anybody had an idea that he was a multi-millionaire.’’
“我非常驚訝?！彼f(shuō)，“他工作很努力，但我想估計(jì)沒(méi)人會(huì)想到他其實(shí)是個(gè)百萬(wàn)富翁?！?/div>
The bequests of $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and $1.2 million to the town’s library are the largest both institutions have ever had.
在羅納德600萬(wàn)美元的遺產(chǎn)中，他將480萬(wàn)美元捐給了伯瑞特波羅紀(jì)念醫(yī)院，另外120萬(wàn)美元捐給了當(dāng)?shù)氐膱D書館。這兩筆捐款是兩家機(jī)構(gòu)迄今為止收到過(guò)的數(shù)額最大的捐款。
