Fishing for girls(down)

“Didn’t see any, didn’t catch any,

” replied Howard.

“Well, did you catch any women?”

“No. And don’t even ask how many

beauties I saw at the pool. I didn’

t go to any bars(酒吧). But I did go

to a Mongolian all-you-can-eat

place and had a good dinner.

I think one of the waitresses liked me.

She asked me if I wanted extra ketchup(番茄酱).”

“Well, I hope you said yes. Any time

a woman asks you if you want extra

anything, that’s female code(代码).

It means they like you.”

“I said no. There was a whole bottle

right in front of me.”

“Well, you blew it. I don’t know

when you’re going to learn to pick

up on those signals(信号). Next time

I’ll go with you and show you all the tricks.”

“If you knew all the tricks, you wouldn’t

be divorced(离婚) three times.”

notes:I have learn many words in this story.

Fishing for girls(up)

Wednesday night, Howard asked

Glenn if he wanted to go fishing

and girl-watching that weekend

at Santa Fe Lake. “We’ll leave

Friday morning and return late

Sunday night,” he said. Glenn said

he had to clean out his garage(车库),

so Howard went by himself.

Howard had also planned to lie

around the hotel pool, soak

(浸泡)up the sun, read a good book,

and look at pretty women in their

bathing suits. His own apartment

didn't have a pool, so whenever he

traveled(旅行), he always liked to

stay at a place with a pool. But when

he arrived at the hotel about noon,

he saw that there were no pretty girls

at the pool. There were no girls

at all. There was nobody at the pool,

because the pool was empty. It was

being repaired all that week.

The staff(职员) had “forgotten” to tell

Howard this little detail(细节).

Howard called Glenn late Friday night.

“How was the fishing?” Glenn asked.

notes:哈哈......活该白跑一堂。

He Goes to War to Save His Baby(down)

The line was busy, but he kept

calling and finally got through.

He was worried that the jobs were

all taken, but they told him plenty

(丰足) of jobs were still available.

They said they would give him two

weeks of training in Texas. Then they

would fly him to Iraq for his assignment(任务).

Roland told Sheila he had to take this job.

He knew it was dangerous; he might

get injured or killed, but the money

was too good. Plus, the family

would have full medical benefits(好处),

which would enable the baby to get

the care she needed. Roland said

if he survived(生存) the first year, he would probably sign up for the bonus and a second year.

Sheila was worried. She asked,

“What if you get killed? What are we

going to do without you?”

“You can’t think like that, honey,”

he said. “You’ve got to think positive.

Think about how well off we’ll be in two

or three years after I bring back all

that money. This is the best thing

I could do for this family.”

Sheila hugged him and sobbed(呜咽).

“I don’t want you to go.”

Roland flew to Houston five days later.

感想:Ronald is very great.

He Goes to War to Save His Baby(up)

Roland was a carpenter in Virginia.

He and Sheila had three kids—

two boys and baby Jessica.

The baby had been in and

out of the hospital for the last

year because of infections(传染)

and other problems. She was very

weak and sick. The doctors were not

confident(确信) that she would live another year.

Taking care of Jessica was expensive.

The family was deep in debt(债务).

Roland, an independent(独立)

subcontractor(转承包商), had medical

(医疗) insurance(保险), but he had very

high deductibles(可扣除).

Things were bad. Roland saw no

light at the end of this tunnel(隧道).

Then he saw an ad in the newspaper:

“Security(安全)guards/contract workers

wanted. $100,000 a year. First

$80,000 tax free. $20,000 bonus

for extending(延伸)contract an extra year.”

He called the number.

notes:Roland is pitiful.

Problems at home(下)

All she wanted to do was relax.

Her life was one problem after another.

Her husband had just lost his job.

Her only child had dropped out of high school.

Even worse, he had left home.

He told Emily he would call from time to time.

But he hadn't called in two weeks.

She was worried sick.

She didn't know where he was.

She didn't know if he was dead or alive.

Her husband said she shouldn't worry.

He had done the same thing when he was 17.

But when he found out that life

on the road wasn't as easy as

he thought it was, he returned home

and got his high school diploma(文凭).

notes:Emily was very pitiful.

Problems at home(上)

Emily sat down on the sofa.

She took off her shoes.

She put her feet on the coffee table.

She leaned(倾斜) back.

She picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

It was 6 o'clock.

The news was on three channels.

She didn't want to see the news.

The news depressed her.

It was usually about accidents and murders(谋杀).

There was too much bad news on the TV news.

She found a talk show to watch.

It was Ellen. She liked Ellen.

Ellen was a comedian(喜剧演员).

She told good jokes.

She showed animals doing funny things.

She gave expensive gifts to her fans occasionally(偶尔地).

This show was a rerun, because

Ellen's "live" show was usually on at 4 o'clock.

But that didn't matter to Emily.

notes:this story telling

about Emily likes to watch Ellen

but dislikes watch news.

Stepmother Kills Herself (down)

“Your little girl is making up stories

about me. I try to love her, but she

rejects(废弃物) me,” Castle told Dwayne.

An autopsy(验尸) was inconclusive

(非决定性), and the death was ruled

accidental. Dwayne divorced(离婚)

Castle shortly thereafter(尔后).

But the case was reopened(再开)

recently(最近) when a playmate(游伴)

of Dorothy’s came forward. Beverly

Lisenby, also seven at that time, said

she was about to knock on the door

of Dorothy’s house that fateful(重大)

day. But instead(反而) of knocking,

she listened quietly as she heard

Dorothy screaming for help and Castle

telling her to shut up. Beverly listened

until it was silent inside, then ran back

home. She was so shaken(震动)by

the event that she had told no one

in all these years.

The coroner(验尸官) dug(开掘) up

Dorothy’s body and did a second autopsy.

Using new crime-solving(罪行解决) tools,

he determined(坚定) that Dorothy had been

struck(触击) in the skull(头骨) several(数)

times by a rock the size of a baseball.

The police are now trying to locate Dwayne

to tell him the good news.

notes:this story is telling

about a stepmother suicide.