While a Division Superintendent1 of a railway was attending closely to his business of placing obstructions2 on the track and tampering3 with the switches he received word that the President of the road was about to discharge him for incompetency4.
“Good Heavens!” he cried; “there are more accidents on my division than on all the rest of the line.”
“The President is very particular,” said the Man who brought him the news; “he thinks the same loss of life might be effected with less damage to the company’s property.”
“Does he expect me to shoot passengers through the car windows?” exclaimed the indignant official, spiking5 a loose tie across the rails. “Does he take me for an assassin?”
How Leisure Came
A Man to Whom Time Was Money, and who was bolting his breakfast in order to catch a train, had leaned his newspaper against the sugar-bowl and was reading as he ate. In his haste and abstraction he stuck a pickle-fork into his right eye, and on removing the fork the eye came with it. In buying spectacles the needless outlay6 for the right lens soon reduced him to poverty, and the Man to Whom Time Was Money had to sustain life by fishing from the end of a wharf7.
1 superintendent | |
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长 | |
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2 obstructions | |
n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 );阻碍物;阻碍;阻挠 | |
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3 tampering | |
v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄 | |
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4 incompetency | |
n.无能力,不适当 | |
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5 spiking | |
n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 );偷偷地给某人的饮料加入(更多)酒精( 或药物);把尖状物钉入;打乱某人的计划 | |
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6 outlay | |
n.费用,经费,支出;v.花费 | |
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7 wharf | |
n.码头,停泊处 | |
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