08年5.29第八期托福英语学习：托福词汇8

　　Words:

　　alignment n. 成一条直线；直线排列；队列；联合，联盟

　　alike adj. 相同的，相似的

　　allege v. 宣称，主张，断言

　　allegory n. 寓言

　　alleviate v. 缓和，减轻

　　alliteration n. 头韵

　　alloy n. 合金；vt. 使成合金

　　allude v. 间接提到，暗指

　　allure v. 引诱 n. 诱惑，吸引

　　ally n. 联盟，同盟者

　　aloft adv. 在高处；在空中

　　aloof adj. 远离的，冷淡的，漠不关心的

　　alter vt. 改变，修改

　　alteration n. 变更，改造

　　alternate adj. 交替的，轮流的；替代的，另选的；vi. 轮流，交替

　　alternative adj. （两种或以上的东西中）另一可选的，另外的；n. 可选事物，另一选择

　　altitude n. (海拔）高度

　　altruism n. 利他主义

　　altruistic adj. 利他的，无私的

　　alumnus n. 男校友

　　Yesterday, I decided to get my pants altered. I had $200 in my wallet, which was more than enough for the alteration. Foolishly however, I got lost taking an alternate route to the tailor shop. Fortunately, I had aspirin to alleviate my headache.

　　Walking further, I noticed a red balloon aloft, rising to the higher altitude. It distracted me, causing me to bump into two young brothers. They look alike but seemed opposite in personality. One was clearly aloof but the other appeared to be an altruistic individual. He could sense I was lost and happily gave me directions. Such altruism is so rare there days. What an ally he can be to a lost person! The contrast in their personalities reminded me of the biblical allegory of Cain and Abel. But it would be too hasty to allege such a contrast given that I didn't really know them.

　　I continued on my way but was allured into a bike shop by a windown photo of a lovely girl on a mountain bike. Below the photo, it said, "ride rough, ride real," a clever alliteration. I felt there was no alternative but to enter the shop.

　　The ower was an alumnus from my university. He alluded that the best bike for me would be the $200 bike that was displayed in the window photo. It was made out of a special lightweight alloy. He also offered to adjust my tire alignment for free.

　　Well, I didn't make it to the tailor that day. But I did ride home on a new bike. As for my pants? Well, the bike shop owner cut the pant legs off for free. Now I have a cool pair of shorts for riding.