08年7.24第64期托福英语学习：托福词汇64

　　Lesson 64 A Salty Story 有关盐的故事

　　Words:

　　depute v. 派。。。为代表或代理

　　deputy n. 代理人，代表；副手

　　derange vt. 扰乱，使精神错乱

　　deranged adj. 精神错乱的

　　derelict adj. 荒废的，被弃置的

　　deride v. 讥讽，嘲笑

　　derision n. 嘲笑

　　derivative n. 派生的事物，派生词

　　derive vt. 得到，获取；源于

　　derogatory adj. 不敬的，诽谤的

　　desalination n. 脱盐，去盐作用

　　descend v. 传下，遗传；下降

　　descendant n. 子孙，后裔

　　descent n. 下降；血统，世袭

　　desecrate v. 污染，亵渎

　　desert n. 沙漠; vt. 遗弃

　　deserted adj. 荒芜的，荒废的

　　deserve vt. 应得

　　desiccate v. （使）干涸，脱水

　　designate vt. 指定，任命

　　“I hereby depute you to handle my affairs during my absence,” announced my boss, as he handed me the keys. “I know that with you at the helm, I won’t need to worry about returning to a derelict business. Whatever you do, don’t let the stress derange your mind.”

　　“I’m already deranged, are you sure you want to designate me as your deputy?” I asked, deriding myself.

　　“Your attempt at derision will not deter me,” he replied with a laugh. “You deserve the promotion.” He gave me a par on the back and descended he stairs.

　　“Wow, ”I said to myself. “I can’t believe he left me in control of this desalination plant.”

　　We use a special process in this plant to derive fresh water from salt water. The derivative is good enough to drink, although I have heard some derogatory comments about the taste.

　　I have been told that I am a descendant of the person who came up with the idea for this process. He was of British descent. The story is that he ran out of water just after crossing a desert. At the edge of the desert, he came across a deserted church. There was no fresh water to be found, only a small well of salty desert water. Desperate for drinking water, he used holy objects to make a simple desalination device. The device was able to desiccate the salty water and to condense the moisture into drinkable water.

　　People say that God must have forgiven him for desecrating the holy objects. I think so too.