08年7.8第48期托福英语学习：托福词汇48

　　Lesson 48 The Speech演讲

　　Words:

　　conservation n. 保存，保持

　　conservative adj. 保守的，谨慎的；守旧的

　　conservatism n. 保守主义，守旧性

　　conservatory n. 音乐学院

　　conserve vt. 保存，保藏

　　considerable adj. 相当大（或多的）；值得考虑的；相当可观的

　　considerate adj. 考虑周到的，体贴的

　　consideration n. 体谅，考虑

　　consistent adj. 一致的，稳定的

　　console vt. 安慰，慰藉

　　consolidate v. 巩固；合并

　　consonant adj. 协调一致的，符合的

　　consort vi. 陪伴，结交

　　consortium n. 协会，联盟，（国际）财团

　　conspicuous adj. 显著的，显眼的，引人瞩目的

　　conspiracy n. 阴谋

　　conspire v. 共谋，阴谋

　　constant adj. （恒久）不变的，持续的；一再重复的

　　constellation n. 星座；灿烂的一群

　　consternation n. 惊愕，惊惶，失措

　　It was the morning of my speech and I was a bit nervous. I took my daughter to the conservatory for her music lessons before going to the meeting. She wore a conspicuous red dress with stars in the form of a constellation. Her style was consonant with her personality. I looked her in the eye and said, “I don’t want you to consort with those students who were suspended from school last week, okay?”

　　“Okay dad,” she replied. “Don’t worry about your speech,” she added. “You’ve already spent considerable time on it. I know you’ll do well.”

　　“That’s very considerate of you to be thinking about my speech,” I replied. “You may need to console me later with a Big Mac from McDonalds.”

　　When I arrived at the meeting, the room was already full of conservative people. I wasted no time and walked up to the podium to start my speech. “We need to consolidate our efforts to conserve our natural resources,” I said, maintaining a constant forceful tone. “But conservation alone will not solve the problems facing our country. The oil companies conspire every year to increase the price of oil. They create consternation by claiming that our supply is running short. It is a conspiracy to keep the prices higher than they should be. We need to form a consortium to give thorough consideration to this serious problem. Big changes may be needed and we should not let our conservatism hold us back. We should also be prepared to maintain a consistent and unified position on the issue.”

　　My speech continued for another 15 minutes and ended to the sound of loud applause. “Whem, I’m glad it’s over,” I mumbled to myself. “Forget the Big Mac, I need a beer.”