Lesson24 The Assignment 任务

　　Words:

　　bidding n. 投标；命令，要求

　　bigoted adj. 固执己见的，偏执的，顽固的

　　bilateral adj. 两边的，双边的

　　bill n. 账单，发票；（细长或扁平的）鸟嘴；议案，法案；钞票，钱币

　　billion n./adj. 10亿（的）

　　biography n. 传记

　　biological diversity 生物多样性

　　biologist n. 生物学家

　　bison n. 美洲或欧洲的野牛

　　bitter adj. 令人痛苦的；尖酸、刻薄的

　　bizarre adj. 指（态度、容貌、款式等）奇异的，古怪的

　　blackmail vt. 勒索，讹诈

　　blame vt. 谴责，责备；n. 过失，责备

　　bland adj. 淡味的，无味的

　　blanket n. 毯子；厚的覆盖物

　　blasphemous adj. 亵渎神灵的，不敬神的

　　blast furnace 鼓风炉

　　blast off (火箭、航天飞机等)发火起飞，发射上天

　　blaze vi. 燃烧，照耀

　　blazing adj. 炽烧的，闪耀的

　　His eyes blazed with excitement. “I’ve got an important assignment for you,” he said, as he glanced back down at a newspaper. “The leaders of our nation have just signed a bilateral travel treaty with the isolated country of Bandu on the African continent, and I want you to go down there right away to do research for a biography.”

　　The research my boss wanted was for a biography about Bob Boon. Boon was a brilliant biologist who was somewhat bigoted when it came to discussing politics or religion. He was known for making blasphemous statements. He spent most of his adult years studying animals in the country of Bandu. He was one of the first scientists to successfully track the migratory patterns of the bison. Boon was also a strong advocate for maintaining biological diversity.

　　My boss pays me quite well to do his bidding. He owns a billion-dollar publishing company, and when he sets his mind on doing a story, he doesn’t care about the bill.

　　So here I am in Bandu, surrounded by bizarre animals and bitter food. Frankly, I’d rather eat bland food. It’s freezing here at night and my blanket doesn’t keeping me warm. During the day, it is as hot as a blast furnace. Last week, the blazing sun caused a fire that blazed out of control for several days.

　　I hate these assignments to remote areas. But I always end up accepting the job. It’s not as though I was blackmailed into coming here. I have no one to blame but myself. I just hope that my next assignment doesn’t require that I blast off to the moon!