The Resourceful Landlord

足智多谋的地主

A kind landlord was afraid that he would lose his apartment building. He needed to make some mandatory repairs to the old building, or his tenants would have to leave by the end of the month. Without tenants to lease the rooms, the landlord would be unable to pay his mortgage. He'd be bankrupt, and the bank would take his building.

一位好心的房东担心他会失去他的公寓大楼。他需要对那栋旧建筑进行一些强制性的修缮，否则他的房客们将不得不在月底前搬走。如果没有房客来租这些房间，房东将无法支付他的抵押贷款。他会破产，银行会拿走他的房子。

But he didn't have the money whereby he could employ the personnel needed to make the repairs. It would seem like he did not want to conform to the city's codes before the forthcoming inspection. He had requested an extension, but it was denied by the city.

但是，他没有足够的钱来雇用修理人员。在检查之前不修好意味着他不想遵守城市的规章制度。他曾要求延期，但被市政府拒绝了。

He held a meeting with his tenants and explained the unfortunate situation. "If the building does not meet the appropriate standards for safety and hygiene," he said, "the city will expel everyone."

他和房客们开了个会，解释了这个不幸的情况。“如果这栋建筑不符合适当的安全和卫生标准，”他说，“市政府将驱逐所有人。”

The tenants were all sad for the kind old man. 房客们都为这位好心的老人感到难过。

Maybe we can help, the hairdresser who lived on the first floor stated. The other tenants agreed.

“也许我们能帮上忙，”住在一楼的理发师说。其他房客也同意了。

One tenant had worked for the city's utilities. He knew a lot about plumbing, so that's how he helped. Another tenant was a carpenter; he mended the holes in the floor and walls. Others cleaned the building from top to bottom so that it was more hygienic. They even furnished some of the apartments with new beds, dressers, and chairs. When they were done, all of the people dispersed, and the landlord went home to rest.

一位租户曾在该市的公用事业部门工作。他对管道系统很了解，所以他就帮了忙。另一个房客是个木匠;他修补了地板和墙壁上的洞。其他人把大楼从上到下打扫干净，这样更符合卫生要求。他们甚至为一些公寓添置了新床、梳妆台和椅子。吃完饭，所有的人都散了，地主也回家休息去了。

When the deadline of the inspection arrived, the apartment building was hygienic and safe. The landlord couldn't believe it. His old building now looked like one of the trendiest buildings in town. The building passed its inspection, and the landlord and the tenants had a big party.

检查到来时，公寓大楼变得卫生又安全。房东简直不敢相信。他的旧建筑现在看起来是城里最时髦的建筑之一。大楼通过了检查，房东和房客举行了一个盛大的聚会。

Thank you all so much, the landlord said during the party. "I could never have done it by myself. But by working together, we now all have a beautiful place to live."

“非常感谢大家，”房东在晚会上说。“我一个人永远做不到。但通过共同努力，我们现在都有了一个美丽的地方居住。”

核心单词表

bankrupt adj. 破产的

conform v. 使遵守

employ v. 雇用

expel v. 驱逐

extension n. 延长

forthcoming adj. 即将来临的

furnish v. 布置

hygiene n. 卫生

hygienic adj. 卫生的

landlord n. 地主

lease v. 出租

mandatory adj. 强制的

mend v. 修理

mortgage n. 抵押

personnel n. 全体人员

plumbing n. 管道系统

tenant n. 承租人

trendy adj. 时髦的

utility n. 公共设施

whereby conj. 凭借

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