The price of an affluent society

      "An affluent society cannot afford advocates of its own destruction. A society that can destroy itself is an aggravated society suffering from an ailment that needs to be cured."

      These were the thoughts of the secret agent as he prepared to afflict harm on Hamilton Smith, the leader of a prominent government advisory committee. Mr. Smith was determined to affect the course of history by affirming a new order. He wanted to destroy all that was good and begin again with how he thought a country should run.

      This agenda was unacceptable to the top-secret agency that really ruled the country. And it was this agency that found an agreeable agent to sacrifice himself for his country by murdering Hamilton Smith in front of the world. The affluence of all would only continue thanks to this agent, even though there would never be any affection for his memory or any desire to be affiliated with his tainted name.

      As he hung from the bars of the ceiling of the conference hall, the agent was glad he was an aerobics teacher in his spare time. Without all of his physical training this task would have been pure agony. He smiled when he imagined the world's reaction to his killing Hamilton Smith. There was a certain aesthetic that only a few would appreciate.

      As he looked down he could see that people were agglomerating around Hamilton Smith already as he was entering the room. This aggregation of people was a problem but there was nothing the agent couldn't deal with. It would make the event even more impressive. When he finally saw Hamilton's head he pulled his gun up to aim. It was show time!

                              富裕社會付出的代價

    “一個富裕的社會是承受不起自我毀滅的倡導者的，能自我毀滅的社會一般都病情惡化，需要整治。”

    特工一邊這樣想，一邊做著力口害漢密爾頓·史密斯的準備。史密斯是大名鼎鼎的政府顧問委員會的領導，他一心想通過肯定一種新秩序來影響歷史進程，他要把一個好端端的社會摧毀掉，按照他的治國思想從頭再來。

    對于真正統治整個國家的絕密情報處來說這個議程是無法接受的。正是這個情報處找了個合適的特工來為國捐軀、當著世人的面刺殺漢密爾頓·史密斯。多虧了這名特工，大家的富裕生活將一如既往，盡管到時人們想起他時誰也不會有任何感情，誰也不愿意將自己與他的惡名聯系在一起。

    懸吊在會議大廳天花板的橫梁上，特工慶幸自己在業余時間做過有氧健身教師。如果沒有那些體能訓練，執行這項任務就會變得十分痛苦。想到世界對自己刺殺漢密爾頓·史密斯將會做出的反應，他不由笑了起來。這件事有種只有少數人會欣賞的美感。

    特工朝下一看，發現漢密爾頓·史密斯走進房間的時候，人們早巳將他圍成一團。那么多人聚在那里是夠麻煩的，但是沒有這位特工搞不定的事情。這將使整個事件更加引人注目。等到他終于看到漢密爾頓的腦袋，他拔出槍來進行瞄準。是表演的時候啦!

單詞詳解

advisory  a.1顧問的,咨詢的 2.勸告的;忠告的
advocate           v.擁護,提倡,主張 n.用戶者,提倡者,鼓吹者
aerobic   a.生存于氧氣中的,需氧的 2.爭氧健身法 n.(~s)(用作單或復)增氧健身法
aesthetic   a.1美學的,美感的 2.審美的,具有審美趣味的 n.1美感，美學標準的,美學 2(~s)美學,美學理論
affect   v.影響
affection   n.1.慈愛,喜愛 2.愛慕,鐘愛之情
affiliate   v.是緊密聯系,使隸屬(或附屬)于 n.成員;分會;附屬機構
affirm   v.斷言,堅決聲稱;批準
afflict   v.使苦惱,折磨
affluence   n.富裕;豐富,大量的
affluent   a.富裕的;豐富的,富饒的
afford    v.1(常在can,be able to后)買得起,負擔得起(...的費用、損失、后果等)2.提供，給予，出產
agency    n.代理行；專業行政部門；公共服務機構
agenda   n.儀事日程
agent   n.代理人，代理商；政府特工人員；(化)劑
agglomerte  v.(使)成團;使結塊;(使)凝聚
aggravate  v.加重,加劇,是惡化
aggregation   n.聚集;聚集物，集成物
agony   n.痛苦
agreeable  a.令人愉快的；(欣然)同意的;合適的
ailment   n.疾病