06_Smash-and-Grab

06 Smash-and-Grab¶

The expensive shops in a famous arcade near Piccadilly were just opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr. Taylor, the owner of a jewellery shop was admiring a new window display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since 8 o'clock and had only just finished. Diamond necklaces and rings had been beautifully arranged on a background of black velvet. After gazing at the display for several minutes, Mr. Taylor went back into his shop.

The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its horn blaring, roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jeweller's. One man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stockings over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with iron bars. While this was going on, Mr. Taylor was upstairs. He and his staff began throwing furniture out of the window. Chairs and tables went flying into the arcade. One of the thieves was struck by a heavy statue, but he was too busy helping himself to diamonds to notice any pain. The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantastic speed. Just as it was leaving, Mr.Taylor rushed out and ran after it throwing ashtrays and vases, but it was impossible to stop the thieves. They had got away with thousands of pounds worth of diamonds.

Words¶

arcade /ɑrˈked/ 有拱廊的街道
jewellery /ˈdʒuəlrɪ/ 珠宝
velvet /ˈvɛlvət/ 天鹅绒
horn /hɔrn/ 喇叭
blaring /ˈblɛrɪŋ/ 声音响亮
roared /rɔrd/ 怒吼
smashed /smæʃt/ 打碎
helping /ˈhɛlpɪŋ/ himself /hɪmˈsɛlf/ to /tu/ 自取
raid /red/ 抢劫
scrambled /ˈskræmbəld/ 迅速而吃力地爬
fantastic /fænˈtæstɪk/ 极高的
ashtrays /ˈæʃˌtrez/ 烟灰缸
vases /ˈvesəz/ 花瓶

Expressions¶

smash sth. to pieces 把某物砸得粉碎
grab a beer/coffee 喝杯啤酒/咖啡
go to the arcade 去游乐场
background music 背景音乐
scrambled eggs 炒鸡蛋
at a fantastic speed 以惊人的速度
That’s fantastic. 太棒了
only just… 勉强……；刚刚……
come to a stop… 停下
be too busy doing sth. to do sth. 太忙于做某事而无暇做另一件事
money + worth of + n. 价值……钱的东西