11_Not_Guilty

11 Not Guilty

原文译文

Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.

'Have you anything to declare?' he asked, looking me in the eye.

'No,' I answered confidently.

'Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please? '

'Not at all,' I answered.

The Officer went through the case with great care. All the things (I had packed so carefully) were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.

'Perfume, eh?' he asked sarcastically. 'You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty. '

'But it isn't perfume, I said. 'It's hair gel. ' Then I added with a smile, 'It's a strange mixture (I make myself).

As I expected, he did not believe me.

'Try it!' I said encouragingly.

The Officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted by an unpleasant smell (which convinced him that I was telling the truth). A few minutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.

现在的海关官员往往相当宽容。但是，当你通过绿色通道，没有任何东西需要申报时，他们仍可以拦住你。甚至是最诚实的人也常弄得觉得有罪似的，而老练的职业走私犯却使手提箱里藏着500只金表，却也处之泰然。最近一次，我也出国归来，碰上一位特别好管闲事的年轻海关官员，他显然把我当成走私犯。

"您有什么需要申报的吗？"他直盯着我的眼睛问。

"没有。"我自信地回答说。

"请打开这只手提箱好吗？"

"好的。"我回答说。

那位官员十分仔细地把箱子检查了一遍。所有细心包装好的东西一会儿工夫就乱成一团。我相信那箱子再也关不上了。突然，我看到官员脸上露出了得意的神色。他在我的箱底发现了一只小瓶，高兴地一把抓了起来。

"香水，嗯？"他讥讽地说道，"你刚才应该申报，香水要上进口税的。"

"不，这不是香水，"我说，"是发胶。"接着我脸带微笑补充说："这是一种我自己配制的奇特的混合物。"

果然不出所料，他并不相信我。

"你就闻一闻吧！"我催促说。

海关官员拧开瓶盖，把瓶子放到鼻子底下。一股怪味袭来，使他相信了我说的真话。几分钟后，我终于被放行，手提划着宝贵的粉笔记号的行李，匆匆离去。

Words

• Officers /ˈɔfəsɚz/ 海关官员
• tolerant /ˈtɑlərənt/ adj. 宽容的
  1. He is tolerant of those who don’t agree with him.
  2. They learn to be tolerant of other people.
  3. I'm a tolerant man but your behaviour is more than I can bear.
• declare /dɪˈklɛr/ v. 申报
  1. Do you have anything to declare?
  2. If you have nothing to declare, go through the green channel.
  3. He should have declared that new computer.
• guilty /ˈɡɪlti/ adj. 有罪的,内疚的
  1. Imagine Leo’s dismay when he found that John had a guilty look on his face.
  2. Leo has proved that he is guilty.
  3. If I didn't apologize, I'd feel guilty.
  4. I feel really guilty about forgetting her birthday again.
• hardened /ˈhɑrdənd/ adj. 老练的
  1. If you describe someone as hardened, you mean that they have had so much experience of something bad or unpleasant that they are no longer affected by it in the way that other people would be.
  2. We don’t know how he became a hardened criminal.
  3. It is disturbing to think that a hardened criminal is still at large in the city.
• smuggler /ˈsmʌɡlɚ/ n. 走私者
  1. If you had hired a real smuggler instead of Andy, we would have got that diamond.
  2. Mr. Pan is said to be a smuggler.
  3. The smuggler realized to his horror that the police was waving to him.（L10）
• officious /əˈfɪʃəs/ adj. 爱管闲事的
  1. No body likes him in the company, for he’s an officious little man.
  2. I moved because I can't stand the officious landlord any more.
  3. I’m glad that the officious little man has finally left.
• dreadful /ˈdrɛdfəl/ adj. 糟糕的
  1. They were reluctant to tell us the dreadful news.
  2. It was Leo who told me a dreadful story.
  3. She is such a dreadful woman that no one is willing to help her.（N2L35）
• pounced /paʊnst/ v. 突袭
  1. She pounced at the phone when it rang because she was worried about her husband.
  2. We hid behind the bushes, and ready to pounce on the smugglers.
  3. The puma knows when to pounce.
• delight /dɪˈlaɪt/ 高兴
• Perfume /pɚˈfjum/ n. 香水
  1. Can I borrow some of your perfume?
  2. All these perfume have one thing in common.
  3. Leo realized to his horror that he had just broken his girlfriend’s favorite perfume.
• sarcastically /sɑrˈkæstɪkli/ adv. 讽刺地
  1. “Oh great,” he said sarcastically.
  2. Jane discovered that John was smiling sarcastically at her.
  3. "Thanks so much for your help, " Tim said sarcastically.
• exempt /ɪɡˈzɛmpt/ adj. 免除
  1. He was exempted from military service.
  2. Charities are exempted from paying the tax.
  3. Some students are exempt from certain exams.
• duty /ˈduti/ n. 进口税
  1. He bought his wife some duty- free perfume.
  2. I bought you something in the duty free (shop).
  3. Jane realized to his horror that all the duty free shops were closed.
• gel /dʒɛl/ n. 发胶
  1. This kind of hair gel is very popular among young people.
  2. He was too embarrassed to buy the hair gel.
• unscrewed /ʌnˈskrud/ v. 拧开
  1. I can't unscrew the top of this jar - it's really tight. - Cambridge He provided me with a bottle of water, but I can't unscrew the cap.
  2. Leo was relieved to hear that they managed to unscrew the cap.（N2L84&L67）
• nostrils /ˈnɑstrəlz/ n. 鼻孔
  1. They call me gorilla L, for my nostrils look quite big.
  2. Your nostrils always move when you lie.
  3. They were instructed to put the bottle to their nostrils.
• convinced /kənˈvɪnst/ 说服
• chalk /tʃɔk/ n. 粉笔
• baggage /ˈbæɡədʒ/ n. 行李
  1. Leo realized to his horror that he couldn’t find his baggage.
  2. I'm gonna have the baggage sent out later.
  3. I'll meet you in baggage claim.

Expressions

• be made to do 被迫做某事
  1. I was made to wait four hours before I was examined by a doctor.
  2. Jim was made to work all night by his boss.
  3. We were made to attend meetings every day.
• on the other hand 另一方面
• light up 点亮；露出喜色
• be greeted by something 被某物迎接