28_Five_Pounds_Too_Dear

28 Five Pounds Too Dear¶

Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour. Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware. It was difficult not to be tempted. Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarked.

I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring. I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds. Some of them were as big as marbles. The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real. As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass. It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.

The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches. I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the words 'made in the U.S.A.' had been neatly inscribed. The man said that the pen was worth ￡50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for ￡30. I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay ￡5. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to 10 pounds. Shrugging my shoulders I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the ￡5 I gave him. I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain--until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single word!

Words¶

wares /wɛrz/ 货物
anchored /ˈæŋkɚd/ 停航下锚
decks /dɛks/ 甲板
rugs /rʌɡz/ 地毯
silks /sɪlks/ 丝绸
copper /ˈkɑpɚ/ 铜
silverware /ˈsɪlvɚˌwɛr/ 银器
bargaining /ˈbɑrɡɪnɪŋ/ 讨价还价
disembarked /ˌdɪsɛmˈbɑrkt/ 下船上岸
assailed /əˈseld/ 纠缠
conceal /kənˈsil/ 隐瞒
marbles /ˈmɑrbəlz/ 玻璃球
genuine /ˈdʒɛnjəwən/ 真实的
inscribed /ˌɪnˈskraɪbd/ 雕刻
favour /ˈfevɚ/ 优惠
Gesticulating /dʒɛˈstɪkjəˌletɪŋ/ 打手势
outrageous /aʊˈtredʒəs/ 出乎意料的
eventually /ɪˈvɛntʃəwəli/ 最终
thrust /θrʌst/ 硬塞

Expressions¶

on the deck 在甲板上
tempt somebody into doing something 引诱某人做某事
tempt somebody to do something 引诱某人做某事
be tempted to do something 忍不住做某事
bargain with sb. 与某人讨价还价
make a bargain with... 达成协议
be assailed by sb. 被某人纠缠/攻击
be inscribed on something 刻在某物上
as a special/personal favor (to sb.) 作为（给某人的）特别恩惠
do me a favor 帮我一个忙
it is outrageous (that) 太离谱了太不像话了
thrust sth. into sw. (my hands) 把某物塞进（我手里）
speed to sw. 快速前往某地
sb. have no intention of doing sth. 某人无意做某事
I can’t conceal the fact that + 句子我不能隐瞒这个事实
sb. be impressed by sth. 某人对某物印象深刻
go to great lengths to do sth. 竭尽全力做某事
prove that + 句子证明……
get rid of sb. 摆脱某人
at the base of sth. 在某物的底部
let me have it 把它给我吧
indicate that + 句子表明……
reduce the price to $ 把价格降到……美元
keep doing sth. 一直做某事
keep on doing sth. 继续做某事
throw up one’s arms ... 举起双臂
get back to sw. 回到某地
fill a. with b. 用 B 装满 A
to this day 至今