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!
当一艘大型班船进港的时候，许多小船载着各种杂货快速向客轮驶来。大船还未下锚。小船上的人就纷纷爬上客轮。一会儿工夫，甲板上就摆满了色彩斑斓的波斯地毯、印度丝绸、铜咖啡壶以及手工制作的漂亮的银器。要想不为这些东西所动心是很困难的。船上的许多游客开始同商贩讨价还价起来，但我打定主意上岸之前什么也不买。
我刚下船，就被一个人截住，他向我兜售一枚钻石戒指。我根本不想买，但我不能掩饰这样一个事实：其钻石之大给我留下了深刻的印象。有的钻石像玻璃球那么大。那人竭力想证明那钻石是真货。我们路过一家商店时，他将一颗钻石使劲地往橱窗上一按，在玻璃上留下一道深痕。我花了半个多小时才摆脱了他的纠缠。
向我兜售的第二个人是卖名贵钢笔和手表的。我仔细察看了一枝钢笔，那看上去确实不假，金笔帽下方整齐地刻有"美国制造"字样。那人说那支笔值50英镑，作为特别优惠，他愿意让我出30英镑成交。我摇摇头，伸出5根手指表示我只愿出5镑钱。那人激动地打着手势，仿佛我的出价使他不能容忍。但他终于把价钱降到了10英镑。我耸耸肩膀掉头走开了。一会儿，他突然从后追了上来，把笔塞到我手里。虽然他绝望地举起双手，但他毫不迟疑地收下了我付给他的5镑钱。在回到船上之前，我一直为我的绝妙的讨价还价而洋洋得意。然而不管我如何摆弄，那枝漂亮的钢笔就是吸不进墨水来。直到今天，那枝笔一个字也没写过！
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