31_A_Lovable_Eccentric

31 A Lovable Eccentric

原文译文

True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.

Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town. He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life. He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.

Dickie disliked snobs intensely. Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot. Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella. One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower. He wanted to buy a ￡300 watch for his wife, but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him. Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag. As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter. The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely. When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag. It contained ￡300 in pennies. He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left--30, 000 pennies in all! On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings. This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press, for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie. It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.

真正古怪的人从不有意引人注意。他们不顾社会习俗，意识不到自己所作所为有什么特殊之处。他们总能赢得别人的喜爱与尊敬，因为他们给平淡单一的日常生活增添了色彩。

理查德·科尔森生前是我们镇上最有名望的人之一。他是个精明能干、有钱的商人，但镇上大部分人对他生活中的这一个方面几乎一无所知。大家都管他叫迪基。早在他去世前很久，他的古怪行为就成了传奇故事了。

迪基痛恨势利小人。尽管他有一辆豪华小轿车，但却很少使用，常常喜欢以步代车。即使大雨倾盆，他也总是拒绝带伞。一天，他遇上一场瓢泼大雨，淋得透湿。他走进一家高级商店，要为妻子买一块价值300英镑的手表。但店员见他浑身泥水的样子，竟不肯接待他。迪基二话没说就走了。一会儿，他带着一个大布口袋回到店里。布袋很沉，他重重地把布袋扔在柜台上。店员让迪基走开，他置之不理，并要求见经理。经理认出了这位顾客，表示非常抱歉，并严厉地训斥了店员。店员为迪基拿出了那块手表，迪基把布口袋递给他，口袋里面装着300镑的便士。他坚持要店员点清那些硬币后他才离去。这些硬币加在一起共有30,000枚！还有一次，他邀请一些著名评论家来参观他私人收藏的现代画。这次展览引起报界广泛注意，因为这些画名义上是名家的作品，事实上是迪基自己画的。他花了4年时间策划这出精心设计的闹剧，只是想证明评论家们有时并不了解他们所谈论的事情。

Words

• eccentrics /ɪkˈsɛntrɪks/ n. 古怪人
  1. The eccentric artist chose to live by painting and selling his artwork.
  2. The eccentrics are not easily influenced by peer pressure.
• deliberately /dɪˈlɪbərətli/ 故意地
• disregard /ˌdɪsrɪˈɡɑrd/ v. 漠视
  1. The officer ordered the soldiers to disregard their fear.
  2. You cannot disregard the fact that heart disease is the biggest killer in the western world.
• conventions /kənˈvɛnʃənz/ n. 习俗
  1. Mary felt obliged to wear a formal dress to the wedding because of social convention.（L1）
  2. Technically speaking, she followed the social convention and wore a formal dress to the wedding.
• conscious /ˈkɑnʃəs/ adj. 意识到的
  1. They are conscious that they have to sacrifice their personal interests for the success of the team.
  2. I was very conscious of the fact that I had to make a good impression.
• extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔrdəˌnɛri/ 非同寻常的
• invariably /ˌɪnˈvɛriəbli/ adv. 总是
  1. It gave me the impression that hard work invariably leads to success.
  2. The person [who works hard] invariably achieves their goals.
• shrewd /ʃrud/ adj. 精明的
  1. The shrewd businessman decided to stay for dinner with his potential clients.
• eccentricity /ˌɛksənˈtrɪsəti/ n. 怪癖
  1. The sad truth is that his eccentricity sometimes causes others to laugh at him. L23（N2L88&L82）
• legendary /ˈlɛdʒənˌdɛri/ adj. 传奇般的
  1. Visitors to the museum hope to catch sight of the legendary painting.
  2. The legendary singer should have retired after a long and successful career.
  3. The legendary detective was able to solve the problem of the missing diamond.
• snobs /snɑbz/ n. 势利小人
  1. The snob accidentally set the curtains on fire while trying to light a candle.
• bedraggled /bɪˈdræɡəld/ adj. 拖泥带水
  1. She was bedraggled when she came in because of the rain outside.
  2. I barely recognized the bedraggled figure who was standing in the rain.
• cloth /klɔθ/ 布
• apologetic /əˌpɑləˈdʒɛtɪk/ adj. 道歉
  1. She was apologetic about forgetting her friend's birthday on the same day.
  2. She was apologetic about accidentally breaking the vase, technically speaking.
• reprimanded /ˈrɛprəˌmændɪd/ v. 训斥
  1. He was reprimanded by a teacher for talking during class.
  2. The parent reprimanded their child for not doing their homework, I bet.
• stage /stedʒ/ v. n. 暗中策划
  1. There is no doubt that he staged this whole thing.
  2. You've staged an elaborate joke to capture my attention.
• elaborate /ɪˈlæbrət/ adj. 精心构思的
  1. The project manager was quick to make decisions and have an elaborate plan to finish the program on time.（L21）

Expressions

• disregard social conventions 无视社会习俗
• be conscious of (doing) something 意识到（做）某事
• sb. be conscious that + 句子 某人意识到……
• daily routine 日常事务
• dump sth. on sth. 把某物丢在某物上
• be apologetic about/for sth. 为某事道歉
• reprimand sb. for (doing) sth. 因（做）某事训斥某人
• elaborate plan/design/meal 精心安排的计划/设计/饭菜
• draw attention to sb. 引起对某人的注意
  1. The child requested to have ice cream and was impatient to eat it.
  2. The teacher requested the students to follow her instructions during the science experiment.
  3. The teacher requested the students to settle the argument by listening to each other's words.
• win sb. sth. 为某人赢得某物
  1. Her outstanding performance in the competition won her a gold medal as a result.
  2. She won her best friend a gift from her trip to Paris and they have kept in touch with each other ever since.
  3. add a. to b.
  4. Do you want to add your name to the list?
  5. The doctor advised her to add exercise to her daily routine for better health.
  6. You should add sugar to your coffee to make it sweeter, but please don't regard it as a healthy choice.
• add a. to b. 把 A 加到 B 上
• up to the time of sth. 到……的时候
  1. She continued to care for her father up to the time of his death.
  2. Up to the time of his death, he had dedicated his life to helping others.
  3. Up to the time of his death, he consistently reminded his children to look both ways before crossing the street for their own protection.
• go on foot 步行
  1. After finishing my work, I like to go on foot to the nearby park.
  2. It is disturbing to think that we have to go on foot.
  3. We decided to go on foot and give our friend a surprise visit at their workplace.
• be caught in 被困在……中；遇上
• sb. request to do sth. 某人请求做某事
  1. The child requested to have ice cream and was impatient to eat it.
  2. The teacher requested the students to follow her instructions during the science experiment.
  3. The teacher requested the students to settle the argument by listening to each other's words.
• present sb. with sth. 把某物赠送给某人
• invite sb. to do sth. 邀请某人做某事
  1. I wouldn't invite my boss to talk about my ideas during the meeting, for he tends to lose his temper easily.
  2. The company invited customers to try their new product in order to make a profit.