Lesson 28 Five pounds too dear五鎊也太貴
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Why was even 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 decide 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 &10, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for &8. I shook my head and held up a finger indicating that I was willing to pay a pound. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer out-rageous, but he eventually reduced the price to &3. 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 pound 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 im-possible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single word !
參考譯文
當一艘大型班船進港的時候，許多小船載著各種雜貨快速向客輪駛來。大船還未下錨。小船上的人就紛紛爬上客輪。一會兒工夫，甲板上就擺滿了色彩斑斕的 波斯地毯。印度絲綢。銅咖啡壺以及手工制作的漂亮的銀器。要想不為這些東西所動心是很困難的。船上許多游客開始同商販討價還價起來，但我打定主意上岸之前 什么也不買。
我剛下船，就被一個人截住，他向我兜售一枚鉆石戒指。我根本不想買，但我不能掩飾這樣一個事實：其鉆石之大給我留下了深刻的印象。有的鉆石像玻璃球那么大。那人竭力想證明那鉆石是真貨。我們路過一家商店時，他將一顆鉆石使勁地往櫥窗上一按，在玻璃上留下一道深痕。我花了半個多小時才擺脫了他的糾纏。
向我兜售的第二個人是賣名貴鋼筆和手表的。我仔細察看了一枝鋼筆，那看上去確實不假，金筆帽下方整齊地刻有“美國制造”字樣。那人說那支筆值50英鎊，作 為特別優惠，他愿意讓我出30英鎊成交。我搖搖頭，伸出5根手指表示我只愿出5鎊錢。那人激動地打著手勢，仿佛我的出價使他不能容忍。但他終于把價錢降到 了10英鎊。我聳聳肩膀掉頭走開了。一會兒，他突然從后追了上來，把筆塞到我手里。雖然他絕望地舉起雙手，但他毫不遲疑地收下了我付給他的5鎊錢。在回到 船上之前，我一直為我的絕妙的討價還價而洋洋得意。然而不管我如何擺弄，那枝漂亮的鋼筆就是吸不進墨水來。直到今天，那枝筆連一個字也沒寫過！
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
wares
n. 貨物，商品
anchor
v. 停航下錨
deck
n. 甲板
silverware
n. 銀器
tempt
v. 吸引；引誘
bargain
v. 討價還價
disembark
v. 下船上岸
assail
v. 糾纏
marble
n. 小玻璃球
inscribe
v. 刻寫，雕
favour
n. 好處，優惠
gesticulate
v. （講話時）打手勢
outrageous
adj. 出人預料的；令人不悅的
thrust
v. 硬塞給
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed，我剛剛一下船就被一人糾纏住了。no sooner...than... 作"剛…就..."講。
2 go to great lengths to do sth.,竭力做某事。
3 get rid of,擺脫。
4 as a special favour，作為一種特殊的優惠。
5 throw up his arms in despair，絕望地舉起雙手。
Lesson 28 課后練習和答案Exercises and Answer
