歌词
--- lesson 28 Five pounds too dear
五磅也太贵
--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
^听录音，然后回答以下问题。
--- Why was even five pounds 'too dear'?
Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour.
^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。
Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board
^大船还未下锚。小船上的人就纷纷爬上客轮。
and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware.
^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。
It was difficult not to be tempted.
^要想不为这些东西所动心是很困难的。
Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen,
^船上的许多游客开始同商贩讨价还价起来，
but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarked.
^但我打定主意上岸之前什么也不买。
I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.
^我刚下船，就被一个人截住，他向我兜售一枚钻石戒指。
I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.
^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。
Some of them were as big as marbles.
^有的钻石像玻璃球那么大。
The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real.
^那人竭力想证明那钻石是真货。
As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass.
^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。
It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
^我花了半个多小时才摆脱了他的纠缠。
The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches.
^向我兜售的第二个人是卖名贵钢笔和手表的。
I examined one of the pens closely.
^我仔细察看了一枝钢笔，
It certainly looked genuine.
^那看上去确实不假，
At the base of the gold cap, the words 'made in the U.S.A' had been neatly inscribed.
^金笔帽下方整齐地刻有“美国制造”字样。
The man said that the pen was worth ￡50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for ￡30.
^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。
I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay $5.
^我摇摇头，伸出5根手指表示我只愿出5镑钱。
Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to $10.
^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。
Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands.
^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。
Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the $5 I gave him.
^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。
I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain -- until I got back to the ship.
^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。
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!
^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，那枝笔连一个字也没写过！
专辑信息