歌词
--- lesson 58 A spot of bother
一点儿小麻烦
--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
^听录音，然后回答以下问题。
--- What did the old lady find when she got home?
The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived.
^老妇人回到了她居住的公寓楼，心里很高兴。
Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home.
^去商店买东西把她搞得筋疲力尽；在回家的路上，她每走一步，就感到手里的篮子又重了一点。
In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest;
^她乘上电梯后，只想着午餐和好好休息一下。
but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open.
^但她到了自己的楼层走出电梯后，就把这两件事忘了个干净，因为她突然发现她家的大门开着。
She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence,
^她心想明天上午一定要好好训斥那个干家务的帮手，她竟如此疏忽大意。
when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks.
^但突然记起来了，帮手是在她出去买东西之前走的，她还记得曾用了两把钥匙把大门锁上了。
She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open,
^她慢慢地走进前厅，立即发现所有的房门都敞开着，
yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out.
^而她记得在出门买东西前，她按老规矩是把房门一一锁上的。
Looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk.
^她往起居室里看去，写字台边一片狼籍。
It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence.
^事情很清楚，在她外出时，窃贼曾闯进家门。
Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves,
^她第一个条件反射是到各个房间里搜寻一下窃贼，
but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her,
^但转念一想，像她这个年纪，最好是找个人一起去。
so she went to fetch the porter from his basement.
^于是她到地下室去找看门的人。
By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police.
^这时她两腿累得开始发抖，于是坐了下来，喝了一杯浓茶。与此同时，看门的人给警察挂了电话。
Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.
^此刻老妇人也镇定了下来，准备在看门人的协助下搜寻可能仍躲藏在她房里的窃贼。
They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing,
^他俩搜遍这每一个房间，小心翼翼地不接触任何东西，
as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints.
^因为他们怕妨碍警察寻找指纹。
The chaos was inconceivable.
^房间里的紊乱状况是无法想像的。
She had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding;
^老妇人在这套公寓里住了30年，她又是个名副其实的收藏家。
and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over.
^看来她的每一件东西都被翻了出来，并且被里里外外看了遍。
At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her.
^这样一来，她倒是容易将那些几年前就该扔掉的东西找出来了。
Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat.
^过了一会儿，一位巡官带着一名警察来了。她向他们讲述了发现公寓遭劫的经过。
The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced,
^巡官开始搜寻指纹，警察经检查发现大门锁头并无撬过的迹象。
thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony.
^由此可以证明，窃贼或者是用了万能钥匙，或者是翻越阳台进来的。
There was no trace of fingerprints,
^巡官没有发现指纹，
but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers.
^却发现了一个装有珠宝的、肮脏的红包袱。老妇人说那不是她的。
So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed.
^很明显，闯进这套公寓的窃贼那天并不是首次作案，而且他一定是受了惊吓。
The inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights.
^巡官请老妇人在次日之前设法查清丢了些什么，并劝她几夜之内不要独自一人在公寓过夜。
The old lady thought he was a fussy creature,
^老妇人觉得巡官大惊小怪，
but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.
^但既然看门人也同意他的意见，她只得打电话向女儿求援，说她碰到了一点儿小麻烦。
专辑信息