our years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.

new words and expressions 生词和短语

lovable

adj. 可爱的

eccentric

n. （行为）古怪人

disregard

v. 不顾，漠视

convention

n. 习俗，风俗

conscious

adj. 感觉到的，意识到的

invariably

adv. 总是，经常地

routine

n. 常规；惯例

shrewd

adj. 精明的

eccentricity

n. 怪僻

legendary

adj. 传奇般的

snob

n. 势利小人，谄上欺下的人

intensely

adv. 强烈地

bedraggled

adj. 拖泥带水的

dump

v. 把……砰的一声抛下

apologetic

adj. 道歉的

reprimand

v. 训斥

stage

v. 暗中策划

elaborate

adj. 精心构思的

参考译文

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，表示了深深的歉意，还严厉地训斥了店员。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解他们所谈论的事情。

lesson 32

a lost ship

一艘沉船

listen to the tape then answer the question below.

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

did the crew of the elkor find what they were looking for? why?

the salvage operation had been a complete failure. the small ship, elkor, which had been searching the barents sea for weeks, was on its way home. a radio message from the mainland had been received by the ship's captain instructing him to give up the search. the captain knew that another attempt would be made later, for the sunken ship he was trying to find had been carrying a precious cargo of gold bullion.

despite the message, the captain of the elkor decided to try once more. the sea bed was scoured with powerful nets and there was tremendous excitement on board went a chest was raised from the bottom. though the crew were at first under the impression that the lost ship had been found, the contents of the chest proved them wrong. what they had in fact found was a ship which had been sunk many years before.

the chest contained the personal belongings of a seaman, alan fielding. there were books, clothing and photographs, together with letters which the seaman had once received from his wife. the captain of the elkor ordered his men to salvage as much as possible from the wreck. nothing of value was found, but the numerous items which were brought to the surface proved to be of great interest. from a heavy gun that was raised, the captain realized that the ship must have been a cruiser. in another chest, which contained the belongings of a ship's officer, there was an unfinished letter which had been written on march 14th, 1943. the captain learnt from the letter that the name of the lost ship was the karen. the most valuable find of all was the ship's log book, parts of which it was still possible to read. from this the captain was able to piece together all the information that had come to light. the karen had been sailing in a convoy to russia when she was torpedoed by an enemy submarine. this was later confirmed by naval official at the ministry of defiance after the elkor had returned home. all the items that were found were sent to the war museum.

new words and expressions 生词和短语

salvage

v. 救助，营救；打捞

barents

n. 巴伦支（海）

sunken

adj. 沉没的

cargo

n. 货物

bullion

n. 金条；银条

scour

v. 彻底搜索

chest

n. 大箱子

contents

n. （复数）所装的东西

belongings

n. （复数）所有物

item

n. 物件

cruiser

n. 巡洋舰

find

n. 找到的物品

log book

航海日志

piece

v. 拼成整体

convoy

n. 护航

torpedo

v. 用鱼雷攻击

submarine

n. 潜水艇

naval

adj. 海军的

ministry

n. （政府的）部

参考译文

打捞工作彻底失败了。小船“埃尔科”号在巴伦支海搜寻了几个星期之后，正在返航途中。返航前，该船船长收到了大陆发来的电报，指示他们放弃这次搜寻。船长知道日后还会再作尝试，因为他试图寻找的沉船上载有一批珍贵的金条。

尽管船长接了电报，他还是决定再试一试。他们用结实的网把海床搜索了一遍。当一只箱子从海底被打捞上来时，甲板上人们激动不已。船员们开始认为沉船找着了，但海底沉箱内的物品证明他们弄错了。事实上，他们发现的是另一艘沉没多年的船。

木箱内装有水手艾伦.菲尔丁的私人财物，其中有书箱、衣服、照片以及水手收到的妻子的来信。“埃尔科”号船长命令船员们尽量从沉船中打捞物品，但没发现什么值钱的东西，不过打捞出来的众多的物品还是引起了大家极大的兴趣。从捞起的一门大炮来看，船长认为那艘船一定是艘巡洋舰。另一只海底沉箱中装的是船上一位军官的财物，其中有一封写于1943年3月14日的信，但没有写完。从这封信中船长了解到沉船船名是“卡伦”号。打捞到的东西中最有价值的是船上的航海日志，其中有一部分仍然清晰可读。据此，船长可以将所有的那些已经搞清的材料拼凑起来。“卡伦”号当年在为其他船只护航驶往俄国的途中突然遭到敌方潜水艇鱼雷的袭击。这一说法在“埃尔科”号返航后得到的国防部一位海军官员的证实。那次打捞到的所有物品均被送往军事博物馆。

lesson 33

a day t remember

难忘的一天

listen to the tape then answer the question below.

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

what incident began the series of traffic accidents?

we have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. a day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. what invariably