新概念英语第三册课文:Lessons 58 A spot of bother 一点儿小麻烦

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新概念英语第三册课文:Lessons 58 A spot of bother 一点儿小麻烦

The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home. In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, bothwere forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open. She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when sheremembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks. She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out. Looking into the drawing room, she sawa scene of confusion over by her writing desk. It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence. Her first impulse was to go round allthe rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from his basement. By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup ofvery strong tea, while he telephoned the police. Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off withthe porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.

They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints. The chaos was inconceivable. She had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over. At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her. Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat. The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony. There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers. So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed. 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. The old lady thought he was a fussy creature, 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.

New Words and Expressions 生词和短语

lift (1. 3) /lift/n. 电梯

prudent (1. 13) /'pru:dənt/ adj. 谨慎的

monstrous (1. 7) /'mɔnstrəs/ adj. 极大的，可怕的

composure (1. 15) /kəm'pəu'ʒə/ n. 镇静，沉着

negligence (1. 7) /'neglid'ʒəns/ n. 粗心大意

intruder (1. 16)/in'tru:də/n. 入侵者(尤指欲行窃者)

lurk(1. 16) /lə:k/ v.潜藏

toss(1. 19) /tɔs/ v.扔

hinder(1. 17) /'hində/ v.妨碍

discard(1. 20) /dis'ka:d/ v.丢弃

fingerprint(1. 18) /'fiŋgə,print/ n.指纹

constable(1. 21) /'kænstəbəl/ n.警察

chaos(1. 18) /'kei-ɔs/ n.混乱，无秩序

ransack(1. 22)/'rænsæk/v.洗劫

inconceivable (1. 18) /'inkən'si:vəbəl/ adj.不可思议的

balcony(1. 24) /'bælkəni/n.阳台

veritable(1. 19) /'veritəbəl/ adj.真正的;地地道道的

fussy(1. 28) /'fʌsi/adj.大惊小怪的;小题大作的

magpie(1. 19) /'mægpai/n.喜欢收藏物品的人

Notes on the text 课文注释

1 with every step of the way home，这里介词 with引起的短语作状语，表示“随……(情况发生某种变化)”。

2 her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest，她只想着午餐和好好休息。

3 reprimand sb.for…，因为……而训斥某人。

4 yet following her regular practice，然而按照她的惯例。

这是现在分词短语作方式状语，修饰 had shut。

5 as clear as daylight，十分清楚。

6 it might be more prudent to have someone with her，有人陪伴她可能更谨慎一些。

it是形式主语，不定式短语 to have someone with her是真正的主语。

7 being careful to touch nothing是现在分词短语作方式状语，修饰 went through。

8 skeleton key，万能钥匙。

参考译文

老妇人回到了她居住的公寓楼，心里很高兴。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。她乘上电梯后，只想着午餐和好好休息一下。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。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。但突然她记起来了，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。她慢慢地走进前厅，立即发现所有的房门都敞开着，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。她往起居室里看去，写字台边一片狼藉。事情很清楚，在她外出时，窃贼曾闯进家门。她第一个条件反射是到各个房间里搜寻一下窃贼，但转念一想，像她这个年纪，最好是找个人一起去。于是她到地下室去找看门的人。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。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。

他俩搜遍了每一个房间，小心翼翼地不接触任何东西，因为他们怕妨碍警察寻找指纹。房间里的紊乱状况是无法想像的。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。看来她的每一件东西都被翻了出来，并且被里里外外看了个遍。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。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。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。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。巡官没有发现指纹，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。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。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。老妇人觉得巡官大惊小怪，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。

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