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初级英语听力 lesson 12

时间:2005-06-14 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:cuiyfa   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

    People think that all solicitors1 are rich and prosperous. In any town there are, of course, rich and prosperous solicitors, but there are also solicitors like me. I am neither rich nor prosperous. I have an office over a fish and chip shop, for which I pay an exorbitant2 rent, and two rather inefficient3 secretaries.
    I suppose it is because my premises4 are in the less fashionable part of the town, but my clients always seem to have enormous problems and miserable5 incomes. Mr. Pollard was exactly that sort of client. He was a small, untidy little man, with a large head and round, old-fashioned spectacles.
    "I have a problem," he began nervously6, "I bought this house, you see. I got a mortgage from the building society, but then I lost my job, so I got behind with the payments." He gave me the details. It appeared that he owed eleven payments of fifty pounds, and had no job and no money. Not surprisingly the building society had written to say they intended to take possession of the house; sell it, and thus get back their money.
    "What would happen if they sold it for less than I paid?" he asked. "Would I get back any money?"
    "Probably not," I replied.
    "Would you mind telephoning the building society?" he pleaded, "and see if they could possibly give me a little more time?"
    "If you're not earning any money, how will more time help?" I asked. He looked at me hopelessly.
    In the end the house was sold. The building society debt was paid off and Mr. Pollard got sixty pounds.
    Everybody agrees I'm just ordinary. My face is ordinary, my voice is ordinary, my clothes are ordinary. Everything about me is ordinary. 'What's Frank like?' they say. 'Frank? Oh—you know, ordinary.' they say. Now look at that man two rows in front. He's not ordinary. In fact I can't see anybody apart from me who is. Even this fellow next to me. Quite ordinary on the whole, I suppose. But there's something a bit ... something a bit odd about his mouth. Mustn't catch his eye. Might start a conversation. Don't want that. Interesting that he was just in front of me in the queue.
They looked in his bag, they looked in his pockets—made him take his shoes off even. Mm—they've nearly finished with the food—though she didn't take my glass when she collected my tray. Ah—she's pressed her button again. Probably wants another gin and tonic7. Had four already. Or is it five? Not bad, though. At least not in this light. Good—some of them are getting their blankets down now. I reckon that in about half an hour it'll all be quiet. And then ... Of course they looked in my briefcase8 too. Didn't look here, though, did they? Oh, no. Hah! Though they think otherwise, I know very well who those two in the back row are. Noticed them when I went to the toilet. But they won't shoot. Not as long as I have this in my hand, they won't. And it's so small. Marvellous what they can do these days. Just about now, if I were sitting in funny mouth's seat and not by the aisle—just about now, I could probably look down and see the mountains gleaming in the moonlight. I like that. Mm. Well, now I must go over my speech again. Mustn't forget what my demands are, must I?
    Well, I think that this problem of teenagers getting into trouble with the law is mainly caused by unemployment. You see, because of the high level of unemployment, so many teenagers nowadays leave school and find that they have no chance of getting a job, and this obviously makes them feel bored and frustrated9. And as a result of this, they're much more likely to get drunk and so on. Another thing of course is that you get groups of unemployed10 teenagers wandering around the streets with nothing to do, which can easily lead to trouble of one sort or another.

1. At the third stroke, the time sponsored by Accurist will be twelve one and fifty seconds.
2. The code for Didcot has been changed. Please dial 05938 and then the number.
3. In the train crash in India, three hundred and twenty-five people are feared dead.
4. The 3.45 at Ascot was won by Golden Dove, ridden by Willie Carson.
5. Well, um, for a trip like that, we are speaking in the region of, er, two thousand eight hundred pounds a head.
6. Er, Celtic three, Manchester City nil11, Queen's Park Rangers12 two, Motherwell United one.
7. In New York, the Dow Jones Index fell by point four to a low of two oh six four point eight. While in London, the FT Index rose eight points to one seven nine four point three.
8. That'll be sixty-eight p, please.
9. The, er, latest figures show an increased profit of seventy-eight thousand, nine hundred and fifty-six pounds.
10. And how can we continue like this with unemployment running at three million, two hundred and fifty thousand. It really is unaccept ...
11. Yes, we can give you a special rate of, er, five point six eight per cent.
12. We'll have to adjust all our figures by an eighth.
13. Well, that's your choice. Eleven pounds forty-five for this one, fourteen pounds, or fifteen pounds ninety-nine.
14. So, it's two thousand three hundred and ninety-eight plus two thousand four hundred and eighty-nine plus two thousand four hundred and sixty three. I'll just total that up for you.
Woman: So, you'll take the cream at three pounds five, the pills are four pounds thirty and then, um, this if fifty-five p. That's seven pounds ninety-five.
Man: Sorry. I think perhaps it's seven pounds ninety.
Woman: Is ten pounds all right?
Man: Yeah, that's fine. It comes to six pounds thirty-five. Your change.
Woman: Thanks.
Man: Can I help you, sir?
Woman: Oh, just a minute, I think you've given ...
Man: Oh, I am sorry. Of course. Here you are.
    Well, we met at a party in London. You see, I'd just moved to London because of my job and I didn't really know anybody, and one of the people at work had invited me to this party and so there I was. But it was one of those boring parties, you know everybody was just sitting in small groups talking to people they knew already, and I was feeling really bored with the whole thing. And then I noticed this rather attractive girl sitting at the edge of one of the groups, and she was looking bored too, just about as bored as I was. And so we started, um, we started looking at each other, and then I went across and we started talking. And as it turned out she'd only just arrived in London herself so we had quite a bit in common—and well that's how it all started really.

—What's the matter with you, then? You look miserable.
—It's us.
—What do you mean "us"?
—Well, we used to talk to each other before we were married. Remember?
—What do you mean? We're talking now, aren't we?
—Oh, yes, but we used to do so much together.
—We still go to the cinema together, don't we?
—Yes, but we used to go out for walks together. Remember?
—Oh, I can remember. It's getting wet in the rain.
—And we used to do silly things, like running bare foot through the park.
—Yes. I remember. I used to catch terrible colds. Honestly, you are being totally ridiculous.
—But we never used to argue. You used to think I was wonderful. Once ... (sound of the door opening) Where are you going?
—Back to live with my parents. That's something else we used to do before we were married. Remember?
    Not long ago I was invited out to dinner by a girl called Sally. I had only met Sally twice, and she was very, very beautiful. I was flattered. "She likes me," I thought. But I was in for a disappointment.
    "I'm so sorry we asked you at such short notice," she said when I arrived, "but we suddenly realised there were going to be thirteen people at the table, so we just had to find somebody else."
    A superstition13. Thirteen. The unlucky number. Recently I came upon a little group of worried people, gathered round a man lying on the pavement beside a busy London road. They were waiting for an ambulance, because the man had been knocked down by a passing taxi. Apparently14 he had stepped off the pavement and into the street, to avoid walking under a ladder.
    They say this superstition goes back to the days when the gallows15 were built on a platform. To get up on to the platform you had to climb a ladder. To pass under the shadow of that ladder was very unlucky ...
    Other superstitions16 are not so easily explained. To see a black cat in England is lucky. But if you see a black cat in India, it is considered very unlucky. There too, if you are about to set out on a long journey, and someone sneezes, you shouldn't go.
    Break a mirror—you will have seven years' bad luck. Find a four-leafed clover, you will have good luck. Just crazy superstitions, of course.
    I have an African friend. One day he said to me: "If ever an African says to you that he is not superstitious17, that man is a liar18."
    Perhaps that is true of all of us.
    This is Lethbridge's description of a ghost near Hole House.
    One of the first incidents happened near to our home in Devon. One Sunday morning my wife and I were standing19 on the hill and looking at Hole Mill, which belongs to Mrs. N. I sat down and admired the view. After a time I heard a motorbicycle start up and I saw the paperman riding off and, as I watched, I saw Mrs. N come out from behind the Mill. She was dressed in a bright blue sweater and had on dark blue tartan trousers and a scarf over her head. She looked up, saw me and waved. I waved back. At this moment a second figure appeared behind Mrs. N and perhaps a meter from her. She stood looking up at me. Mrs. N went back behind the Mill and the other woman followed. I did not know her. She looked about sixty-five to seventy years old, was taller than Mrs. N and rather thin. Her face appeared to be tanned and she had a pointed20 chin. She was dressed in a dark tweed coat and skirt and had something which looked like a light grey cardigan beneath her coat. Her skirt was long. She had a flat-crowned and wide-brimmed round hat on her head. The hat was black and had white flowers around it. She was, in fact, dressed as my aunts used to dress before the First World War. She didn't look like the sort of person who was likely to be staying at Hole Mill today. Later we were leaning over a gate, admiring some calves21, when we saw Mrs. N alone. 'Oh,' said my wife, disappointed. 'We were expecting to see two of you.' 'How is that?' asked Mrs. N. 'I have only seen you and the paperman all morning.'


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1 solicitors 53ed50f93b0d64a6b74a2e21c5841f88     
初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
  • The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森,要求赔偿。
2 exorbitant G7iyh     
adj.过分的;过度的
参考例句:
  • More competition should help to drive down exorbitant phone charges.更多的竞争有助于降低目前畸高的电话收费。
  • The price of food here is exorbitant. 这儿的食物价格太高。
3 inefficient c76xm     
adj.效率低的,无效的
参考例句:
  • The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
  • Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。
4 premises 6l1zWN     
n.建筑物,房屋
参考例句:
  • According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定,场内不准饮酒。
  • All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行,不用送到外面去做。
5 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
6 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
7 tonic tnYwt     
n./adj.滋补品,补药,强身的,健体的
参考例句:
  • It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
  • Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。
8 briefcase lxdz6A     
n.手提箱,公事皮包
参考例句:
  • He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
  • He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。
9 frustrated ksWz5t     
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
参考例句:
  • It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
  • The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 unemployed lfIz5Q     
adj.失业的,没有工作的;未动用的,闲置的
参考例句:
  • There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
  • The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。
11 nil 7GgxO     
n.无,全无,零
参考例句:
  • My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
  • Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。
12 rangers f306109e6f069bca5191deb9b03359e2     
护林者( ranger的名词复数 ); 突击队员
参考例句:
  • Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗? 来自超越目标英语 第3册
  • Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者,所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
13 superstition VHbzg     
n.迷信,迷信行为
参考例句:
  • It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
  • Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。
14 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
15 gallows UfLzE     
n.绞刑架,绞台
参考例句:
  • The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
  • Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。
16 superstitions bf6d10d6085a510f371db29a9b4f8c2f     
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
  • Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。
17 superstitious BHEzf     
adj.迷信的
参考例句:
  • They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
  • These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。
18 liar V1ixD     
n.说谎的人
参考例句:
  • I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了,一个又偷又骗的家伙!
  • She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。
19 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
20 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
21 calves bb808da8ca944ebdbd9f1d2688237b0b     
n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子,腓;腿肚子( calf的名词复数 );牛犊;腓;小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 );(冰川)崩解;生(小牛等),产(犊);使(冰川)崩解
参考例句:
  • a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
  • The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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