Lesson 31 A lovable eccentric可愛的怪人
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Why did the shop assistant refuse to serve Dickie?
True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town. He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life. He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
Dickie disliked snobs intensely. Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot. Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella. One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower. He wanted to buy a $300 watch for his wife, but he was in such a bedraggled condition than an assistant refused to serve him. Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag. As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter. The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely. When Dickie was given the watch, the presented the assistant with the cloth bag. It contained $300 in pennies. He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left -- 30,000 pennies in all! On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings. This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press, for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie. It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
參考譯文
真正古怪的人從不有意引人注意。他們不顧社會習俗，意識不到自己所作所為有什么特殊之處。他們總能贏得別人的喜愛與尊敬，因為他們給平淡單一的日常生活增添了色彩。
理查德.科爾森生前是我們鎮上最有名望的人之一。他是個精明能干、有錢的商人，但鎮上大部分人對他生活中的這一個方面幾乎一無所知。大家都管他叫迪基。早在他去世前很久，他的古怪行為就成了傳奇故事了。
迪基痛恨勢利小人。盡管他有一輛豪華小轎車，但卻很少使用，常常喜歡以步代車。即使大雨傾盆，他也總是拒絕帶傘。一天，他遇上一場瓢潑大雨，淋得透濕。他走進一家高級商店，要為妻子買一塊價值300英鎊的手表。但店員見他渾身泥水的樣子，竟不肯接待他。迪基二話沒說就走了。一會兒，他帶著一個大布口袋回到 店里。布袋很沉，他重重地把布袋扔在柜臺上。店員讓迪基走開，他置之不理，并要求見經理。經理認出了這位顧客，表示了深深的歉意，還嚴厲地訓斥了店員。店員為迪基拿出了那塊手表，迪基把布口袋遞給他，口袋里面裝著300鎊的便士。他堅持要店員點清那些硬幣后他才離去。
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
lovable
adj. 可愛的
eccentric
n. （行為）古怪人
disregard
v. 不顧，漠視
convention
n. 習俗，風俗
conscious
adj. 感覺到的，意識到的
invariably
adv. 總是，經常地
routine
n. 常規；慣例
shrewd
adj. 精明的
eccentricity
n. 怪僻
legendary
adj. 傳奇般的
snob
n. 勢利小人，諂上欺下的人
intensely
adv. 強烈地
bedraggled
adj. 拖泥帶水的
dump
v. 把……砰的一聲拋下
apologetic
adj. 道歉的
reprimand
v. 訓斥
stage
v. 暗中策劃
elaborate
adj. 精心構思的
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 set out to do sth，打算，企圖做某事。
2 draw attention to…，作“引起對...的注意”講。
3 without being conscious that...，沒有意識到...。
這是介詞短語作狀語，be conscious that…作“意識到...”解。
4 This invariably wins them the love and respect of others.這常常贏來人們對他們的愛戴和尊敬。
win sb. sth.，作“使某人獲得某事(物)”講。
5 add…to，把...添加到...。
6 this side of his life，他生活中這方面的情況。
這里指的是He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman.
7 be caught in，作“突然遇上、碰上”講。
8 Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic…
由于經理認出這個顧客是誰了，便竭力陪禮道歉……。這句話用現在分詞短語作原因狀語，most在這里起加強語氣的作用，相當于very。
9 insisted on the assistant's counting 堅持讓店員點清。
insist on后接動名詞，the assistant's是動名詞的邏輯主語。
Lesson 31 課后練習和答案Exercises and Answer
