2007年1月4日星期四

NewConceptEnglishIII_011:Not guilty

       Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.
       'Have you anything to declare?' he asked, looking me in the eye.
       'No', I answered confidently.
       'Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please?'
       'Not at all,' I answered.
       The Officer went through the case with great care. All the thing I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
        'Perfume, eh?' he asked sarcastically. 'You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty.'
        'But it isn't perfume,' I said. 'It's hair gel.' Then I added with a smile, 'It's a strange mixture I make myself.'
        As I expected, he did not believe me.
        'Try it!' I said encouragingly.
        The officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth. A few minutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.

       现在的海关官员往往相当宽容。但是,当你通过绿色通道,没有任何东西需要申报时,他们仍可以拦住你。甚至是最诚实的人也常弄得觉得有罪似的,而老练的职业走私犯却使手提箱里藏着500只金表,却也处之泰然。最近一次,我也出国归来,碰上一位特别好管闲事的年轻海关官员,他显然把我当成走私犯。 
      “您有什么需要申报的吗?”他直盯着我的眼睛问。
      “没有。”我自信地回答说。
      “请打开这只手提箱好吗?”
      “好的。”我回答说。
       那位官员十分仔细地把箱子检查了一遍。所有细心包装好的东西一会儿工夫就乱成一团。我相信那箱子再也关不上了。突然,我看到官员脸上露出了得意的神色。他在我的箱底发现了一只小瓶,高兴地一把抓了起来。  “香水,嗯?”他讥讽地说道,“你刚才应该申报,香水要上进口税的。”
      “不,这不是香水,”我说,“是发胶。”接着我脸带微笑补充说:“这是一种我自己配制的奇特的混合物。”   
      “你就闻一闻吧!”我催促说。
      海关官员拧开瓶盖,把瓶子放到鼻子底下。一股怪味袭来,使他相信了我说的真话。几分钟后,我终于被放行,手提划着宝贵的粉笔记号的行李,匆匆离去。

1. 单词
(1)tolerant
英[ˈtɒlərənt] 美[ˈtɑ:lərənt]
adj.  宽容的; 容忍的,忍受的; 能在困难条件下生存(或操作)的(植物、动物或机器); 能耐…的;
(2)harden
英[ˈhɑ:dn] 美[ˈhɑ:rdn]
vt.  使硬化; 使经得起考验; 使无情; 使轮廓鲜明;
vi.  变硬或更硬; 变稳定; 变习惯;
(3)smuggler
英[ˈsmʌglə(r)] 美[ˈsmʌɡ(ə)lər]
n.  走私者; 走私船;
(4)suitcase
英[ˈsu:tkeɪs] 美[ˈsutˌkes]
n.  手提箱; 衣箱;
(5)officious
英[əˈfɪʃəs] 美[əˈfɪʃəs]
adj.  过分殷勤的,爱管闲事的,爱显示权力的;
adv.  过分殷勤地;
n.  过分殷勤,爱管闲事;
(6)pounce
英[paʊns] 美[paʊns]
vi.  突袭,猛扑; 掌握,抓住;
vt.  扑过去抓住;
n.   猛扑; 爪;
(7)perfume
英[ˈpɜ:fju:m] 美[pərˈfju:m]
n.   香水; 香料; 香味,香气;
vt.  使…充满香气; 喷香水于…;
(8)sarcastically
英[sɑ:'kæstɪklɪ] 美[sɑrˈkæstɪkəlɪ]
adv.  讽刺地,挖苦地;
(9)exempt
英[ɪgˈzempt] 美[ɪɡˈzɛmpt]
vt.   使免除,豁免;
adj. 被免除的,被豁免的;
n.  被免除(义务,责任)的人; 免税人;
(10)hair gel
英[dʒel] 美[dʒɛl]
n.    凝胶,冻胶; 定型发胶;
vi.    形成胶体; 胶化;
(11)mixture  
英[ˈmɪkstʃə(r)] 美[ˈmɪkstʃɚ]
n.    混合,混杂; 混杂的事物[人群]; 混合(状态);
(12)unscrew 
英[ˌʌnˈskru:] 美[ʌnˈskru]
vt.& vi.    从…旋出螺丝,旋开,松开;
(13)cap 
英[kæp] 美[kæp]
n.   盖; 帽子; 军帽; 求交运算;
vi.  脱帽致意;
vt.  覆盖; 给…戴帽;
(14)nostril 
英[ˈnɒstrəl] 美[ˈnɑ:strəl]
n.  鼻孔; 鼻孔内壁;
(15)greet 
英[gri:t] 美[ɡrit]
vt.    打招呼; 欢迎,迎接; 致敬,致意; 映入眼帘(景象,声音等);

2. 短语
(1)light up   
照亮; 点烟; 开街灯或车灯; 变得喜悦(使);
(2)pounce on
n.  突然的袭击,猛扑的动作;
v.  猛扑向;
(3)exempt from import duty
免除进口税

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