A happy discovery幸運(yùn)的發(fā)現(xiàn)
Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people. The more expensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place. But no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop. There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors.
No one discovers a rarity by chance. A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something when he sees it. To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer. Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.
My old friend, Frank Halliday, is just such a person. He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere £50. One Saturday morning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood. As he had never been there before, he found a great deal to interest him. The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on the floor. The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not be bothered to open it. Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open. The contents were disappointing. Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken. Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature painting at the bottom of the packing case. As its composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. Glancing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it was worth £50. Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery. The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
New words and expressions 生詞與短語(yǔ)
antique
n. 古董，古玩
fascination
n. 魅力，迷惑力
forbidding
adj. 望而生畏的，望而卻步的
muster
v. 鼓起
pretentious
adj. 自命不凡的，矯飾的
labyrinth
n. 迷宮
musty
adj. 陳腐的，發(fā)霉的
rarity
n. 稀世珍品
assorted
adj. 各式各樣的
junk
n. 破爛貨，廢品
litter
v. 雜亂地布滿
dedicated
adj. 專心致志的
bargain hunter
到處找便宜貨買的人
dealer
v. 商人
cherish
v. 期望，渴望
amply
adv. 足夠地
masterpiece
n. 杰作
mere
adj. 僅僅的
prise
v. 撬開(kāi)
carve
v. 鐫刻
dagger
n. 短劍，匕首
miniature
adj. 小巧的，小型的
composition
n. 構(gòu)圖
本文參考譯文
古玩店對(duì)許多人來(lái)說(shuō)有一種特殊的魅力。高檔一點(diǎn)的古玩店為了防塵，把文物漂亮地陳列在玻璃柜子里，那里往往令人望而卻步。而對(duì)不太裝腔作勢(shì)的古玩店，無(wú)論是誰(shuí)都不用壯著膽子才敢往里進(jìn)。人們還常常有希望在發(fā)霉、陰暗、雜亂無(wú)章、迷宮般的店堂里，從雜亂地?cái)[放在地面上的、一堆堆各式各樣的破爛貨里找到一件稀世珍品。
無(wú)論是誰(shuí)都不會(huì)一下子就發(fā)現(xiàn)一件珍品。一個(gè)到處找便宜的人必須具有耐心，而且最重要的是看到珍品時(shí)要有鑒別珍品的能力。要做到這一點(diǎn)，他至少要像古董商一樣懂行。他必須像一個(gè)專心致志進(jìn)行探索的科學(xué)家那樣抱有這樣的希望，即終有一天，他的努力會(huì)取得豐碩的成果。
我的老朋友弗蘭克.哈利戴正是這樣一個(gè)人。他多次向我詳細(xì)講他如何只花50英鎊便買到一位名家的杰作。一個(gè)星期六的上午，弗蘭克去了我家附近的一家古玩店。由于他從未去過(guò)那兒，結(jié)果他發(fā)現(xiàn)許多有趣的東西。上午很快過(guò)去了，弗蘭克正準(zhǔn)備離去，突然看見(jiàn)地板上放著一只體積很大的貨箱。古董商告訴他那只貨箱剛到不久，但他嫌麻煩不想把它打開(kāi)。經(jīng)弗蘭克懇求，古董商才勉強(qiáng)把貨箱撬開(kāi)了。箱內(nèi)東西令人失望。除了一柄式樣別致、雕有花紋的匕首外，貨箱內(nèi)裝滿陶器，而且大部分都已破碎裂。弗蘭克輕輕地把陶器拿出箱子，突然發(fā)現(xiàn)在箱底有一幅微型畫(huà)，畫(huà)面構(gòu)圖與線條使他想起一幅他所熟悉的意大利畫(huà)，于是他決定將畫(huà)買了下來(lái)。古董商漫不經(jīng)心看了一眼那幅畫(huà)，告訴弗蘭克那畫(huà)值50英鎊。弗蘭克幾乎無(wú)法掩飾自己興奮的心情，因?yàn)樗靼鬃约喊l(fā)現(xiàn)了一件珍品。那幅不大的畫(huà)原來(lái)是柯勒喬的一幅未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的杰作，價(jià)值幾十萬(wàn)英鎊。
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