Lesson 6 Smash-and-grab
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.How did Mr. Taylor try to stop the thieves?The expensive shops in a famous near Piccadilly were just "opening. At this time of the morning, the arcade was almost empty. Mr. Taylor, the owner of a jewellery shop was admiring a new display. Two of his assistants had been working busily since eight o'clock and had only just finished. Diamond necklaces and rings had been beautifully arranged on a background of black velvet. After gazing at the display for several minutes, Mr. Taylor went back into his shop.
The silence was suddenly broken when a large car, with its headlights on and its home blaring, roared down the arcade. It came to a stop outside the jeweller's. One man stayed at the wheel while two others with black stocking over their faces jumped out and smashed the window of the shop with iron bars. While this was going on, Mr. Taylor was upstairs. He and his staff began throwing furniture out of the window. Chairs and tables went flying into the arcade. One of the thieves was struck by a heavy statue, but he was too busy helping himself to diamonds to notice any pain. The raid was all over in three minutes, for the men scrambled back into the car and it moved off at a fantastic speed. Just as it was leaving, Mr. Taylor rushed out and ran after it throwing ashtrays and vases, but it was impossible to stop the thieves. They had got away with thousands of pounds worth of diamonds.New words and expressions生词和短语
smash-and-grab n. 砸橱窗抢劫
arcade [ɑːrˈkeɪd] n.游乐中心;商场;拱廊,拱廊通道(常指一排商店门前的带顶走道);拱廊商店街(设于两街之间,两侧均有商店);购物中心;商业中心archi〔= arch〕弓 + tect 遮蔽 → 弓形遮蔽物的制造者 → 建筑师architect 建筑师 + ure 与行为有关之物 → 建筑学;建筑arch 弓 + ive 表物 → 弓形的房子 → 档案室arch 弓 + way 道 → 拱道,拱门
piccadilly[ˈpɪkəˌdɪli] n. 皮卡迪利大街velvet [ˈvelvɪt] n. 天鹅绒,丝绒He ground his cigarette into the ashtray.参考译文
皮卡迪利大街附近的一条著名拱廊街道上,几家高档商店刚刚开始营业。在早晨的这个时候,拱廊街上几乎空无一人。珠宝店主泰勒先生正在欣赏新布置的橱窗。他手下两名店员从早上8点就开始忙碌,这时刚刚布置完毕。钻石项链、戒指漂亮地陈列在黑色丝绒上面。泰勒先生站在橱窗外凝神欣赏了几分钟就回到了店里。宁静突然被打破,一辆大轿车亮着前灯,响着喇叭,呼啸着冲进了拱廊街,在珠宝店门口停了下来。一人留在驾驶座上,另外两个用黑色长筒丝袜蒙面的人跳下车来。他们用铁棒把商店橱窗的玻璃砸碎。这开始发生时,泰勒先生正在楼上。他与店员动手向窗外投掷家具,椅子,桌子飞落花流水在拱廊街上。一个窃贼被一尊很重的雕像击中,但由于他忙着抢钻石首饰,竟连疼痛都顾不上了。这场抢劫只持续了3分钟,因为窃贼争先恐后地爬上轿车,以惊人的速度开跑了。就在轿车离开的时候,泰勒先生从店里冲了出来,跟在车后追赶,一边还往车上扔烟灰缸、花瓶。但他已无法抓住那些窃贼了。他们已带着价值数千镑的首饰逃之夭夭了。
Journey to the West(西游记)全108集
往期回顾
《新概念英语》第二册全集
Lesson 1 A Puma at large
Lesson 2 Thirteen equals one
Lesson 3 An unknown goddess
Lesson 4 The double life of Alfred Bloggs