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lesson 52 Mud is mud shí shì qiú shì |
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Listen to the tape then answer the question below. tīng lù yīn, rán hòu huí dá yǐ xià wèn tí. |
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Why did Harry decide to give up his little game? |
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My cousin, Harry, keeps a large curiouslyshaped bottle on permanent display in his study. wǒ de táng xiōng hā lǐ zài tā de shū fáng lǐ yī zhí bǎi zhe yì zhī xíng zhuàng gǔ guài de dà píng zi. |
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Despite the fact that the bottle is tinted a delicate shade of green, jǐn guǎn nà zhǐ píng zi chéng dàn lǜ sè, |
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an observant visitor would soon notice that it is filled with what looks like a thick, greyish substance. dàn xì xīn de kè rén hěn kuài jiù huì fā xiàn píng lǐ zhuāng de shì yī zhǒng kàn shang qu nián chóu, yán sè fā huī de dōng xī. |
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If you were to ask Harry what was in the bottle, he would tell you that it contained perfumed mud. yào shì nǐ wèn hā lǐ píng lǐ zhuāng zhe shén me, tā huì gào sù nǐ shì xiāng shuǐ ní. |
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If you expressed doubt or surprise, he would immediately invite you to smell it and then to rub some into your skin. rú guǒ nǐ biǎo shì huái yí huò jīng qí, tā huì lì jí qǐng nǐ wén yī wén, rán hòu qǔ chū yī xiē mǒ zài nǐ de pí fū shàng. |
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This brief experiment would dispel any further doubts you might have. zhè yī jiǎn dān de shì yàn huì xiāo chú nǐ kě néng cún yǒu de yī qiè yí lǜ. |
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The bottle really does contain perfumed mud. píng lǐ zhuāng de dí què shì xiāng shuǐ ní. |
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How Harry came into the possession of this outlandish stuff makes an interesting story which he is fond of relating. hā lǐ rú hé dé dào zhè zhǒng xī qí gǔ guài de dōng xī de, zhè lǐ yǒu gè yǒu qù de gù shì, ér qiě tā tǐng ài bǎ tā jiǎng gěi bié rén tīng. |
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Furthermore, the acquisition of this bottle cured him of a bad habit he had been developing for years. cǐ wài, dé dào zhè píng xiāng shuǐ ní hái zhì hǎo le tā duō nián de yí gè huài xí guàn. |
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Harry used to consider it a great joke to go into expensive cosmetic shops and make outrageous requests for goods that do not exist. hā lǐ céng rèn wéi zǒu jìn yī jiā míng guì huà zhuāng pǐn shāng diàn, huāng táng dì tí chū yào mǎi yī zhǒng gēn běn bù cún zài de shāng pǐn shì jiàn hěn kāi xīn de shì ér. |
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He would invent fanciful names on the spot. tā huì dāng chǎng biān zào chū yī xiē xī qí gǔ guài de huò míng. |
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On entering a shop, he would ask for a new perfume called ' Scented Shadow' or for ' insoluble bath cubes'. tā zǒu jìn shāng diàn hòu, huì tí chū yào yī zhǒng míng jiào" xiāng yǐng" de xīn xíng xiāng shuǐ huò shén me" bù róng yù zào". |
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If a shop assistant told him she had not heard of it, he would pretend to be considerably put out. yào shì nǚ shòu huò yuán gào sù tā cóng wèi tīng shuō guò zhèi xiē dōng xī, tā huì zhuāng chū shí fēn yí hàn hé bù ān de yàng zi. |
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He loved to be told that one of his imaginary products was temporarily out of stock and he would faithfully promise to call again at some future date, but of course he never did. tā ài tīng shòu huò yuán shuō tā xiǎng xiàng chū lái de nà zhǒng dōng xī zàn shí tuō xiāo, yú shì tā jiù shà yǒu jiè shì dì xǔ nuò gǎi tiān zài lái guāng gù. dāng rán, tā zài yě bú huì lái le. |
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How Harry managed to keep a straight face during these performances is quite beyond me. wǒ shí zài xiǎng xiàng bù chū hā lǐ zài zhèi xiē biǎo yǎn zhōng shì zěn yàng zhuāng chū yī běn zhèng jīng de yàng zi de. |
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Harry does not need to be prompted to explain how he bought his precious bottle of mud. wú xū àn shì hā lǐ jiù huì xiàng nǐ jiǎng qǐ tā mǎi xià nà píng zhēn guì xiāng shuǐ ní de jīng guò. |
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One day, he went to an exclusive shop in London and asked for ' Myrolite', yì tiān, tā qù lún dūn yī jiā gāo jí shāng diàn yào mǎi yī zhǒng jiào" mì nuò lái tè" de dōng xī, |
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the shop assistant looked puzzled and Harry repeated the word, slowly stressing each syllable. diàn yuán lòu chū chà yì de shén sè. hā lǐ yòu màn màn dì, yī zì yī dùn dì shuō le yī biàn zhè gè cí, |
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When the woman shook her head in bewilderment, nà gè nǚ shòu huò yuán hái shì mí huò bù jiě dì yáo le yáo tóu. |
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Harry went on to explain that ' myrolite' was a hard, amberlike substance which could be used to remove freckles. hā lǐ biàn jìn yī bù jiě shì" mì nuò lái tè" shì yī zhǒng zhì dì jiān yìng zhuàng shì hǔ pò de dōng xī, kě yǐ yòng lái chú qù què bān. |
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This explanation evidently conveyed something to the woman who searched shelf after shelf. tā de jiě shì xiǎn rán duì nǚ shòu huò yuán yǒu xiē qǐ shì. tā yí gè huò jià jiē zhe yí gè huò jià dì xún zhǎo, |
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She produced all sorts of weird concoctions, but none of them met with Harry' s requirements. ná chū gè zhǒng gè yàng xī qí gǔ guài de huà zhuāng pǐn, dàn méi yǒu yí yàng néng gòu fú hé hā lǐ de yāo qiú. |
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When Harry put on his act of being mildly annoyed, the assistant promised to order some for him. hā lǐ zhuāng chū bù gāo xìng de yàng zǐ shí, nǚ shòu huò yuán dā yìng wèi tā dìng huò. |
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Intoxicated by his success, Harry then asked for perfumed mud. hā lǐ wèi tā de piàn shù ér gǎn dào yáng yáng dé yì, yòu tí chū yào mǎi xiāng shuǐ ní. |
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He expected the assistant to look at him in blank astonishment. tā yuán xiǎng nǚ shòu huò yuán huì jīng qí dì wàng zhe tā, bù zhī suǒ cuò, |
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However, it was his turn to be surprised, méi liào dào zhè huí gāi lún dào tā zì jǐ chī jīng le. |
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for the woman' s eyes immediately lit up and she fetched several bottles which she placed on the counter for Harry to inspect. yīn wèi nà nǚ shòu huò yuán tīng wán hā lǐ de huà hòu, mǎ shàng yǎn jīng yī liàng, ná chū jǐ píng dōng xī fàng zài guì tái shàng ràng hā lǐ tiāo xuǎn. |
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For once, Harry had to admit defeat. hā lǐ zhǐ hǎo rèn shū. |
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He picked up what seemed to be the smallest bottle and discreetly asked the price. tā tiāo chū yí gè kàn shang qu zuì xiǎo de píng zi, jǐn shèn dì wèn le jià. |
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He was glad to get away with a mere twenty pounds and he beat a hasty retreat, clutching the precious bottle under his arm. tā qìng xìng zì jǐ zhǐ pò fèi le 20 yīng bàng biàn dé yǐ tuō shēn. tā bǎ nà bǎo guì de píng zi fàng zài yè xià jiā zhe, liū zhī dà jí. |
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From then on, Harry decided that this little game he had invented might prove to be expensive. cóng nà yǐ hòu, tā rèn shi dào zì jǐ fā míng de xiǎo xiǎo è zuò jù shì yào fù chū hěn dà dài jià de. |
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The curious bottle, which now adorns the bookcase in his study, was his first and last purchase of rare cosmetics. zài tā shū fáng de shū guì lǐ bǎi zhe nà píng xíng zhuàng gǔ guài de xiāng shuǐ ní jiù shì tā dì yī cì yě shì zuì hòu yī cì gòu mǎi de xī yǒu huà zhuāng pǐn. |