普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修8 Unit 4 Pygmalion-Using

Act Two, Scene 1                             MAKING THE BET

       It is 11am in Henry Higgins' house the next day. Henry Higgins and Colonel¹ Pickering are sitting deep in conversation.
H:    Do you want to hear any more sounds?
CP: No, thank you. I rather fancied myself because I can pronounce twenty-four distinct² vowel³ sounds; but your one hundred and thirty beat me. I can't distinguish⁴ most of them.
H:   (laughing) Well, that comes with practice.
 
       There is a knock and Mrs Pearce (MP), the housekeeper⁵, comes in with cookies, a teapot, some cream and two cups.
MP: (hesitating) A young girl is asking to see you.
H:    A young girl! What does she want?
MP: Well, she's quite a common kind of girl with dirty nails.I thought perhaps you wanted her to talk into your machines.
H:    Why? Has she got an interesting accent? We'll see.Show her in, Mrs Pearce.
MP: (only half resigned to it) Very well, sir. (goes downstairs)
H:    This is a bit of luck. I'll show you how I make records on wax disks ...
MP: (returning) This is the young girl, sir. (Eliza comes into the room shyly following Mrs Pearce. She is dirty and wearing a shabby dress. She curtsies to the two men.)
H:    (disappointed) Why! I've got this girl in my records. She's the one we saw the other day. She's  no use at all. Take her away.
CP: (gently to Eliza) What do you-want, young lady?
E:    (upset) I wanna be a lady in a flower shop 'stead o' selling flowers in the street. But they won't take me 'less I speak better. So here I am, ready to pay him. I'm not asking for any favours - and he treats me like dirt.
H: How much?
E: (happier) Now yer talking. A lady friend of mine gets French lessons for two shillings an hour from a real Frenchman. You wouldn't have the face to ask me for the same for teaching me as yer would for French. So I won't give yer more than a shilling.
H: (ignoring Eliza and speaking to Pickering) If you think of how much money this girl has - why, it's the best offer I've had! (to Eliza) But if I teach you, I'll be worse than a father.
CP: I say, Higgins. Do you remember what you said last night? I'll say you're the greatest teacher alive if you can pass her off as a lady. I'll be the referee⁶ for this little bet and pay for the lessons too ...
E:  (gratefully) Oh, yer real good, yer are. Thank you, Colonel.
H: Oh, she is so deliciously low. (compromises) OK, I'll teach you. (to Mrs Pearce) But she'll need to be cleaned first. Take her away, Mrs Pearce. Wash her and burn her horrible clothes. We'll buy her new ones. What's your name, girl?
E: I'm Eliza Doolittle and I'm clean. My clothes went to the laundry when I washed last week.
MP: Well, Mr Higgins has a bathtub of his own and he has a bath every morning. If these two gentlemen teach you, you'll have to do the same. They won't like the smell of you otherwise.
E: (sobbing) I can't. I dursn't. It ain't natural and it'd kill me. I've never had a bath in my life; not  over my whole body, neither below my waist nor taking my vest off. I'd never have come if I'd known about this disgusting thing you want me to do ...
H: Once more, take her away, Mrs Pearce, immediately. (Outside Eliza is still weeping with Mrs Pearce) You see the problem, Pickering. It'll be how to teach her grammar, not just pronunciation. She's in need of both.
CP: And there's another problem, Higgins. What are we going to do once the experiment is over?
H:   (heartily) Throw her back.
CP: But you cannot overlook⁷ that! She'll be changed and she has feelings too. We must be practical, mustn't we?
H:    Well, we'll deal with that later. First, we must plan the best way to teach her.
CP: How about beginning with the alphabet. That's usually considered very effective ... (fades out as they go offstage together)

1 colonel   

n.(英国陆军、美国陆空军及海军陆战队)上校

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel.可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。
• An army major ranks between a captain and a colonel.陆军少校的军阶在上尉与中校之间。

2 distinct   

adj.种类不同的，有区别的，清楚的，明显的

参考例句：

• I had the distinct impression that I was being followed.我清楚地感觉到有人跟踪我。
• The party split into two distinct groups.该党分裂成两个截然不同的团体。

3 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

4 distinguish   

vt.区别，辩明，识别，辨认出；vi.区别，辨别，识别

参考例句：

• It is not easy to distinguish cultured pearls from genuine pearls.辨别真正的珍珠与养殖的珍珠不容易。
• Some people find it difficult to distinguish right from wrong.一些人认为很难辨对与错。

5 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

6 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

7 overlook   

v.忽视，忽略，俯瞰，眺望，宽容，宽恕

参考例句：

• How could you overlook paying the rent?你怎么会忘了付房租？
• It was a slight overlook on my part.这是我的一个小疏忽。