英语访谈对话 479 At the Gallery

 　　Ruth: Oh, hello there. Can I help you?

　　Akane: Hi, I'm just looking at some of your paintings here. You have a really nice store here.

　　Ruth: Yes that's right, we do don't we? We have some really nice paintings in here.

　　Akane: I think I really like this one. Can you tell me a bit about it?

　　Ruth: Certainly, yes. Now that one's actually by a local painter. His name's John Mansfield and he's been painting since he was 14 actually, although he died in 1999 so he painted for about 53 years in total. I really like that one myself actually.

　　Akane: So he died? That means¹ that there aren't many of his paintings left.

　　Ruth: That's right, yes. I mean most of his paintings are one-offs and this one is a one-off.

　　Akane: Oh, OK. Well I especially like the colours of this one. I like how it's bright and it looks really nice and I like how it depicts² the local landscape.

　　Ruth: Yes, that's true. It is really nice isn't it? Actually this is a picture of a local walking route³ which is quite famous and quite popular with hikers. A lot of people go there on walks particularly at the weekend. And if you look on the left hand side there, that tree is the oldest tree in the area.

　　Akane: Oh, is that right? Have you ever been to this place?

　　Ruth: Yes I've been there quite often actually and it looks very much like this in the spring.

　　Akane: Well if John Mansfield is a local painter, have you ever met him when he was alive?

　　Ruth: Yes, he often use to come into this shop. He was a very devoted⁴ painter and he really enjoyed buying paintings by different painters in the area.

　　Akane: Really? Well that sounds really interesting. How much is this painting?

　　Ruth: That one's actually a hundred and eighty pounds.

　　Akane: Wow! 180 pounds!

　　Ruth: Yes I'm afraid so.

　　Akane: Well that's a bit beyond my budget. Would you be able to give it to me for 100 pounds?

　　Ruth: Mm, I think a hundred is too cheap.

　　Akane: Well let's see. This other painting looks quite nice too. How about if I buy both of them? Would you be able to give it to me for maybe 250 pounds?

　　Ruth: Why don't we say three hundred and you've got yourself a deal.

　　Akane: Three hundred? That sounds good. Thanks a lot. I'll take it.

　　Ruth: OK then.

　　Akane: Great!

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

3 route   

n.路径，途径，路线；vt.确定路线，按规定路线发送

参考例句：

• On the way home, we took an indirect route.回家的路上，我们绕了一个大圈。
• The plane did not fly the usual commercial route.飞机没有沿通常的商业航线飞。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。