英语听力精选进阶版 7204

Background: 西班牙警方抓获一名专门偷窃乘客行李箱内贵重物品的小偷。在一辆开往巴塞罗那的长途汽车上，警方最后在一个行李箱里发现了他。

For weeks police were puzzled by repeated thefts from suitcases firmly locked inside the luggage compartment¹ of a coach travelling between Girona Airport and Barcelona.

After one journey when bags had, again, been broken into, one of the passengers pointed² out a large suspicious suitcase. Police opened it and to their amazement³ found a man curled up inside. With the help of an accomplice⁴, who was also arrested, the six-foot contortionist had crammed⁵ himself inside.

His friend bought a bus ticket and put the case into the luggage hold. Once the bus set off the man in the case clambered out, opened other suitcases in the hold looking for valuables. Before the bus pulled into the stop in Barcelona he had zipped himself back into his hiding place. Police are reported to have described the crime as an 'open and shut case'.

Glossary⁶ 词汇表

to be puzzled by 深感迷惑或不解 

to be firmly locked 锁得牢固的 

to break into 撬锁打开 

to point out 指出 

to be curled up 蜷缩着身体 

an accomplice 同谋，帮凶 

a contortionist 柔体杂技演员 

to be crammed (into/in/inside) 塞满，挤进去 

to clamber out 艰难地爬出来 

an open and shut case 一个一目了然的案子

Questions and Answers

1. How did the police find the thief? 

A passenger indicated to them a strange suitcase and there was a man inside.

2. What did the thief’s associate do? 

He bought a bus ticket and put the case with his friend inside into the luggage compartment.

3. When would the thief go back to his hiding place? 

Before the bus stopped at its destination, Barcelona.

4. True or false? Contortionists have to have flexible limbs, and be slim and short. 

False. According to the report, the contortionist is not short. He is six-foot tall (about 1.82 metres).

1 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

4 accomplice   

n.从犯，帮凶，同谋

参考例句：

• She was her husband's accomplice in murdering a rich old man.她是她丈夫谋杀一个老富翁的帮凶。
• He is suspected as an accomplice of the murder.他涉嫌为这次凶杀案的同谋。

5 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

6 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。