自考英语综合二上册课文 lesson 16

　　[00:00.00]Lesson Sixteen
[00:03.21]Text
[00:05.77]A Social Event William Inge
[00:10.92]CHARACTERS Randy Brooks¹ Carole Mason Muriel
[00:18.08]The scene is the bedroom in the home of a young Hollywood couple
[00:24.14]Randy Brooks and Carole Mason,
[00:28.29]who have been married only a short time
[00:32.37]and whose careers are still in the promising² stage.
[00:37.83]There  is  abundant luxury in the room but a minimum of taste.
[00:43.47]It is late morning and both Randy and Carole are asleep,
[00:48.74]but Randy soon comes awake , reaches for a cigarette, lights it,
[00:55.59]and rubs his forehead worriedly.
[00:59.66]Something profound is troubling him.He gets out of bed ,
[01:05.52]slips a robe on and paces the floor  worriedly.
[01:10.84]Finally, he presses the buzzer³ on the house phone and speaks to the cook.
[01:17.92]R:Muriel?  We're getting up now.Bring up the usual breakfast.
[01:23.57]( He hangs up and goes into the bathroom to wash.Now Carole wakes up.
[01:30.23]She too lights a cigarette and looks troubled.Then she calls to Randy.)
[01:37.31]C:I hardly slept a wink⁴ all night, just thinking about it.
[01:43.47]There's nothing to do but" face the fact that we're not invited
[01:48.75]C:Oh, there's got to be a way. There's got to be.
[01:54.49]R:After all, honey,there's no reason to feel slighted.
[02:00.76]We're both pretty new in pictures.
[02:04.71]It's not as though we were old timers who had worked with Scotty.
[02:10.06]C:Sandra and Don never worked with Scotty, either.
[02:14.92]Neither did Debby and Chris, or Anne and Mark.
[02:20.28]R:I know, honey.We've been through all this before.
[02:25.42]C:And I may never have worked with Scotty,
[02:29.97]but I did meet him once, and he danced with me at a party.
[02:35.53]He was very nice to me too, and said some very complimentary⁵ things.
[02:41.91]I met his wife,too.(An afterthought. ) I didn't much like her
[02:47.16]R:Maybe I'd better call Mike again.
[02:50.71](He picks up the telephone and dials.)
[02:54.86]CAROLE:What good can an agent do? We're not looking for jobs.
[03:00.64]R:He may have found some way of getting us invited.
[03:04.76]C:I bet.
[03:07.53]R:Mike?Randy.Look, Mike,Carole and I still haven't been invited,
[03:26.89]and I can't help wondering if there's been an oversight⁶ of some kind.
[03:32.66]After all,Carole was a great friend of Scotty's
[03:37.39]and she feels pretty hurtthat she's been over looked...
[03:42.35]I never knew himbut everyone knows how much I've always admired him.
[03:48.21]In an interview just last week,
[03:51.68]I said,"Scotty Woodrow is still the greatest.
[03:56.96]"Now,I didn't have to say that. . . if you ask me,
[04:01.71]it showed a lot of humility⁷ on my part
[04:06.26]to say a thing like that when,after all,I've got a career of my own to consider..
[04:13.02]well look,try to do something,Mike.
[04:17.49]Carole and I both should be seen there.
[04:21.85]OK.Mike, call us as soon as you find out.(He hangs up. )
[04:30.11]C:He couldn't get us an invitation to Disneyland.
[04:34.94]R:He said just Scotty's closest friends are being invited.
[04:39.90]C:Oh. yes! Half the people going,I bet,have never met him.
[04:46.25]R:Well! What are we going to do?
[04:50.61]C:Sandra had an entire new outfit⁸ made.Perfectly⁹ stunning¹⁰.
[04:57.17]And she had the dress made so that she can have the sleeves taken out later and
[05:03.12]wear it to cocktails¹¹ and supper parties.
[05:07.70]After all, black is a very smart color now.
[05:12.24]R:Did you tell Sandra and Don we weren't invited?
[05:16.68]C:Of course not.
[05:20.03]I lied and said we were going Now, if we don't get an invitation,
[05:26.87]I'll have to lie again and say we came down with food poisoning,or something
[05:33.84]R:How did Anne and Mark get invited?
[05:37.40]C:Mark played Scotty's son in a picture once.
[05:41.94]R:When? I don't remember.
[05:46.70]C:A long time ago,before either of us came on the scene.
[05:51.84]R:That means Mark's a little older than he admits.
[05:58.01]C:I don't know. The part was very young,practically an infant

　　[06:03.86]R:Just the same, I'll bet Mark's thirty.
[06:08.25]C:Damn,what am I going to tell Sandra?
[06:12.51]She invited us to come to her house afterwards and I accepted.
[06:19.35]R:She's not giving a party!
[06:22.69]C:No. She just invited some friends to come in afterwards to have a few drinks
[06:30.64] talk about what a great guy Scotty was,and everything.
[06:35.60]She said she thought we'd all feel terribly depressed¹².
[06:40.56]After all, Scotty Woodrow was practically a landmark,or something.
[06:47.41]Think of it. He's been a star for forty years.
[06:52.37]R:Yes. He was really great.
[06:56.42]It makes me very humble¹³ to think of a guy like Scotty.
[07:01.38]C:They say flowers came from the President,and from Queen Elizabeth,and...
[07:07.86]R:The guest list is going to be published in every paper in the country
[07:13.50]C:You know we could crash.R:No,honey.C:Who'd know the difference?
[07:20.87]R:How would we feel afterwards,when we had to shake hands with Mrs. Woodrow?
[07:27.11]C:She's probably forgotten whether she invited us or not.
[07:32.68]R:Honey, I'm not going to crash. That's all.I'm not.
[07:39.05]C:Everyone would just take it for granted we'd been invited.I mean
[07:44.09]we're both just as prominent as Sandra and Don,or any of the others.
[07:50.86]If you ask me, it'd be a lot better to crash than not to be seen at. . .
[07:57.02]well,you can't call it a social affair exactly,but it's a social event.
[08:04.39]Anyway, everyone will be there. Everyone.
[08:09.35]R:It could be some of the others who are lying about their invitations, too
[08:14.92]You realize that,don't you?
[08:18.16]C: I wonder... well,anyway,they're all going.
[08:26.51]I think they got invitations.
[08:30.17]R:I don't know why the studio couldn't have managed it  for us with a little pull
[08:36.23]They should realize it's in the best interests of my career to be seen there,
[08:41.80]and my career means as much to them as it does to me.
[08:46.65]C:Same here.
[08:49.53]Oh,I just don't know how I can face Sandra and Anne and all the others,
[08:56.79]and make them believe that we really did have food poisoning.
[09:02.67]R:You know, we could give ourselves food poisoning.
[09:07.11]Just a light case.A little rotten meat would do it.
[09:11.97]Then we'd call the doctor and...
[09:15.94]C:No!I'm not going to make myself sick.
[09:21.50]R:Just a slight case so you could tell them with a straight face.
[09:27.07](A soft tap comes at the door.) Come in.
[09:32.34](Muriel, the  maid,enters with a tray.)Hi Muriel!
[09:38.87]M:Good morning!
[09:41.80]C:Hi, Muriel. Put it here on the coffee table.( Muriel does as sheis told.)
[09:49.66]M:Miss Carole, I hope you remember I told you I'd be gone this morning.
[09:56.43]C:Oh,yes,I'd forgotten. What time will you be back, Muriel?
[10:03.38]M:Oh, I'll be back in time to fix dinner.
[10:08.42]R:Is this your day off Muriel?
[10:11.89]M:No, Mr. Randy. I'm going to Mr. Woodrow's funeral.
[10:18.14]( There is a slight air of supei iority about her now.
[10:23.28]Randy and Carole look at her with sudden surprise.)
[10:28.43]R:Oh... is that right?
[10:32.27]M:And after the funeral,
[10:35.82]Mrs.Woodrow has asked me to join the family at their home.
[10:41.99]C:Muriel, you didn't tell me!R:Uh. . . were you a friend of Scotty,Muriel?
[10:50.03]M:My mother worked for him when he was starting out in the business.
[10:56.40]I was born in Mr.Woodrow's beach house,
[11:01.13]before he bought that big house up in the canyon¹⁴.
[11:06.28]( She has thus established herself as near royalty¹⁵ to Randy and Carole. )
[11:13.04]R:(Amazed.) Really?
[11:16.00]M:Oh, yes. Mr. Woodrow was very good to me when I was a child.
[11:23.15]Mama worked for him until she died. I could have stayed on,
[11:29.32]but after Mr.Woodrow got married the last time,
[11:34.96]she hired a lot of French servants I didn't get on with,at all.
[11:41.41]But they went right on sending me Christmas cards every year.
[11:47.29]R:Uh. . . Muriel, do you have a ride to the funeral?
[11:52.93]M:No, Mr. Brooks. Mrs.Woodrow's secretary said I could bring my family,

　　[12:01.19]but now that Vincent has left me and taken the car,
[12:06.94]I'll have to take a taxi.
[12:10.72]Gee... that's too bad.
[12:14.77]C:Yes.Isn't it?
[12:18.85]M: Well, I have to be getting ready now.
[12:23.00]I got a new black dress to wear.All the big names in Hollywood will be there
[12:29.84]I want to look my best.
[12:33.61]R: Uh. .Muriel, you don't want to go to the services all alone!
[12:39.38]M:Oh, I don't mind.
[12:42.72]C:Look, Muriel, why don't we all go together?
[12:48.60]I: mean. .. well, of course, Randy and I are invited,too,
[12:54.56]but we'd be glad to go along with you. . .
[12:58.92]as your family, you know.Well, after all,you're one of us,Muriel.
[13:06.57]M:All of us go together, huh?C:Of course.
[13:12.74]R:I'll drive us all there in the Cadillac.
[13:16.58]M: Oh.. .that'd be nice.And then after the funeral,we'll take you to the house
[13:25.25]M: I see.R:And you won't have to worry about coming back to fix-dinner.
[13:32.02]C:Of course not.M:Well, it suits me.I didn't want to have to call a taxi.
[13:41.37]If you folks want to come along, fine and dandy.
[13:46.23]You'll have to pardon me now.
[13:49.88]I have to get into my new black dress.
[13:54.74]We'll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes,Muriel
[14:00.31]( Muriel exits. Carole and Randy both jump into action ,
[14:06.24]getting their clothes out of their respective closets. )
[14:10.81]C:I told you we'd find a way.R:Yah.
[14:15.56](Taking a suit from closet ) Say,this suit could stand a pressing.
[14:22.51]Do I have to wear black?
[14:25.67]C:Of course, honey.After all, it's a very solemn occasion.Well, O.K.
[14:34.11]C:I'll have to call Sandra. (She picks up the telephone and dials.)
[14:40.56]R:It's going to look all right, isn't it? I mean, our going with Muriel.
[14:54.72]C:Of course. You don't worry about things like that at a funeral.
[15:01.25](Into the telephone. )
[15:04.18]Sandra? Carole.
[15:07.94]Darling I'm awfully¹⁶ sorry
[15:12.67]but Randy and I won't be able to come to your house after the funeral...
[15:19.54]well,you see, we have a duty to Muriel, our cook.
[15:25.39]She's the daughter of Scotty's old housekeeper¹⁷..yes,Scotty practically raised her
[15:33.83]And we feel that we should take her with us,and then,
[15:39.39]of course,we'll have to go to the home afterwards.
[15:44.12]Just family and a few of his very closest friends.
[15:50.65]We can't get out of it you'll forgive us, won't you, darling?
[15:56.92]Oh, it's all going to be terribly sad.
[16:01.57]R:( To himself, while dressing¹⁸.) I guess it'll look all right.
[16:07.73]After all, funerals are very democratic affairs.CURTAIN

1 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

4 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

5 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

6 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

7 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

8 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

11 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

12 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

15 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

16 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

17 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。

18 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。