英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

新视野大学英语 读写教程第四册 unit6-c

时间:2005-12-13 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:1234567890   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

  The Cunning1 Smuggler3
You may suppose that national borders are nothing to get excited about. However, Canada and the United States are very proud of theirs. These two countries share a common border that runs for thousands of kilometers, with not a single soldier along the way. Still, although there are no soldiers at the border, there are customs officers. Sometimes trucks try to cross the border with hidden drugs. Sometimes, moreover, ordinary tourists attempt to smuggle2 an extra bottle of alcohol. There is no difference for the customs officers; to them, all smugglers are the same, big or small. Their job is to prevent anyone from taking goods across the border illegally.
Constant struggles between smugglers and customs officers have influenced our way of thinking about this matter. It may not be fair, but many people forget the valuable services the officers perform. When this happens, the conflict may seem funny, although the officers always take their job seriously. One such conflict is said to have occurred on the famous bridge at Niagara Falls. There was a truck driver who often crossed the border for his work. Every time he reached the bridge, he had to stop his truck. He always had to show the officers all his papers. Sometimes he would be obliged to wait a long time, and on occasion the officers even unloaded his entire truck! These delays annoyed him a lot, especially because he never carried any illegal items. The truck driver did not see why he should be bothered just because other people broke the law. For many years he put up with this nuisance, but he planned to get even. When he finally retired4, he put his plan into effect.
Three or four days after the driver had made his last truck journey over the bridge, the officers saw him again. This time he had no truck; he was riding a bicycle! It was a beautiful racing5 bicycle. The truck driver was very fit. He rode quickly, making big circles in the parking lot near the border crossing. He made sure all the customs officers could see him. Then he presented himself at the border.
"Well, old friend," said one of the officers. "What can we do for you, now you are retired?"
"The same as before," he replied. "I'm going to the other side. Check my papers and let me pass."
Now it should be said that this bicycle had one unusual feature: on each handlebar the man had hung a bucket full of sand. This was a very strange thing to do! Of course, the officers noticed it immediately. One of them called the man over to him.
"You can go through," he said, "but first I'll have to check your cargo6." He looked through all the sand, but there was nothing to be seen. A little disappointed, the officer sent the retired truck driver across the border.
The customs officers laughed among themselves at the driver's strange behavior. Then they forgot about him. But only an hour later, he was back. He wanted to return to his own side of the border. He was still riding a bicycle, and he still had the buckets of sand. Another officer checked the sand. Nothing again. The man rode home happily. And this same peculiar7 scene was acted out twice a day, every day, for more than a year. The customs officers tried everything. They put the sand in water, to see if something was mixed with it. Then they began searching the man's pockets every time he crossed. Finally, they even had the bicycle X-rayed, to find out if anything was hidden inside. Nothing was ever found. Most of the officers ended up believing that the truck driver was simply pulling their leg. They thought he was smuggling8 (走私) nothing, and just playing a joke on them.
However, one officer was never convinced. To him, there was surely a mystery in the man's behavior. He knew it; only, he could not figure it out. Because it was embarrassing to fail every time, he stopped checking the man when he crossed. But he watched him. And he was certain that one day he would understand.
Eventually the officer's retirement9 arrived, and he too stopped working. Unlike the truck driver, he did not take up riding a bicycle. Nevertheless, he stayed near the bridge. He liked fishing. Most afternoons he threw his line into the Niagara River not far from the post where he had worked all his life. At length, the inevitable10 happened. The man came riding along the river road to the place where the customs officer was fishing. He got off his bicycle. For a short time, both men looked out over the river towards the great bridge. Then the officer said, "All right. I give up. It's over now, anyway; so, you can tell me. What in the world were you smuggling in that sand?"
"Nothing at all," said the retired truck driver.
"You mean, you just did it to get on our nerves?"
"Not for a moment. I was smuggling all the time. But you were never clever enough to catch me."
"It's too much," exclaimed the officer. "I knew it! I knew it! But how did you hide your illegal goods?"
"Hide it? That's just the point, I didn't hide anything at all."
"Impossible! We checked everything. What were you smuggling?"
"Bicycles."
Words: 900
PREVIOUS HOME NEXT


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cunning 6nyyY     
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;n.狡猾,奸诈
参考例句:
  • A spy used cunning means to find out secrets.间谍使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
  • The fox is known for its cleverness and cunning.狐狸的机敏和狡猾是人所共知的。
2 smuggle 5FNzy     
vt.私运;vi.走私
参考例句:
  • Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
  • She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境,没有被逮捕。
3 smuggler 0xFwP     
n.走私者
参考例句:
  • The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱,等待引渡到英国。
  • The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。
4 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
5 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
参考例句:
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
6 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
7 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
8 smuggling xx8wQ     
n.走私
参考例句:
  • Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
  • The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
9 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
10 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(2)
100%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴