第13课

旁白 neutral

'It's only me'

“是我呀”

旁白 neutral

What did the man expect to find under the stairs?

那个男人期望在楼梯下找到什么？

旁白 neutral

After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom.

丈夫去上班后，理查兹夫人把孩子们送去学校，然后上楼到卧室。

旁白 neutral

She was too excited to do any housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress party with her husband.

那个上午她兴奋得顾不上做家务，因为晚上她要和丈夫一起去参加一个化装舞会。

旁白 neutral

She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on.

她打算打扮成一个鬼魂。由于头天晚上她已做好了化装服，所以她迫不及待地想试穿一下。

旁白 neutral

Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective.

尽管化装服只是一块床单，但效果却非常好。

旁白 neutral

After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs.

穿上衣服后，理查兹夫人下了楼。

旁白 neutral

She wanted to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.

她想看看穿上是否舒服。

旁白 neutral

Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining-room, there was a knock on the front door.

理查兹夫人刚走进饭厅，前门就传来了敲门声。

旁白 neutral

She knew that it must be the baker.

她知道肯定是面包师。

旁白 neutral

She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table.

她曾告诉他，如果她没有开门，他就直接进来，把面包放在厨房的桌子上。

旁白 neutral

Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid in the small storeroom under the stairs.

理查兹夫人不想吓着那个可怜的人，便迅速躲到了楼梯下的小储藏室里。

旁白 neutral

She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps in the hall.

她听到前门打开了，走廊里传来沉重的脚步声。

旁白 neutral

Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and a man entered.

突然，储藏室的门开了，一个男人走了进来。

旁白 neutral

Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the metre.

理查兹夫人意识到这一定是电力公司的抄表员。

旁白 neutral

She tried to explain the situation, saying

她试图解释情况，说道：

旁白 neutral

'It's only me', but it was too late.

“是我呀”，但为时已晚。

旁白 neutral

The man let out a cry and jumped back several paces.

那个男人大叫一声，后退了几步。

旁白 neutral

When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming the door behind him.

当理查兹夫人走向他时，他逃走了，并在身后砰地关上了门。