第34课

旁白 neutral

Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people.

古玩店对许多人来说都有一种特殊的魅力。

旁白 neutral

The more expensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases

那些高档古玩店，珍品都漂亮地陈列在玻璃柜里

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to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place.

以免沾染灰尘，通常是令人望而却步的地方。

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But no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop.

但对于不那么做作的古玩店，人们无需鼓起勇气进去。

旁白 neutral

There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors.

人们总是希望在那些发霉、阴暗、杂乱的房间构成的迷宫中，能在堆满地板的各式各样的旧货中找到一件真正的珍品。

旁白 neutral

No one discovers a rarity by chance.

没有人会偶然发现珍品。

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A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience,

一个真正专注的廉价商品搜寻者必须有耐心，

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and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something when he sees it.

最重要的是，当他看到一件东西时，要有识别其价值的能力。

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To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer.

为此，他必须至少和经销商一样知识渊博。

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Like a scientist bent on making a discovery,

就像一个决心有所发现的科学家一样，

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he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.

他必须怀揣希望，总有一天他会得到丰厚的回报。

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My old friend, Frank Halliday, is just such a person.

我的老朋友弗兰克·哈利迪就是这样一个人。

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He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere £50.

他常常向我描述他是如何以区区50英镑买到一件杰作的。

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One Saturday morning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood.

一个星期六的上午，弗兰克去了我附近的一家古玩店。

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As he had never been there before, he found a great deal to interest him.

因为他以前从未来过这里，所以发现了很多让他感兴趣的东西。

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The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on the floor.

上午很快过去了，弗兰克正准备离开时，他注意到地板上放着一个大包装箱。

旁白 neutral

The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not be bothered to open it.

经销商告诉他，这东西刚到，但他懒得打开。

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Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open.

弗兰克恳求他打开，经销商不情愿地撬开了箱子。

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The contents were disappointing.

里面的东西令人失望。

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Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken.

除了一个看起来有趣的雕花匕首外，箱子里装满了陶器，其中大部分都碎了。

旁白 neutral

Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature painting at the bottom of the packing case.

弗兰克轻轻地把陶器从箱子里拿出来，突然注意到包装箱底部有一幅微型画。

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As its composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it.

由于它的构图和线条让他想起了他很熟悉的一幅意大利画作，他决定买下它。

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Glancing at it briefly the dealer told him that it was worth £50.

经销商匆匆看了一眼，告诉他这幅画值50英镑。

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Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery.

弗兰克几乎无法掩饰他的兴奋，因为他知道他做了一个真正的发现。

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The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds and thousands of pounds.

这幅小画被证实是科雷吉奥的一幅不为人知的杰作，价值数十万英镑。