最新整理a class act 课文翻译说课讲解
1.成长在二战期间战火连天的曼彻斯特意味着生活艰辛，金钱紧缺，整日焦虑不安，当铺成了大多数家庭经常去的地方，当然也包括我家。
2.然而，我不能对已经很有进取心和积极乐观的父母有更多的要求了。他们艰辛地工作，用尊严和快乐来支撑着这个家庭。我刚毅而又智慧的父亲几乎无所不能，而且从不缺木匠和手工艺活。为了满足家庭开支，他甚至参加了非法组织的拳击比赛。至于我的母亲，她勤劳节约，极爱干净。即使条件艰苦，在母亲的照料下，她的五个孩子总能吃得饱饱地，穿得干干净净地去学校。
3.尽管我的衣服熨得很平整，鞋子擦得发亮，还是不符合学校的着装标准。尽管妈妈勤俭持家，想办法为我们做衣服，但是我还是没有学校指定的蓝色校服和帽徽。
4.由于战争，政府实施定量配给制。很多学校都放宽了对学生着装的要求，因为他们知道在那个时候弄到衣服是一件很困难的事情。尽管如此，我所在的女子学校对着装的要求依旧很严格，每个学生必须要穿学校指定的校服。所以，每天主持校会的副校长就把教我一个人如何着装当成了他的工作。
5.虽然我努力地向老师说明我不能遵守的理由，并且事实上，我也在努力地改进，但是每天老师都会把我从队伍中拉出来，然后让我站到台上，作为不穿校服到学校的学生的典型。
6.每天，当我独自一人尴尬地站在同学们的面前时，我都会强忍住泪水。为了惩罚我，老师甚至不允许我参加体操队，也不允许我参加我最喜欢的每周一次的交易舞会。我多么希望在这所可怕的学校里，能有这样一位老师，他会睁开双眼，然后看看我会做什么，而不是不断地告诉我不能做什么。
7.然而，在我十二岁的记忆中，除了接受惩罚我别无选择。不要让我善良的母亲知晓这种惯例的惩罚对我而言是很重要的，我不敢冒险让她来学校为我说情，因为我知道心胸狭隘、不讲情面的教员会同样地使她难堪，那意味着我们俩都会不愉快、会有失颜面。千万不要啊，如果她告诉我父亲的话，他将会立即为我大动干戈。
10.后来有一天，我们家赢得了一个报刊比赛，可以免费照相。当我想到著名好莱坞影星华丽的照片时，我非常兴奋。我迫不及待地想要把这个令人激动的消息告诉我朋友。
9.直到那天，妈妈说我必须穿我最好的浅绿色的镶有蕾丝花边的裙子去学校时，我知道我的想法破灭了，因为拍照正好在课后，而她却没察觉到我所面临的困窘。
10.到了这一天，我漫不经心地穿上了那条珍爱的裙子，心情沉重地拖着脚步去了学校。在校会上，没等到罚站的命令，我就径直地走上了站台，再一次忍受着同辈的嘲笑和副校长的冷眼。
11.当我无数次地想到那个冷酷无情的老师对我的衣服连看都不看一眼，并对坐在下面乖巧且渴望加入年轻女孩队伍的我视而不见时，委屈的泪水忍不住的想流下来。
12.校会结束以后，第一节课是英国文学，这是我最喜欢的一门课，上课的老师是我最喜欢的老师。为了能使我的内心平静下来，我安慰自己至少我还能在教室的后面享受品读查尔斯·狄更斯的《双城记》。当我还在假想的时候，却突然上课了，迈克·维让我做到教室的前面，难道迈克·维已经加入了敌方阵营？
13.尽管在我一次又一次被挑出去站着的时候，我都尽力掩饰我有多么痛苦，但我低垂的眼，低下的头和流出的泪又一次泄露了我的沮丧。
14.由于我坐在前排，迈克·维小姐抬起头从上到下仔细打量了我一番，之后她说出了在这个心胸狭窄的地方我听到过的最动听的一句话。
15.亲爱的，我觉得你就是这个沉闷的学校里最亮丽的最可爱的一道风景线，看到你是一件让人觉得愉悦的事情，而我们只有一节课的见面时间，不是一整天。
16.我冰封的心瞬间就融化了，我开始变得很自信。我相信我给她的那个微笑是她见过的最灿烂的笑容。在剩余的时间里我都因她的那些话所带来的暖意而飘飘然了。
17.虽然她擅长的是英国文学，但那天迈克·维老师给我，甚至整个班级，上了一堂让我至今难忘的教会人同情的一课。她教会我:在逆境中一句善意的话可以帮助人的一生。事实上，她意味深长的话，让我内心深处的某一部分的灵魂更加坚强，再也不会被任何人，任何事打败。
Unit 9 How to Grow Old 课文翻译
Unit 9 How to Grow Old Bertrand A. Russell 1. In spite of the title, this article will really be on how not to grow old, which, at my time of life, is a much more important subject. My first advice would be, to choose your ancestors carefully. Although both my parents died young, I have done well in this respect as regards my other ancestors. My maternal grandfather, it is true, was cut off in the flower of his youth at the age of sixty-seven, but my other three grandparents all lived to be over eighty. Of remoter ancestors I can only discover one who did not live to a great age, and he died of a disease which is now rare, namely, having his head cut off. A great-grandmother of mine, who was a friend of Gibbon, lived to the age of ninety-two, and to her last day remained a terror to all her descendants. My maternal grandmother, after having nine children who survived, one who died in infancy, and many miscarriages, as soon as she became a widow devoted herself to women’s higher education. She was one of the founders of Girton College, and worked hard at opening the medical profession to women. She used to relate how she met in Italy an elderly gentleman who was looking very sad. She inquired the cause of his melancholy and he said that he had just parted fro m his two grandchildren. “Good gracious,” she exclaimed, “I have seventy-two grandchildren, and if I were sad each time I parted from one of them, I should have a dismal existence!” “Madre snaturale,” he replied. But speaking as one of the seventy-two, I prefer her recipe. After the age of eighty she found she had some difficulty in getting to sleep, so she habitually spent the hours from midnight to 3 a.m. in reading popular science. I do not believe that she ever had time to notice that she was growing old. This, I think, is the proper recipe for remaining young. If you have wide and keen interests and activities in which you can still be effective, you will have no reason to think about the merely statistical fact of the number of years you have already lived, still less of the probable brevity of your future. 2. As regards health, I have nothing useful to say since I have little experience of illness. I eat and drink whatever I like, and sleep when I cannot keep awake. I never do anything whatever on the ground that it is good for health, though in actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome. 3. Psychologically there are two dangers to be guarded against in old age. One of these is undue absorption in the past. It does not do to live in memories, in regrets for the good old days, or in sadness about friends who are dead. One’s thoughts must be directed to
必修一课文及翻译
必修一 Unit 1 Friendship ANNE’S BEST FRIEND Do you want a friend whom you could tell everything to, like your deepest feelings and thoughts Or are you afraid that your friend would laugh at you, or would not understand what you are going through Anne Frank wanted the first kind, so she made her best friend. Anne lived in Amsterdam in Netherlands during Would WarⅡ.Her family was Jewish so they had to hide or they would be caught by the German Nazi .She and her family hid away for nearly twenty-five months before they were discovered. During that time the only true friend was her diary. She said ,”I don’t want to set down a series of facts in a diary as most people do ,but I want this diary itself to be my friend, and I shall call my friend Kitty .”Now read how she felt after being in the hiding place since July 1942. Thursday 15th June 1944 Dear Kitty, I wonder if it’s because I haven’t been able to be outdoors for so long that I’ve grown so crazy about everything to do with nature. I can well remember that there was a time when a deep blue sky, the song of the birds, moonlight and flowers could never have kept me spellbound. That’s changed since I was here. …For example, one evening when it was so warm, I stayed awake on purpose until half past eleven in order to have a good look at the moon by myself. But as the moon gave far too much light, I didn’t dare open a window. Another time five months ago, I happened to be upstairs at dusk when the window was open. I didn’t go downstairs until the windo w had to be shut. The dark, rainy evening, the wind, the thundering clouds held me entirely in their power; it was the first time in a year and a half that I’d seen the night face to face…. …Sadly…I am only able to look at nature through dirty curtains han ging before very dusty windows. it’s no pleasure looking through these any longer because nature is one thing that really must be experienced. Your, Anne 安妮最好的朋友 你想不想有一位无话不谈能推心置腹的朋友或者你会不会担心你的朋友会嘲笑你，会不理解你目前的困境呢安妮弗兰克想要的是第一种类型的朋友，所以她把的日记当作自己最好的朋友。 在第二次世界大战期间，安妮住在荷兰的阿姆斯特丹。她一家人都是犹太人，所以他们不得不躲藏起来，否则就会被德国的纳粹分子抓去。她和她的家人躲藏了将近25个月之后才被发现。在那段时期，她的日记成了她唯一忠实的朋友。她说：“我不愿像大多数人那样在日记中记流水账。我要把我的日记当作自己的朋友，我把我的这个朋友叫做基蒂。”现在，来看看安妮自1942年7月起躲进藏身处后的那种心情吧。 1944年6月15日，星期四 亲爱的基蒂： 我不知道这是不是因为我太久不能出门的缘故，我变得对一切与大自然有关的事物都无比狂热。我记得非常清楚，以前，湛蓝的天空、鸟儿的歌唱、月光和鲜花，从未令我心迷神
毛概期末考试试题及答案
毛概期末考试试题 项选择题（每题1分，共15分） 1、全面贯彻“三个代表”重要思想的关键在（A ） A、坚持与时俱进 B、坚持党的先进性 C、坚持执政为民 D、坚持党的领导 2、邓小平理论的精髓是（B） A、解放生产力, 发展生产力 B、解放思想, 实事求是 C、坚持四项基本原则 D、“ 三个有利于”标准 3、消灭剥削的物质前提是（B ） A、实行公有制 B、生产力的高度发达 C、实行人民民主专政 D、实行按劳分配 4、我国社会主义初级阶段的时间是指（B） A、中华人民共和国成立到社会主义现代化基本实现 B、社会主义改造基本完成到社会主义现代化基本实现 C、中华人民共和国成立到社会主义改造基本完成 D、社会主义改造基本完成到共产主义社会 5、坚持党的基本路线一百年不动摇的关键是（A ） A、坚持以经济建设为中心不动摇 B、坚持“两手抓, 两手都要硬”的方针不动摇 C、坚持四项基本原则不动摇 D、坚持改革开放不动摇 6、我国社会主义建设的战略目标是（D） A、实现农业、工业、国防和科学技术现代化 B、实现工业化、社会化、市场化、和现代化 C、实现政治、经济和文化的现代化 D、把我国建设成为富强、民主、文明的社会主义现代化国家 7、我国的工业化任务还没有完成，总体上看，现在还处于（C） A、农业社会 B、现代化工业社会 C、工业化中期阶段 D、工业化高级阶段 8、实现全面建设小康社会的目标重点和难点在（D） A、大城市 B、中等城市 C、小城镇 D、农村 9、实行以家庭承包经营为基础、统分结合的双层经营体制，是党在农村的基本政策，必须长期坚持。稳定和完善这一双层经营体制的关键和核心是（A ）A、稳定和完善土地承包关系B、完善农村所有制结构 C、尊重农民的首创精神 D、发展规模经济 10、改革开放以来，对社会主义可以实行市场经济在理论认识上重大突破是（D ） A、市场经济是法治经济 B、市场对资源配置起基础性作用 C、市场经济是国家宏观调控的经济 D、市场经济不属于社会基本制度的范畴 11、社会主义市场经济条件下，市场机制（A ） A、对资源配置起基础性作用 B、能确保经济总量的平衡 C、可以实现经济结构的平衡 D、可以保障社会公平 12、私营经济中的劳动者的收入属于（C）
Unit 1 A Class Act 课文翻译
Unit 1 A CLASS ACT Florence Cartlidge 1. Growing up in bomb-blitzed Manchester during the Second World War meant times were tough, money was short, anxiety was rife and the pawnshop was a familiar destination for many families, including mine. 2. Yet I could not have asked for more enterprising and optimistic parents. They held our family together with hard work, dignity and bucketloads of cheer. My sturdy and ingenious father could turn his hand to almost anything and was never short of carpentry and handyman work. He even participated in the odd bout of backstreet boxing to make ends meet. For her part, our mum was thrifty and meticulously clean, and her five children were always sent to school well fed, very clean, and attired spotlessly, despite the hard conditions. 3. The trouble was, although my clothes were ironed to a knife-edge, and shoes polished to a gleam, not every item was standard school uniform issue. While Mum had scrimped and saved to obtain most of the gear, I still didn’t have the pres cribed blue blazer and hatband. 4. Because of the war, rationing was in place and most schools had relaxed their attitude towards proper uniforms, knowing how hard it was to obtain clothes. Nevertheless, the girls’ school I attended made it strict policy that each of its students was properly attired, and the deputy headmistress who ran the daily assembly made it her mission to teach me a lesson. 5. Despite my attempts at explaining why I couldn’t comply, and despite the fact that I was making slow progress towards the full uniform, every day I would be pulled out of line and made to stand on the stage as a shining example of what not to wear to school. 6. Every day I would battle back tears as I stood in front of my peers, embarrassed and, most often, alone. My punishment also extended to being barred from the gym team or to not taking part in the weekly ballroom dancing classes, which I adored. I desperately
七年级英语上册课文翻译
七年级英语上册课文翻译（二） 注：按仁爱版英语七年级课本顺序排列，学生可依此闭卷翻译为英语课文，提高单词记忆、短句翻译和写作能力。 1、打扰一下，这个在英语里面是什么意思？ 2、这是橡皮擦吗？ 3、你怎么拼写它？ 4、谢谢，不用谢。 5、请问你能拼写它吗？不，我不能。 6、那个在英语里面是什么意思? 7、谢谢，不用谢。 8、这些是什么？它们是书。 9、妈妈，哪些是橘子吗？ 10、不，它们不是。 11、它们是什么？ 12、它们是苹果。 13、简从加拿大来，她十二岁了。 14、现在她在北京仁爱国际学校。
15、 16、是的，你是迈克吗？ 17、不，我不是。我有一个小鼻子，但他有一个大的。你有 大眼睛吗？ 18、是的，我有。 19、哦，我知道了。你是康康。 20、是的，你很对。 21、迈克，谁是你最喜欢的电影明星？ 22、猜猜，他是中国人，他有一个大鼻子。 23、他有长头发吗? 24、不，他没有。 25、他有一个大嘴巴吗？是的，他有。 26、我知道，他是布鲁克.李。不，再猜猜。 27、我的脸是圆的，我有一张圆脸。 28、你的脸是长的，你有一张长脸。 29、他的头发是短的，他有短头发。 30、他的眼睛是大的，他有大眼睛。 31、他的眼睛是小的，他有小眼睛。
32、我是一个男孩，我是十三岁，我来自英格兰。 33、我是一名学生，我有一张圆脸和小眼睛。我的鼻子是大 的，我的嘴巴是小的，我有一个姐姐，她的名字是艾米。 她是十二岁，她也是一名学生，她有一张圆脸，大眼睛，一个小鼻子。我有一个小嘴巴，我们是同一个学校，但 是在不同的年级。 34、你又一个小刀吗？是的，我有。他有一个尺子吗？是的， 他有。他们有长的腿吗？不他们没有。他们有短的腿。 35、她有小手吗？不，她没有。她有大手。 36、你好，康康，那个男孩是谁？ 37、哦，他是我的朋友约克。 38、他从哪里来？他来自日本。 39、但是你们看起来很像。对的，我们都有黑头发和黑眼睛。 我有长头发和蓝眼睛。我们看起来不像，但我们是好朋 友。
Thechaser追逐者中英对照
The Chaser John Collier Alan Auste n, as n ervous as a kitte n, went up certa in dark and creaky stairs in the n eighborhood of Pell Street , and peered about for a long time on the dim landing before he found the n ame he wan ted writte n obscurely on one of the doors. He pushed ope n this door, as he had bee n told to do, and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no furn iture but a pla in kitche n table, a rock in g-chair, and an ordinary chair. On one of the dirty buff-colored walls were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a doze n bottles and jars. An old man sat in the rock in g-chair, read ing a n ewspaper. Ala n, without a word, handed him the card he had been given. 人Sit down, Mr. Austen, said the old man very politely. 人I am glad to make your acqua intance. 人Is it true, asked Alan, 人that you have a certain mixture that has ! er ! quite extraordinary effects? 人My dear sir, replied the old man, 人my stock in trade is not very large ! I don …t deal in laxatives and teething mixtures ! but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordin ary. 人Well, the fact is ! began Alan. 人Here, for example, interrupted the old man, reaching for a bottle from the shelf. 人Here is a liquid as colorless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy. 人Do you mean it is a poison? cried Alan, very much horrified. 人Call it a glove-cleaner if you like, said the old man indifferently. 人Maybe it will clean gloves. I have never tried. One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes. 人I want nothing of that sort, said Alan. 人Probably it is just as well, said the old man. 人Do you know the price of this? For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousa nd dollars. Never less. Not a penny less. 人I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive, said Alan apprehe nsively. 人Oh dear, no, said the old man. 人It would be no good charg ing that sort of price for a love poti on, for example. Young people who n eed a love poti on very seldom have five thousa nd dollars. Otherwise they would not n eed a love poti on. 人I am glad to hear that, said Alan. 人I look at it like this, said the old man. 人Please a customer with one article, and he will come back whe n he n eeds another. Even if it is more costly. He will save up for it, if n ecessary. 人So, said Alan, 人you really do sell love potions? 人If I did not sell love potions, said the old man, reaching for another bottle, 人I should not have mentioned the other matter to you. It is only whe n one is in a positi on to oblige that one can afford to be so con fide ntial. 人And these potions, said Alan. 人They are not just ! just ! er ! 人Oh, no, said the old man. 人Their effects are permanent, and exte nd far bey ond casual impulse. But they in clude it. Boun tifully, in siste ntly. Everlast in gly. 人Dear me! said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachme nt. "How very in teresti ng! 人But consider the spiritual side, said the old man.
Unit 3 A Hanging 课文翻译教学教材
U n i t3A H a n g i n g 课文翻译
Unit 3 A Hanging A HANGING George Orwell 1. It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot for drinking water. In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two. Detailed Reading 2. One prisoner had been brought out of his cell. He was a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. Six tall Indian warders were guarding him and getting him ready for the gallows. Two of them stood by with rifles and fixed bayonets, while the others handcuffed him, passed a chain through his handcuffs and fixed it to their belts, and lashed his arms tightly to his sides. They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there. But he stood quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening. 3. Eight o'clock struck and a bugle call floated from the distant barracks. The superintendent of the jail, who was standing apart from the rest of us, moodily prodding the gravel with his stick, raised his head at the sound. "For God's sake hurry up, Francis," he said irritably. "The man ought to have been dead by this time. Aren't you ready yet?" 4. Francis, the head jailer, a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles, waved his black hand. "Yes sir, yes sir," he bubbled. "All is satisfactorily prepared. The hangman is waiting. We shall proceed." 5. "Well, quick march, then. The prisoners can't get their breakfast till this job's over." 6. We set out for the gallows. Two warders marched on either side of the prisoner, with their rifles at the slope; two others marched close against him, gripping him by arm and shoulder, as though at once pushing and supporting him. The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind.
2021年大学毛概期末考试全真模拟试卷及答案(一)
2021年大学毛概期末考试全真模拟试卷及 答案（一） 一、单项选择题 1、对外开放是（Ｃ） A.赶超发达资本主义国家的需要 B.赶超发展中国家的需要 C.我国社会主义现代化建设的需要 D.加快发展商品经济的需要 2、我国实行对外开放是（Ａ） A长期的基本国策 B一项特殊政策 C社会主义初级阶段的一项政策 D一项权宜之计 3、实行对外开放的前提是（Ｂ） A. 独立自主、自力更生 B. 发展对外贸易，引进资金和先进技术 C. 公平合理、互惠互利 D.实行全方位、多层次、宽领域的开放 4、对外开放是对（Ｄ） A.社会主义国家开放 B.资本主义国家开放 C.发展中国家开放 D.全世界开放 5、我国对外开放的先头阵地是（Ｄ）
A.经济技术开发区 B.沿海开放城市 C.保税区 D.经济特区 6、“改革是中国的第二次革命”是从（） A.扫除发展生产力的障碍这个意义上说的 B.对社会各个方面要进行根本性变革的意义上说的 C.根本上改变束缚我国生产力的经济体制意义上说的 D.根本上改变束缚我国生产力的政治体制意义上说的 7、社会主义国家改革的性质是( Ａ ) A.基本制度的变革 B.社会主义政治、经济运行方式的变革 C.社会主义制度的自我完善和发展 D.社会主义原有体制的修补 8、社会主义改革开放是（Ｃ） A.社会主义国家的立国之本 B.社会主义建设的中心 C.社会主义国家的富民之路 D.执政党建设的重要内容 9、改革、发展、稳定三者是内在统一的，其中发展是( Ａ ) A.目的 B.动力 C.基础 D.条件 10、我国对外开放政策的基本点是发展( Ａ ) A.对外经济关系 B.对外政治关系 C.对外文化关系 D.对外学术关系 11、对外开放是一项涉及面十分广泛的基本国策，其基本点是（Ａ）
人教版初一上册英语课文.翻译
人教版七年级上册英语课文翻译 P4 My name’s Daming and I’m in Class One. I’m from China and I’m Chinese. I’m from Beiji ng. Beijing is a big city. Lingling’s in my class. She’s my friend. My name’s Lingling. I’m not from England and I’m not English. I’m Chinese. I’m in Class O ne. Daming is my friend. We’re twelve years old. He’s from Beijing and he’s in my class. W e’re good friends. My name’s Wang Hui and I’m Chinese. I’m from Shanghai. I’m thirteen years old. I’m in Cl ass One with Daming and Lingling. They are my friends. 我的名字叫大明，我在一班。我来自中国，我是中国人。我来自北京，北京是个大城市。玲玲和我同班班，她是我的朋友。 我的名字叫玲玲。我不是来自英国的，我也不是英国人。我是中国人。我在一班。大明是我的朋友。我们12岁了。他来自北京，他和我同班。我们是好朋友。 我的名字叫王辉，我是中国人。我不是来自北京，我来自上海。我13岁了。我和大明、玲玲。在一班，他们是我的朋友。 P8 Miss Li: Please welcome Betty and Tony to our school. They are from Beijing International School. This is Betty. Betty: Hello. My name’s Betty. I’m from America. I’m 13 years old and I’m a student. I ca n play football and I can play basketball. I can speak English but I can’t speak Chinese. Th is is Tony. He’s my friend. Tony: Hello. My name’s Tony. I’m 11 years old. I’m from England and I can speak English . I can play football and table tennis, and I can ride a bike. Lingling: Can you swim? Tony: No, I can’t. And I can’t speak Chinese! 李小姐：请欢迎贝蒂和托尼来我们学校。他们来自北京国际学校，这是贝蒂。 贝蒂：你好，我的名字叫贝蒂。我来自美国。我十三岁，是一个学生。我会踢足球，会打篮球。我会说英语，但是我不会说汉语。这是托尼，他是我的朋友 托尼：你好。我的名字叫托尼。我十一岁了。我来自英国，我会说英语，我会踢足球和打乒乓球，我会骑自行车。 玲玲：你会游泳吗？
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Unit 7 The Chaser John Henry Collier 1 Alan Austen, as nervous as a kitten, went up certain dark and creaky stairs in the neighborhood of Pell Street, and peered about for a long time on the dim hallway before he found the name he wanted written obscurely on one of the doors. 2 He pushed open this door, as he had been told to do, and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no furniture but a plain kitchen table, a rocking-chair, and an ordinary chair. On one of the dirty buff-coloured walls were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a dozen bottles and jars. 3 An old man sat in the rocking-chair, reading a newspaper. Alan, without a word, handed him the card he had been given. “Sit down, Mr. Austen,” said the old man very politely. “I am glad to make your acquaintance.” 4 “Is it true,” asked Alan, “that you have a certain mixture that has … er … quite extraordinary effects?” 5 “My dear sir,” replied the old man, “my sto ck in trade is not very large — I don’t deal in laxatives and teething mixtures —but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary.” 6 “Well, the fact is …” began Alan. 7 “Here, for example,” interrupted the old man, reaching for a bottle from the shelf. “Here is a liquid as colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.” 8 “Do you mean it is a poison?” cried Alan, very much horrified. 9 “Call it a glove-cleaner if you like,” said the old man indifferently. “Maybe it will clean gloves. I have never tried. One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes.” 10 “I want nothing of that sort,” said Alan. 11 “Probably it is just as well,” said the old man. “Do you know the price of this? For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a penny less.” 12 “I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said Alan apprehensively.