新概念英语3-19第三册第19课

New concept English Lesson 19

A very dear cat

一条昂贵的猫

dear，宝贵的；珍视的；昂贵；价格高

Why was Rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?

为什么Rastus不止一方面很贵重？

in more ways than one，不止一方面

Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals,

绑匪现在很少对动物有兴趣

kidnapper，绑匪

but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat.

但他们最近对Eleanor Ramsay夫人的猫有相当大的兴趣

take interest in，对……感兴趣

considerable，相当多（或大、重要等）的

Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady,

Eleanor Ramsay夫人，一个很富裕的老夫人

wealthy，富裕的

has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years.

和她的猫，Rastus，住在一间公寓里，已经很多年了

share，共有；合用；共享

share with，合伙；合住

flat，一套房间；公寓；单元房

Rastus leads an orderly life.

Rastus，过着有规律的生活

lead，过着（某种生活）

He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. 他通常在晚上走一小段路，并且在7点之前回家

be home，回家

by，在……之前

One evening, however, he failed to arrive.

然而，一天晚上，他没有回来

fail to，未能

Mrs. Ramsay got very worried.

Ramsay夫人非常着急

get worried，着急

She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.

她到处找他，但是找不到

look for，寻找

Three days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter.

Rastus失踪后的第三天，Ramsay夫人收到一封匿名信

anonymous，匿名的

The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of $1,000.

写信人声称Rastus得到妥善照顾，并且将立刻放回，如果Ramsay夫人支付1000英镑的赎金的话

state，声称

in safe hands，得到妥善照顾的；由可靠的人保护（或保管）的

ransom，赎金

Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door.

Ramsay夫人被命令把钱放在纸箱里，并且把纸箱放在门外

cardboard，纸箱

At first she decided to go to the police,

开始，她决定报警

go to the police，报警

but fearing that she would never see Rastus again –

但是害怕再也见不到Rastus

the letter had made that quite clear –

信里说的很清楚

make sth. clear，把……交代清楚了

she changed her mind.

她改变了主意

She withdrew从银行取款 $1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions.

她从银行取了1000英镑，按照绑匪的要求做了

The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word.

第二天早上，纸箱不见了，但是Ramsay夫人相信绑匪将信守诺言

keep ones word，信守承诺

Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening.

果然，Rastus那天晚上7点钟准时到家

Sure enough，果然

punctually ，准时地

He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. 他看上去很健康，尽管他有点渴，因为他喝了半瓶牛奶

well，adj.，健康的，身体好的

thirsty，口渴的

The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done.

当Ramsay夫人告诉警察她都做了一些什么时，他们很被惊到了

astound，使震惊

She explained that Rastus was very dear to her.

她解释说Rastus对她来说很珍贵

Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!

考虑到她支付的钱数，他的珍贵有双重含义

（猫本身对老太太很珍贵，花了1000镑很昂贵）