15篇文章贯通六级词汇Unit05-Part2

[00:00.00]She relished 1 the novelty and thrill

[00:03.71]of having been summoned

[00:05.02]to this prestigious 2 man's home.

[00:06.88]The sheer beauty of the place

[00:09.29]far surpassed her expectations.

[00:11.37]However, she was becoming suspicious

[00:14.54]about the reason for this visit.

[00:16.73]Now that she had received

[00:18.59]an orientation 3 to his home,

[00:20.23]and notwithstanding her first impressions

[00:22.31]of the man, she was anxious

[00:24.17]to learn why she was here.

[00:26.24]What could a mere 4 reporter

[00:27.78]do for this rich, influential 5 man?

[00:30.62]He began to speak soberly,

[00:33.03]contradicting his earlier spontaneity.

[00:35.99]“I will tell you a story

[00:37.74]you may have difficulty believing,”

[00:39.71]he said, softly. “I was

[00:42.33]not born into this lifestyle.

[00:43.97]It is ironic 6 that there is

[00:45.72]such a discrepancy 7 between

[00:47.14]what I was and what I am.

[00:48.67]My father left the United States

[00:51.63]when I was about two years old.

[00:54.04]He ran a junk store

[00:55.57]in the slums of Winnipeg

[00:57.21]when I was a kid.

[00:58.74]He was a vulgar man

[01:00.05]but he knew how to

[01:01.59]fool people into thinking

[01:02.90]they were buying something

[01:04.11]rare or valuable. It was

[01:05.52]under his tutelag that

[01:07.17]I learned to be a fraud.”

[01:09.35]I decided 8 at an early age

[01:11.65]that if there was

[01:13.95]a shortcut 9 to success,

[01:15.26]I could bypass the complications

[01:17.01]of getting there by

[01:18.32]the conventional methods. I was

[01:20.19]like a hurricane, rushing forward

[01:22.70]without consideration for the rules.

[01:24.78]If it's any consolation 10,

[01:26.85]I didn't intentionally 11 harm anyone

[01:29.60]in the process. I was able

[01:32.11]to stay within the parameters 12

[01:33.42]of the law, but just barely.

[01:36.16]I bought and sold used furniture

[01:38.56]before going into the antique business.

[01:40.64]When I bought, I always

[01:42.39]paid a fraction of the potential

[01:44.36]worth of the goods.

[01:45.89]When I sold, I always

[01:47.53]made a profit. I was able

[01:50.27]to upgrade my stock with

[01:51.69]almost every transaction. In time,

[01:54.43]I had a warehouse 13 full

[01:56.07]of merchandise.I didn't

[01:58.04]flatter myself by thinking

[02:00.23]I hadn't muddied the waters a bit.

[02:02.41]I knew I had probably

[02:03.51]stepped on a few toes, but

[02:05.04]I was on a roll. I had

[02:06.68]the momentum 14 and rejoiced

[02:08.43]in my success. As long as

[02:10.62]the money kept coming in,

[02:12.04]anything was permissible 15.

[02:14.23]One day, I received a visit

[02:16.96]from a rather important patron

[02:18.71]of the arts. He had an

[02:21.12]interesting proposition for me.

[02:23.20]He held the patent and trademark 16

[02:25.71]for the prototype of

[02:27.57]an innovative 17 way to determine

[02:29.22]the age of a painting

[02:31.20]using ultraviolet light. He would

[02:33.28]sell them to me for

[02:34.70]the nominal 18 fee of a nickel

[02:36.01]if I would reciprocate 19 by

[02:37.99]doing him a favor. I was

[02:41.04]to include one of his

[02:42.25]personal paintings in my next shipment

[02:44.22]of antiques going to New York.

[02:46.19]At first, I thought he was

[02:48.59]mocking me, but he gave

[02:50.57]me his oath that he just

[02:52.20]wanted to ensure the painting

[02:53.85]would arrive at its destination safely,

[02:56.04]and, because it would be

[02:58.33]a part of an antique shipment,

[03:00.19]it would be exempt 20 from import duty.

[03:03.26]It was a provocative 21 offer,

[03:05.01]and even though I remained skeptical 22,

[03:07.30]I agreed.A few days later,

[03:10.91]a crated 24 painting arrived and

[03:13.26]was added to my goods

[03:14.46]ready for delivery to New York.

[03:16.87]I had always subscribed 25 to

[03:18.73]the theory that if something appeared

[03:20.48]to be too good to be true,

[03:22.12]it probably was. However,

[03:24.52]my greed prevailed and

[03:27.59]the painting was on its way.

[03:29.56]I was unaware 26 at the time

[03:31.86]that my fortunes were about

[03:33.72]to go into a downward spiral.

[03:35.57]My benefactor 27, it turned out,

[03:38.42]was a man with a grudge 28

[03:40.06]against me. Irrespective of the fact

[03:43.78]that I felt a deal

[03:44.98]we had made years before

[03:46.30]had been fair, he felt

[03:47.83]I had cheated him.

[03:49.36]I was about to be

[03:50.89]the recipient 29 of his wrath 30.

[03:52.64]When my agent in New York

[03:54.94]went to customs to retrieve 31

[03:56.36]the shipment, he was greeted

[03:58.11]by a squad 32 of police waiting

[03:59.76]to detain him on

[04:00.74]charges of smuggling 33 cocaine 34.

[04:02.71]It appeared there was a bit

[04:04.79]of a discrepancy between

[04:06.32]what I was told was in

[04:07.41]the crate 23 and the actual contents.

[04:09.71]The drugs were in

[04:11.24]a hidden compartment 35 in the crate.

[04:12.99]I admit it was naive 36

[04:15.29]of me to believe

[04:16.60]I had no enemies,

[04:17.92]but I didn't know anyone

[04:19.23]would go to this degree

[04:20.54]to prove how much he despised me.

[04:21.96]Hitherto, I had gone through

[04:24.92]life thinking that when two people

[04:27.10]agreed to a deal, if one of

[04:28.64]them got the better of the other,

[04:30.06]it was fair, because they did agree.

[04:32.79]Now I was learning that if

[04:35.21]you take advantage of some people,

[04:37.06]even with their permission,

[04:38.81]you aggravate 37 them to seek revenge.

[04:41.43]I can't refute my recklessness.

[04:43.41]Almost seven years have

[04:46.69]elapsed since that time.

[04:48.77]My agent took responsibility

[04:50.19]for the crime and went

[04:51.61]to jail for five years.

[04:53.03]I felt guilty as hell,

[04:54.79]but I continued to pay him

[04:56.86]by sending the money to his family.

[04:58.40]I even withheld 39 extra

[05:00.69]in a bonus account to give

[05:02.23]to him when he was released.

[05:03.86]I also gave up my business

[05:05.83]and began to help others

[05:07.15]start their businesses. In time,

[05:09.45]the guilt 38 I felt subsided 40.

[05:12.07]I put my energies into stepping

[05:13.93]into the breach 41 to help

[05:15.13]those less fortunate than I.

[05:16.99]To my amazement 42, my luck started

[05:19.29]to fluctuate upward and I flourished.

[05:21.81]All you see here today,

[05:23.56]I have accumulated since that time.

[05:25.63]Now, it seems, my enemy

[05:28.48]has decided to reclaim 43

[05:30.67]his power over me.

[05:32.10]He has reported the crime

[05:33.73]and the erroneous imprisonment 44 of my

[05:35.15]agent and named me as

[05:36.80]the person responsible for the offence.

[05:39.42]I had never changed my citizenship 45,

[05:41.50]so the F.B.I. wants me

[05:43.79]deported so they can

[05:45.22]prosecute me in New York.

[05:46.53]I hope I can induce you,

[05:49.15]through your column, to tell my story.

[05:51.24]Next week I have to appear before

[05:54.08]a magistrate 46 for the preliminary hearing.

[05:57.14]If I'm not mistaken, public pressure

[05:59.33]might enable me to

[06:00.75]avoid deportation 47 at least.

[06:02.94]I am more likely to get

[06:04.58]a fair trial here than there.

[06:06.12]My record as a good citizen

[06:08.31]may offset 48 the perception that

[06:09.94]I may be a criminal.

[06:11.47]What do you think? Will you help?

[06:13.23]Kate had listened to this synopsis 49

[06:15.42]in silence but her outrage 50

[06:17.27]was building. While his story

[06:19.35]seemed plausible 51, this plea

[06:21.21]for her assistance didn't quite fit.

[06:23.51]With his financial resources,

[06:25.70]he could hire the best

[06:27.12]legal team in the country.

[06:28.76]She realized she had to

[06:30.51]detach herself from her first impressions

[06:32.37]and extract fact from fiction.

[06:35.43]Why didn't she believe him?

[06:37.40]Suddenly, it came to her.

[06:39.38]Exposition of this version

[06:41.78]of Victor's tale would not only

[06:43.86]gain him public sympathy, it would

[06:46.38]invalidate any testimony 52 against him.

[06:48.68]Nothing could constrain 53 her

[06:51.16]when she realized she had literally 54

[06:52.58]been taken in by his story.

[06:55.31]“If you were innocent,

[06:56.63]why weren't you the defendant 55?

[06:57.94]If you were innocent

[06:59.03]all those years ago,

[07:00.02]why did your agent

[07:01.22]go to prison for you?

[07:02.53]Why did it take so long for

[07:03.96]your enemy to turn you in?

[07:05.82]The statute 56 of limitations

[07:07.46]for that offence has expired.

[07:09.43]I believe this has been

[07:11.18]a pathetic attempt to get me

[07:12.60]to mediate 57 your case in the press.

[07:13.91]I think you have always been

[07:15.55]an integral player in

[07:17.08]the criminal world and your past

[07:18.83]has caught up with you.

[07:20.26]My cardinal 58 sin was allowing myself

[07:22.23]to be reeled in by your tales

[07:24.74]of what a model citizen you are.”

[07:26.28]Kate could feel herself

[07:28.68]getting dizzy and light-headed,

[07:30.11]surprised by the audacity 59 she had,

[07:32.52]talking to anyone in that manner.

[07:33.93]Before she lost complete control,

[07:36.67]she would have to

[07:38.31]get out of there.

[07:39.52]She stood, turned, and

[07:41.38]marched toward the door.

[07:42.79]As she began to open

[07:44.33]the front door, she looked back.

[07:45.97]Victor stood beside his chair,

[07:47.61]pale and shaken. “You admitted

[07:50.56]you were a fraud in your youth.

[07:52.65]You are still a fraud!

[07:53.74]I will write your story...

[07:54.72]my version! My guess is that

[07:57.46]the eventual 60 verdict will be‘guilty’!”