星火英语15篇文章背完大学英语六级词汇：Unit5-Part2

She relished 1 the novelty and thrill



of having been summoned



to this prestigious 2 man's home.



The sheer beauty of the place



far surpassed her expectations.



However, she was becoming suspicious



about the reason for this visit.



Now that she had received



an orientation 3 to his home,



and notwithstanding her first impressions



of the man, she was anxious



to learn why she was here.



What could a mere 4 reporter



do for this rich, influential 5 man?



He began to speak soberly,



contradicting his earlier spontaneity.



“I will tell you a story



you may have difficulty believing,”



he said, softly. “I was



not born into this lifestyle.



It is ironic 6 that there is



such a discrepancy 7 between



what I was and what I am.



My father left the United States



when I was about two years old.



He ran a junk store



in the slums of Winnipeg



when I was a kid.



He was a vulgar man



but he knew how to



fool people into thinking



they were buying something



rare or valuable. It was



under his tutelag that



I learned to be a fraud.”



I decided 8 at an early age



that if there was



a shortcut 9 to success,



I could bypass the complications



of getting there by



the conventional methods. I was



like a hurricane, rushing forward



without consideration for the rules.



If it's any consolation 10,



I didn't intentionally 11 harm anyone



in the process. I was able



to stay within the parameters 12



of the law, but just barely.



I bought and sold used furniture



before going into the antique business.



When I bought, I always



paid a fraction of the potential



worth of the goods.



When I sold, I always



made a profit. I was able



to upgrade my stock with



almost every transaction. In time,



I had a warehouse 13 full



of merchandise.I didn't



flatter myself by thinking



I hadn't muddied the waters a bit.



I knew I had probably



stepped on a few toes, but



I was on a roll. I had



the momentum 14 and rejoiced



in my success. As long as



the money kept coming in,



anything was permissible 15.



One day, I received a visit



from a rather important patron



of the arts. He had an



interesting proposition for me.



He held the patent and trademark 16



for the prototype of



an innovative 17 way to determine



the age of a painting



using ultraviolet light. He would



sell them to me for



the nominal 18 fee of a nickel



if I would reciprocate 19 by



doing him a favor. I was



to include one of his



personal paintings in my next shipment



of antiques going to New York.



At first, I thought he was



mocking me, but he gave



me his oath that he just



wanted to ensure the painting



would arrive at its destination safely,



and, because it would be



a part of an antique shipment,



it would be exempt 20 from import duty.



It was a provocative 21 offer,



and even though I remained skeptical 22,



I agreed.A few days later,



a crated 24 painting arrived and



was added to my goods



ready for delivery to New York.



I had always subscribed 25 to



the theory that if something appeared



to be too good to be true,



it probably was. However,



my greed prevailed and



the painting was on its way.



I was unaware 26 at the time



that my fortunes were about



to go into a downward spiral.



My benefactor 27, it turned out,



was a man with a grudge 28



against me. Irrespective of the fact



that I felt a deal



we had made years before



had been fair, he felt



I had cheated him.



I was about to be



the recipient 29 of his wrath 30.



When my agent in New York



went to customs to retrieve 31



the shipment, he was greeted



by a squad 32 of police waiting



to detain him on



charges of smuggling 33 cocaine 34.



It appeared there was a bit



of a discrepancy between



what I was told was in



the crate 23 and the actual contents.



The drugs were in



a hidden compartment 35 in the crate.



I admit it was naive 36



of me to believe



I had no enemies,



but I didn't know anyone



would go to this degree



to prove how much he despised me.



Hitherto, I had gone through



life thinking that when two people



agreed to a deal, if one of



them got the better of the other,



it was fair, because they did agree.



Now I was learning that if



you take advantage of some people,



even with their permission,



you aggravate 37 them to seek revenge.



I can't refute my recklessness.



Almost seven years have



elapsed since that time.



My agent took responsibility



for the crime and went



to jail for five years.



I felt guilty as hell,



but I continued to pay him



by sending the money to his family.



I even withheld 39 extra



in a bonus account to give



to him when he was released.



I also gave up my business



and began to help others



start their businesses. In time,



the guilt 38 I felt subsided 40.



I put my energies into stepping



into the breach 41 to help



those less fortunate than I.



To my amazement 42, my luck started



to fluctuate upward and I flourished.



All you see here today,



I have accumulated since that time.



Now, it seems, my enemy



has decided to reclaim 43



his power over me.



He has reported the crime



and the erroneous imprisonment 44 of my



agent and named me as



the person responsible for the offence.



I had never changed my citizenship 45,



so the F.B.I. wants me



deported 46 so they can



prosecute 47 me in New York.



I hope I can induce you,



through your column, to tell my story.



Next week I have to appear before



a magistrate 48 for the preliminary hearing.



If I'm not mistaken, public pressure



might enable me to



avoid deportation 49 at least.



I am more likely to get



a fair trial here than there.



My record as a good citizen



may offset 50 the perception that



I may be a criminal.



What do you think? Will you help?



Kate had listened to this synopsis 51



in silence but her outrage 52



was building. While his story



seemed plausible 53, this plea



for her assistance didn't quite fit.



With his financial resources,



he could hire the best



legal team in the country.



She realized she had to



detach herself from her first impressions



and extract fact from fiction.



Why didn't she believe him?



Suddenly, it came to her.



Exposition of this version



of Victor's tale would not only



gain him public sympathy, it would



invalidate any testimony 54 against him.



Nothing could constrain 55 her



when she realized she had literally 56



been taken in by his story.



“If you were innocent,



why weren't you the defendant 57?



If you were innocent



all those years ago,



why did your agent



go to prison for you?



Why did it take so long for



your enemy to turn you in?



The statute 58 of limitations



for that offence has expired.



I believe this has been



a pathetic attempt to get me



to mediate 59 your case in the press.



I think you have always been



an integral player in



the criminal world and your past



has caught up with you.



My cardinal 60 sin was allowing myself



to be reeled in by your tales



of what a model citizen you are.”



Kate could feel herself



getting dizzy and light-headed,



surprised by the audacity 61 she had,



talking to anyone in that manner.



Before she lost complete control,



she would have to



get out of there.



She stood, turned, and



marched toward the door.



As she began to open



the front door, she looked back.



Victor stood beside his chair,



pale and shaken. “You admitted



you were a fraud in your youth.



You are still a fraud!



I will write your story...



my version! My guess is that



the eventual 62 verdict will be‘guilty’!”