时间:2018-12-04 作者:英语课 分类:新视野大学英语读写教程(3)


英语课

  Section AThe Expensive Fantasy of Lord Williams


        Tomintoul, Scotland — On Saturday night at The Grouse's Nest, they're still willing to raise a glass or two to “Lord Williams” though now his title prompts laughter. And now they just call him “Tony”.

There are those in this beautiful village in the mountains of Scotland (population, 320) who say they were never quite sureabout Anthony Williams, the soft-spoken, wealthy noble who arrived in 1986 with his well-dressed wife.

And there are others who say their suspicions were aroused over time, as the 55-year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared onweekends turned out in fine suits, bought up property after property, providing such a large injection of cash into the villagethat he single-handedly brought the community back to life.

But no one could have possibly guessed the truth — that the man with endless money and a friendly manner was not a lordat all but a government employee living out a fantasy that he was a Scottish noble and paying for it by stealing funds fromScotland Yard.

About two weeks ago, a regretful Mr. Williams, who had worked for the London police since 1959 and had risen to a£65,000 a year position as deputy director of finance, was brought into court and sentenced to seven and a half years inprison.

Estimates are that he poured nearly £5 million of the stolen money into the village and gave jobs to 43 people. And nowthat he has fallen upon dark days at least some villagers are sticking by him.

“I found him a very charming man, very friendly, considerate — not at all proud,” said Georgie McAllister, 70, themanager of the local museum whose family has been farming the surrounding hills for generations. “It's hard to understandhow a clever person like him could mislead people like that. It's sad. Of course, it did benefit the village. A lot of the propertieswere beautifully restored.”

A few doors down the square, barber Donald Corr sat inside his shop and described how suspicions began to grow. “Everyonewondered where the money was coming from. Why was he spending it in a little place in the mountains? Christ, he wouldn'thave gotten it back in 100 years.”

According to the court, Mr. Williams stole more than £8 million over eight years. Most of it came from a secret fund thathad been placed under his sole authority and that was supposed to be used to pay spies and conduct secret activities againstthe Irish Republican Army.

Instead, it went to create one more British lord.

Mr. Williams bought an estate with a fine brick house in England. He bought a beautiful home with white walls and a poolin Spain. He bought noble titles at auctions 1, spending £95,000 to become the Lord of Chirnside, and then adding on 10 moreScottish titles.

But most of all, he sunk his dishonest gains into this village that captured his heart with its fine stone cottages, its centralarea of green grass, green rows of hedges, and its fantastic view of rolling fields and pine forests disappearing into the distancelike the men of an ancient army marching over the horizon.

He bought multiple cottages and fixed 2 them up. He purchased the pub and made it into a fine place to have a glass ofGlenlivet Scotch 3 whiskey, produced only 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the north. And most of all, he bought the run-downGordon Arms Hotel and totally restored it, transforming it from a mess into a glorious first-class hotel with 30 handsomelyfurnished rooms, wood-paneled stairs, false bookshelves with fake leather books and an outstanding restaurant.

“I would offer him three choices of glasses for the restaurant: an average one, a poor one, and fine crystal. Always, he chosethe crystal. Nothing but the best,” said David Abdy, who was chosen by Mr. Williams to manage the construction work andrun the businesses.

Mr. Williams deceived everyone, including Mr. Abdy and including even his own wife, telling them that he inherited themoney from a rich uncle. He was caught because his bank deposits were so large that they were noticed by the bank'smanagement. The bank notified the police, who discovered, to their terrible embarrassment 4, that the criminal was one oftheir own.

The London police commissioner 5 publicly apologized for poorly supervising his department. Under a hastily madearrangement, the police will sell the properties, but at a substantial financial loss. Mr. Abdy, a 27-year-old businessman,acquired the bulk of the properties for about half a million pounds, obtaining bank loans and striking deals with various peopleto pay only a part of what they are owed by Mr. Williams.

In the only interview he has given since his arrest a year ago, Mr. Williams discussed his motives 7 for the crime with aLondon newspaper: “I discovered this bloody 8 huge amount of money. I went from the need to pay off a few debts to what canonly be described as greed. There is no way to justify 9 it.”


  New Words

fantasy n. 幻想,想像

wealthy a. 富裕的

suspicion n. 1.猜疑,怀疑 2.怀疑,嫌疑

arouse vt. 1.引起,唤起,激起 2.唤醒

injection n. 1.投入,注入 2.注射

deputy n. 1.副职,副手 2.代理人

court n. 1.法院,法庭 2.球场

considerate a. 体谅的,体贴的

mislead vt. 1.给... ...以错误的想法或印象,使误解 2.领错或引错方向 3.把……带坏,使误入歧途

restore vt. 1.重建,修复 2.使恢复,使回复

barber n. 理发师

Christ int. (表示气愤、厌烦、惊讶等)

n. 基督(基督教创始人)

republican a. 共和国的,共和政体的,赞成共和的

n. 拥护共和政体的人

estate n. 1.庄园;大片私有土地 2.财产(尤指遗产)

brick n. 砖

vt. 用砖砌,用砖堵住

▲auction n. 拍卖;拍卖会

vt. 拍卖

hedge n. 1.(土地周围的)树篱 2.保护手段,防护措施

fantastic a. 1.极好的,极出色的 2.异想天开的,不切实际的 3.奇异的,古怪的

horizon n. 1.地平线 2.一个人的知识、经验、兴趣的限度或范围;眼界;见识

multiple a. 多重的,多样的,多的

n. 倍数

mess n. 1.污秽,杂乱,混乱 2.困境,狼狈的处境

glorious a. 1.美丽的,辉煌的,灿烂的 2.荣耀的,光荣的

furnish vt. 1.供给家具,用家具布置 2.提供,供应

panel vt. 给... ...镶面板

n. 1.面,板 2.专门小组

wood-paneled a. 镶木板的

leather n. 皮,皮革

crystal n. 水晶

deceive vt. 欺骗,蒙蔽

inherit vt. 继承(财产、爵位、头衔等)

deposit n. 1.存款 2.定金,押金

notify vt. 通知,报告

commission vt. 委任,任命

n. 1.考察团,调查团,委员会 2.任务,委托

commissioner n. 委员,专员,特派员

▲supervise vt. 监督,管理

arrangement n. 1.计划,安排,准备 2.整理,排列,布置

substantial a. 1.大的,相当可观的 2.大体上的,实质上的

bulk n. 1.大半,大部分 2.(巨大的)体积,大量

arrest n. 逮捕,拘留

vt. 逮捕,拘留

motive 6 n. 动机,(行动的)理由

bloody ad. (用于加强语气)非常,很

a. 1.(用于加强语气)非常的;该死的 2.血污的,流血的

debt n. 欠款,债务;负债

justify vt. 为... ...辩护,证明... ...正当(或有理)

Phrases and Expressions

raise a glass to 向... ...祝贺,为... ...干杯

turn out 打扮、装饰; 露面、出现

buy up 全部买进,尽量收购

bring … to life 使有活力(或生气)

live out 过(某种生活)

bring … into court 控告,起诉

fall upon dark days 遭到不幸,倒霉

stick by sb. 继续支持,忠于(尤指在困难时刻)

add on 附加,加上

sink … into 投资

fix up 修理;整修

make … into 使转变为

sell sth. at a loss 亏本出售

Proper Names

Tomintoul 托明陶尔

Scotland 苏格兰(英国的一部分,在大不列颠岛北部)

The Grouse's Nest 牢骚酒吧

Lord Williams 威廉斯勋爵

Tony 托尼

Anthony Williams 安东尼·威廉斯

Scotland Yard 苏格兰场(即伦敦警察总署)

London 伦敦

Georgie McAllister 乔吉·麦卡利斯特

Donald Corr 唐纳德·科尔

Irish Republican Army 爱尔兰共和军(谋求北爱尔兰脱离英国独立的秘密组织)

British (大)不列颠的,英国的,英联邦的

England 英格兰(在大不列颠岛南部及中部,是英国的主要部分)

Spain 西班牙(欧洲西南部国家)

Lord of Chirnside 彻恩赛德勋爵

Scottish 苏格兰的,苏格兰人的

Glenlivet 格伦利物(威士忌酒)

Gordon Arms Hotel 戈登·阿姆斯旅馆

David Abdy 戴维·阿布迪



1 auctions
n.拍卖,拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )
  • They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
  • Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子,因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句
2 fixed
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
3 scotch
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的
  • Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
  • Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景,真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。
4 embarrassment
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
5 commissioner
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员
  • The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
  • He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。
6 motive
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
7 motives
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 )
  • to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
  • His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。
8 bloody
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染
  • He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
  • He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
9 justify
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
学英语单词
adhami
Aitoliko
ANTILOG(Antilogarithm)
apert
auxiliary electric machine
Awangio
band shift
bandi
beam span
berangan
Butirosine
care-away
certificate policy
charge-controlled storage tube
chloroprocaine
collapsible container
complex vibration
connivings
constant load
cornucopia
cysteinyl-tRNA
data entry system
dexsecoverine
diagonal filing
dialogue speaker
Diospolis Mikra
edmund spensers
euphoric
exit receipt
fault indication device
fibrogastroscopy
framery
genuflect
genus Bocconia
girlschools
Hapsiphyllum
haul oneself up by one's own bootstraps
have a swim
head-scratchings
heavily compound-wound motor
highway data bank
hip to
home-bird
impactor
implicit storage management
interbike
leigh-mallory
liquid asset
long addendum tooth
lyson
marienglas
martyrising
Masoji
mcgranahan
melaphyres
menstruated
mixed bed column
multiple comparator method
natally
noonstead
not agree with sb
open-loop dpcm
overmature
patentometrics
physiotherapeutically
polymorphous heredity
preadapted
prepared atmosphere
protolophid
rakhimov
rank technique
rationalized vessel
re-deployment
register of directors' interests
ripeness for felling
rotche
safety pulley
section boundary
sensor wiring
series undercurrent tripping
shemeful
signal
sinusoidal jump function
small amplitude modulation
Soveja
Sub-50-nm
surface space charge region
surface-set bit
synchronous rotation
tamabler
thoghts
time rate wage
Trudeau, Edward Livingston
two-dimensional deflection
unifiliar
versatile additive
vibration rod
virginty
whiz
whole nine yards
XHTML MP
zondek-asehheim test