[by:英语听力网|http://yingyu.chazidian.com||查字典英语网] [00:00.00]喜欢chazidian.com，就把chazidian.com复制到QQ个人资料中！Lesson 49 The ideal servant [00:05.30]49 理想的仆人 [00:10.61]Listen to the tape then answer the question below. [00:13.28]听录音,然后回答以下问题. [00:15.96]What was Bessie's 'little weakness'? [00:19.64]贝西的"小小弱点"是什么? [00:23.33]It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. [00:25.85]我的姑妈哈丽特好多年前就去世了,这倒是件好事. [00:28.37]If she were alive today [00:30.35]如果她活到今天, [00:32.34]she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: [00:35.46]她将不能就她热衷的话题"佣人"发表意见了. [00:38.58]domestic servants. [00:40.22]她热衷的话题是:佣人. [00:41.85]Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age [00:44.28]哈丽特生活在一个悠闲的年代, [00:46.71]when servants were employed to do housework. [00:48.84]家务事都由雇来的佣人代劳. [00:50.96]She had a huge,rambling country house called 'The Gables'. [00:54.30]她在乡下有一幢巨大杂乱的房子,叫做"山墙庄园". [00:57.63]She was sentimentally attached to this house, [00:59.90]她对这幢房子在感情上难舍难分, [01:02.17]for even though it was far too big for her needs, [01:04.65]因为虽然房子实在太大, [01:07.13]she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. [01:10.07]但在丈夫去世多年后,她仍然执意长年住在那儿. [01:13.01]Before she grew old,aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. [01:16.40]哈丽特姑妈年轻时,喜欢大摆宴席,招待宾客. [01:19.78]I often visited The Gables when I was a boy. [01:22.26]我小时候常去"山墙庄园"做客. [01:24.74]No matter how many guests were present, [01:26.86]不管去多少宾至如归客, [01:28.97]the great house was always immaculate. [01:31.55]大房子里总是收拾得干干净净. [01:34.12]The parquet floors shone like mirrors; [01:36.46]镶木地板洁如明镜, [01:38.80]highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; [01:41.83]探得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜里, [01:44.86]even my uncle's huge collection of books [01:46.93]连姑夫的大量藏书也保存得很好, [01:49.01]was kept miraculously free from dust. [01:51.37]奇迹般地一尘不染. [01:53.74]Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants [01:56.66]哈丽特姑妈统率着一支看不见的佣人大军, [01:59.59]that continuously scrubbed,cleaned,and polished. [02:02.57]他们不停地擦拭、清扫、刷洗. [02:05.54]She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', [02:08.33]她称这些佣人叫"流动人口", [02:11.11]for they came and went with such frequency [02:13.39]因为他们来去匆匆, [02:15.68]that I never even got a chance to learn their names. [02:18.20]我甚至都没有机会知道他们的姓名. [02:20.72]Though my aunt pursued what was,in those days an enlightened policy, [02:24.10]姑妈待佣人在当时算是开明的, [02:27.49]in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day [02:30.77]从来不让佣人每天工作超过8小时, [02:34.04]she was extremely difficult to please. [02:36.38]但他们很难使她称心如意 [02:38.72]While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, [02:41.75]她一方面总批评人的本性朝三暮四, [02:44.78]she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant [02:47.86]另一方面她又持之以恒地寻找一个理想的佣人, [02:50.95]to the end of her days, [02:52.92]一直到她死去都未停止. [02:54.89]even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie. [02:57.71]即使在贝西大大地伤了她的心之后,依然在找. [03:00.53]Bessie worked for aunt Harriet for three years. [03:02.87]贝西在哈丽特家干了3年. [03:05.21]During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence, [03:08.13]在此期间,她赢得了姑母的赏识, [03:11.06]that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. [03:13.44]甚至当上了大管家. [03:15.81]Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency. [03:19.54]哈丽特不知该用什么言辞来赞扬贝西的勤奋与高效 [03:23.26]In addition to all her other qualifications,Bessie was an expert cook. [03:26.88]贝西除了有各种本领以外,还是一个烹饪大师. [03:30.49]She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years [03:33.32]她担任"理想仆人"角色3年之后, [03:36.14]before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'. [03:38.57]哈丽特终于发现了她有"小小的弱点". [03:41.00]After being absent from The Gables for a week,