[al:新概念英语（三）] [ar:MP3 同步字幕版（英音）] [ti:A Lovable Eccentric] [by:更多学习内容，请到chazidian.com搜索“新概念”] [00:01.46]Lesson 31 [00:03.40]A lovable eccentric [00:12.00]Why did the shop assistant refuse to serve Dickie? [00:18.28]True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. [00:23.75]They disregard social conventions [00:26.31]without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. [00:30.43]This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, [00:34.53]for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life. [00:39.03]Up to the time of his death, [00:40.99]Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town. [00:45.63]He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, [00:48.62]but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life. [00:53.78]He was known to us all as Dickie [00:56.84]and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died. [01:02.32]Dickie disliked snobs intensely. [01:05.24]Though he owned a large car, [01:07.46]he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot. [01:11.56]Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella. [01:16.12]One day, he walked into an expensive shop [01:19.75]after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower. [01:23.67]He wanted to buy a ￡300 watch for his wife, [01:27.70]but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him. [01:33.41]Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag. [01:39.46]As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter. [01:43.77]The assistant asked him to leave, [01:46.34]but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. [01:51.20]Recognizing who the customer was, [01:53.91]the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely. [01:59.37]When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag. [02:04.54]It contained ￡300 in pennies. [02:09.13]He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left-- [02:13.52]30, 000 pennies in all! [02:16.44]On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics [02:20.56]to see his private collection of modern paintings. [02:23.91]This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press, [02:28.06]for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, [02:31.84]they had in fact been painted by Dickie. [02:34.55]It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke [02:38.31]simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.