大学英语六级词汇Unit5Part2

　　She relished the novelty and thrill

　　of having been summoned

　　to this prestigious mans 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 to his home,

　　and notwithstanding her first impressions

　　of the man, she was anxious

　　to learn why she was here.

　　What could a mere reporter

　　do for this rich, influential 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 that there is

　　such a discrepancy 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 at an early age

　　that if there was

　　a shortcut 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 its any consolation,

　　I didnt intentionally harm anyone

　　in the process. I was able

　　to stay within the parameters

　　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 full

　　of merchandise.I didnt

　　flatter myself by thinking

　　I hadnt 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 and rejoiced

　　in my success. As long as

　　the money kept coming in,

　　anything was permissible.

　　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

　　for the prototype of

　　an innovative way to determine

　　the age of a painting

　　using ultraviolet light. He would

　　sell them to me for

　　the nominal fee of a nickel

　　if I would reciprocate 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 from import duty.

　　It was a provocative offer,

　　and even though I remained skeptical,

　　I agreed.A few days later,

　　a crated painting arrived and

　　was added to my goods

　　ready for delivery to New York.

　　I had always subscribed 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 at the time

　　that my fortunes were about

　　to go into a downward spiral.

　　My benefactor, it turned out,

　　was a man with a grudge

　　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 of his wrath.

　　When my agent in New York

　　went to customs to retrieve

　　the shipment, he was greeted

　　by a squad of police waiting

　　to detain him on

　　charges of smuggling cocaine.

　　It appeared there was a bit

　　of a discrepancy between

　　what I was told was in

　　the crate and the actual contents.

　　The drugs were in

　　a hidden compartment in the crate.

　　I admit it was naive

　　of me to believe

　　I had no enemies,

　　but I didnt 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 them to seek revenge.

　　I cant 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 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 I felt subsided.

　　I put my energies into stepping

　　into the breach to help

　　those less fortunate than I.

　　To my amazement, 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

　　his power over me.

　　He has reported the crime

　　and the erroneous imprisonment of my

　　agent and named me as

　　the person responsible for the offence.

　　I had never changed my citizenship,

　　so the F.B.I. wants me

　　deported so they can

　　prosecute 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 for the preliminary hearing.

　　If Im not mistaken, public pressure

　　might enable me to

　　avoid deportation at least.

　　I am more likely to get

　　a fair trial here than there.

　　My record as a good citizen

　　may offset the perception that

　　I may be a criminal.

　　What do you think? Will you help?

　　Kate had listened to this synopsis

　　in silence but her outrage

　　was building. While his story

　　seemed plausible, this plea

　　for her assistance didnt 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 didnt she believe him?

　　Suddenly, it came to her.

　　Exposition of this version

　　of Victors tale would not only

　　gain him public sympathy, it would

　　invalidate any testimony against him.

　　Nothing could constrain her

　　when she realized she had literally

　　been taken in by his story.

　　If you were innocent,

　　why werent you the defendant?

　　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 of limitations

　　for that offence has expired.

　　I believe this has been

　　a pathetic attempt to get me

　　to mediate 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 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 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 verdict will beguilty!