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大学英语六级词汇Unit5Part2

发布时间:2016-03-02  编辑:查字典英语网小编

  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!

  

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