1 

新概念英语第三册第

28

课

:Five pound too dear 

Lesson 

28  Five 

pounds 

too 

dear

五镑也太贵

  Listen 

to 

the 

tape 

then 

answer 

the question below. 

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

  Why was even five pounds 'too dear'?  

  Small 

boats 

loaded 

with 

wares 

sped 

to 

the 

great 

liner 

as 

she 

was 

entering 

the harbour. Before she 

had anchored, the men 

from the boats 

had climbed 

on 

board 

and 

the 

decks 

were 

soon 

covered 

with 

colourful 

rugs 

from 

Persia, 

silks 

from 

India, 

copper 

coffee 

pots, 

and 

beautiful 

handmade 

silverware. 

It 

was 

difficult 

not 

to 

be 

tempted. 

Many 

of 

the 

tourists 

on 

board 

had 

begun 

bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decide not to buy anything until I 

had disembarked.  

  I 

had 

no 

sooner 

got 

off 

the 

ship 

than 

I 

was 

assailed 

by 

a 

man 

who 

wanted 

to sell me a diamond ring. I had no intention of buying one, but I could 

not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds. 

Some 

of 

them 

were 

as 

big 

as 

marbles. 

The 

man 

went 

to 

great 

lengths 

to 

prove 

that the diamonds were real. As we were walking past a shop, he held a 

diamond 

firmly 

against 

the 

window 

and 

made 

a 

deep 

impression 

in 

the 

glass. 

It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.  

  The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches. I 

examined 

one 

of 

the 

pens 

closely. 

It 

certainly 

looked 

genuine. 

At 

the 

base 

of 

the 

gold 

cap, 

the 

words 

'made 

in 

the 

U.S.A.' 

had 

been 

neatly 

inscribed. 

The 

man 

said 

that 

the 

pen 

was 

worth 

&10, 

but 

as 

a 

special 

favour, 

he 

would 

let me have it for &8. I shook my head and held up a finger indicating 

that I was willing to pay a pound. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted 

as if he found 

my offer 

out-rageous, 

but he 

eventually reduced the 

price 

to 

&3. 

Shrugging 

my 

shoulders, 

I 

began 

to 

walk 

away 

when, 

a 

moment 

later,