A happy discovery

What was the ‘happy discovery’?

 

Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people.

The more expensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place.

But no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop.

There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors.

No one discovers a rarity by chance.

 A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something whenhe sees it.

To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer. Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.

My old friend, Frank Halliday, is just such a person.

He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere $5.

One Saturday morning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood.

As he had never been there before, he found a great deal to interest him.

The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing-case lying on the floor.

The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not be bothered to open it.

 Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open.

The contents were disappointing. Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken.

Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature Painting at the bottom of the packing-case.

 As its composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he  decided to buy it.

 Glancing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it was worth $50.

Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery.

The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

 

 1.       exert sth. on  sb.        exert相当于have

1)     Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence onus.  --Lesson 26 Wanted: a large biscuit tin

2)     Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people.

2.      peculiar [pi'kju:ljə] 1)奇怪的2)独有的

3.      pick up 

1)     The ‘Antoinette’ floated on the water until Latham was picked up by a shop.

2)     He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere $50.

4.      fascination: attraction,charm Tibet holds a great fascination for tourists.

5.      free from

1)     He is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people.

2)     We need a room free from noise.

6.      forbidding  反 inviting

Thesecretary always wears a forbidding look. Their apartment was a cheerful and inviting place.

7.      muster up courage = summon up courage, muster up support, muster up strength

The team was trying to muster up all the support they can get to win the game.

8.      pretend -> pretentious =showy      It was pretentious of him to insist on being called ‘sir’.

9.      hope – possibility  There was no hop/ some hope that we would get there on time.

10.  rarity – rare object

11.  amongst 相当于among但更多用于British English中

12.  litter: scatter   Bottles and cans littered the stadium. The stadium was littered with bottles and cans.

13.  composition

This chapter looks at two common ways of achieving code reuse in OOP: inheritance and composition.

14.  bent on : determined to    bent on + sth. / doing sth.

He seemed bent on revenge at all costs.      She’s bent on getting married as soon as possible.

15.  mere用于修饰的名词前面并且要加a，与only的区别

He has often described to me how he picked up amasterpiece for only $50( a mere $5).

16.  be bothered to do sth.不愿意费力去做什么事情

17.  remind, remind of       His letter reminded me how happy we once had been.

Can you remind me about the appointment please? Remind me to send an email to her please.