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A DEAL IN OSTRICHES

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 “Talking of the prices of birds, I’ve seen an ostrich1 that cost three hundred pounds,” said the taxidermist, recalling his youth of travel. “Three hundred pounds!
 
”
He looked at me over his spectacles. “I’ve seen another that was refused at four.”
“No,” he said, “it wasn’t any fancy points. They was just plain ostriches2. A little off colour, too—owing to dietary. And there wasn’t any particular restriction 
 
of the demand either. You’d have thought five ostriches would have ruled cheap on an East Indiaman. But the point was, one of ’em had swallowed a diamond.
“The chap it got it off was Sir Mohini Padishah, a tremendous swell3, a Piccadilly swell you might say up to the neck of him, and then an ugly black head and a 
 
whopping turban, with this diamond in it. The blessed bird pecked suddenly and had it, and when the chap made a fuss it realised it had done wrong, I suppose, and went 
 
and mixed itself with the others to preserve its incog. It all happened in a minute. I was among the first to arrive, and there was this heathen going over his gods, 
 
and two sailors and 267the man who had charge of the birds laughing fit to split. It was a rummy way of losing a jewel, come to think of it. The man in charge hadn’t 
 
been about just at the moment, so that he didn’t know which bird it was. Clean lost, you see. I didn’t feel half sorry, to tell you the truth. The beggar had been 
 
swaggering over his blessed diamond ever since he came aboard.
“A thing like that goes from stem to stem of a ship in no time. Every one was talking about it. Padishah went below to hide his feelings. At dinner—he pigged at a 
 
table by himself, him and two other Hindoos—the captain kind of jeered4 at him about it, and he got very excited. He turned round and talked into my ear. He would not 
 
buy the birds; he would have his diamond. He demanded his rights as a British subject. His diamond must be found. He was firm upon that. He would appeal to the House 

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1 ostrich T4vzg     
n.鸵鸟
参考例句：
  • Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。
  • The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。
2 ostriches 527632ac780f6daef4ae4634bb94d739     
n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者
参考例句：
  • They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
  • How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑，我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句
3 swell IHnzB     
vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强
参考例句：
  • The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
  • His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。
4 jeered c6b854b3d0a6d00c4c5a3e1372813b7d     
v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
  • The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时，人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰
参考例句：
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。
6 lien 91lxQ     
n.扣押权，留置权
参考例句：
  • A lien is a type of security over property.留置是一种财产担保。
  • The court granted me a lien on my debtor's property.法庭授予我对我债务人财产的留置权。
7 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
8 negligence IjQyI     
n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意
参考例句：
  • They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
  • The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。
9 privately IkpzwT     
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
  • Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
  • The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
10 gambling ch4xH     
n.赌博；投机
参考例句：
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
11 lark r9Fza     
n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏
参考例句：
  • He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
  • She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。
12 auction 3uVzy     
n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖
参考例句：
  • They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
  • They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。
13 ailing XzzzbA     
v.生病
参考例句：
  • They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
  • She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。
14 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
15 dissection XtTxQ     
n.分析；解剖
参考例句：
  • A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
  • Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。
16 postponed 9dc016075e0da542aaa70e9f01bf4ab1     
vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）
参考例句：
  • The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
  • The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
17 lottery 43MyV     
n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事
参考例句：
  • He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
  • They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。
18 liens 3565ea81182966096c3cdcbf6d107414     
n.留置权，扣押权( lien的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Car les liens économiques n'ont jamais été aussi forts. 因为经济纽带从来没有如此强大。 来自互联网
  • Chapter XI Procedures for Publicizing Notice for Assertion of Maritime Liens. 第十一章船舶优先权催告程序。 来自互联网
19 breach 2sgzw     
n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破
参考例句：
  • We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
  • He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。
20 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上，上岸
参考例句：
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
21 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
22 eminent dpRxn     
adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的
参考例句：
  • We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
  • He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

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