Not many centuries after Charlemagne died, there lived in Europe a famous brigand¹ named Juan. From childhood he had been known as “the deceitful Juan,” “the unrivalled pilferer,” “the treacherous² Juan.” When he was twenty, he was forced to flee from his native land, to which he never returned.

 

He visited Africa, where he became acquainted with a famous Ethiopian robber named Pedro. Not long after they had met, a dispute arose between them as to which was the more skilful³ pickpocket⁴. They decided⁵ to have a test. They stood face to face, and the Ethiopian was first to try his skill.

 

“Hey!” exclaimed Juan to Pedro, “don’t take my handkerchief out of my pocket!”

 

It was now Juan’s turn. He unbuckled Pedro’s belt and slipped it into his own pocket. “What’s the matter with you, [70]Juan?” said Pedro after a few minutes. “Why don’t you go ahead and steal something?”

 

“Ha, ha, ha!” said Juan. “Whose belt is this?”

 

Pedro generously admitted that he had been defeated.

 

Although these two thieves were united by strong ties of common interest, nevertheless their diverse characteristics and traits produced trouble at times. Pedro was dull, honorable, and frank; Juan was hawk-eyed and double-faced. Pedro had so large a body and so awkward and shambling a gait, that Juan could not help laughing at him and saying sarcastic⁶ things to him. Juan was good-looking and graceful⁷.

 

While they were travelling about in northern Africa, they heard the heralds

首页  上一页 [1] [2]  [3]  下一页  尾页

点击收听单词发音  

1 brigand
n.土匪，强盗
参考例句：
This wallace is a brigand,nothing more.华莱士只不过是个土匪。 How would you deal with this brigand?你要如何对付这个土匪？

2 treacherous
adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的
参考例句：
The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。 The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

3 skilful
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的
参考例句：
The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。 He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

4 pickpocket
n.扒手；v.扒窃
参考例句：
The pickpocket pinched her purse and ran away.扒手偷了她的皮夹子跑了。 He had his purse stolen by a pickpocket.他的钱包被掏了。

5 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 sarcastic
adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的
参考例句：
I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。 She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

7 graceful
adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的
参考例句：
His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了! The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

8 heralds
n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要）
参考例句：
The song of birds heralds the approach of spring. 百鸟齐鸣报春到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountain. 山雨欲来风满楼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 untold
adj.数不清的，无数的
参考例句：
She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。 They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

10 alas
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句：
Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！ Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

11 devout
adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)
参考例句：
His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。 The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

12 dome
n.圆屋顶，拱顶
参考例句：
The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。 They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

13 promptly
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。 She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

14 abode
n.住处，住所
参考例句：
It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。 Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

15 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

16 astounded
v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶
参考例句：
His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。 How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。