Five Pounds Too Dear 五磅也太貴

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 form 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 decided not to buy anything until I had disembarded.
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 50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for 30. I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay 5. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to 10. shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the 5 I gave him. I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain — until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single word!

4.Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarded.

船上許多游客開始同商販討價(jià)還價(jià)起來(lái)，但我打定主意上岸之前什么也不買。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn):句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:had begun bargaining為過(guò)去完成進(jìn)行時(shí)。But連接兩個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系的并列句。Until引導(dǎo)時(shí)間狀語(yǔ)從句。

5.I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.

我剛下船，就被一個(gè)人截住，他向我兜售一枚鉆石戒指。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn):句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:who引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，修飾man，即“…樣的人”。

6.I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.

我根本不想買，但我不能掩飾這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：其鉆石之大給我留下了深刻的印象。

語(yǔ)言點(diǎn):句子結(jié)構(gòu)分析:of buying one為介詞短語(yǔ)，作后置定語(yǔ)，修飾intention，即“買的欲望”的意思。That引導(dǎo)同位語(yǔ)從句，對(duì)fact進(jìn)行解釋說(shuō)明。