Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: What was the Customs Officer looking for?
Vocabulary:
guilty adj .犯罪的，违法的
perfume n .香水
tolerant adj .宽容的
sarcastically adv.讽刺地
declare v . 申报
exempt adj .被免除的
hardened adj .有经验的
duty n .税
professional adj .职业的，专业的
gel n .凝胶
smuggler n .走私者
mixture n.混合物
officious adj .爱管闲事的
unscrew v .拧开
confidently adv . 自信地
nostril n .鼻孔
dreadful adj .可怕的，一团糟的
chalk n .粉笔
pounce v .猛抓，扑住
baggage n .行李
Passage:
Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when you
are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even really honest
people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professional smuggler, on the other
hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches
hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious
young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.
现在的海关官员往往相当宽容。但是，当你通过绿色通道，没有任何东西需要申
报时，他们仍可以拦住你。甚至是最诚实的人也常被弄得觉得有罪似的，而老练
的职业走私犯即使在手提箱里藏着 500 只金表，却也处之泰然。最近一次，我出
国归来，碰上一位特别好管闲事的年轻海关官员，他显然把我当成了走私犯。
‘Have you anything to declare? ’ he asked, looking me in the eye.
‘No, ’ I answered confidently.
‘Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please? ’
‘Not at all, ’ I answered.
“您有什么需要申报的吗？”他直盯着我的眼睛问。
“没有。”我自信地回答说。
“请打开这只手提箱好吗？ℽ
“好的。”我回答说。
Notes:
1 the Green Channel ，绿色通道，指海关专供没有携带征税物品进关的旅客所走
的通道。
2 hidden in his suitcase 是过去分词短语作定语，修饰 watches，它相当于一个定语
从句：which were hidden in his suitcase.
3 looking me in the eye ，直盯着我的眼睛，这是分词短语作状语，表示方式，修
饰 asked。
The Officer went through the case with great care. All the things I had packed so
carefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able to close the
case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up. He had spotted a tiny bottle at
the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
那位官员十分仔细地把箱子检查了一遍。所有细心包装好的东西一会儿工夫就乱
成了一团。我相信那箱子再也关不上了。突然，我看到官员脸上露出了得意的神
色。他在我的箱底发现了一只小瓶，高兴地一把抓了起来。
Notes:
4 The officer went through ，这里 go through 作“检查”讲。
5 in a dreadful mess （或 in a mess），乱七八糟，混乱透了。
6 I saw the Officer's face light up .我看到那位官员的脸上露出了得意的神色。。
‘Perfume, eh? ’ he asked sarcastically. ‘You should have declared that. Perfume is not
exempt from import duty. ’
‘But it isn't perfume, ’ I said. ‘It's hair gel. ’ Then I added with a smile, ‘It's a strange
mixture I make myself. ’
As I expected, he did not believe me.
‘Try it!’ I said encouragingly.
“香水，嗯？”他讥讽地说道，“你刚才应该申报，香水要上进口税的。”
“不，这不是香水，”我说，“是发胶。”接着我脸带微笑补充说：“这是一种我自
己配制的奇特的混合物。”果不出所料，他并不相信我。
“你就闻一闻吧！”我催促说。
Notes:
7 You should have declared that .你早该申报了。“should +不定式的完成式”表示
本该做而未做之事。
8 be exempt from 作“免除” “豁免”解。
The Officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted by an
unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth. A few minutes later,
I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.
海关官员拧开瓶盖，把瓶子放到鼻子底下。一股怪味袭来，使他相信了我说的是
真话。几分钟后，我终于被放行，手提划着宝贵的粉笔记号的行李，匆匆离去。
12.2【阅读理解】Not guilty
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
Comprehension:
1 What does it mean if you go through the Green Channel? (You have nothing to
declare.)
2 Can a Customs Officer still stop you? (Yes, he can.)
3 How do even really honest people feel when this happens? (Guilty.)
4 They feel guilty, don' t they? (Yes, they do.)
5 What about the hardened professional smuggler? (He's never troubled by such
feelings. )
6 What did the Customs Officer ask you? (‘Have you anything to declare?’)
7 Did he look you in the eye as he said this? ( Yes, he did.)
8 What did he ask you to do? (Unlock my suitcase.)
9 Were you willing to do this? (Yes, I was.)
10 What did the Customs Officer do then (He went through the case with great care.)
11 What happened to all the things you had packed so carefully? (They were in a
dreadful mess.)
12 What did you feel about your case? (That I would never be able to close it again.)
13 Why did the Customs Officer's face light up? (Because he spotted a tiny bottle at
the bottom of my case)
14 What did the Customs Officer assume the bottle contained? (Perfume.)
15 Why should perfume be declared? (Because it isn't exempt from import duty.)
16 What did you say the bottle contained? (Hair gel.)
17 Did the Customs Officer believe you? (No, he didn't.)
18 What did you encourage him to do? (Try it.)
19 What did the Customs Officer do then? (He unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to
his nostrils.)
20 What convinced him you were telling the truth? (The unpleasant smell.)
21 How did he mark your baggage? (With chalk.)
12.3【拓展写作】Not guilty
Step 3: Composition
Imagine that a man tries to smuggle something valuable through the Customs. Expand
the following into a paragraph of about 150 words.
When the Customs Officer… the man said that he had nothing to declare. The Officer
asked the man to ... Although the case contained only ... and ... it was very heavy.
This made the Officer suspicious, so he...The case was soon empty and when the
Officer ... he found that... The officer examined the case carefully and saw that... He...
and removed the bottom part of the case which contained ... While the Officer was
looking at ... the man tried to... For a moment, the man disappeared among ... but he
was soon ... and placed under arrest.
Key to composition
When the Customs Officer asked the traveller if he was carrying anything
valuable, the man said that he had nothing to declare. The Officer asked the man to
open his suitcase. Although the case contained only a suit and some dirty clothes, it
was very heavy. This made the Customs Officer suspicious so he removed all the
clothes from the case. The case was soon empty and when the Officer lifted it, he
found that it was still very heavy. The Officer examined the case carefully and saw
that the bottom was very shallow. He pressed the base hard and removed the bottom
part of the case which contained a quantity of precious stones. While the Officer was
looking at a stone, the man tried to escape. For a moment, the man disappeared among
the passing holiday travellers, but he was soon caught and placed under arrest.
课外练习：
1 What makes really honest people feel guilty when going through Customs?
(a)Having five hundred gold watches hidden in their suitcases.
(b)The particularly officious way Customs Officers always ask questions.
(c)The fact that they are treated as potential smugglers.
(d)Carrying things which are not exempt from import duty.
2 What made the Customs Officer's face light up?
(a)Knowing how difficult it would be for the writer to close his case.
(b)Seeing the bottle of hair gel which he could charge duty on.
(c)The idea of having found something which should have been declared.
(d) Discovering an unopened bottle of perfume at the bottom of the case.
3 The writer was in a hurry to get away because .
(a) he had grown impatient at having taken so long to get through Customs
(b)he was anxious to get away from the unpleasant smell
(c)he was afraid he might still be stopped for smuggling
(d) he was trying to escape with precious chalk marks
4 The Customs Officer asked him he had anything to declare.
(a)that
(b)what
(c)for
(d)whether
5 ‘Have you anything to declare? ’he asked, looking .
(a)direct to me
(b)me directly
(c)directly at me
(d) in my direction
6‘Would you please? ’
(a)unlock kindly this suitcase
(b)kindly unlock this suitcase
(c)unlock this suitcase kindly
(d) be kind to unlock this suitcase
7 He told him he it.
(a) ought to have declared
(b) must have declared
(c)had to declare
(d) needed to declare
8 the cap, the Officer put the bottle to his nostrils.
(a)Having unscrewed
(b)Unscrewed
(c) Being unscrewed
(d) With unscrewed
9 Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days They are.
(a) tolerable
(b)placid
(c)easy-going
(d)negligent
10 A hardened professional smuggler feels his behaviour.
(a) unashamed of
(b) unwronged by
(c)unshocked by
(d) guiltless of
11 As I expected, he was .
(a)incomprehensible
(b)incredible
(c)incredulous
(d)sceptical
12 I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my .
(a)handbags
(b)luggage
(c)casement
(d)equipment
答案：1c 2c 3a 4d 5c 6b 7a 8a 9c 10a 11d 12b