Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: What was the ‘happy discovery’?
Vocabulary:
antique n. 古董，古玩
fascination n. 魅力，迷惑力
forbidding adj. 望而生畏的，望而却步的
muster v. 鼓起
pretentious adj. 自命不凡的，矫饰的
labyrinth n. 迷宫
musty adj. 陈腐的，发霉的
rarity n 稀世珍品
assorted adj. 各式各样的
junk n. 破烂货，废品
litter v. 杂乱地布满
dedicated adj. 专心致志的
bargain hunter 到处找便宜货买的人
dealer n. 商人
cherish v. 期望，渴望
amply adv. 足够地
masterpiece n. 杰作
mere adj. 仅仅的
prise v. 撬开
carve v .镌刻
miniature adj. 小巧的，小型的
dagger n.短剑， 匕首
Composition n.构图
Passage:
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.
古玩店对许多人来说有一种特殊的魅力。高档一点的古玩店为了防尘，把文物漂
亮地陈列在玻璃柜子里，那里往往令人望而却步。而对不太装腔作势的古玩店，
无论是谁都不用壮着胆子才敢往里进。人们还常常有希望在发霉、阴暗、杂乱无
章、迷宫般的店堂里，从杂乱地摆放在地面上的、一堆堆各式各样的破烂货里找
到一件稀世珍品。
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 when he 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.
无论是谁都不会一下子就发现一件珍品。一个到处找便宜货买的人必须具有耐心，
而且最重要的是看到珍品时要有鉴别珍品的能力。要做到这一点，他至少要像古
董商一样懂行。他必须像一个专心致志进行探索的科学家那样抱有这样的希望，
即终有一天，他的努力会取得丰硕的成果。
Notes:
1 muster up courage ，鼓起勇气。
2 above all ，最重要的。
3 be bent on ，决心要。
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￡50. 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.
我的老朋友弗兰克 ·哈利戴正是这样一个人。他多次向我详细讲他如何只花 50 英
镑便买到一位名家的杰作。一个星期六的上午，弗兰克去了我家附近的一家古玩
店。由于他从未去过那儿，结果他发现了许多有趣的东西。上午很快过去了，弗
兰克正准备离去，突然看见地板上放着一只体积很大的货箱。古董商告诉他那只
货箱刚到不久，但他嫌麻烦不想把它打开。经弗兰克恳求，古董商才勉强把货箱
撬开了。箱内东西令人失望。除了一柄式样别致、雕有花纹的匕首外，货箱内装
满了陶器，而且大部分都已破碎。弗兰克轻轻地把陶器拿出箱子，突然发现在箱
底有一幅微型画，画面构图与线条使他想起了一幅他所熟悉的意大利画，于是他
决定将画买下来。古董商漫不经心看了一眼那幅画，告诉弗兰克那画值 50 英镑。
弗兰克几乎无法掩饰自己兴奋的心情，因为他明白自己发现了一件珍品。那幅不
大的画原来是柯勒乔的一幅未被发现的杰作，价值几十万英镑。
Notes:
4 pick up，在此处有“偶然发现”，“无意中获得”的意思。
5 apart from…，除……以外。
6 Correggio，柯勒乔（1494—1534）。意大利著名画家，真名安托尼奥·阿来里。
他对色彩对比、光和影的处理方法对 16 到 17 世纪意大利绘画产生了巨大影响。
他最著名的作品陈列在意大利巴玛大教堂。
34.2【阅读理解】A happy discovery
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 Do antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a lot of people? (Yes, they do.)
2 How does the writer describe the more expensive kind of antique shop? (As a
forbidding place.)
3 Do people have to muster up courage to go into a cheap antique shop? (No, they
don't.)
4 Do people hope to find a real rarity? (Yes, they do.)
5 Does anyone ever discover a rarity by chance? (No, they don't.)
6 What must a truly dedicated bargain hunter have? (Patience.)
7 If a bargain hunter can recognize the worth of something, he must be as
knowledgeable as --who? (The dealer.)
8 What is the writer's old friend's name? (Frank Halliday.)
9 What has he often described? (How he picked up a masterpiece for a mere £50.)
10 When did Frank visit the antique shop in the neighbourhood? (One Saturday
morning.)
11 Did he find a lot to interest him? (Yes, he did.)
12 What did Frank notice just as he was about to leave? (A large packing case.)
13 Had it just come in? (Yes, it had.)
14 Did the dealer prise it open? (Yes, he did.)
15 Were the contents exciting? (No, they were disappointing.)
16 Did the carved dagger look interesting or ordinary? (It looked interesting.)
17 What else was the box full of? (Crockery.)
18 What did Frank notice at the bottom of the packing case? (A miniature painting.)
19 Did he decide to buy it? (Yes, he did.)
20 How much did the dealer ask him for the miniature? (£50.)
21 Why did Frank find it difficult to conceal his excitement? (Because he knew he
had made a real discovery.)
22 Who was the painting by? (Correggio.)
23 How much was it worth? (Hundreds of thousands of pounds.)
34.3【拓展写作】A happy discovery
Step 3: Composition
In not more than 250 words write a description, real or imaginary, of an antique shop.
Use the ideas given below. Do not write more than four paragraphs.
Title: An antique shop.
Introduction: Appearance outside — window display — the sort of people it attracts.
Development: Inside — the dealer— his appearance and character— the shop itself
—how objects are displayed— a typical scene during the day — description of
customers.
Conclusion: The pleasure of searching for unusual things.
Key to composition
An antique shop
‘The Antique Shop’ has been in the little street near the church for years. As you
look at it from across the road, it draws you towards it. It has one large window
display designed to attract all sorts of customers. There is expensive glass, porcelain
and jewellery to attract people with a lot of money; there is second-hand furniture,
modern silver and other things (hardly antique!) to attract those with not so much.
When you enter the shop, a little bell rings and the owner, a little grey-haired old
lady called Mrs. Century, comes out from a room at the back and greets you like a lost
relative! She greets everyone the same and always with a smile.
The shop sells all kinds of antiques. There are shelves full of old books along the
back of the shop. There are two large tables in the middle of the shop covered with
pieces of glass and porcelain. Then, around the walls on the floor are large pots, brass
statues and things. There are lots of painting on the walls, too. At the weekend, the
shop usually has five or six customers in it at one time. You might find a professional
antique collector, a holiday couple and a young mother (with child in pram) looking
for a cheap antique for her husband's birthday.
We all like looking for unusual things and hope to find a bargain one day. You
might find one in Mrs. Century's ‘Antique Shop’.
课外练习：
1 When Frank Halliday visited an antique shop in the writer's neighbourhood
_________.
(a) it was by no means the first time he had picked up a masterpiece for £50
(b) he displayed the kind of perseverance needed to find a rarity
(c) he spent a short time searching in the morning before deciding to leave
(d) he found most of what he looked at rather boring
2 How did Frank come to discover the miniature by Correggio?
(a) He was shown it by the dealer who did not realize its worth.
(b) He persuaded the dealer to open the box in which it happened to be.
(c) By concealing his excitement on being told the price wanted for it.
(d) By lifting a box a of crockery which had been concealing the painting:
3 Frank decided to buy the miniature because .
(a) it was an Italian painting he knew well
(b) it only cost £50
(c) he knew he had made a real discovery
(d) it was similar to a painting he knew well
4 Rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases them free from dust.
(a) which are keeping
(b) which keep
(c) who keep
(d) and kept
5 But it is not necessary up courage to enter an ordinary shop.
(a) for nobody to muster
(b) to have mustered
(c) that one musters
(d) for anyone to muster
6 A bargain hunter must have patience, and above all, recognize the worth
of …
(a) can
(b)is able to
(c) be able to
(d) be capable of
7 there, he found a great deal to interest him.
(a) This being his first visit
(b) Never having been before
(c) This being his first time to visit
(d) Having never been before
8 The dealer told him it him £50.
(a) cost
(b) had cost
(c) will cost
(d) would cost
9 Frank visited an antique shop .
(a) next door
(b) in my county
(c) near my home
(d) owned by my neighbour
10 Frank was leaving when ...
(a) almost
(b) just
(c) only
(d) hardly
11 A case which needs prising open has probably been ...
(a) nailed down
(b) roped
(c) locked
(d) unlocked
12 The dealer gave it a brief and told him ...
(a) peer
(b) eye
(c) glance
(d) regard
答案：1b 2b 3c 4b 5d 6c 7a 8d 9c 10b 11a 12c