Introduce the story: Today we'll talk about domestic servants.
Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: What was Bessie's ‘little weakness’?
Vocabulary:
rambling adj. 杂乱无章的
sentimentally adv. 感情上，多情地
lavishly adv. 慷慨地，大方地
immaculate adj. 清洁的，无污点的
parquet n. 镶木地板
gleam v. 发亮，闪光
preside v. 指挥
invisible adj. 看不见的，无形的
scrub v. 擦拭，刷洗
enlightened adj. 开明的
fickleness n. 变化无常
unrelenting adj. 不屈不挠的，不松懈的
disillusion v. 使幻想破灭
industriousness n. 勤奋
qualification n. 资格，能力
mirth n. 欢笑，高兴
stack v. 整齐地堆放
cellar n. 地窖
Passage:
It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would
not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants.
Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do
housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called ‘The Gables’. She was
sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs,
she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. Before she grew old, Aunt
Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited The Gables when I was a boy. No
matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The
parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming
glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free
from dust. Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously
scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as ‘the shifting
population’, for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a
chance to learn their names. Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an
enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than
eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. While she always criticized
the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal
servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.
我的姑妈哈丽特好多年前就去世了，这倒是件好事。如果她活到今天，她将不能
就她热衷的话题“佣人”发表意见了。哈丽特生活在一个悠闲的年代，家务事都由
雇来的佣人代劳。她在乡下有一幢巨大杂乱的房子，叫作“山墙庄园”。她对这幢
房子在感情上难舍难分。房子实在太大了，但在丈夫去世多年后，她仍然执意长
年住在那儿。哈丽特姑妈年轻时，喜欢大摆宴席，招待宾客。我小时候常去“山
墙庄园”作客。不管去多少宾客，大房子里总是收抬得干干净净。镶木地板洁如
明镜，擦得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜里，连姑夫的大量藏书也保存得很好，
奇迹般地一尘不染。哈丽特姑妈统率着一支看不见的佣人大军，他们不停地擦拭、
清扫、刷洗。她称这些佣人叫“流动人口” ，因为他们来去匆匆，所以我甚至都没
有机会知道他们的姓名。姑妈待佣人在当时算是开明的，从来不让佣人每天工作
超过 8 小时，但他们很难使她称心如意。她一方面总批评人的本性朝三暮四，另
一方面她又持之以恒地寻找一个理想的佣人。即使在贝西大大地伤了她的心之后，
她还在找，一直到她死去。
Notes:
1 air one's views on…，作“对……发表意见”讲。
2 be attached to ，喜爱，喜欢。
3 persist in doing sth ，坚持做某事。
4 free from dust，一尘不染。
5 Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants…句中的 preside over 是
“统辖” 、“指挥” 的意思。由于她雇用过许多仆人，人数之多已可称作一支队伍
（army）；而由于她不断解雇又不断雇用，因此这支队伍在一定程度上也就变得
无形了。
Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my
aunt's confidence, that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could
not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency. In addition to all her
other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook. She acted the role of the perfect
servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her ‘little weakness’. After
being absent from The Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one
afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner. Not only was
the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily.
She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. When she came in
with the last course----a huge pudding----she tripped on the carpet and the pudding
went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table
with considerable force. Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt
Harriet was horrified. She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk.
The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for
them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal
their amusement. The poor girl was dismissed instantly. After her departure, Aunt
Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes
neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie's wardrobe. They had mysteriously found
their way there from the wine cellar!
贝西在哈丽特家干了 3 年。在此期间，她赢得了姑母的赏识，甚至当上了大管家。
哈丽特不知该用什么言辞来赞扬贝西的勤奋与高效。贝西除了有各种本领以外，
还是一个烹饪大师。她担任“理想仆人”角色 3 年之后，哈丽特终于发现了她有“小
小的弱点” 。一次，姑妈有一个星期没在“ 山墙庄园”住。一天下午，她出其不意
地回来了，带来一大批客人，吩咐贝西准备晚饭。结果，不仅饭菜远不如平时做
得好，而且贝西走起路来似乎东倒西歪。她撞到了家具上，嘴里还不断咕咕哝哝
议论客人。当她端着最后一道菜——一大盘布丁——走进屋来时，在地毯上绊了
一跤。布丁飞到半空，从姑母身边擦过，然后狠狠地砸在餐桌上。这件事引起了
客人们的欢笑，但哈丽特却着实吓了一跳。她不得不认定贝西是喝醉了。客人们
自然从贝西为他们开门那一刻起就看出来了，在好长一段时间里，即最后这个乱
子发生前，他们努力克制才没笑出声来。贝西当即被解雇了。贝西走后，哈丽特
姑妈发现在贝西以前用过的衣柜里整整齐齐地放着一堆堆形状各异、大小不一的
酒瓶子。这些酒瓶神不知鬼不觉地从酒窖来到了这里。
Notes:
6 refer to them as ，把他们称作……。
7 what was…, an enlightened policy，算得上是一项开明政策。in that 是书面用语，
作“因为”、“既然”讲。
8 While she always criticized…，while 作“虽然”讲，引导让步状语从句；to the end
of her days ，直到她去世前。
49.2【阅读理解】The ideal servant
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 When did the writer's Aunt Harriet die? (Years ago.)
2 What was her favourite topic of conversation? (Domestic servants.)
3 If she were alive today, would she be able to air her views on the topic? (No, she
wouldn't.)
4 Aunt Harriet lived in a leisurely age. Which leisurely age? (The age when servants
were employed to do the housework.)
5 What was her huge, rambling house called? (‘The Gables ’.)
6 Was the house too big for her needs? (Yes, it was.)
7 Did she go on living there after her husband's death? (Yes, she did.)
8 When did the writer use to visit The Gables? (When he was a boy.)
9 Was the house always dirty? (No, it wasn't. It was always immaculate.)
10 Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants. What did they do? (They
scrubbed, cleaned and polished.)
11 What did she refer to them as? (‘The shifting population’)
12 How long did the domestic staff work? (Eight hours a day.)
13 Aunt Harriet was sadly disillusioned by one servant. What was her name? (Bessie.)
14 How long did Bessie work for Aunt Harriet? (Three years.)
15 What was she put in charge of? (The domestic staff.)
16 Was Bessie an expert cook? (Yes, she was.)
17 How long had Aunt Harriet been away when she returned with the party of guests?
(A week.)
18 Was the evening meal below the usual standard? (Yes, it was.)
19 Was Bessie able to walk steadily? (No, she wasn't.)
49.3【拓展写作】The ideal servant
Step 3: Composition
Write a composition in about 300 words on the following topic:
• ‘It is a good thing that domestic servants have become a great rarity.’ What is
your opinion?
Key to composition
Title: It is a good thing domestic servants have become a great rarity.
Introduction: Domestic servants still exist—work for film stars, pop stars, other
famous people—but very few—great age of servants is past
Development: Reasons why small number of domestic servants: small number of big
houses needing domestic servants—many country houses in Britain— bought by
National Trust-many helpers voluntary
Houses owned privately—now run much more efficiently—open gates
to general public
Such large houses—some domestic staff — but employ other people
Conclusion: Personally pleased—no more/very few domestic servants
Most work for someone else—but ‘servant’ idea connected with past
centuries
Composition
Domestic servants still exist, but nowadays, instead of working for rich old ladies,
they only work for members of the royal family, aristocrats, film stars, pop stars,
successful businessmen and other rich and famous people, and there are really very
few of them. The great age of domestic servants is past.
There are many reasons why there is a such a small number of domestic servants
now. The first thing, of course, is that there are very few families that own big houses
that need domestic servants. Many of the large country houses in Britain that need
servants have been bought by an organisation called the National Trust and many of
the people who help to run these properties are voluntary. They are certainly not
‘servants’ and they believe that they are helping to preserve the heritage of Great
Britain.
The houses that are still owned privately are now run much more efficiently than
they used to be, and very few entertain guests as they used to do. Instead, they open
their gates to the general public, and so they need the same staff that major
entertainments need. True, such large houses have some domestic staff, but they
employ many other people who would not like to think of themselves as ‘domestic
servants’ waiters and waitresses in their cafes, cleaners, car park attendants, ticket
collectors, guides, office staff, and so on.
I am personally pleased that there are so few people in domestic service now.
Most of us work for someone else, it's true, but the whole idea of being a ‘servant’, a
‘domestic servant’, is an idea connected more with past centuries than the twentieth or
twenty-first centuries.
课外练习：
1 In the days when the writer used to visit The Gables' .
(a) his aunt would employ a great many servants whenever she invited guests
(b) he always found the house spotlessly clean
(c) he never stayed long enough to learn the nares of the servants
(d) his aunt was hard to please if her staff only worked an eight-hour day
2 Bessie was made responsible for the domestic staff .
(a) as a result of her hard work
(b) because she was loyal to my aunt
(c) because she had such good qualifications
(d) because my aunt trusted her
3 When the pudding crashed on the table, Aunt Harriet was horrified .
(a) to see how weak Bessie had become during her absence
(b) because the guests all found the incident very amusing
(c) because the pudding was not up to Bessie's usual standard of cooking
(d) because it was only then that she realized how drunk Bessie was
4 After Bessie's dismissal, Aunt Harriet .
(a) still hoped to find a servant who would please her in every
(b) was so disillusioned by Bessie that she respect gave up entertaining lavishly
(c) found a great many bottles of wine in Bessie's wardrobe
(d) could not understand how so many bottles had disappeared from her cellar
5 guests were present, the great house …
(a) No matter the number of
(b) Whatever many
(c) Whoever the many
(d) However many
6 Though my aunt pursued a policy, , in those days, enlightened, in that
she never allowed her domestic staff ...
(a) that it was
(b) what was
(c) which was
(d) being
7 Bessie seemed steadily.
(a) impossible to walk
(b) incapable to walk
(c) incapable of walking
(d) not possible for walking
8 -came to the conclusion that Bessie had .
(a) been drinking
(b) drunk
(c) drank
(d) some drinks
9 Aunt Harriet in her praise of Bessie's industriousness …
(a) Not a word was said by
(b) Words were lost on
(c) Words failed
(d) Word did not come to
10- could not find words to praise Bessie's and efficiency.
(a) factory
(b) hard work
(c) dusting
(d) business
11 She the carpet and the pudding went…
(a) fell over
(b) slipped on
(c) trespassed
(d) stumbled on
12 - and, the final catastrophe, the guests had had a difficult time…
(a) far in front of
(b) much behind
(c) well before
(d) long ahead of
答案：1b 2d 3d 4c 5d 6c 7c 8a 9c 10b 11a 12c