Lessson 31 A lovable eccentric

Why did the shop assistant refuse to serve Dickie?

True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.

They disregard social conventions withoutbeing conscious that they are doing anythingextraordinary.

This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add color to the dull routine of everyday life.

Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the mostnotable figures in our town.

He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life.

He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had becomelegendarylong before he died.

Dickie disliked snobsintensely.

Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot.

Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella.

One day, he walked into an expensive shop after havingbeen caught in a particularly heavy shower.

He wanted to buy a $300 watch for his wife, but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him.

Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag.

As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter.

The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickiepaid no attention to him and requested to see the manager.

Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was mostapologeticandreprimanded the assistant severely.

When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag.

It contained $300 in pennies.

He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left -- 30,000 penniesin all!

On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings.

This exhibition received a great deal of attentionin the press, for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie.

It took him four years to stage this elaborate jokes imply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.

 

 

1.      social conventions; social norms; social customs

disregard/follow /conform to social conventions 

2.      add color to

One of the most colorful figures in boxing history was …

3.      snob

4.      be caught in    I was caught in a traffic jam on my way to the airport.

5.      be in a … condition    be in a critical condition

6.      dump

n.1) dirty or unattractive place脏的地方  How can you live in this dump?

2) place where rubbish may be unloaded and left垃圾场 Thereis a dump behind the house.

3) sorrow 忧郁 it’s no use letting yourself fall into the dumps.

Vt.1) put in a place and leave as rubbish; put down carelessly倾倒，丢弃，推卸；堆放

      Some people just dump their rubbish in the river.

She dumped her boyfriend.

2) sell abroad at very low price倾销，抛售

They dump goods into a certain country.

 dump on + sb. – throw down; cheat sb.投放，欺骗某人

I have been dumped on too often; I don’t trust people toofar.我经常上当，我不再过分相信别人了

I have had all this work dumped on me.这些工作都推给了我

dump cart倒垃圾车

7.      stage v.暗中策划

Youare the MC of the stage. 你是舞台的主持人

8     variable-> invariable -> invariably

We always invariably support him.

9     privatecollector              private collection

Asno pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one musthave been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed toescape.

10 in the press 报界