31 · 可爱的怪人
A Lovable Eccentric
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True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable 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 become legendary long before he died.
Dickie disliked snobs intensely. 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 having been 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 Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded 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 pennies in 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 attention in 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 joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
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整篇课文
True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable 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 become legendary long before he died.
Dickie disliked snobs intensely. 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 having been 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 Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager. Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded 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 pennies in 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 attention in 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 joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
真正的怪人，从不会刻意引人注意。他们不把社会习俗放在心上，也不觉得自己做了什么不同寻常的事。这样的人总能赢得别人的喜爱和尊重，因为他们为单调的日常生活增添了色彩。
理查德·科尔森在世时，一直是我们镇上最有名的人物之一。他是个精明而富有的商人，但镇上的多数人几乎不了解他的这一面。我们都管他叫迪基，他那些古怪的事迹，在去世很久以前就已成了传奇。
迪基非常讨厌势利眼。他虽然有辆大汽车，却几乎不用，总喜欢步行，哪怕下着大雨，也不肯打伞。有一天，他被一场暴雨淋得浑身湿透，随后走进一家高档商店，想给妻子买一块三百英镑的手表。可他那副湿淋淋、狼狈不堪的样子，让一名店员拒绝接待。迪基一言不发地离开，回来时提着一大只布袋。袋子实在太重，他砰地把它放在柜台上。店员叫他出去，他却不予理会，要求见经理。经理认出这位顾客后，连连道歉，还严厉训斥了店员。拿到手表后，迪基把布袋交给店员，里面竟是三百英镑的便士硬币。他坚持要等店员把钱数完才走，一共三万枚！还有一次，他邀请一批重要的艺术评论家，参观自己私人收藏的现代绘画。展览引起了媒体的广泛关注，因为这些被认作名家之作的画，其实全是迪基自己画的。他花了四年精心安排这场玩笑，只为证明：评论家并不总是懂得自己在说什么。
学完这一课
用 without being conscious that… 描写一个自己没察觉的习惯。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第103—105页，2022年2月第3版。