15篇文章贯通六级词汇Unit05-Part1

[00:00.00]UNIT5

[00:13.66]The Fraud

[00:14.97]Flushed with excitement, Kate stepped

[00:17.93]into the spatial 1 vestibule and

[00:19.79]was immediately dazzled by the scene

[00:21.98]before her. The inlaid marble floor

[00:24.60]paved the way to a circular staircase

[00:26.90]rising three levels above her.

[00:29.52]In a fountain in the center

[00:31.93]of the entryway stood a bronze

[00:34.12]dolphin balancing on its tail,

[00:36.42]its snout pointed 2 to

[00:38.38]the lofty domed 3, stained glass skylight

[00:40.68]forty feet above. A massive chandelier,

[00:43.75]luminous in the bright sunlight,

[00:46.48]cast rainbow fairies dancing

[00:49.00]through the pink, green, and

[00:50.96]gold floral patterns of the floor

[00:53.26]and around the snowy white walls.

[00:55.56]Before she could fully 4 appreciate

[00:57.97]the beauty of the intricate

[00:59.94]plaster work decorating the edges

[01:01.80]of the shallow niches 5 installed

[01:03.88]in the walls to frame

[01:05.52]the numerous paintings, or,

[01:06.83]indeed, to appreciate the canvases

[01:08.91]themselves, her host, Victor Stone,

[01:11.97]approached. Small by North American standards,

[01:16.13]he was perfectly 6 proportioned.

[01:17.88]Slightly balding at the forehead,

[01:20.84]his silver hair curved onto

[01:23.02]the collar of his pale

[01:24.99]blue shirt at the

[01:26.41]nape of his neck.

[01:27.94]Laughing blue eyes startled her

[01:29.80]with their clarity. A straight,

[01:31.34]aristocratic nose rose to meet

[01:34.07]his slightly arched brows.

[01:36.26]His carefully manicured hands bore

[01:38.78]a single gold pinkie ring.

[01:40.53]He held out his

[01:42.39]hand to take hers.

[01:43.48]“Thank you so much for coming,

[01:45.01]Kate. I am glad you

[01:46.76]could make it,” he said cheerfully.

[01:48.07]She had never met this

[01:50.04]charming little man before

[01:51.47]and knew him by reputation only.

[01:52.78]Among his contemporaries, he was

[01:55.19]known as a shrewd entrepreneur,

[01:58.25]able to diagnose at a glance,

[02:00.66]the prospects 7 of those

[02:02.41]seeking his backing. She was

[02:04.71]anxious to learn why he had

[02:06.67]invited her to come to

[02:08.10]meet him at his home.

[02:09.30]“Thanks for asking me.

[02:10.94]Nice place you have here.”

[02:12.47]She felt stupid saying something

[02:14.12]so absurd, but she was,

[02:15.97]at that moment, stumped 8.

[02:17.94]Her ego 9 wouldn't let her

[02:21.12]admit she'd never in her whole life,

[02:23.31]been so impressed by a foyer.

[02:25.82]She hoped that he would realize

[02:27.79]she'd had little experience

[02:29.43]with the elite 10, take pity

[02:30.96]on her, and show her around.

[02:33.59]“Would you like to see more

[02:35.89]of the house?” he asked, politely.

[02:37.86]“Would I? You bet!” She was

[02:39.71]happy he gave no indication

[02:41.47]that he thought she was

[02:42.67]not in his bracket.

[02:43.98]She left her briefcase 11

[02:45.95]on the settee near the door

[02:47.59]and followed him through

[02:49.34]the foyer to a stairway

[02:50.55]to a stairway leading

[02:51.97]to a lower level of the house.

[02:53.17]They began the tour

[02:54.37]in the wine cellar. A heavy,

[02:56.34]double thick door opened

[02:57.76]to reveal row upon row

[02:59.30]of gleaming glass bottles

[03:01.71]of vintage wines, all lying

[03:04.00]on their sides, cradled by

[03:06.19]the solid oak racks. The steady

[03:08.16]hum of machinery 12 broke the silence

[03:10.57]of the insulated room.

[03:12.10]Victor explained that it was

[03:14.18]necessary to control the ventilation,

[03:16.80]temperature and humidity of the cellar

[03:18.77]to achieve optimum conditions

[03:20.63]for conserving 13 the flavors

[03:22.38]of the expensive wines.

[03:24.14]The small but luxurious 14 audio-visual theater

[03:27.96]was adjacent to the wine cellar.

[03:29.93]Leather upholstered reclining chairs

[03:32.56]were casually 15 arrayed about the room,

[03:34.53]all with an unimpaired view

[03:36.50]of the retractable 16 screen.

[03:38.90]The stereo, silent at that moment,

[03:41.20]was state?of?the?art, with speakers

[03:43.61]tactically installed for maximizing

[03:45.25]sound effects. Black walnut 17 wood paneling

[03:48.86]and a baffled ceiling averted 18

[03:50.83]the possibility of overly loud

[03:52.47]entertainment disturbing others in the mansion 19.

[03:55.21]Sliding glass doors led from

[03:58.27]the lowest level of the

[03:59.36]living area to the enclosed

[04:01.11]kidney?shaped swimming pool.

[04:03.41]Turquoise and white ceramic 20 tiles outlined

[04:06.03]with gold covered the deck area.

[04:08.55]Pillars of quartz 21 topped with

[04:10.52]milk glass spheres provided illumination

[04:12.38]should anyone choose to swim

[04:14.02]after dark. A changing booth

[04:16.54]was discretely 22 hidden behind

[04:18.29]a screen of ornamental 23 floor plants

[04:19.82]and cascading 24 vines. Here, too,

[04:23.02]a baffled ceiling prevented

[04:24.66]the hollow resonance 25 of the pool

[04:26.30]room from disturbing others.

[04:28.49]At the moment, the games room

[04:30.57]was arranged for gambling 26.

[04:32.32]An authentic 27 roulette wheel,

[04:34.29]a craps table for dice 28,

[04:35.82]and various card tables were

[04:37.57]set up for a benefit evening

[04:39.21]that was being held the following night.

[04:41.18]Checkers, chess and other board

[04:43.70]games augmented 29 the games of chance.

[04:45.34]Comfortable furniture and soft lighting 30

[04:48.40]lent a romantic atmosphere to

[04:50.04]the terrace garden. Kate had noticed

[04:52.89]earlier that Victor had

[04:54.31]a slight limp. As they

[04:55.95]progressed on their tour, she realized

[04:57.70]he was quite lame 31

[04:59.02]on the right side

[05:00.11]and needed to rest.

[05:01.20]They sat to chat

[05:02.41]for a few minutes.

[05:03.50]“How much do you know

[05:05.03]about me, Kate?” he asked.

[05:06.45]“Only what I've read.

[05:08.32]And what I have discerned

[05:10.39]in the past half hour.

[05:11.59]I think you are a man

[05:13.35]who has made your home

[05:14.55]into a diversion from

[05:15.53]the real world. Your taste

[05:16.63]is implicit 32, subtle. Everything

[05:19.36]I have seen has been chosen

[05:21.33]with a keen eye, not to overwhelm,

[05:23.85]but to invite. I think

[05:26.36]you choose things for

[05:27.57]their intrinsic value, things that

[05:29.65]are esthetically pleasing to you.

[05:31.72]I don't think there could be

[05:33.37]an imitation or a fake item

[05:34.90]in this whole place.

[05:36.21]You love your home and

[05:37.63]enjoy sharing it with others.

[05:38.95]Am I right?”

[05:40.26]“You are perceptive 33! Come.

[05:42.01]Let?s go to the sitting room

[05:43.98]and have a cocktail 34.” He led

[05:45.62]the way back into the library

[05:47.59]with its mahogany shelves filled

[05:49.99]with leather bound matched

[05:51.53]sets of first editions

[05:52.73]and volumes of encyclopedia 35.

[05:55.03]On a sturdy table under

[05:57.11]a reading lamp an illuminated 36 manuscript

[05:58.97] with gold metallic 37 page edging

[06:02.03] was lying open to

[06:03.35]display its vibrant 38 art.

[06:05.53]Kate felt compelled to mention

[06:07.94]this beautiful piece. He said

[06:10.24]an obscure monk 39 during the Renaissance 40

[06:12.21]had copied and illustrated 41

[06:13.96]the Book of Revelations.

[06:15.37]It had been quite shabby

[06:17.33]when it first came into

[06:18.54]his possession but he had

[06:20.07]it restored and planned to

[06:21.39]donate it to a museum.

[06:23.02]The door to a powder room

[06:24.77]stood ajar. Inside Kate noticed,

[06:26.96]again, the careful attention to

[06:29.59]detail manifest in the rest

[06:31.12]of the house. The doorknob

[06:32.87]was hand painted porcelain 42.

[06:34.95]The ivory?colored fixtures 43 were

[06:37.47]shell-shaped and gold-trimmed.

[06:39.76]A large bowl of sweetly scented 44

[06:42.17]flowers was centered on the vanity.

[06:43.92]Next to the flowers sat

[06:45.67]a piece of hand-carved fossilized ebony.

[06:48.18]Kate was stunned 45 by the size

[06:50.38]of the spacious 46 sitting room.

[06:52.23]Several groupings of furniture

[06:53.87]lent themselves to seating

[06:54.97]as few as two guests

[06:56.28]or as many as ten. Here, too,

[06:59.45]ornamental plasterwork decorated the walls

[07:01.86]and ceilings. The raspberry colored

[07:05.03]velvet upholstery covering the couches

[07:07.22]and chairs complemented 47 the pale

[07:09.41]green oriental carpets and lightly

[07:11.93]textured draperies. The gold-colored lamps

[07:15.10]with their creamy white shades,

[07:16.85]the paintings in their

[07:18.49]ornate alcoves 48, and the open

[07:20.46]fireplace with family pictures

[07:22.54]on the mantel, gave Kate

[07:24.18]an overwhelming feeling

[07:25.38]of comfort and peace.