生活英语对话 Episode 91: The truth about the watches

本单元是关于手表真相的对话

Police 1: Could you just sign here please?
Tim: Yeah, sure. Can I do anything else to help?
Police 1: I think we have everything we need. We've been watching your boss, I mean, your ex-boss, for some time, and we've long suspected that he was involved in a counterfeiting¹ ring. With the statement you've just given us, the CCTV evidence, and Mrs Hall's statement too, I think we've got enough to secure² a conviction³.
Tim: Mrs Hall?
Police 2: Janet Hall: the rather posh customer who bought a watch from you just before Christmas. She recognised almost immediately that it was a fake⁴, so she came to us straight away. But she was adamant⁵ that you couldn't have been responsible. She said something about some lost money that you returned to her.
Tim: Oh yeah, that. But when you interviewed me the other week you really seemed to think that I'd stolen the watches.
Police 2 : Just doing our job, sir.


Vocabulary 词汇

a counterfeiting ring 造假团伙
group of criminals who work together to make and distribute fake products or fake money

statement 陈述;声明;供述;交代
a written account of events or facts, usually made by a witness to a crime, for use by the police in a court of law

CCTV 闭路电视监视系统
closed-circuit television; security⁶ cameras

to secure a conviction 确定某人有罪
to make sure that somebody is found guilty of a crime, in a court of law

posh (adj) 时髦的;优雅的
elegant⁷, fashionable, wealthy and upper class

adamant 坚决的
determined⁸, insistent⁹; will not be persuaded to change an idea or belief

本单元的语言点是过去完成时，过去完成时表示过去的过去，请看下面的解释和例句

Past perfect

Past perfect - form 过去完成时的形式
The past perfect is made from a subject, 'had' and the past participle (the third form of the verb).

Past perfect - meaning & use 过去完成时的意义和用法
The past perfect is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. In episode¹⁰ 91 of the flatmates, Tim says:

"But when you interviewed me the other week you really seemed to think that I had stolen the watches."

Tim is talking about 2 events which both happened in the past: the police interview, and the theft of the watches. Because the theft of the watches happened before the police interview, Tim uses the past perfect: 'I had stolen'.

It does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear which one happened first. Tim could have said:

"But you really seemed to think that I had stolen the watches when you interviewed me the other week."

More examples:

I didn't have any money because I had lost my purse.

Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had been there several times.

Had John ever studied Japanese before he moved to Japan?

She only understood the book because she had seen the film.

We couldn't get a table because we hadn't booked in advance.


Adverbs with the past perfect 与过去完成时一起使用的副词
Adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. can be used with the past perfect. They are usually placed between 'had' and the past participle.

The train had just left when I arrived at the station.

She had just left the room when the teacher arrived.

She had only met her husband once when she married him.

Marco had never needed to speak English until he moved to New York.

1 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

2 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

3 conviction   

n.确信，坚定的信仰；说服，信服；定罪

参考例句：

• His conviction carried him along in his research.他的信心支持着他把研究工作坚持下去。
• His conviction caused rioting in the streets.他被判有罪，引起了街头骚动。

4 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

5 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

6 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

7 elegant   

adj.优美的，文雅的，简练的，简结的

参考例句：

• She was an elegant and accomplished woman.她是位优雅的才女。
• She has a life of elegant ease.她过着风雅悠闲的生活。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

10 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。