王强口语 第一册 Short conversation 007

　　Lesson Seven
Short Conversations
The Mystery of the Secret Letter
Miss Minion¹: Mr. Blackard?
Blackard: Come in, Miss Minion.
Minion: I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but this envelope arrived  for you.
Blackard: Who is it from?
Minion: I've no idea. Somebody apparently² left it while I was away from my desk.
Blackard: Hand it to Shakespeare, please, and thank you.
Minion: You're welcome, sir.
Shakespeare: It looks to be another anonymous³ note.
Blackard: Well, what is it?
Shakespeare: "Dear Mr. Blackard, I wanted to thank you again for teaching the class. It went very well. Keep up the good work. Signed, your secret friend."
Blackard: Well!
Shakespeare: It looks like the same handwriting as the original anonymous note.
Blackard: Isn't that interesting? So, our secret sponsor is actually in the class!
Shakespeare: Or connected with someone in the class.
Blackard: Who might it be? I don't know them well enough to guess. They all seem too poor to give me that kind of money.
Shakespeare: It could be the parents of one of your students.
Blackard: True. It's a mystery, Shakespeare. And you know how mysteries make me feel.
Shakespeare: Nervous and sweaty.
Blackard: Exactly. This means I'm going to have to be nice to everyone in the class.

1 minion   

n.宠仆；宠爱之人

参考例句：

• At worst some egregious minion had conducted a childish private enterprise.这最多也不过是一批低能的小人物自己干的无聊把戏而已。
• She delegated the job to one of her minions.她把这份工作委派给她的一个手下。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。