新视野大学英语 读写教程第一册 unit7-c

Section C

A Bank Robbery²

It was about midday³. I'd left work early in the morning to cash （兑现）a cheque. I walked along to the bank and found there were only about ten or eleven customers in there, a pretty unusual number for those central city banks.

1. What could make the writer sense that something was about to happen at this moment?

I waited until it was my turn, walked up to the desk and started talking to the bank clerk. He had a really strange expression on his face — just sort of a blank（茫然的）stare. I thought he was looking at me until I realised he was staring over my shoulder.
I began to turn round to see what he was looking at and at the same moment, the outside bank guard, the one with the machine gun, came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor. Following him through the door were three absolutely frightening men wearing those horrible⁴ stocking⁵ masks. They were carrying guns; at least the one in front was carrying a pistol⁶.
Whether or not they said anything I can't remember to this day, or whether people just automatically⁷ put their hands up I don't know. I put my hands up but I just didn't know what to do.
For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing. I remember wondering who was on the other end of the line. Nobody answered the telephone, so it just kept on ringing and ringing, in this otherwise（不然）deathly quiet.
Then two of the masked men went to the counter⁸（柜台）, jumped over it and got the cashiers⁹ and bank clerks to start filling their bags with cash. While the two were getting the money, the one at the door covering us with the gun obviously¹⁰ got a bit of an anxiety¹¹ attack and started swearing（咒骂）at them, telling them to hurry up and get a move on.

2. Why did the robber¹ get a bit of an anxiety attack now?

They jumped back over the counter. One of them lost his balance when he landed on the floor and fell over. The other two swore at him again. Then they left through the door, warning¹² us, "Don't move. Stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes." Then they just disappeared. There was total silence.
We put our hands down but I just stayed exactly where I was. Then one of the bank workers pressed a button behind the counter and the steel gate at the front of the bank moved into place so that we were locked in. We just stayed like that until the police arrived three or four minutes later.
They picked up the bank guard who, poor fellow, was still lying flat on the floor. There was a good deal of confusion（混乱）.
As though in a dream, I just wandered（漫步）out of the bank. Nobody tried to stop me. The police didn't seem interested in me. They didn't want to question me. I wasn't asked to be a witness（证人）or anything so I just wandered out of the bank.

3. What did the writer intend to say here?

Life as normal was going on outside in the busy street and I wandered back to the school. On the way back I ran into the school's accountant（会计）and quietly mentioned to him that I'd just been in a bank robbery. Of course, he was absolutely amazed¹³ and asked, "Do you want to come for a drink?" I said "OK."
In fact, it was only at that point that I really began to feel nervous and felt myself trembling¹⁴ a little bit. I was all right later on after I'd had a couple of drinks, but it only really came home to me what had happened at that point.

4. Why did the writer feel nervous only at this moment?

What still amazes¹⁵ me is that the robbers¹⁶ went out onto the street, one of the busiest in Naples, in the middle of the day, and just disappeared into thin air. I still find that absolutely unbelievable.

5. What did the writer want to express here?

1 robber   

n.抢劫者，强盗，盗贼

参考例句：

• The robber told the woman to come across with her purse.拦路抢劫者勒令那个女人把钱包交出来。
• The robber tried to run away but a man tackled him.强盗企图逃跑，但一个人把他抓住了。

2 robbery   

n.抢劫；抢劫案

参考例句：

• A man is being questioned in connection with the robbery.一名男子就那起抢劫案接受查问。
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

3 midday   

n.正午，中午；adj.正午的

参考例句：

• It is now past midday.现在已过中午了。
• I awoke to bright sunlight filling my room.It was already midday.我一醒来就看见屋里阳光灿烂，原来已是中午了。

4 horrible   

adj.可怕的，极可憎的，极可厌的

参考例句：

• This is a horrible monster.这是一个可怕的怪物。
• That is a horrible accident.那是一次可怕的事故。

5 stocking   

n.长筒袜

参考例句：

• My stocking is always full of presents at Christmas.我的长袜在圣诞节经常装满了礼物。
• It's no use keeping this odd stocking.单只的袜子留着没什么用。

6 pistol   

n.手枪

参考例句：

• He drew his pistol and aimed at the enemy soldier.他拔出枪对准敌兵。
• The escaped criminal fell at the sound of a pistol.手枪一响，逃犯应声倒下。

7 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。

8 counter   

n.柜台；计数器；adj.相反的；adv.与…相反地；vt.反对，反击；vi.反对，反击

参考例句：

• This counter is closed now.这个柜台现在已停止营业。
• Set the counter to zero and you'll know where the recording starts.把计数器拨到零，你就会知道录音从哪儿开始。

9 cashiers   

n.出纳员( cashier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All the office employees -- secretaries, cashiers, salesmen -- were invited. 全部办公室雇员－－秘书、出纳员、推销员－－都被邀请了。 来自辞典例句
• Could you sign at the Cashiers Counter when you check out, please? 结账时请到会计部签名好吗？ 来自互联网

10 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

11 anxiety   

n.忧虑，担心，挂念，焦急；渴望，热望

参考例句：

• Tom's anxiety to succeed led him to work hard.汤姆对成功的渴望使他更加努力。
• He received the news of his father's sickness with great anxiety.他得知父亲生病的消息时焦急万分。

12 warning   

n.警告，告诫，训诫，警戒，警报

参考例句：

• The other side paid no attention to our warning.对方不重视我方的警告。
• He realized that his doctor was warning him off drink.他意识到医生在告诫他戒酒。

13 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

14 trembling   

n.发抖adj.发抖的v.发抖( tremble的现在分词 )；焦虑；颤动；轻轻摇晃

参考例句：

• My legs were trembling with fear. 我吓得双腿直发抖。
• Daddy was trembling with anxiety as to how the talks would go. 爸爸为那些商谈的进展而焦虑不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 amazes   

使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your knowledge amazes me. 你丰富的知识令我吃惊。
• The power that amazes, We look, but never will see? 为什么这种令人惊异的力量我们看到了却永不会明白？

16 robbers   

n.抢劫者，强盗，盗贼( robber的名词复数 )；盗匪

参考例句：

• The robbers fled empty-handed. 抢劫犯一无所获地逃走了。
• The policeman discharged his gun at the fleeing robbers. 警察向逃跑的强盗开了枪。 来自《简明英汉词典》