英语听力精选进阶版 7037

(Creaking door opens and shuts)

Finn: Thank you for coming with me to my late uncle's old house. He died recently.

(Creaking door opens)

Li: What a huge house!

Finn: Yes. My uncle, Frank Stein, left instructions for me to collect a suitcase which contains a donation to a school.

Li: A kind man who lived in a huge dark house. Oh, what was that?!

Finn: An owl¹ - spooky!

(Spooky sound)

Li: These wooden masks on the walls look very scary! Finn, 你看，墙上挂的这些面具看上去够可怕的，大眼睛，扭曲的嘴巴...

Finn: Yes, they are from an old tribe, I think.

(Spooky sound)

Li: Finn, why did your uncle have all this stuff?

Finn: Well, our family has never had much contact with him. He was a bit of a loner with a mysterious past.

Li: Mysterious past?

Finn: Yes, he had a mysterious life. He was an adventurer and a gambler. His first wife was killed in an accident. The second one disappeared suddenly. He had a few skeletons in the closet!

Li: He has got skeletons in the closet! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Finn: Li, calm down. In English, when we say that someone has a skeleton in the closet, we mean they have a hidden secret which is embarrassing.

Li: 在英语中如果说某人的壁橱里有个骷髅 a skeleton, 意思就是这个人有难言之隐，有不可告人的家丑或秘密。这是一个有名的英国俗语。'A skeleton in the closet' or sometimes you can say 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. 我们一起听几个例句：

Mr Burns had to resign his position as CEO, after it came to light that his brother was in jail for corruption². Shareholders³ got scared he might have more skeletons in the closet.

I have always led a modest and honest life. There are no skeletons in my closet.

Li: That's a relief. So this is just an expression. There are no skeletons in these closets, are there?

Finn: Oh, no. No skeletons in these closets but...

Li: But what?

Finn: But here's the suitcase my uncle wanted to donate to a school after his death. And it has... (he opens the suitcase)

Li: A skeleton!! Oh this place must be haunted! Oh, ohh I'm out of here!! Ahhhhhhh!

Finn: Li, don't worry, Li! My uncle Frank Stein was a doctor. He wanted me to donate this skeleton to a medical school for students to examine!

(Sinister laughter, sound of door closing)

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任