英语听力精选进阶版 7076

Background: 在德国法兰克福市，一名在当地快递公司任职的快递员被指控没有履行本职工作，导致2万多件信件和包裹都没有送到。德国警方说当他们对这名快递员的家进行搜查的时候，发现床垫和壁柜里都塞满了邮件。

There's an old saying amongst postmen the world over 不管到哪儿: the mail must get through 邮件必须送到. But a postal¹ worker in Frankfurt appears to have decided² that the mail must get hidden.

German police say the man, who'd been working for a leading courier company 快递公司, had failed to deliver post for over a year - choosing instead to hoard³ 贮藏 it at home in his flat.

When police raided 搜查 his apartment, they discovered an Aladdin's cave 阿拉丁的藏宝洞 of undelivered 没有送到的 letters: they found envelopes stuffed 塞满了under the mattress⁴, parcels packed into cupboards, mail squirreled away 储藏 in every nook and every cranny 所有缝隙.

It's thought the postman, who police say was born in Scotland, had failed to deliver more than twenty thousand items. He was caught when a neighbour spotted⁵ 看到 him disposing 处理 of lots of letters.

Asked by police why he'd done it, the courier claimed he'd had a lot on his plate 忙不过来了- he'd been attending evening classes and hadn't had time to deliver the post.

GLOSSARY⁶ 词汇表

the world over 不管到哪儿

the mail must get through 邮件必须送到

courier company 快递公司

hoard 贮藏

raided 搜查

Aladdin's cave 阿拉丁的藏宝洞

undelivered 没有送到的

stuffed 塞满了

squirreled away 储藏

every nook and every cranny 所有缝隙

spotted 看到

disposing 处理

a lot on his plate 忙不过来了

Questions and Answers

1. Does the postman live in a house or an apartment?

He lives in an apartment or flat.

2. Did the postman keep the letters and parcels in one place in his home?

No, he kept the post in all parts of his apartment, "squirreled away in every nook and every cranny".

3. Has the postman always lived in Frankfurt?

No, police say he was born in Scotland.

4. Why did the postman say he had kept the letters and parcels?

He said "he’d had a lot on his plate" – he’d been too busy to deliver them.

1 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

4 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。