英语短文：It's only me

 　　After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy¹ dress party with her husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient² to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective. After putting it on, Mrs Richards went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.

　　Just as Mrs Richards was entering the dining room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker³. She had todd him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps⁴ in the hall. Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and a man entered. Mrs.. Richards realized that it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried to explain the situation, saying' It's only me', but it was too late. The man let out a cry and jumped back several paces. When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming⁵ the door behind him.

1 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

2 impatient   

adj.不耐烦的，急躁的；热切的，急切的

参考例句：

• He was so impatient that I could hardly hold him back.他是那样急躁，我简直拉不住他。
• With an impatient gesture he thrust the food away from him.他不耐烦地把吃的东西猛地推开。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

5 slamming   

n.砰击v.砰地关上（门或窗）( slam的现在分词 )；用力一放；使劲一推；猛劲一摔

参考例句：

• When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming the door behind him. 当理查德夫人向他走去时，他把门“砰”的一声关上就跑开了。 来自《用法词典》
• "All right,'said Vance, slamming the coach door, and the conveyance rolled away. “行了，"万斯说，砰的一声关上车门，车子就上路了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹