What was the 'happy discovery'?

Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people. The moreexpensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed inglass cases to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place. But noone has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop. There isalways hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real raritywill be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors.

No one discovers a rarity by chance. A truly dedicated bargain hunter musthave patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of somethingwhen he sees it. To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer.Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that oneday he will be amply rewarded.

My old friend, Frank Halliday, is just such a person. He has oftendescribed to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere £50. One Saturdaymorning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood. As he had never beenthere before, he found a great deal to interest him. The morning passed rapidlyand Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on thefloor. The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not bebothered to open it. Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prisedit open. The contents were disappointing. Apart from an interesting-lookingcarved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken. Frank gentlylifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature painting atthe bottom of the packing case. As its composition and line reminded him of anItalian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. Glancing at it briefly, thedealer told him that it was worth £50. Frank could hardly conceal hisexcitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery. The tiny paintingproved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds ofthousands of pounds.

New words and expressions 生词与短语

antique

n. 古董，古玩

fascination

n. 魅力，迷惑力

forbidding

adj. 望而生畏的，望而却步的

muster

v. 鼓起

pretentious新概念英语培训班

adj. 自命不凡的，矫饰的

labyrinth

n. 迷宫

musty

adj. 陈腐的，发霉的

rarity

n. 稀世珍品

assorted

adj. 各式各样的

junk

n. 破烂货，废品

litter

v. 杂乱地布满

dedicated

adj. 专心致志的

bargain hunter

到处找便宜货买的人

dealer

v. 商人

cherish

v. 期望，渴望

amply

adv. 足够地

masterpiece

n. 杰作

mere

adj. 仅仅的

prise

v. 撬开

carve

v. 镌刻

dagger

n. 短剑，匕首

miniature

adj. 小巧的，小型的

composition

n. 构图

本文参考译文

古玩店对许多人来说有一种特殊的魅力。高档一点的古玩店为了防尘，把文物漂亮地陈列在玻璃柜子里，那里往往令人望而却步。而对不太装腔作势的古玩店，无论是谁都不用壮着胆子才敢往里进。人们还常常有希望在发霉、阴暗、杂乱无章、迷宫般的店堂里，从杂乱地摆放在地面上的、一堆堆各式各样的破烂货里找到一件稀世珍品。

无论是谁都不会一下子就发现一件珍品。一个到处找便宜的人必须具有耐心，而且最重要的是看到珍品时要有鉴别珍品的能力。要做到这一点，他至少要像古董商一样懂行。他必须像一个专心致志进行探索的科学家那样抱有这样的希望，即终有一天，他的努力会取得丰硕的成果。

我的老朋友弗兰克.哈利戴正是这样一个人。他多次向我详细讲他如何只花50英镑便买到一位名家的杰作。一个星期六的上午，弗兰克去了我家附近的一家古玩店。由于他从未去过那儿，结果他发现许多有趣的东西。上午很快过去了，弗兰克正准备离去，突然看见地板上放着一只体积很大的货箱。古董商告诉他那只货箱刚到不久，但他嫌麻烦不想把它打开。经弗兰克恳求，古董商才勉强把货箱撬开了。箱内东西令人失望。除了一柄式样别致、雕有花纹的匕首外，货箱内装满陶器，而且大部分都已破碎裂。弗兰克轻轻地把陶器拿出箱子，突然发现在箱底有一幅微型画，画面构图与线条使他想起一幅他所熟悉的意大利画，于是他决定将画买了下来。古董商漫不经心看了一眼那幅画，告诉弗兰克那画值50英镑。弗兰克几乎无法掩饰自己兴奋的心情，因为他明白自己发现了一件珍品。那幅不大的画原来是柯勒乔的一幅未被发现的杰作，价值几十万英镑。

(兼职编辑：张博)