What did the man expect to find under the stairs?

After her husband had gone to work, Mrs Richards sent her children toschool and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any houseworkthat morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress party withher husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costumethe night before, she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consistedonly of a sheet, it was very effective. After putting it on, Mrs Richards wentdownstairs. 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 thefront door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told him to comestraight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on thekitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs Richards quickly hid inthe small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and heavyfootsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and a manentered. Mrs Richards realized that it must be the man from the ElectricityBoard 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 jumpedback several paces. When Mrs Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming thedoor behind him.

New words and expressions 生词与短语

costume

n. 化装服

consist

v. 由……组成

sheet

n. 被单

effective新概念作文

adj. 有明显效果的，有作用的

meter

n. 电表

pace

n. 一步

flee (fled, fled)

v. 逃走

slam

v. 砰地关上

本文参考译文

理查兹夫人等丈夫上班走后，把孩子送去上学，然后来到楼上自己的卧室。那天上午，她兴奋得什么家务活都不想做，因为晚上她要同丈夫一起参加一个化装舞会。她打算装扮成鬼的模样。头天晚上她已把化装服做好，这时她急于想试试。尽管化装服仅由一个被单制成，却十分逼真。理查兹夫人穿上化装服后下了楼，想看穿起来是否舒服。

理查兹夫人刚刚走进餐厅，前门就传来敲门声。她知道来了一定面包师。她曾告诉过面包师，如果她不去开门，他可直接进门，把面包放在厨房的桌上。理查兹夫人不想吓唬这个可怜人，便赶紧躲到了楼梯下的小储藏室里。她听见前门被打开，走廊里响起重重的脚步声。突然贮藏门开了，一个男人走了进来。理查兹夫人这才想到一定是供电局来人查电表了。她说了声“是我，别怕!”然后想进行一番解释，但已来不及了。那人大叫了一声，惊退了几步。理查兹夫人朝他走去，只见他“砰”的一声关上门逃走了。

(兼职编辑：张博)