Lesson 31

True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.
真正的怪人从不故意引人注目。
They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
他们无视社会习俗，而没有意识到自己正在做任何非凡的事情。
This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
这总是为他们赢得他人的爱戴与尊重，因为他们给枯燥的日常生活增添了色彩。
Up to the time of his death, Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town.
直到去世前，理查德·科尔森一直是我们镇上最著名的人物之一。
He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman, but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life.
他是一个精明且富有的商人，但镇上的大多数人几乎不知道他生活的这一面。
He was known to us all as Dickie and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
我们大家都叫他迪基，在他去世很久以前，他的古怪行为就已经成为了传奇。
Dickie disliked snobs intensely.
迪基非常讨厌势利小人。
Though he owned a large car, he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot.
虽然他拥有一辆大轿车，但他几乎从不使用它，总是更喜欢步行。
Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella.
甚至当下大雨时，他也拒绝打伞。
One day, he walked into an expensive shop after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower.
有一天，他在淋了一场特别大的大雨之后，走进了一家昂贵的商店。
He wanted to buy a £300 watch for his wife, but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him.
他想给妻子买一块300英镑的手表，但他当时的样子是如此邋遢，以至于一名店员拒绝接待他。
Dickie left the shop without a word and returned carrying a large cloth bag.
迪基一言不发地离开了商店，回来时提着一个大布袋。
As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter.
由于它非常沉重，他把它扔在了柜台上。
The assistant asked him to leave, but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager.
助手要求他离开，但迪基没有理会他，并要求见经理。
Recognizing who the customer was, the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely.
认出客户是谁后，经理表现得非常抱歉，并严厉地训斥了助手。
When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag.
当迪基拿到手表时，他把那个布袋送给了助手。
It contained £300 in pennies.
它包含了价值300英镑的便士。
He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left — 30,000 pennies in all!
在他离开之前，他坚持要助手清点这笔钱——总计3万枚便士！
On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics to see his private collection of modern paintings.
在另一次场合，他邀请了许多重要的评论家来参观他的现代绘画私人收藏。
This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press, for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists, they had in fact been painted by Dickie.
这次展览在报刊上受到了大量的关注，因为虽然这些画作被认为是名画家的作品，但它们事实上是由迪基创作的。
It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
他花了四年时间策划这个精心设计的玩笑，仅仅是为了证明评论家们并不总是知道自己在谈论什么。