Lesson_7 Mutilated ladies

Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever put your trousers in the washing machine and then remembered there was a large bank note in your back pocket? When you rescued your trousers, did you find the note was whiter than white? People who live in Britain needn't despair when they made mistakes like this (and a lot of people do)! Fortunately for them, the Bank of England has a team called Mutilated Ladies which deals with claims from people who fed their money to a machine or to their dog. Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money!

A recent case concerns Jane Butlin whose fiancé, John, runs a successful furniture business. John had very good day and put his wallet containing $3,000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping. Then he and Jane went horse-riding. When they got home, Jane cooked their dinner in the microwave oven and without realizing it, cooked her fiancé's wallet as well. Imagine their dismay when they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash! John went to see his bank manager who sent the remains of wallet and the money to the special department of the Bank of England in Newcastle: the Mutilate Ladies! They examined the remain and John got all his money back. 'So long as there's something to identify, we will give people their money back,' said a spokeswoman for the Bank. 'Last year, we paid $1.5m on 21,000 claims. Damaged bank notes. The Queen's head appears on English bank notes, and 'lady' refers to this.

【生词和短语】

　　mutilate v. 使残缺不全

　　chew v. 咀嚼

　　microwave n. 微波，微波炉

　　oven n. 炉灶

　　safekeeping n. 妥善保管

　　Newcastle n. 纽卡斯尔(英国港市)

　　identify v. 鉴定，识别

　　spokeswoman n. 女发言人

it seems指“看起来”，在此处为插入语。

go + n.-doing”去做（某事）

　　Go bicycle-riding 去骑车兜风

　　Go kite-flying 去放风筝

　　Go sight-seeing 去观光

　　Go window-shopping 去逛街（只看不买）

短语总结:

（1）have a very good day 日子过得很好

We still believe one day we will have a good day. 我们依然相信总有一天我们会过上好日子。

（2）have a bad day 日子过得很差

When I have had a bad day at work,I often give myself a vacation.每当工作不顺心时，我经常给自己放个假。

知识点

1  Mutilated ladies，这是英国银行专门负责识别和鉴定残缺或被毁纸币的小组，其中的 lady是指英国纸币上印的女王头像。

2  a large bank note，面额很大的纸币。

3  whiter than white，这是英国有关洗衣粉的电视广告中常用的一句话。这里的意思是纸币上的字迹、图案均被洗掉了，可以译为“比白纸还白”。whiter than white为经典的比较级的夸张的写法，目的在于给人留下深刻印象。

例句支持:

　　Something is better than nothing. 聊胜于无。

　　Half a loaf is better than no bread. 半个面包总比没有面包好。

4  they found a beautifully-cooked wallet and notes turned to ash，他们发现一只煮得很好看的钱包，钞票已烧成了灰。

后半句 they found… notes turned to ash中过去分词短语 turned to ash作宾语 notes的补足语，这后半句话可以看成 they found… that notes had been turned to ash。