练习材料：

The ideal servant Part-1

            理想的仆人

It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants. Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called 'The Gables'. She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited The Gables when I was boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.

ɪt ɪz ə gʊd θɪŋ maɪ ɑːnt ˈhærɪət daɪd jɪəz əˈgəʊ. ɪf ʃiː wɜːr əˈlaɪv təˈdeɪ ʃiː wʊd nɒt biː ˈeɪbl tuː eə hɜː vjuːz ɒn hɜː ˈfeɪvərɪt ˈtɒpɪk ɒv ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən: dəʊˈmɛstɪk ˈsɜːvənts. ɑːnt ˈhærɪət lɪvd ɪn ðæt ˈlɛʒəli eɪʤ wɛn ˈsɜːvənts wɜːr ɪmˈplɔɪd tuː duː ˈhaʊswɜːk. ʃiː hæd ə hjuːʤ, ˈræmblɪŋ ˈkʌntri haʊs kɔːld ðə ˈgeɪblz. ʃiː wɒz ˌsɛntɪˈmɛntli əˈtæʧt tuː ðɪs haʊs, fɔːr ˈiːvən ðəʊ ɪt wɒz fɑː tuː bɪg fɔː hɜː niːdz, ʃiː pəˈsɪstɪd ɪn ˈlɪvɪŋ ðeə lɒŋ ˈɑːftə hɜː ˈhʌzbəndz dɛθ. bɪˈfɔː ʃiː gruː əʊld, ɑːnt ˈhærɪət juːzd tuː ˌɛntəˈteɪn ˈlævɪʃli. aɪ ˈɒf(ə)n ˈvɪzɪtɪd ðə ˈgeɪblz wɛn aɪ wɒz bɔɪ. nəʊ ˈmætə haʊ ˈmɛni gɛsts wɜː ˈprɛznt, ðə greɪt haʊs wɒz ˈɔːlweɪz ɪˈmækjʊlɪt. ðə ˈpɑːkeɪ flɔːz ʃɒn laɪk ˈmɪrəz; ˈhaɪli ˈpɒlɪʃt ˈsɪlvə wɒz dɪsˈpleɪd ɪn ˈgliːmɪŋ glɑːs ˈkæbɪnɪts; ˈiːvən maɪ ˈʌŋklz hjuːʤ kəˈlɛkʃən ɒv bʊks wɒz kɛpt mɪˈrækjʊləsli friː frɒm dʌst. ɑːnt ˈhærɪət prɪˈzaɪdɪd ˈəʊvər ən ɪnˈvɪzəbl ˈɑːmi ɒv ˈsɜːvənts ðæt kənˈtɪnjʊəsli skrʌbd, kliːnd, ænd ˈpɒlɪʃt. ʃiː ˈɔːlweɪz rɪˈfɜːd tuː ðɛm æz ðə ˈʃɪftɪŋ ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən, fɔː ðeɪ keɪm ænd wɛnt wɪð sʌʧ ˈfriːkwənsi ðæt aɪ ˈnɛvər ˈiːvən gɒt ə ʧɑːns tuː lɜːn ðeə neɪmz.

  我的姑妈哈丽特好多年前就去世了，这倒是件好事。如果她活到今天，她将不能就她热衷的话题“佣人”发表意见了。哈丽特生活在一个悠闲的年代，家务事都由雇来的佣人代劳。她在乡下有一幢巨大杂乱的房子，叫作“山墙庄园”。她对这幢房子在感情上难舍难分。房子实在太大了，但在丈夫去世多年后，她仍然执意长年住在那儿。哈丽特姑妈年轻时，喜欢大摆宴席，招待宾客。我小时候常去“山墙庄园”作客。不管去多少宾客，大房子里总是收拾得干干净净。镶木地板洁如明镜，擦得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜里，连姑夫的大量藏书也保存得很好，奇迹般地一尘不染。哈丽特姑妈统率着一支看不见的佣人大军，他们不停地擦拭、清扫、刷洗。她称这些佣人叫“流动人口”，因为他们来匆匆，所以我甚至都没有机会知道他们的姓名。

任务配置：L0、L3、L4

知识笔记：

单词与短语

air sb's views on sb's favourite topic of conversation就热衷的话题...发表意见

sentimentally attached to 对...在感情上难舍难分

immaculate/ ɪˈmækjʊlɪt/free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean:

came and went with such frequency 来去勿勿

never even got a chance to do甚至没有机会做某事

练习感悟：感觉已经很习惯用一种方式学新概念了，怎么才能再提升下呢。