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精读原文
Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. Rastus leads an orderly life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. One evening, however, he failed to arrive. Mrs. Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.
Three days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter. The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of￡1,000. Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. At first she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. She withdrew￡1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions. The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening. He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done. She explained that Rastus was very dear to her. Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
精读注解
A very dear cat
dear /dɪə/：You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for. 亲爱的OR If something is dear to you or dear to your heart, you care deeply about it.宝贵的; 珍视的，如：Mrs. Cavendish is a dear friend of mine. 凯文迪许太太是我亲爱的朋友。
根据本文的内容，dear是双关语，具有“亲爱的”和“昂贵的”双重意义
参考译文：一只贵重的宝贝猫
Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerableinterest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. Rastus leads anorderly life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock. One evening, however, he failed to arrive. Mrs. Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.
kidnapper /'kɪdnæpɚ/: someone who unlawfully seizes and detains a victim (usually for ransom) 绑匪；诱拐者，如：A policeman shot at the kidnapper. 一名警察向那个绑匪射击。
be interested in：对……感兴趣，比如：As you know, I am not interested in games. 如你所知，我对体育比赛不太感兴趣。
take interest in：对……感兴趣，可以在interest前面加表示程度的形容词
considerable /kən'sɪdərəbl/：fairly large, especially large enough to have an effect or be important相当大的〔尤指大到足以产生某种影响的程度〕，如：Michael has already spent considerable time in Barcelona. 迈克尔在巴塞罗那已经待了相当长的时间了。
wealthy/'welθɪ/：having a lot of money, possessions etc富有的，有钱的，富裕的，如：He left as a poor, working class boy and
returned as a wealthy man. 他走的时候是一个工人阶层的穷小子，回来时已经是一个腰缠万贯的富翁了。
a very wealthy old lady：某一名词由若干形容词，排序十分复杂，建议多积累
share…with…:与……分享、共有和分担，如：I can share my books with you.我可以与你共读我的藏书。
lead an orderly life：生活规律
【熟词僻义】lead：①If you lead a group of people, you walk or ride in front of them.带领，如：He walks with a stick but still leads his soldiers into battle. 尽管他拄着拐杖，但他仍带领士兵上战场。②If a road, gate, or door leads somewhere, you can get there by following the road or going through the gate or door. 通往，如：...the door that led to the garden. …通往院子的门。③If something leads you to do something, it influences or affects you in such a way that you do it. 促使，如：His abhorrence of racism led him to write "The Algiers Motel Incident." 他对种族主义的痛恨促使他写了《阿尔及尔汽车旅馆事件》。
orderly /'ɔːdəlɪ/：arranged or organized in a sensible or neat way有条理的，整齐的，如：The elections were conducted in an orderly fashion. 选举进行得有条不紊。
【复杂句解析】She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.：①everywhere副词，作地点状语，提前起强调作用，正常语序：She looked for him everywhere...②him指cat，为拟人用法
参考译文：绑架者很少对动物感兴趣。最近，绑架者却盯上了埃莉诺·拉姆齐太太的猫。埃莉诺·拉姆齐太太是一个非常富有的老妇人，多年来，一直同她养的猫拉斯特斯一起住在一所公寓里。拉斯特斯生活很有规律，傍晚常常出去溜达一会儿，并且总是在7点钟以前回来。可是，有一天晚上，它出去后再也没回来。拉姆齐太太急坏了，四处寻找，但没有找着。
Three days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymousletter. The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of￡1,000. Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door. At first she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. Shewithdrew￡1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions. The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening. He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk. The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done. She explained that Rastus was very dear to her. Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
disappearance /dɪsə'pɪərəns/：when someone or something becomes impossible to see or find消失，失踪，如：Police are investigating the woman’s disappearance. 警方正在调查这名女子的失踪。
anonymous/ə'nɒnɪməs/：done, sent, or given by someone who does not want their name to be known匿名的，如：an anonymous donation of $5,000 5,000美元的匿名捐赠
be in safe hands：在可靠的人那里，hands用来指人，拓展：in bad/good/green/new/old hands：在笨人／能人／生／新／老手中
ransom /'rænsəm/：an amount of money that is paid to free someone who is held as a prisoner〔为使被囚者获释而支付的〕赎金，如：The kidnappers were demanding a ransom of $250,000. 绑匪索取25万美元的赎金。
instruct sb to do sth：指示／命令……做……，如：His secretary was instructed to cancel all his engagements. 他的秘书接到通知，取消他所有的预约。
cardboard /'kɑːdbɔːd/：stiff thick brown paper, used especially for making boxes〔尤指可用于制纸箱的〕（硬）纸板，卡纸，如：a sheet of cardboard 一张卡纸
decide to do sth.：决定做某事，如：I’m excited to see what the writers decide to do. 我很期待编剧的决定。
… fearing that she would never see Rastus again -- the letter had made that quite clear -- she changed her mind. ①fearing that she would never see Rastus again，现在分词短语作原因状语，表明change her mind的原因；②-- the letter had made that quite clear – 至于破折号内，作插入语；
withdraw /wɪð'drɔː/：If you withdraw money from a bank account, you take it out of that account.(从银行) 取 (钱)，如：Open a savings account that does not charge ridiculous fees to withdraw money.开立一个取钱时不荒唐地收取费用的储蓄账户
【熟词僻义】follow：①to happen or do something after something else紧随其后；在…后发生[做]，如：The agreement followed months of negotiation. 经过数月的谈判，协议达成了。②to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it听从，遵循，如：Follow the instructions very carefully when filling in the form. 认真地按照说明填写表格。③to understand something such as an explanation or story理解，明白，如：The plot is a little difficult to follow. 情节有点难以理解。
keep one’s word：信守诺言，注意：word用单数形式，如：He never failed to keep his word.他从不食言。
sure enough：as supposed or expected，无疑，果然。如：Sure enough, I found her name in the phone book.果真，我在电话簿上找到了她的名字。
punctually /ˈpʌŋktʃuəli/：at the proper time准时地，如期地，如：I’ll hand in the paper punctually tomorrow. 明天我会准时交论文的。
astound/ə'staʊnd/：to make someone very surprised or shocked使震惊，使大惊，如：The judge’s decision astounded everyone. 法官的判决使大家感到震惊。
【复杂句解析】Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!①Considering…是介词短语，表示：考虑到……，就……而言，作原因状语；②dear：本处是“一语双关，既有“可爱”也有“昂贵”之意。③in more ways than one：不止一种意义在更多方面，不仅如此，还有别的方面等，如：The Huangguoshu National Park touched me in more ways than one. 黄果树国家公园给我的震撼是多重的。
参考译文：拉斯特斯失踪3天后，拉姆齐太太收到一封匿名信。写信人声称拉斯特斯安然无恙，只要拉姆齐太太愿意支付1,000 英镑赎金，可以立即将猫送还。他让拉姆齐太太把钱放在一个纸盒里，然后将纸盒放在门口。一开始拉姆齐太太打算报告警察，但又害怕再也见不到拉斯特斯——这点，信上说得十分明白——于是便改变了主意。她从银行取出1,000 英镑，并照绑架者的要求做了。第二天早晨，放钱的盒子不见了。但拉姆齐太太确信绑架者是会履行诺言的。果然，当天晚上7点正，拉斯特斯准时回来了。它看上去一切正常，只是口渴得很，喝了半瓶牛奶。拉姆齐太太把她所做的事告诉了警察，警察听后大为吃惊。拉姆齐太太解释说她心疼她的猫拉斯特斯。想到她所花的那笔钱，她的心疼就具有双重意义了。
Summary writing：(last paragraph)
用不多于80个单词描述拉姆齐太太的猫拉斯特斯是如何回到她身边的。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）
Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter three days after her cat’s disappearance. The writer of the letter demanded ￡1,000 for the return of the cat, and warned she would never see him again if she went to the police. She had to put the money in a cardboard box and leave it outside her door. After drawing￡1,000 from her bank, she acted on the kidnapper’s instructions. The money disappeared the following morning, and Rastus returnded at seven o’clock that evening.
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