A lovable eccentric
可爱的怪人
Why did the shop assistant refuse to serve Dickie?
为什么店员拒绝为迪基服务?
True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.
真正的怪人从来不会故意把注意力吸引到自己身上.
They disregard social conventions
他们无视社会习俗
without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
没有意识到他们正在做任何非凡的事情。
This invariably wins them the love and respect of others,
这总是为他们赢得别人的爱和尊重,
for they add colour to the dull routine of everyday life.
因为它们为日常生活中沉闷的日常生活增添了色彩.
Up to the time of his death,
直到他死的时候,
Richard Colson was one of the most notable figures in our town.
理查德*科尔森是我们镇上最着名的人物之一.
He was a shrewd and wealthy businessman,
他是一个精明而富有的商人,
but most people in the town hardly knew anything about this side of his life.
但镇上的大多数人对他生活的这一面几乎一无所知。
He was known to us all as Dickie
我们都知道他是迪基
and his eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.
他的怪癖早在他死之前就已经成为传奇。
Dickie disliked snobs intensely.
迪基非常不喜欢势利小人.
Though he owned a large car,
虽然他有一辆大车,
he hardly ever used it, preferring always to go on foot.
他几乎没有用过它,宁愿总是步行去.
Even when it was raining heavily, he refused to carry an umbrella.
即使下着大雨,他也拒绝带伞.
One day, he walked into an expensive shop
有一天，他走进一家昂贵的商店
after having been caught in a particularly heavy shower.
在经历了一场特别大的淋浴之后。
He wanted to buy a ￡300 watch for his wife,
他想给妻子买一块300美元的手表,
but he was in such a bedraggled condition that an assistant refused to serve him.
但他是在这样一个破旧的条件，一个助手拒绝为他服务。
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，背着一个大布包回来了。
As it was extremely heavy, he dumped it on the counter.
由于它非常重，他把它扔在柜台上。
The assistant asked him to leave,
助理让他离开,
but Dickie paid no attention to him and requested to see the manager.
但迪基没有理会他，要求见经理。
Recognizing who the customer was,
识别客户是谁,
the manager was most apologetic and reprimanded the assistant severely.
经理非常抱歉，严厉地训斥了助理。
When Dickie was given the watch, he presented the assistant with the cloth bag.
当迪基拿到手表时,他把布袋递给助理.
It contained ￡300 in pennies.
它包含300美元的便士。
He insisted on the assistant's counting the money before he left--
他坚持要助理在离开前数钱--
30, 000 pennies in all!
总共三万便士！
On another occasion, he invited a number of important critics
在另一个场合，他邀请了一些重要的评论家
to see his private collection of modern paintings.
去看他私人收藏的现代绘画。
This exhibition received a great deal of attention in the press,
这次展览受到了新闻界的高度关注,
for though the pictures were supposed to be the work of famous artists,
虽然这些照片应该是着名艺术家的作品,
they had in fact been painted by Dickie.
它们实际上是迪基画的.
It took him four years to stage this elaborate joke
他花了四年时间才上演这个精心制作的笑话
simply to prove that critics do not always know what they are talking about.
只是为了证明批评者并不总是知道他们在说什么。
