新概念英語第三冊(cè)（美音版）The ideal servant

[ti:未知] [ar:] [al:] [by:https://www.lrc.com.cn] [00:02.38]Lesson 49 [00:04.61] The ideal servantWhat was Bessie's 'little weakness'? [00:07.07]It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. [00:10.58]If she were alive today [00:11.86]she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: [00:16.21]domestic servants. [00:17.92]Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age [00:20.01]when servants were employed to do housework. [00:22.71]She had a huge,rambling country house called 'The Gables'. [00:27.07]She was sentimentally attached to this house, [00:29.76]for even though it was far too big for her needs, [00:32.53]she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. [00:36.35]Before she grew old,aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. [00:40.68]I often visited The Gables when I was a boy. [00:44.02]No matter how many guests were present,the great house was always immaculate. [00:48.74]The parquet floors shone like mirrors; [00:51.39]highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; [00:55.58]even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. [01:01.34]Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants [01:04.65]that continuously scrubbed,cleaned,and polished. [01:08.33]She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', [01:12.23]for they came and went with such frequency [01:14.56]that I never even got a chance to learn their names. [01:18.01]Though my aunt pursued what was,in those days an enlightened policy, [01:22.46]in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day [01:26.92]she was extremely difficult to please. [01:29.67]While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, [01:32.81]she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, [01:37.78]even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie. [01:41.73]Bessie worked for aunt Harriet for three years. [01:44.48]During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence, [01:47.70]that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. [01:50.50]Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency. [01:55.35]In addition to all her other qualifications,Bessie was an expert cook. [02:00.14]She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years [02:03.32]before Aunt Harriet discovered her 'little weakness'. [02:07.02]After being absent from The Gables for a week, [02:09.90]my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests [02:14.07]and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner. [02:16.81]Not only was the meal well below the usual standard, [02:20.07]but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. [02:23.03]She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. [02:27.20]When she came in with the last course--a huge pudding--she tripped on the carpet [02:32.02]and the pudding went flying through the air,narrowly missed my aunt, [02:35.75]and crashed on the dining table with considerable force. [02:39.60]Though this caused great mirth among the guests,Aunt Harriet was horrified. [02:44.65]She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk. [02:48.26]The guests had,of course, [02:49.84]realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them [02:53.27]and,long before the final catastrophe, [02:55.64]had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement. [02:59.42]The poor girl was dismissed instantly. [03:02.06]After her departure,Aunt Harriet discovered [03:04.65]that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes [03:08.82]neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie's wardrobe. [03:12.26]They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!

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