Five Pounds Too Dear 五磅也太贵

Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour. Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs form Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware. It was difficult not to be tempted. Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarded.
I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring. I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds. Some of them were as big as marbles. The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real. As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass. It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches. I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the words‘made in the U.S.A.’had been neatly inscribed. The man said that the pen was worth 50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for 30. I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay 5. Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to 10. shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands. Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the 5 I gave him. I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain — until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single word!

1.Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour.

当一艘大型班船进港的时候，许多小船载着各种杂货快速向客轮驶来。

语言点:句子结构分析:loaded with wares为过去分词短语，作后置定语，修饰boats。As引导时间状语从句，说明两个动作同时发生。

2.Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs form Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware.

大船还未下锚。小船上的人就纷纷爬上客轮。一会儿工夫，甲板上就摆满了色彩斑斓的波斯地毯。印度丝绸。铜咖啡壶以及手工制作的漂亮的银器。

语言点:句子结构分析:before引导时间状语从句，交代船下锚前发生的事情。

3.It was difficult not to be tempted.

要想不为这些东西所动心是很困难的。

语言点:句子结构分析:it是形式主语，真正的主语是not be tempted。