Lesson 34 A happy discovery 幸运的发现

What was the 'happy discovery'?

Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people. The more
expensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed
in glass cases to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place. Bu
t no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop.
There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms
a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that little t
he floors.

No one discovers a rarity by chance. A truly dedicated bargain hunter must h
ave patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something
when he sees it. To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the de
aler. Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope
that one day he will be amply rewarded.

My old friend, Frank Halliday, is just such a person. He has often described
to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere ?50. One Saturday morning,
Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood. As he had never been ther
e before, he found a great deal to interest him. The morning passed rapidly
and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on t
he floor. The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could no
t be bothered to open it. Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctant
ly prised it open. The contents were disappointing. Apart from an interestin
g-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken. Fr
ank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniatu
re painting at the bottom of the packing case. As its composition and line r
eminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. Glanc
ing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it was worth ?50. Frank could ha
rdly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery.
The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was w
orth hundreds of thousands of pounds.



【 在 forthehorde 的大作中提到: 】
: 不是吧，我还想去废品站试试手气
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