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!

4.Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarded.

船上许多游客开始同商贩讨价还价起来，但我打定主意上岸之前什么也不买。

语言点:句子结构分析:had begun bargaining为过去完成进行时。But连接两个转折关系的并列句。Until引导时间状语从句。

5.I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.

我刚下船，就被一个人截住，他向我兜售一枚钻石戒指。

语言点:句子结构分析:who引导定语从句，修饰man，即“…样的人”。

6.I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.

我根本不想买，但我不能掩饰这样一个事实：其钻石之大给我留下了深刻的印象。

语言点:句子结构分析:of buying one为介词短语，作后置定语，修饰intention，即“买的欲望”的意思。That引导同位语从句，对fact进行解释说明。