英语博客：Ali Baba part 2.

　　Ali Baba part 2.
By now, Ali Baba had opened the shop which he had always dreamed about. He was a fair and generous shop owner. He was happy, his family had plenty, and every neighbor was his friend. Ali Baba hired a helper named Morgiana. She was a very clever and beautiful young lady. She enjoyed her work at the shop. And Morgiana cared for Ali Baba and his family very much. One day, a stranger came calling at the shop. He asked Morgiana many questions about the owner. The odd stranger's questions worried Morgiana. She vowed¹ to keep a watchful² eye on the shop. The stranger was really a thief in disguise. The thief returned to the robber's cave to report back to the Captain. "His name is Ali Baba, Captain," said the thief. "He lives behind his new shop in town. He was a poor woodcutter only a few weeks ago." "Go back there at nightfall," the Captain ordered. "Mark his house with this white chalk, and later, I will take 20 men to the marked house and finish him." As he was told, the thief crept in the shadows to mark Ali Baba's home. Little did he know that clever Morgiana had spotted³ him. As the thief marked the door, she followed with white chalk, too, and marked all the doors. When the Captain and his 20 thieves arrived later that night, they found every door was marked. They did not know which house to attack, so they crept away in shame. Their leader was angry and said, "Who will get this right?" One brave thief stepped forward. "Here is some red chalk," the Captain offered. "Mark the door, and I will lead 30 men to storm Ali Baba's home."The thief did as he was told, but again Morgiana played her trick on the Captain and his 30 thieves. The Captain decided⁴ to use all his power against Ali Baba. The Forty Thieves gathered together and made a plan. The Captain would disguise himself as an oil merchant. He would lead a train of mules⁵ that carried 39 barrels. The thieves would hide inside the barrels and await their Captain's signal. It was a great plan. Early that night, they arrived at Ali Baba's shop. "I have brought some oil to sell at market tomorrow," the Captain lied. "But tonight I need a place to stay and I have a lot of cargo⁶. Will you take me in?" Ali Baba was as generous as usual. "Of course you can stay here," he replied. "Leave your cargo in the back. There is hay there for the mules. Then come in for dinner."

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

6 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。