Five pounds too dear

dear  ^{expensive; costly; pricey; steep adj.昂贵的}

• Diamonds are very dear. ^{钻石价格非常昂贵。}

Five pounds was too dear. ^{标题省略Be动词(一笔钱视为单数)}

• Italian ex-mayor murdered → Italian ex-mayor was murdered.

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

be loaded with wares ^{非谓语动词做后置定语}

Small boats (which were) loaded with wares ......

• They quickly loaded a small rubber dinghy with food, matches, and cans of beer and rowed for a few miles across the Caribbean until they arrived at a tiny coral island.

be covered with ... ^盖满了...

• In a short time, I was busy mixing butter and flour, and my hands were soon covered with sticky pastry.
• As soon as he saw us, he picked up a long pipe which was covered with coins and opened one of the baskets.

be filled with ... ^装满了...

• it is filled with what looks like a thick, greyish substance. ^NCE3-52
• All at once, I noticed that my wife seemed to be filled with alarm.^NCE3-48

be packed / crammed with ... ^挤满了...

• It has been estimated that if the bridge were packed with cars, it would still only be carrying a third of its total capacity.
• The streets were packed / crammed with Christmas shoppers.

be stuffed with ... ^{充满，装满}

• a pillow stuffed with feathers
• duck stuffed with 'eight treasures' ^八宝鸭
• stuffed birds ^{NCE3-59 鸟类标本}
• I'm stuffed. = I'm full. 

speed ^{n.速度、v.超速、快速运送}

• He was fined for speeding. ^超速
• We sped down the ski slopes. ^{快速向下滑}

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

on board = aboard ^{adv.在船上、在飞机上 & prep. 在...船、飞机上}

• There was a woman aboard.^{船上有一个女人。}
• They rescued him, then winched on board his battered dinghy. ^{他们解救了他，然后用绞车把他那受损的小艇吊上了甲板。}

It was difficult not to be tempted.

It was difficult to avoid being tempted.^替换
It was difficult to resist temptation. ^抵制诱惑

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

• I shaved before I went to the party. ^{我刮了胡子然后去参加聚会。}