He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere £50.

describe ... to sb. ^{向某人讲述、描述某事、描述某事给某人}

• Let me describe to you how it happened.
• Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
• On the occasions when they have pushed to shore an unconscious human being ... ^NCE4-18

describe ... as ... ^{描述为;把…说成;认为;把…称为}

• He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.'
• Those who never have to move house become indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter. ^NCE3-59

a mere ... ^{仅仅…、只有….}

• He's a mere child. ^替换only
• He seemed so young, a mere boy. ^{他看来那么年轻，只是个孩子。}
• It cost a mere bagatelle. ^{这个只花了一点钱。}
• Some contracts are a mere formality. ^{有些合同纯属走形式。}
• It took her a mere 20 minutes to win. ^{她只花了20分钟就赢了。}
• Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away.
• It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes.

One Saturday morning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood. 

neighbourhood ^{n.社区，四邻；邻近的地方；邻里情谊，邻居间的友善关系；（数）领域}

• a famous arcade near / close to / around / off / in the neighborhood of / in the vicinity of Piccadilly were just opening.
• The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. ^{只有很短的公共汽车车程(only a short bus ride away)}

within walking distance ^{步行可达的距离}

• The zoo is within walking distance. ^{动物园走着就能去。}
• The trash truck is within walking distance. ^{垃圾桶卡车是在步行距离内。}
• The post office is within walking distance. ^{邮局在可以步行去的范围内。}
• Are all the classes within walking distance? ^{所有的教室都在步行范围之内吗？}
• My parents live within walking distance of me. ^{我父母住在我家附近。}

within driving distance ^开车可达

• "Shanghai and Suzhou are pretty close, within one-and-a-half-hour driving distance, to be more specific,", he said. ^{从上海驱车到苏州只需一个半小时，两个城市靠得很近。}

within commuting distance ^{在通勤范围内}

• I live within commuting distance of Dublin. ^{我住在离都柏林上下班可乘公交车往返的地方。}

only a stone's throw away ^{只有一箭之遥}

• The park is only a stone's throw away from our house.^{公园离我们家只有一箭之遥。}

As he had never been there before, he found a great deal to interest him.

Having never been there before, ... ^{使用非谓语当原因状语}
As this was his first visit there, ... ^{换一种表达}
This being his first visit there, ... ^{独立主格(当原因状语使用)}

The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on the floor.

The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not be bothered to open it.

• Galileo's observations show (that) Copernicus, another great astronomer, was right and that the earth moves around the sun, not the other way around.
• He agreed (that) a train did come into the station at the time on the paper and that it did stop, but only to take on mail, not passengers. ^NCE3-60

can't be bothered （to do sth） ^{嫌麻烦（而不愿.…）}

• The grass needs cutting but I can't be bothered to do it today.
• He could produce excellent work but usually he can't be bothered.
• He can't be bothered to clean his room. ^{他懒得打扫自己的房间。}

Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open.

reluctantly ^{adv.不情愿地}

• When the journalist again failed to reply, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written.
• We reached the stream, and they unwillingly / reluctantly walked ahead. ^{我们到了河边，但他们并不乐意再向前行进。}
• They parted with reluctance. ^{他们依依不舍地分手了。}

prise / pry sth. open ^撬开某物

• He used a crowbar to pry the door open. ^{他用撬棍撬开了门。}
• She used a knife to prise the lid open. ^{她用刀把盖子撬开了。}

Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken. 

... the box was full of crockery, and much of it was broken. ^{不使用独立主格（啰嗦）}
... the box was full of crockery, much of which was broken. ^不够简洁

• 造句：Apart from some gold bullion, the chest was full of precious stones, most of them diamonds. ^{这个箱子里除了一些金条之外，装满了宝石，其中大多数都是钻石。}

Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature painting at the bottom of the packing case.

As its composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it.

remind sb. of sth. ^{使某人想起某事或某人}

• That song always reminds me of our first date.

remind sb. about sth. ^{提醒某人关于某事}

• Remind me to buy some milk tonight.

remind sb. to do sth.^{提醒某人做某事}

• Can you remind us about your plans for the building?

Its composition and line reminding him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. ^{非谓语动词（主语不同，使用独立主格）做原因状语}

Glancing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it was worth £50.

• Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away.

Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery.

conceal ^{v.隐匿，隐藏；隐瞒（真实感情或真相）；遮盖，遮住}

• I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.
• Frank almost revealed his excitement.

His function is analogous to that of a judge, who must accept the obligation of revealing in as obvious a manner as possible the course of reasoning which led him to his decision.

The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.