文章原文：
CustomsOfficers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when youare going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare. Even reallyhonest people are often made to feel guilty. The hardened professionalsmuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he hasfive hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase. When I returned from abroadrecently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me asa smuggler.
'Haveyou anything to declare?' he asked, looking me in the eye.
'No',I answered confidently.
'Wouldyou mind unlocking this suitcase please?'
'Notat all,' I answered.
TheOfficer went through the case with great care. All the things I had packed socarefully were soon in a dreadful mess. I felt sure I would never be able toclose the case again. Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up. He hadspotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it withdelight.
'Perfume,eh?' he asked sarcastically. 'You should have declared that. Perfume is notexempt from import duty.'
'Butit isn't perfume,' I said. 'It's hair gel.' Then I added with a smile, 'It's astrange mixture I make myself.'
AsI expected, he did not believe me.
'Tryit!' I said encouragingly.
Theofficer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils. He was greeted byan unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth. A fewminutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on mybaggage.
精读笔记：
1.Notguilty
(1)guilty:在这里的意思是having donesomething that is a crime.
例句：Thejury found her guilty of murder.
此外，还有另外一个常见意思feeling very ashamed and sad because you know that you
have done something wrong.
例句：Ifeel really guilty about forgetting her birthday again.
(2)not
guilt:通常在法庭进行无罪宣判时使用，(law) Of a person, legally innocent of acrime which they have been accused of in a court of law.
例句：Hewas found not guilty because there was a reasonable doubt.
2.CustomsOfficers are quite tolerant these days, but they can still stop you when youare going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare.
(1)customs:the
place at an airport, port, or border where goods that people bring into a
country are examined to make sure they are legal and whether any tax should be
paid on them，注意这里是复数单词customs，表示海关。
例句：Aman who was stopped at customs was found to have a quantity of plasticexplosives in his case.
如果是单数的custom，意思是a way ofbehaving or a belief that has been established for a long time.
例句：She’sstudying the language and customs of the Hopi Indians.
(2)tolerant:allowing
people to do, say, or believe what they want without criticizing or punishing
them,动词形式是tolerate，名词形式是tolerance.
例句：Luckily,my parents were tolerant of my choice of music.
(3)greenchannel:the way through customs for people who are not bringing goods into thecountry on which they have to pay tax.
此外，channel还有两个常见含义：
①an area of water that connects two larger
areas of water，比如theEnglish Channel.
②a television station and all the programmesthat it broadcasts.
例句：Hechanged channels to watch the basketball game.
(4)declare:在此处的含义是to tell acustoms official that you are carrying goods on which you should pay tax whenyou enter a country.
这个词的常见含义是to state officially and publicly that a particularsituation exists or that something is true.
例句：Astate of emergency has been declared.
3.Thehardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by suchfeelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase.
(1)hardened:usedto describe someone who has had a lot of bad experiences and as a result nolonger gets upset or shocked.
(2)on
the one hand通常和on
the other hand连用，usedto introduce statements that describe two different or opposite ideas, people,etc.
例句：Onthe one hand, I think the price is fair, but on the other hand, I really can'tafford to spend that much money.
4.WhenI returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officerclearly regarded me as a smuggler.
(1)officious:Ifyou describe someone as officious, you are critical of them because they areeager to tell people what to do when you think they should not.
(2)smuggler:someone
who takes goods or people into or out of a country illegally，动词形式是smuggle.
5.TheOfficer went through the case with great care.
gothrough:to examine something that contains a collection of things carefully inorder to organize them or find something.
例句：Rememberto go through the pockets before you put those trousers in the washing machine.
go
through还在本文第一句话going through the Green Channel中出现过，在第一句话里的意思是“通过、穿过”。
6.Allthe things I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess.
dreadful:usedto emphasize how bad something or someone is.
7.Suddenly,I saw the Officer's face light up.
light
up:if someone’s face or eyes light up, they show pleasure, excitement etc.,在本文中带有感情色彩，体现这个官员似乎有所发现后的喜悦。
8.Hehad spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it withdelight.
pounce
on:to attack suddenly, esp. by jumping or flying down to catch or take hold of
something or someone，非常生动地表达了海关官员迫不及待的心情，具有感情色彩。
9.'Perfume,eh?' he asked sarcastically.
sarcastically:ina way that uses remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what you say, inorder to hurt someone's feelings or to humorously criticize something.
例句："Thanksso much for your help," Tim said sarcastically.
10.Perfumeis not exempt from import duty.
(1)exemptfrom:not affected by something, or not having to do it or pay it.
例句：Childrenare exempt from the charges.
(2)importduty:a tax placed on goods coming into one country from another.
11.Hewas greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling thetruth.
greet:这个词的常见含义是to welcome
someone with particular words or a particular action, or to react to something
in the stated way，但是在这句话里的意思是If you aregreeted by a sight, sound, or smell, you notice it immediately when you arrivesomewhere.
例句：Aswe walked into the house, we were greeted by a wonderful smell of baking.
