A Thief on the Sidewalk原版英文小故事內(nèi)容：

She looked at the man walking along the sidewalk next to the nice houses. He didn't live in any of those houses. She had seen this man several times before. He looked like a criminal1. She knew not to judge a book by its cover, but this man was no good.

She drove2 by him. He looked at her car as she drove by. She continued driving. She watched him in her rear3 view mirror. She got to the corner and stopped. She continued to watch him walking in her direction. Suddenly, he turned left up a driveway. A red SUV was parked in the driveway right next to the sidewalk. She saw him walk up to the driver's door and put his hand on the handle. He returned to the sidewalk and continued walking in her direction.

What was that all about, she wondered. Then she realized that he had tested the door to see if it was locked. He is a criminal, she thought. That's what he does. He just walks through our neighborhoods looking for cars to break into.

She called the police. She described the man. The officer said he knew who the man was. Residents4 called two or three times a week to report him walking by. But the police couldn't arrest him for walking around. They had to catch him with stolen goods. "But he was testing that SUV door to see if it was unlocked," she said.

"I'm sorry," said the officer. "That's not against the law. If you see him actually steal something, give us a call."

1 criminal n.罪犯，犯人，刑事;adj.犯了罪的，罪的，有罪的

參考例句：

He is a habitual criminal.他是一個慣犯。

We captured the criminal.我們捕獲了那個犯人。

2 drove vbl.駕駛，drive的過去式;n.畜群

參考例句：

He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小時60英里的速度開車。

They drove foreign goods out of the market.他們把外國貨驅(qū)逐出市場。

3 rear vt.撫養(yǎng)，飼養(yǎng);n.后部，后面

參考例句：

We had to rear it in a nursery and plant it out.我們不得不在苗棚里培育它，然后再把它移植出來。

The hall is in the rear of the building.禮堂在大樓的后部。

4 residents n.居民( resident的名詞復數(shù) );(旅館的)住宿者

參考例句：

Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室內(nèi)購物中心的計劃由于當?shù)鼐用穹磳Χ鴶R淺。

Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 當?shù)鼐用駥@一消息表示憤怒。