Sam met（meet的过去式和过去分词）/met/ his landlord（房东、地主）/'lændlɒ:d/, Mrs. Reed（芦苇、芦笛）/ri:d/, for a final apartment inspection. The once-vacant（语境补充词）/once-vacant/ attic（阁楼、顶楼）/'ætik/ had been furnished（供给、提供）/'fә:niʃ/ as a study, while the interior（内部的、心灵的）/in'tiәriә/ corridor（走廊、回廊）/'kɒridɒ:/ led（lead的过去式和过去分词）/led/ past a cabinet（橱柜、内阁）/'kæbinit/, a couch（长沙发、睡椅）/kautʃ/, and a narrow staircase（阶梯现象）/'stєәkeis/. Outside, the backyard（后院、后庭）/'bæk'jɑ:d/ lawn（草地、草坪）/lɒ:n/ and hedge（树篱、障碍）/hedʒ/ looked neat. Mrs. Reed was well-off（富裕的；境况良好的）/well-off/, but she watched every utility（功用、有用之物）/ju:'tiliti/ bill closely. She uttered（发出声音、做声）/'ʌtә/ a sigh when she saw a blond（白肤碧眼金发的人）/blɒnd/ stain（污染、污点）/stein/ on a cushion（垫子、橡皮软垫）/'kuʃәn/ and a lump（使成块状、混在一起）/lʌmp/ beneath the carpet.

The damage list grew（语境补充词）/gru/: a loose bulb（球茎、电灯泡）/bʌlb/ near the fireplace（壁炉）/'faiәpleis/, a drip（水滴）/drip/ below the kitchen appliance（器械、用具）/ә'plaiәns/, and a blocked drain（排水沟、消耗）/drein/ beside the cellar（地窖、地下室）/'selә/. A germ-like（语境补充词）/germ-like/ mark sat beside the tap, although Sam never used that room to bathe（沐浴、用水洗）/beið/. Mrs. Reed also blamed him for a crack in the chimney（烟囱、灯罩）/'tʃimni/ and a wet patch（片、补缀）/pætʃ/ on the exterior（外部的、外在的）/ik'stiәriә/ wall. Sam felt（毛毯、毡）/felt/ awe（敬畏）/ɒ:/ at the total and began to disapprove（不赞成）/.disә'pru:v/. He had used a broom（扫帚、金雀花）/bru:m/, bucket（桶）/'bʌkit/, mop（维护操作协议）/mɒp/, and vacuum（真空、空间）/''vækjuәm/ every week; he had even tried to mend（修补；修理）/mɛnd/ the cabinet. The leak had soaked（浸、湿透）/sәuk/ the wall before he moved in（搬入）/muvd ɪn/.

Carlos, the repair worker, placed a liter（公升）/'li:tә/ bottle under the pipe and said, “If we compare the dates（对照日期）/kəmˈpɛr ðə deɪts/, we can distinguish normal wear（正常磨损）/ˈnɔrməl wɛr/ from fresh damage.” Mrs. Reed replied, “I am（语境补充词）/æm/ indifferent（漠不关心的、无重要性的）/in'difәrәnt/ to excuses, but I will examine clear evidence.” Sam showed a photo in which the stain was already visible. He added, “I foresaw（语境补充词）/ˌfɔrˈsɔ/ this dispute, so I kept（语境补充词）/kɛpt/ every message about the repair.”

A report from fire marshal（元帅、陆空军高级将官）/'mɑ:ʃәl/ Lee（背风处、避风处）/li:/ settled the chimney issue. The chimney had been marked unsafe（不安全）/.ʌn'seif/ before Sam's lease began（萨姆租约开始前）/ˌbiˈfɔr sæmz lis bɪˈgæn/. The maid（少女、未婚女子）/meid/ had recorded the former tenant's（承租人、房客）/'tenәnt/ surname（姓氏）/ˈsərˌneɪm/, which explained the mixed file. An older form had called her a housewife（主妇、家庭妇女）/'hauswaif/. Carlos pinched（捏、拧）/pintʃ/ a worn（用旧的、穿旧的）/wɒ:n/ seal, rendered（交纳、打底）/'rendә/ the pipe harmless（无害处的、未受损害的）/'hɑ:mlis/, and used a new washer to stop the drip. He practised（练习；实践）/ˈpræktɪs/ a simple test twice. It was easy to foresee（预见、预知）/fɒ:'si:/ that they could renovate（更新、革新）/'renәuveit/ one section without a full renovation（革新、刷新）/.renәu'veiʃәn/ or overtaking（赶上、突然降临于）/.әuvә'teik/ work in another flat.

Mrs. Reed agreed to take the old defects off the bill（从账单中删除旧缺陷）/teɪk ðə oʊld ˈdifɛkts ɔf ðə bɪl/. Sam agreed to take responsibility for（为……负责）/teɪk riˌspɑnsəˈbɪləti fər/ a small burn caused when his thumb（拇指）/θʌm/ touched a hot tray and for scratches his cat had left on a stool, not out of spite（恶意、怨恨）/spait/. They blended（混合）/blend/ fairness（晴朗、光明正大）/'fєәnis/ with practical evidence: the landlord would furnish a replacement（归还、更换）/ri'pleismәnt/ cover, while Sam would pay a limited cleaning charge（支付有限清洁费）/peɪ ə ˈlɪmɪtɪd ˈklinɪŋ ʧɑrʤ/. Mrs. Reed promised to watch closely（密切留意）/wɔʧ ˈkloʊsli/ during the final meter check. Sam returned the key after one last glance at the indoor（户内的、室内的）/'indɒ:/ rooms, lavatory（洗脸盆、厕所）/'lævәtәri/, cellar, and attic. The mortgage（抵押、约束性义务）/'mɒ:gidʒ/ was not his concern, and the charm（吸引力、魔力）/tʃɑ:m/ of the place no longer mattered; a signed inspection report gave both sides a clean ending.