These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices.

如今，从事体力劳动的人的收入一般要比坐办公室的人高出许多。

We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines.

我们有时想象荒岛是阳光终日普照的天堂。

It was simply a blank sheet of paper.

而是一张白纸。

Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people.

古玩店对许多人来说有一种特殊的魅力。

I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it.

我问一位乘客，这是不是开往威斯特海温的那趟快车，他说从未听说过有这么一趟快车。

As far as I could see, it needed only a minor adjustment: a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new.

在我看来，只需稍加调整即可。这儿紧紧螺丝，那儿固定一下，再加几滴油，就会像新的一样了。