Asking for trouble 自找麻烦
It must have been about two in the morning when I returned home. I tried to wake up my wife by ringing the doorbell, but she was fast asleep, so I got a ladder from the shed in the garden, put it against the wall, and began climbing towards the bedroom window. I was almost there when a sarcastic voice below said, 'I don't think the windows need cleaning at this time of the night.' I looked down and nearly fell off the ladder when I saw a policeman. I immediately regretted answering in the way I did, but I said, 'I enjoy cleaning windows at night.' 'So do I,' answered the policeman in the same tone. 'Excuse my interrupting you. I hate to interrupt a man when he's busy working, but would you mind coming with me to the station?' 'Well, I'd prefer to stay here,' I said. 'You see. I've forgotten my key.' 'Your what?' he called. 'My key,' I shouted. Fortunately, the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman had started to climb towards me.
【课文翻译】我回到家时，一定已是凌晨两点左右了。我按响了门铃，试图唤醒我的老婆，但她睡得非常熟。于是，我从花园的小棚里搬来了一个梯子，把它靠在墙边，开始向卧室的窗口爬去。快要爬到窗口时，下面一个人用讽刺的口吻说：“我看不必在夜里这时擦窗子吧。”我向下面看去。当我看清是一个警察时，差一点儿从梯子上掉下去。我回答了他的话，但立刻又后悔不该那样说，我是如此说的：“我喜欢在夜里擦窗子。”“我也是的，”警察用同样的声调回答，“请原谅我打断了你。当一个人在忙着干活时，我是不想去打断他的，但请你跟我到警察局去一趟怎么样？”“可我更想呆在这儿，”我说，“你瞧，我忘带钥匙了。”“什么？”他大声问。“钥匙！”我喊道。幸运得非常，这喊声惊醒了我的老婆。就在警察开始向我爬上来时，她打开了窗子。
我的疑问1：”I was almost there when a sarcastic voice below said, 'I don't think the windows need cleaning at this time of the night.' “这里was（静态动词）改成went（短暂终结性动词）。那样语意就是"先听见一个声音，然后才走到那儿。"或者“先走到那儿，然后听到声音”我的理解是不是对的？
我的疑问2：”the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window just as the policeman had started to climb towards me.“那种情况下关系代词可以当成并列连词或者从属连词如此的使用方法？
1 你的理解错误。不要试图改动原句！你应该做的是努力理解原句的结构和意义。I was almost there 我快要爬到窗子的高度。注意谓语was almost there 表示的是一个状况. when意为这个时候、忽然。即我正处于一种状况中，这个时候一件事发生了。有人把这个when剖析为并列连词，即when = and then = and at that time. 显然你没真的理解这个句子的意思。你需要注意到，课文的翻译把主句翻译成了时间状语，这是翻译时依据汉语表达习惯做的处置。
2 ”the shouting woke up my wife who opened the window...
who引导非限制性定语从句。作者只有一个老婆，根本无需限制性定语从句去明确这里是什么老婆。非限制性定语从句与先行词之间一般有逗号隔开。但偶尔也没逗号。这里就是一个非限制性定语从句没用逗号的例子。但你读这个句子时，应该可以分辨出这里是非限制性定语从句。假如改写为并列句，则为，The shouting woke up my wife, and she opened the window...
关系代词就是关系代词，引导定语从句并在从句中作成分。永远都不会用作并列连词或从属连词。你这种想法就不该产生，是原则性错误。
