英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

现代大学英语精读第三册 07b

时间:2011-01-05 05:17来源:互联网 提供网友:cd2423   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

  The train was about three-quarters of an hour from its destination and was travelling at a good sixty miles an hour when Mr. Harraby-Ribson, a prosperous businessman, rose from his seat, lifted his suitcase down from the rack and threw it out of the window. The only other occupant of the carriage, a small, thin man, a Mr. Crowther, had raised his eyes from his book when his travelling-companion stirred from his seat and had noticed the occurrence. Then the two men exchanged a sharp glance and immediately Mr. Crowther continued his reading, while Mr. Harraby-Ribston resumed his seat and sat for a while puffing1 a little and with a heightened colour as a result of his exertion2. The glance that his companion had given him worried him extremely, for Mr. Crowther's glance had betrayed not the smallest emotion. It had shown no alarm, no surprise, not even a mild interest, and that, surely, was very extraordinary. Mr. Harraby-Ribson's curiosity was violently aroused. And not only that. He was by nature a sociable3, chatty man and he had reckoned that his action would infallibly produced conversation. But no conversation had followed and , that being so, he had had no opportunity of explaining his behaviour and he began to feel that he had merely made a fool of himself in the eyes of his companion, or, worse, that his companion might conclude that the suitcase contained a corpse4, in which event he would perhaps inform the police when they reached their destination and all sorts of troublesome and humiliating enquiries would follow. Such were the thoughts that buzzed round Mr. Harraby-Ribston, robbing him of the satisfaction and refreshment5 that were his due.
Mr. Crowther, for his part, had also suffered some distraction6. Thought he was pretending to read, he was actually unable to do so. For all his apperance of indifference7, the sight of a well-to-do gentleman pitching a suitcase from the window of a moving train had surprised him very much. But he had not betrayed his surprise. The fellow was obviously counting on him for a violent reaction, and so Mr. Crowther made a point of not reacting. Whether the thing was a practical joke or not, Mr. Crowther considered it an annoying infringement8 of his privacy. It was as if the fellow had burst a paper bag in the hope of making hime jump. Well, he wasn't going to jump, he wasn't going to give that fellow the satisfaction. If the fello imagined that to throw a suitcase out of the window gave him some sort of importance, well, he was mistaken.
But Mr. Harraby-Ribston had reached a point at which he must either speak or burst and, preferring the former alternative, he said:"Excuse, sir, but I must say, you surprise me.
Mr. Crowther raised a languid eye from his book."Surprise you?" he said. "Does reading in the train surprise you?"
"No, no!"said Mr. Harraby-Ribston. "I wasn't referring to that. What surprises me is that you weren't surprised when I threw my suitcase out of the window."
"Indeed? That surprised you? You're very easily surprised."
"I don't know about that. Surely, surely, my dear sir, it was, to say the least of it, an unusual sight. I dare bet you've never before seen a man throw a suitcase from the window of a moving train."
Mr. Crowther reflected. "I don't know that I have; but then, to the best of my recollection, I've never seen a man eat a raw turnip9 in the train or dance a Highland10 Fling during family prayers for that matter. But what of it? If one allowed oneself to be surprised at anything, however insignificant11, one's whole life would consist of a series of trivial astonishments."
"And you think it an insignificant act to throw one's suitcase out of a railway-carriage window?"
"Totally!"said Mr. Crowther, and his eyes again sought his book.
"Then what, if I may ask," said the other, evidently somewhat nettled,"would you consider a significant act?"
Mr. Crowther shrugged13 his shoulders wearily. "Perhaps I would have thought it significant if the suitcase had been mine."
"I see. You think yourself more important than me."
"I am not aware." said Mr. Crowther, "that I mentioned myself, but I certainly consider my suitcase more important than yours, and in saying this I make no reference to the quality of the leather, but merely to the fact that I am myself, while you are a total stranger."
" And the affairs of strangers don't interest you?"
"Only in so far as they affect mine."
"Well," said Mr. Harraby-Ribston,"I should certainly have thought that when I threw my suitcase out of the window it could hardly have failed to affect somewhat..."
"Not in the least!" said Mr. Crowther coldly.
"It only shows," Mr. Harraby-Ribston remarked, "how people differ. Now if you had thrown your suitcase out of the window, I should have been extremely curious to know why you did it."
"I gater," replied Mr. Crowther with complete detachment," That you are anxious to tell me why you did it."
"Not if it wouldn't interest you, though, I must say, I find it hard to believe that anyone could fail to be interested.
He paused, but Mr. Crowther made no reply; on the contrary, he showed every sign of resuming his reading. To prevent this, Mr. Harraby-Ribston leaned back in his seat and launched out.
"The truth of the matter is that I have just, an hour and a half ago, abandoned home and wife and am starting life afresh, and the reason why I threw my suitcase out of the window just now was that I had suddenly realized that in it I was taking some of the old life with me. Clothes, hairbrushes and so on all have their associations. and associations are precisely14 what I want to be rid of. Hence my rather unusual action. I'm no chickn, I admit; I'm a man of nearly fifty, I've been married for twenty-one years, and yet here I am, starting life afresh. Well, that may seem to you a very extraordinary thing to do."
"On the contrary," said Mr. Crowther,"nothing could be more natural."
Mr. Harraby-Ribston was somewhat taken aback."Natural? You think it natural? I must say, you surprise me."
"You seem to me," said Mr. Crowther, a man much given to surprise."
"While you , I take it," Mr. Harraby-Ribston snapped back, " pride yourself on being surprised by nothing."
"not at all!" replied Mr. Crowther."The point is, I think that we are surprised by different things. You tell me you've been married for twenty-one years and then expect me to be surprised when you add that your're now leaving your wife. But, my dear sir, I find nothing surprising about that. What does surprise me is that you've been so long in doing so."
Mr. Harraby-Ribston considered this view. " I take it," he said at last," that you're not, yourself. a married man."
"Not now," Mr. Crowther replied.
"Not now?" You mean you've been married and you've left your wife?"
"Not quite that. Leaving one's wife involves leaving one's home, and that was out of the question. I'm very fond of my home; a charming house, a charming garden, and doubly charming nowadays when I have them to myself."
"You mean, then, that you turned your wife out?"
"O no, no! That would have involved all sorts of unpleasantness(煞风景的事,不愉快的事)."
"Then what," asked Mr. Harraby-Ribston , all curiosity once more," what did you do?"
The other waved his hand airily."There are other ways, simpler ways.
"I should like to know them," said Mr. Harraby-Ribston.
" I don't think," said Mr. Crowther," that my particular method would be quite in you line."
"But why not?" Mr. Harraby-Ribston was simply bubbling with curiosity.
"Why not? Well, my method requires... what shall I say?... reticence15, tact16, and a lot of very careful planning."
"And you think I'm incapable17 of that?"
"Well," said Mr. Crowther," I should have said that reticence was not your strong point; and your evident desire to arouse surprise in others—that, if you were to adopt my method, might land you in a very uncomfortable position.
"You interest me enormously," said Mr. Harraby-Ribston."Now do, please, just tell me what you did."
Mr. Crowther seemed to hesitate, then to make up his mind." If I tell you, I trust you won't accuse me of any wish to surprise you. I've never had the slightest desire to surprise anybody Observe, please, that I haven't forced the information on you. If you hadn't spoken to me, we should have travelled in complete silence. I have a book here which interests me greatly and if you hadn't, if I may say so, dragged me into conversation."
"Quite! Quite!" said Mr. Harraby-Ribston, who, by now, was worked up to a dangerous pitch of excitement." I admit it; I admit it entirely18. And I promise you I'll do my best not to appear in the least surprised."
"Well," said Mr. Crowther," what I did was simply this. Forgive me if it seems to you a little sensational19, and remember, please, that I shall deeply resent any appearance of astonishment12 on your part. Well, as I was saying, I simply murdered my wife."
Mr. Harraby-Ribston took the disclosure remarkably20 well. He did, it's true, flinch21 and turn a little pale, but in a few moments he had recovered himself." Thank you, sir," he said; and let me say how much I appreciate your openness. In fact, you tempt22 me to be equally frank with you. Let me confess, then, that as a matter of fact I haven't left my wife, for the simple reason that I'm a bachelor. I grow vegetables on rather a large scale and once a week business takes me to London. As for the matter of the suitcase , I have some friends whose house we passed a few miles back and every week I fill a suitcase with vegetables, bring it with me, and throw it out of the carriage-window as the train passes their house. It rolls down the embankment and lands up against their railings. It's a primitive23 method, I know, but it saves postage and you can have no idea how much entertaining conversation it provokes with my fellow-passengers. You, if I may say so, are no exception."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 puffing b3a737211571a681caa80669a39d25d3     
v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 exertion F7Fyi     
n.尽力,努力
参考例句:
  • We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力,累得大汗淋漓。
  • She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡,她浑身发热。
3 sociable hw3wu     
adj.好交际的,友好的,合群的
参考例句:
  • Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
  • Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。
4 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体,死尸
参考例句:
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
5 refreshment RUIxP     
n.恢复,精神爽快,提神之事物;(复数)refreshments:点心,茶点
参考例句:
  • He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。
  • A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。
6 distraction muOz3l     
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐
参考例句:
  • Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注,不能有丝毫分神。
  • Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
7 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎
参考例句:
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
8 infringement nbvz3     
n.违反;侵权
参考例句:
  • Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
  • The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯
9 turnip dpByj     
n.萝卜,芜菁
参考例句:
  • The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
  • A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。
10 highland sdpxR     
n.(pl.)高地,山地
参考例句:
  • The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
  • The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林,一直都是黑熊的避难所。
11 insignificant k6Mx1     
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的
参考例句:
  • In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季,这种作用是不明显的。
  • This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。
12 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
13 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
15 reticence QWixF     
n.沉默,含蓄
参考例句:
  • He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯,把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
  • He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。
16 tact vqgwc     
n.机敏,圆滑,得体
参考例句:
  • She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
  • Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。
17 incapable w9ZxK     
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的
参考例句:
  • He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
  • Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。
18 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
19 sensational Szrwi     
adj.使人感动的,非常好的,轰动的,耸人听闻的
参考例句:
  • Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
  • Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。
20 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
21 flinch BgIz1     
v.畏缩,退缩
参考例句:
  • She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
  • We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。
22 tempt MpIwg     
vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣
参考例句:
  • Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
  • The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了,可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。
23 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(1)
100%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴