1级-《悲惨世界》第3课

前情提要 

主教接待了冉·阿让，邀请这位客人在家中享用了丰盛的晚餐。晚饭后，冉·阿让却对主教家用来盛食物的银餐盘念念不忘，不知不觉打起了这些餐具的主意。冉阿让会做些什么？

故事原文 

Les Misérables L3

悲惨世界 L3

By morning Valjean was a long way from the bishop's house. But how do you carry big silver plates? How do you hide them? People in Digne began to whisper...

到了早上，冉阿让已经离开主教家很远了。但是，怎么才能带着硕大的银餐盘上路呢？怎么才能把它们藏起来呢？迪涅镇的居民开始窃窃私语……

'Did you see him? That big man, carrying six silver plates? Where did he get them from, eh?'

“你看见他了吗？那个背着六个银餐盘的大块头男人？他是从什么地方弄来那些餐盘的呢？”

'Those plates came from the church. A man like that doesn't have silver plates!'

“那些餐盘是教会的。他那种人根本就不会有银餐盘！”

'No! And he carries a yellow card, did you see? So he was a prisoner once. He's a thief--he stole those plates!'⑴

“不是吧！他身上有张黄卡，你看见没？这么说他从前坐过牢。他是个贼他偷了那些餐盘！”

The police heard the whispers. They went after Jean Valjean, found him, and took him back to the bishop's house in the afternoon.⑵ But there, they had a surprise.⑶

警察听到了这些小声的议论。他们去追捕冉阿让，并抓到了他，下午的时候，警察把他带回了主教家。不过，到了那里，发生了一件令他们意想不到的事情。

'My dear friend!' the bishop said to Jean Valjean. 'I'm so pleased to see you. You forgot the candlesticks! I gave you the silver plates and the candlesticks, you remember? But you forgot to take the candlesticks when you left.'

“我亲爱的朋友！”主教对冉阿让说，“见到您真是太高兴了。您忘了拿那些烛台!我把银餐盘和烛台都送给您了，您记得吗？可您走的时候忘记带走烛台了。”

'But this man is a thief!' said one of the policemen.

“这个人可是个贼啊！”一个警察说道。

'No, no, of course not,' said the bishop, smiling. 'I gave the silver to Monsieur Valjean.'

“不，不，当然不是。”主教微笑着说道，“银器是我送给冉阿让先生的。”

'You mean he can go? He is free?' said the policeman.

“您的意思是他可以走了？他自由了？”警察说道。

'Of course,' the bishop said.

“当然。”主教说。

All this time Jean Valjean stared at the bishop, and said not one word. The policemen went away, and the Bishop of Digne went into his house and came out again with the two silver candlesticks. They were tall and heavy and beautiful. The bishop put the candlesticks into Jean Valjean's hands.

整个过程中，冉阿让一直盯着主教，一言不发。警察走了以后，迪涅主教走进屋里，又拿着那两个银烛台走了出来。它们又高又沉，非常漂亮。主教把烛台交到了冉阿让的手里。

'Jean Valjean, my brother,' he said. 'You must leave your bad life behind you.⑷ This is God's silver, and I am giving it to you. With it, you can begin a new, good life. I am buying your soul for God.'

“冉阿让，我的弟兄，”他说，“您一定要把行恶的生活抛在身后。这是上帝的银器，现在我把它送给您。有了它，您可以开始诚实的新生活。我是在为上帝买您的灵魂。”

Jean Valjean left the town of Digne, with his silver plates and his silver candlesticks. Suddenly, he was a rich man, but he did not understand why.

冉阿让带着他的银餐盘和银烛台离开了迪涅镇。突然之间，他变成了一个富人，却不知道为什么会这样。

'What's happening to me?' he thought. 'Everything is changing. How can I hate people when this bishop is so good to me? What shall I do? How shall I live?'

“我这是怎么了？”他心想，“一切都变了。主教对我这么好，我怎么还能去恨别人呢？我应该做些什么？我应该怎样生活呢？”

Prisoner Valjean did not understand anything. He sat down by the road, with his head in his hands, and cried. He cried for the first time in nineteen years.

囚犯冉阿让什么都想不明白。他坐在路边，双手抱着头哭了起来。他十九年来第一次哭了起来。

How long did he sit there, crying? What did he do next, and where did he go? Nobody knows, but when the sun came up on a new day, he was a changed man.⑸

他坐在那里哭了多长时间？他接下来做了什么，去了哪里？没有人知道，但是新的一天太阳升起的时候，他成了一个改过自新的人。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点 

 1.steal vt. 偷窃；n. 便宜货

例句：They stole thousands of dollars' worth of jewellery from the store.

           他们从商店里偷走了价值数千美元的珠宝。

           This car is a steal at only $5,000.

           这辆车很便宜，只要五千美金。

2.go after 追求；追逐

例句：The police went after him but he got away.

           警察对他展开了追捕，但是被他逃脱了。

           I can't decide whether to go after the job or not.

           我不能决定要不要争取那份工作。

3.surprise n. 惊喜；让人意外的事；adj. 令人惊讶的

例句：The news came as a complete surprise to everyone.

           这个消息让每个人都大吃一惊。

           I asked him if he wanted to come to dinner, and surprise, surprise, he said yes!

           我问他想不想来吃晚饭，太让人惊喜了，他竟然答应了！

4.leave...behind 把某人留下；抛下

例句：She's able to live a new life, leaving the past behind.

           她能放下过去，开始新的生活。

           He was forced to leave the country, leaving behind his wife and children.

           他被迫撇下妻儿离开了那个国家。

5.changed adj. 变了样的

例句：Alice returned from her travel, a changed woman.

          爱丽丝旅行回来后变了个人。

          After years of hard work and training, he's a changed man.

          经过多年的努力和训练，他变了一个人。