第三级-《三个陌生人》-第5课

前情提要 

原来这个灰衣人是一个刽子手，人们猜测他来卡斯特桥的任务就是要绞死监狱里的钟表匠，因为钟表匠偷了一只羊……

故事原文

The Three Strangers and Other Stories 5

三个陌生人 5

3  The third stranger

3 第三个陌生人

Just then, there was another knock on the door. People seemed frightened, and Shepherd Fennel was slow to call out, for the third time, the welcoming words, 'Come in!'

就在这时，又传来了一阵敲门声。人们有些恐慌，牧羊人芬内尔好半天才第三次说出了那句欢迎的话：“请进！”

The door was gently opened, and another stranger stood in the doorway. He was a little man, with fair hair, and was tidily(1) dressed. 'Can you tell me the way to—?' he began, but stopped speaking when his eyes fell on(2) the stranger in grey, who, at that moment, started singing again.

门被轻轻推开了，又一位陌生人站在了门口。他身材矮小、头发金黄、衣着整洁。“能不能告诉我怎么去——？”他刚一开口，目光就落到了灰衣人身上，于是便闭上了嘴。灰衣人又开口唱了起来。

Tomorrow is my working day,

明天是我的工作日，

Honest shepherds all—

诚实的牧羊人们——

Working with the little piece of rope.

我的用具是那一小截绳子。

A sheep has lost its life, and the thief must pay the price(3).

一头羊丧了命，窃贼必须付出代价。

He'll find some peace with God, we hope!

但愿他在上帝那儿得到安宁！

The man by the fire repeated cheerfully in his deep voice:

壁炉边的那个男人用低沉的声音欢快地重复着：

He'll find some peace with God, we hope!

但愿他在上帝那儿得到安宁！

All this time the third stranger had stood in the doorway, and now everyone turned to look at him. They saw to their surprise that his face was white, his hands were shaking, and his eyes were fixed in horror on the man in grey. A moment later he turned, and ran away into the darkness and the rain.

在此期间，第三个陌生人一直站在门口，直到此刻人们才转过来看着他。他们惊奇地发现，他脸色苍白、双手发抖，眼睛惊恐地盯着灰衣人。不一会儿，他转身跑进了大雨滂沱的黑夜。

'Who can that be?' asked Shepherd Fennel.

“他会是谁呢？”牧羊人芬内尔问道。

No one answered. The room was silent, although there were more than twenty people in it, and nothing could be heard except the rain beating on the windows.

没人回答。尽管屋子里有二十多个人，此刻却一片沉默，静得只能听到雨点打在窗户上的声音。

The stillness was broken by a bang. It was the sound of a gun, and it came from Casterbridge.

寂静被“砰”的一声巨响打破了。那是一声枪响，从卡斯特桥方向传来。

'What does that mean?' cried several people at once.

“怎么回事？”立刻就有几个人叫了起来。

'A prisoner's escaped from Casterbridge prison—that's what it means,' replied the man in grey, jumping up from his chair. 'I wonder if it's my man?'

“有犯人从卡斯特桥监狱逃出来了——就是这么回事，”灰衣人说着，从椅子上跳了起来，“我想知道是不是我要绞死的那个人？”

'It must be!' said the shepherd. 'And I think we've seen him! The little man who looked in at the door just now, and shook like a leaf(4) when he saw ye and heard your song!'

“一定是！”牧羊人说，“而且我想我们见过他！刚才那个从门口往屋里张望的小个子，他见到你唱歌时抖得像一片树叶！”

'His face was as white as a sheet,' said the fiddler.

“他的脸白得像床单。”拉小提琴的人说。

'His hands shook like an old man's,' said a farm worker.

“他的手抖得像个老头。”一个农场工人说。

'His heart seemed as heavy as a stone(5),' said Mrs Fennel.

“看样子，他的心情也沉重得像压着块石头。”芬内尔太太说。

'True,' said the man by the fire. 'His face was white, his hands shook, and he ran like the wind — it's all true.'

“没错，”壁炉边的男人说，“他脸色煞白，手哆哆嗦嗦，像一阵风似的跑了——没错。”

'We were all wondering what made him run off like that,' said one of the women, 'and now 'tis explained.'

“我们刚才还纳闷他干吗那样落荒而逃呢，”一个女人说，“现在真相大白了。”

'Is there a policeman here?' asked the hangman.

“这里有警察吗？”刽子手问道。

One of the men came slowly forward, pushed by his friends. 'I'm one o' the king's officers, sir,' he said.

其中一人被朋友们推着慢慢走上前来。“我是国王手下的军官，先生。”他答道。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点

1. tidily 整洁地

tidy 整洁的

例句：

The house is neat and tidy.

房间干净整洁。

He is the kind of person who keeps everything tidy.

他就是把什么都搞得很整洁。

2. eyes fall on... 目光落到……， 注视……

例句：

His eyes fell on her bag. “Are you going somewhere?”

他盯着她的包问：“你要去哪儿吗？ ”

Her eyes fell on the letter on his desk.

她注视着他桌上的那封信。

3. pay the price 付出代价

pay a heavy price 付出沉重的代价

例句：

A loss of privacy is often the price you pay for being famous.

成名的代价是失去隐私。

Giving up alcohol was a small price to pay for keeping his family together.

为了不让家庭支离破碎， 戒酒只是他需要付出的小代价。

4. shake like a leaf 像树叶一样颤抖（表示紧张， 恐惧等）

例句：

I was shaking like a leaf before the test.

考试之前我很紧张。

People shake like a leaf whenever they have to give a public speech.

当人们要做演讲的时候就会很紧张。

5. as heavy as a stone 和石头一样重（表示很沉重）

例句：

This is as heavy as a stone. I don’t think anyone can lift it.

这重得跟个石头似的。 我觉得没人能搬动它。