第三级-《三个陌生人》-第7课

前情提要 

灰衣人鼓动男人们一起出动去找逃犯，结果第一个陌生人没有去，然而灰衣人也同样没去，他们两个分手道别后，人们在山顶发现了那个小个子男人……

故事原文

The Three Strangers and Other Stories 7

三个陌生人 7

'You did,' replied the policeman. 'We arrest ye for not waiting in Casterbridge prison for your hanging tomorrow!'

“没错，”警察回答道，“我们要逮捕你，因为你本该在卡斯特桥监狱等待明天的绞刑！”

The little man did not seem at all afraid, and to everyone's surprise agreed with(1) great politeness to go back to the shepherd's cottage. When they arrived there, they discovered that two officers from Casterbridge prison, and a judge who lived nearby, were waiting for them.

小个子男人看起来一点都不害怕，更令大家惊讶的是，他很礼貌地同意回到牧羊人的小屋去。到了之后，他们发现卡斯特桥监狱的两名典狱官和一名住在附近的法官已经等在了那里。

'Gentlemen,' said the policeman, 'I've brought back your prisoner — here he is!'

“先生们，”警察说，“我把你们的犯人带回来了——就是他！”

'But this is not our man!' cried one of the prison officers.

“但这不是我们要抓的人！”其中一名典狱官叫道。

'What?' said the judge. 'Haven't you got the right man?'

“什么？”法官说道，“你们没抓对人？”

'But then who can this man be?' asked the policeman.

“那这个人是谁？”警察问。

'I don't know,' said the prison officer. 'But our prisoner is very different. He's tall and thin, with a deep, musical voice.'

“我不认识，”典狱官说，“不过我们的犯人跟他很不一样。犯人又高又瘦，嗓音低沉悦耳。”

'That was the stranger who sat by the fire!' cried Fennel.

“就是那个坐在壁炉边的陌生人！”芬内尔叫道。

The little man now spoke to the judge for the first time. 'Sir,' he said, 'I must explain. I've done nothing wrong — my only crime is that(2) the prisoner is my brother. Today I was on my way to visit him in Casterbridge prison for the last time, when I got lost in the dark. I stopped here to ask the way, and when I opened the door, I saw my brother sitting by the fire. Right next to him was the hangman who'd come to take his life! My brother looked at me, and I knew he meant, "Don't tell them who I am, or I'll die!" I was too frightened to do anything except(3) turn and run away.'

小个子男人终于开了口，冲着法官说话了。“先生，”他说，“我必须解释一下。我并没做什么坏事——我唯一的过错就是，那个犯人是我兄弟。我今天原本打算去卡斯特桥监狱见他最后一面，但却在黑暗中迷了路。我在这里停下来打算问路，推开门却看到我兄弟就坐在壁炉边，身旁就是来取他性命的刽子手！我兄弟看了我一眼，我就明白了他的意思：‘别告诉他们我是谁，不然我就死定了！’我害怕极了，只好转身跑开了。”

'And do you know where your brother is now?'

“那你知道你兄弟现在在哪里吗？”

'No, sir. I haven't seen him since I left the cottage.'

“不知道，先生。我离开小屋后就没再见过他。”

'And what's his job?'

“他是干什么的？”

'He's a clockmaker, sir.'

“他是钟表匠，先生。”

'He said he worked with wheels,' said Shepherd Fennel. 'He meant the wheels of clocks and watches, I suppose.'

“他说过他是和轮子打交道的，”牧羊人芬内尔说，“我猜他指的是钟表的齿轮。”

'Well, we must let this poor man go,' said the judge. 'Clearly, it's his brother who is the wanted(4) man.'

“呃，我们得放这个可怜人走，”法官说，“很明显，他的兄弟才是我们要找的人。”

And so the little man left the cottage with a sad, slow step.

于是，小个子男人迈着忧伤的步子慢慢走出了小屋。

The next morning, men were out on the hills again, searching for the clever thief. But the shepherds and farm workers did not look very carefully. They did not think the man should hang, just for stealing a sheep, and they liked the wonderful coolness that he showed, when sitting next to the hangman at the shepherd's party. So the prisoner was never found, and the man in grey never did his morning's work in Casterbridge, nor ever met again the friendly stranger who had sung the hangman's song with him by the shepherd's fire.

第二天早晨，人们再次来到山上寻找那个机敏的窃贼。不过，牧羊人和农场工人们并没有仔细寻找。他们觉得那个人仅仅是偷了一头羊，不应该被绞死。他们还很欣赏在牧羊人家的聚会上，他坐在刽子手旁边时所表现出的沉着冷静。因此，那个犯人一直也没被抓到，而灰衣人也一直没能完成他那天早上在卡斯特桥的工作。打那以后，他再没见过那个友善的陌生人，那个在牧羊人家壁炉边和他一起唱刽子手之歌的人。

The grass has long been green on the graves of Shepherd Fennel and his wife, and the baby whose health was drunk that night is now an old lady. But the arrival of the three strangers at the shepherd's cottage, and all that happened afterwards, is a story as well known as(5) ever in the hills and valleys around Casterbridge.

牧羊人芬内尔夫妻俩的墓地上早已是绿草茵茵了，而那个婴儿——那天晚上，人们曾为她的健康祝福——如今也成了一位老妇人。然而，三个陌生人来到牧羊人小屋的事情以及此后发生的一切，却一直在卡斯特桥周围的山峦谷地中传诵不已。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点

1. agree with sth. 相似， 近乎相同；（身体）不舒服

例句：

Your story doesn't agree with what the police have told us.

你讲的故事和警察讲的对不上号。

Those onions I ate didn't agree with me.

吃了那些洋葱，我胃里很不舒服。

2. the only problem is that…唯一存在的问题是……

例句：

The problem is that there isn't enough time.

唯一的问题是没有足够的时间。

We all want to go out and see the world. The only problem is we don't have money.

我们都想出去看看世界。 唯一的问题是我们没有钱。

3. except 除……之外

例句：

He does nothing except complain.

他除了抱怨之外什么都没做。

He felt fine except for being a little tired.

除了有点累之外，他感觉别的都好。

4. wanted 被通缉的

例句：

He is a wanted man.

他被通缉了。

He is wanted for the murder of a teenage girl.

他因谋杀一名少女而被通缉。

5. as cool as a cucumber 十分冷静；镇定自若

例句：

Even in the emergency, she remained as cool as a cucumber.

即使在紧急情况下，她还是能镇定自若。

The reporter was cool as a cucumber despite the confusion all around her.

尽管周围一片混乱，那位记者却镇定自若。