第三级-《三个陌生人》-第11课

前情提要 

最终女人答应了男人，明天或者后天晚上再来看他。他们分开之后，又有了第三个人出现。这时牧羊人已经回来了，他让男孩下山休息……

故事原文

The Three Strangers and Other Stories 11

三个陌生人 11

2   Second night

2  第二夜

The next evening the old shepherd left the boy alone in the hut again, with repeated(1) orders to keep a careful eye on the sheep. But young Bill was only interested in the view(2) from the south window. He watched and waited, while the moonlight shone on the ancient stones, but neither Captain nor Duchess appeared.

第二天晚上，老牧羊人又把男孩独自留在了小屋里，反复嘱咐他好好照看羊群。但小比尔却只对南面窗外的情景感兴趣。月光照耀在古老的石头上，他一边观望一边等待，但上尉和公爵夫人都没有出现。

When he heard the Shakeforest Towers clock strike eleven, he saw the third figure appear. As the man came towards the hut, the moonlight shone full on his face, and the boy realized in horror that it was the Duke. All the villagers lived in fear of the Duke. He owned every farm and every house for miles around, and anybody who made him angry could lose their home and their job in a moment. The boy closed the stove, and quickly hid himself in a corner of the hut.

等听到舍克弗洛斯特城堡的钟敲11点时，他看见第三个身影出现了。那人朝小木屋的方向走来时，月光正好照亮了他的脸庞。男孩惊恐地发现那人竟然是公爵。所有的村民都对公爵十分惧怕。他拥有方圆数英里的每一块农田和每一座房屋，任何人若是惹恼了他，就会在顷刻间失去家园和工作。男孩封上火炉，迅速躲进了小屋里的一个角落。

The Duke came close to the place where his wife and the Captain had stood the night before. He looked around, perhaps for a hiding-place. When he discovered the hut among the trees, he entered, and stood at the south window, looking out at the Devil's Door.

公爵走近昨晚他妻子和上尉待过的地方，环顾四周，看样子是在寻找一个藏身之所。他发现了树林中的小木屋，随即走了进去，站在南面的窗户前朝“魔鬼之门”望去。

Only a minute or two later the Captain arrived, to wait for the Duchess. But a terrible surprise was waiting for him tonight, as well as for the frightened boy hidden in the hut. At the Captain's appearance, the Duke became very angry. He opened the door of the hut and stepped out.

只过了一两分钟，上尉就来等候公爵夫人了。然而，今晚有一个可怕的意外正等待着他，也等待着藏在小屋里的这个吓坏了的孩子。上尉一出现，公爵立刻勃然大怒。他打开小屋的门走了出去。

'You have dishonoured(3) her, and for that you shall die!' he cried. In the hut, the boy left his hiding-place and ran to the window. He could not see the two men, but he heard something falling on the grass, and then silence.

“你败坏了她的清誉，为此该受一死！”他大叫道。小木屋里的男孩从藏身之处跑到了窗边。他看不见那两个人，但却听见了有东西摔落到草地上的声音，接下来是一片死寂。

Three minutes later he saw the Duke going up the hill towards the stones, pulling the Captain's body along the ground. The boy knew that behind the Devil's Door there was a deep hole, covered by long grass and other plants. The Duke made his way slowly to the shadows behind the stones, and when he came out, he was pulling nothing behind him.

3分钟后，他看见公爵拖着上尉的尸体朝山上的石头走去。男孩知道“魔鬼之门”背后有一个很深的洞，洞口覆盖着茂密的草和其他植物。公爵慢慢走进巨石后面的阴影，当他出来时，身后什么都没有了。

'Now for the second!' the boy heard him say. This time the Duke waited outside the hut. It was clear that he expected(4) his wife, the Duchess, to arrive next at the meeting-place.

“现在该轮到第二个了！”男孩听见他在喃喃自语。这一次，公爵在木屋外等待着。他显然是在等他的妻子公爵夫人来到这个幽会的地方。

Inside the hut young Bill shook with fear. 'What will he do if she comes?' he thought. 'Will he kill her too? He looks angry enough! And he can do what he likes — he's the Duke. Nobody can stop him!'

木屋里，小比尔吓得浑身颤抖。“如果她来了，他会怎么做？”他想，“他会把她也杀掉吗？他看样子快气炸了！而且他做事完全可以随心所欲——他是公爵，没有人能阻止他！”

The jealous(5) watcher waited for some time, but she never came. Sometimes he looked at his watch in surprise. He seemed almost disappointed that she did not appear. At half-past eleven he turned away to find his horse, and rode slowly down the hill.

这位妒火中烧的守望者等了一会儿，她却一直没有来。他不时惊诧地看看手表。看来她不曾露面倒让他几乎有些失望了。11点半时，他转过身找到自己的马，慢慢朝山下骑去。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点

1. repeated 一次又一次的； 反复的

例句：

repeated failures

一次接一次的失败

The landlord pushed her with repeated requests to pay the rent.

房东再三催促她交房租。

2. view 景色

例句：

The house has wonderful views over the valley.

从这所房子可以看到山谷的美景。

I asked for a room with a sea view.

我请求换一个海景房。

3. dishonor 玷污；毁坏名誉

例句：

His actions dishonored the family.

他的行为使家族毁坏。

He dishonored the uniform and did not deserve to be a marine.

他玷污了军装，不配当海军。

4. expect 预计； 预料

例句：

We’ve been expecting you.

我们一直在等您呢。

I'm expecting a phone call.

我在等电话。

I'm expecting a phone call from you.

我在等你的电话。

5. be jealous of sb. 嫉妒某人

例句：

Some of his old friends are jealous of him because of his success.

= His success has made some of his old friends jealous.

他的成功使他的一些老朋友嫉妒。