2级-《欧·亨利短篇小说集》-第16课

前情提要 

达曼德在酒店房间里望着好朋友罗莎莉·雷小姐的照片，但是雷小姐突然离开到乡下过日子去了。此时突然有人敲门，来的正是罗莎莉·雷，两人开始讲述过去三个月里发生的故事。

故事原文 

O. Henry's Short Stories L16

欧·亨利短篇小说集 L16

But there was another person who was staying in the same house-the Reverend(1) Arthur Lyle. Yes, Lynn,a man of the church! When I saw him for the first time,I fell in love with him at once(2). He was a fine man and he had a wonderful voice!

 “可是那儿还有个人，跟我住同一家旅馆阿瑟·莱尔牧师。是的，琳恩，他是在教堂工作的！我第一次见他，就立刻爱上了他。他很帅，声音也很动听！

‘Well, it's only a short story, Lynn.A month later we decided to marry. We planned to live in a little house near the church, with lots of flowers and animals.

“哎，这个故事不长，琳恩。一个月之后，我们决定结婚。我们打算找个小房子住，就在教堂边上，多种花，多养点儿动物。

 ‘No,I didn't tell him that I was an actress.I wanted to forget it and to put that life behind me(3).

“不，我没告诉他我曾是演员。我希望忘掉这些，把这段生活全抛开。

‘Oh,I was happy! I went to church. I helped the women in the village. Arthur and I went for long walks and that little village was the best place in the world. I wanted to live there for ever…

“哦，我开心极了！我去教堂，去帮助村里的女人。阿瑟和我一起长时间地散步，那小村子是世界上最好的地方。我想在那儿一直过到老……

But one morning, the old woman who worked in the house began to talk about Arthur. She thought that he was wonderful, too. But then she told me that Arthur was in love once before, and that it ended unhappily. She said that, in his desk, he kept a memento-something which belonged to the girl. Sometimes he took it out and looked at it. But she didn't know what it' was-and his desk was locked(4).

“可是有一天早上，在家里帮工的老太太谈起了阿瑟。她也觉得他很好，可她后来告诉我，阿瑟原来恋爱过一次，结局不好。她说，他桌子里存着一样纪念品，是原来那姑娘的。有时候他还会拿出来看看。但她不知道那到底是什么，而且他的桌子是锁着的。

 ‘That afternoon I asked him about it.

“那天下午我问起他这事。

"Ida,"he said,(of course,I used my real name there)"it was before I knew you, and I never met her. It was different from my love for you."

“‘艾达，’他说，（当然，我在那里用的是真名）‘那是我认识你之前的事儿，而且我从没跟她认识过。那和我对你的爱是不一样的。’

"Was she beautiful?"I asked.

“ ‘她漂亮吗？’我问。

"She was very beautiful,"replied Arthur.

“ ‘她非常漂亮。’阿瑟回答说。

"Did you see her often?"

“ ‘你常常见她吗？’

"About ten times,"he said.

“ ‘大概见过十次吧。’他说。

"And this memento-did she send it to you?"

“ ‘那么这个纪念品，是她送你的么？’

"It came to me from her,"he said.

“ ‘我是从她那儿得来的。’他说。

"Why did you never meet her?"I asked.

“ ‘那你为什么从来没跟她认识过呢？’我问。

"She was far above me,"he answered."But, Ida, it's finished. You' re not angry, are you?"

“‘她高高在上啊。’他答道，‘可是，艾达，这都过去了。你没生气吧？’

"Why, no.I love you ten times more than before."And I did, Lynn. Can you understand that? What a beautiful love that was! He never met her, never spoke to her, but he loved her, and wanted nothing from her. He was different from other men,I thought-a really good man!

“‘噢，没有。我更爱你了，是以前的十倍。’我确实是这样做的，琳恩。你明白么？那是一段多美的爱情啊！他从不认识她，从没跟她说过话，但他爱她，不图回报地爱着她。他和别的男人不一样，我觉得他是个真正的好男人！

About four o' clock that afternoon, Arthur had to go out. The door of his room was open, his desk was unlocked, and I decided to look at this memento.I opened the desk and slowly I took out the box and opened it.

“那天下午4点钟，阿瑟得出门办事。他房间的门开着，桌子没锁。我决定看看那个纪念品。我打开桌子的抽屉，慢慢地取出盒子，打开。

‘I took one look at that memento(5), and then I went to my room and packed my suitcase(6). My wonderful Arthur, this really good man, was no different from all the other men!'

“我瞧了一眼那纪念品，就跑回我自己的房间，收拾了行李。我的好阿瑟，这个真正的好男人，和其他的男人毫无分别！”

‘But, Lee, what was in the box?' Miss D' Armande asked.

“可是，莉，那盒子里是什么？”达曼德小姐问道。

‘It was one of my yellow garters!' cried Miss Ray.

 “那是我的一条黄色吊袜带！”雷小姐哭喊着说。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点 

1. Reverend 尊敬的牧师（对于神职人员的尊称）

2. fall in love with sb. 和某人陷入爱河，爱上某人

例句：

The first time I saw that girl, I fell in love with her. 

我第一次见到这个女孩的时候，我就深深地爱上了她。

3. put sth. behind sb. 把某事放下，释怀

例句：

After ten years, she put that experience behind her, 

经过十年的时间，她终于能从这段经历中释怀了。

4. locked 锁住的（既可指具体，也可指抽象）

    unlocked 打开的

例句：

Her heart was locked. 

她的心上了锁。

5. take one look at sth./sb. 看一眼某物或某人

例句：

I took one look at that man when I entered the room. 

进屋的时候，我看了一眼这个人。

6. pack one’s suitcase 收拾某人的行李

   unpack one’s suitcase 打开某人的行李