资源描述
Unit1
1、A Day'ｓ Wait
E、 Hemingway
Hｅ came into the room to sｈｕt tｈe wｉnｄows whiｌe we werｅ still in bed and Ｉ saw he loｏked ilｌ、 He was shivering, hｉs fａce wａs white, ａnd he ｗaｌked slowly as thouｇh ｉt acｈed to ｍovｅ、
"Ｗhaｔ'ｓ tｈｅ maｔteｒ, Sｃhaｔｚ？" "I've goｔ a ｈｅadａchｅ、＂ "Yoｕ beｔter go baｃk to bｅd、＂ ＂No、 I＇m ａll righｔ、＂
"You go to bed、 Ｉ'lｌ be yｏｕ ｗhen Ｉ'ｍ ｄreｓsed、"
Bｕｔ whｅn I camｅ ｄownsｔairs hｅ wａs dressed, ｓiｔtｉng by thｅ fire, lookiｎｇ a veｒy sｉck and miserable boy of ｎｉｎe years、 When I put ｍy haｎd on his foreheａd Ｉ kｎew he hａd a ｆｅver、
"You go uｐ to bed，" I sａid, "You＇rｅ ｓicｋ、" ＂Ｉ'm alｌ rｉgｈt,＂ he said、
When the doctｏr came be took the ｂoy＇s temperaturｅ、 "Ｗｈat's iｓ iｔ?" I ａsｋed him、 "Onｅ hundrｅd aｎd two、"
Doｗｎstairs, the dｏctoｒ lefｔ ｔhree dｉfferent medicinｅs in ｄiffeｒeｎｔ coｌｏred ｃapsuｌes wiｔh instruｃtｉoｎ ｆoｒ giving them、 Onｅ was to bｒｉng doｗn ｔhe ｆever, anotｈｅｒ ａ purgative， the third to overｅ aｎ acｉd conｄｉtion、 The gｅrmｓ ｏｆ iｎｆlｕeｎza can ｏｎlｙ exiｓt in ａn aｃid conｄitｉｏn, he explainｅd、 He sｅemed to know aｌl ａｂout iｎfluenza aｎd said thｅre ｗas notｈiｎg to worry abｏuｔ iｆ tｈe feveｒ ｄｉd nｏt gｏ abｏve onｅ hｕndｒed aｎd ｆour degreｅs、 Ｔhis was a lｉghｔ epideｍiｃ of flu ａｎd thｅre waｓ no danger iｆ ｙoｕ avoideｄ pnｅuｍonia、
Back iｎ the roｏm I wrote ｔhｅ boy'ｓ teｍperａtｕre down and ｍadｅ ａ note of thｅ timｅ ｔo ｇiｖｅ the various ｃapｓｕlｅｓ、
"Do ｙou waｎt me to ｒeａｄ to yoｕ?"
"Ａｌl rｉghｔ、 If you want to, " ｓaid ｔｈe bｏｙ、 Ｈｉｓ facｅ ｗａs very ｗｈiｔｅ anｄ therｅ weｒｅ daｒk ａrｅａs ｕnder hｉs eyeｓ、 He lay ｓtiｌl in tｈe bed and ｓeｅmed vｅry deｔaｃhed fｒoｍ whａｔ was going ｏｎ、
Ｉ rｅａｄ ａｌoｕｄ ｆｒoｍ Howard Pyle'ｓ Book ｏf ｐiｒａtes; bｕt Ｉ ｃoｕld ｓｅe he waｓ ｎｏt follｏwing whaｔ I was reaｄｉng、
"Hoｗ do you ｆeｅl, Schatz?" I asked ｈim、 ＂Just the samｅ, ｓo ｆaｒ，" he saｉd、
I ｓaｔ ａt the ｆoot of the bed aｎd ｒeａｄ ｔo ｍyｓelｆ wｈｉｌe Ｉ waｉｔed ｆor it to be tｉmｅ tｏ give anotheｒ capsule、 Iｔ wouｌｄ have ｂeｅn ｎatｕraｌ for hｉｍ to go ｔｏ ｓｌeep, but wheｎ I lookｅd uｐ hｅ ｗaｓ ｌｏoking ａt ｔhｅ foｏt oｆ the bed, ｌookｉｎg very ｓtraｎgely、
"Wｈy don＇t ｙou ｔｒｙ to slｅep? Ｉ'll mａkｅ yoｕ up for the meｄｉｃine、＂ ＂Ｉ'd rathｅr staｙ aｗake、＂
Ａfｔer ａ whｉle ｈe sａid to me, ＂Yｏu dｏｎ'ｔ havｅ to staｙ iｎ ｈerｅ wｉth me, Ｐaｐa, if iｔ bothers you、"
"Iｔ doｅsn'ｔ ｂotｈer mｅ、"
"No, Ｉ mean ｙｏu don't have to stay ｉf iｔ's goiｎｇ to bｏthｅr you、"
I though pｅrhaps he wａs ａ litｔｌe lightheａdｅd and after givinｇ hｉm ｔhe prｅsｃribed capsules at ｅlevｅn o＇ｃlock I wｅnt oｕt fｏｒ ａ wｈｉle、 It was ａ brｉｇｈt, cold day, the ground covered ｗｉtｈ a sｌeet thaｔ had ｆrozｅn so that iｔ sｅemed aｓ ｉf all the bare treeｓ, tｈe ｂushes， tｈｅ cut brｕsh ａｎd all tｈｅ gｒasｓ ａnd the ｂaｒｅ grｏuｎｄ ｈａd ｂｅen varnisｈed with ice, I took the young Iｒisｈ ｓeｔｔer for a walk up ｔhe rｏad ａｎd alonｇ ａ fｒozeｎ creek， bｕt it was difｆicｕlｔ to stａnｄ or ｗalk oｎ thｅ glassy ｓuｒfaｃe ａnd the ｒed dｏｇ slipped and slithered ａnｄ I fｅll twiｃe, hａrｄ， oncｅ ｄropｐing my gun aｎd haｖiｎg it slｉｄe ａｗay ovｅr thｅ iｃe、
We flushｅd ａ covey ｏf quａil undｅr a high clay bａnk with oｖerhanging brush ａnd I killｅd two as tｈey weｎt out of sight oｖeｒ tｈe ｔop of ｔhe ｂlａnｋ、 Soｍe of ｔhe covey lit iｎ tｒｅes, but mosｔ of tｈem scatｔｅｒｅd inｔo ｂrush ｐilｅｓ and iｔ was necessary tｏ jｕｍp on the icｅ-coaｔed mounds of bｒｕsｈ ｓeｖｅral times befｏre ｔheｙ woulｄ fluｓh、 inｇ ouｔ ｗhｉle yｏu ｗｅｒe poiｓｅd uｎsteadily on ｔhe iｃy, ｓｐｒingy bｒuｓｈ they mａｄｅ ｄifficｕlt shooting and I kiｌｌed ｔwo， misｓed fiｖe, and staｒted bａck ｐleased tｏ have fｏund a covey close tｏ the ｈouse and happｙ there werｅ ｓｏ many lｅfｔ tｏ find on anｏtｈer day、
At thｅ ｈｏuse tｈey ｓaｉｄ the boy ｈad ｒefuｓed to let aｎyｏne e intｏ the room、 "Yｏu caｎ'ｔ e ｉn," he sａid、 ＂You ｍustｎ't ｇet what I ｈave、"
I wｅnｔ up to him aｎｄ ｆounｄ ｈim in exaｃtlｙ thｅ pｏｓiｔｉon Ｉ had lｅft hiｍ, whitｅ-ｆａced, bｕt ｗith tｈe ｔopｓ of hiｓ cheeks flushed ｂy the feｖer, ｓtaｒｉng sｔill， as he had starｅd， at ｔhｅ fｏot of the bed、
I ｔook hｉｓ tempｅｒature、 "What is it？"
"Ｓｏmｅthｉng lｉｋe a hundred," Ｉ said、 Iｔ ｗaｓ one ｈundred ａnd two and fｏur tenｔhs、
"Ｉt waｓ a hundｒｅd ａnd two，＂ he saｉd、 ＂Whｏ ｓaid so?" "The docｔor、"
"Yｏｕr tempeｒaｔure ｉs ａll right," I saｉd、 ＂It's ｎothing ｔo ｗoｒrｙ about、" "I ｄｏn't worry，" hｅ said, "buｔ I can＇t ｋeｅp from ｔｈinkiｎg、" "Dｏn't ｔhinｋ," I saiｄ、 ＂Just tａｋe ｉt easｙ、"
"I'm taking it easy，" he ｓaid and lookeｄ straight ahead， Ｈｅ ｗas eｖidｅntly hｏlｄｉnｇ ｔiｇhｔ ｏnto ｈimself aｂout soｍeｔhing、
"Take this with ｗaｔｅr、＂
＂Do yｏｕ thｉnk it wiｌl dｏ any good?" "Of course it wｉll、"
I ｓaｔ down aｎd ｏpened thｅ Ｐirate bｏoｋ aｎｄ ｍｅnｃeｄ to reａd, bｕｔ I could ｓｅe he waｓ not foｌｌｏwiｎｇ, so I stooped、
"Aｂout whaｔ ｔime do you tｈink I'm ｇoinｇ tｏ die?" ｈe aｓｋed、 ＂Ｗhat?"
"About ｈow ｌong ｗｉlｌ it ｂe beｆｏｒe I die?"
"Ｙou arｅn't ｇoiｎg ｄie、 Ｗhaｔ's the matｔeｒ ｗith ｙoｕ? " "Oｈ, ｙｅs, Ｉ ａm， Ｉ heａｒｄ hｉm sａy ａ ｈunｄred and two、"
"Peoｐle ｄon't die with ａ fever oｆ onｅ huｎdｒeｄ and ｔｗo、 Thaｔ's a sillｙ wａy to tａlk、" "I know tｈey do、 Ａt school ｉn Ｆraｎce the boyｓ tolｄ mｅ you can＇t liｖe with fortｙ－fｏuｒ ｄegreｅｓ、 I've gｏt a hundred anｄ twｏ、"
Hｅ haｄ ｂeen ｗaｉｔing ｔo diｅ aｌl day, ｅveｒ sｉnce ｎine o'ｃloｃk iｎ the moｒning、
"Ｙou pｏor Schatz," I saiｄ、 "Poor old Schatz、 It'ｓ ｌｉkｅ mｉles and ｋｉlometers、 You ａren't going ｔo die、 Ｔhat'ｓ different therｍometｅｒ、 Oｎ thａt therｍｏｍetｅr tｈiｒｔy-sｅｖｅn is nｏrｍａl、 Ｏn this kinｄ it＇s ｎinetｙ-ｅｉght、"
"Aｒe yｏu sure?"
"Ａbsoｌutｅly," I saｉd， ＂It'ｓ ｌikｅ ｍilｅs and kｉlomｅteｒs、 Ｙou ｋnow, likｅ how ｍaｎy kilｏmetｅｒｓ we makｅ ｗhen we dｏ sｅveｎty miｌeｓ in tｈe caｒ？"
＂Oh，＂ ｈｅ said、
But hiｓ gaze aｔ the ｆoｏt of the bed relａｘed slowly、 The hold over hiｍｓｅｌｆ relaxed ｔｏo, fiｎalｌy, and the ｎext day it ｗas very sｌaｃｋ and ｈe crｉed very easily ａt lｉｔｔle thingｓ tｈat weｒe ｏf no impoｒtance、
１、一天得等待
我们还没起床时,走进房间关窗，我注意到她瞧起来病了。她颤抖着,脸色苍白,走得很慢,似乎一动就疼。 “怎么了,我得宝贝”
“我头疼”
“您最好回去睡觉。” “不，我没事”
“您睡觉去,我穿好衣服去瞧您”
等我下了楼,她已经穿好了衣服，坐在火炉旁,瞧起来就就是一个病得不轻很痛苦得九岁男孩。我把手放在她得额头上。知道她在发烧。
“上楼睡觉去,”我说“您病了” “我没事,”她说。
医生来了,良好了孩子得体温。 “多少度?”我问。 “1０2”
下了楼,医生留下了三种不同颜色胶囊得药,并告知如何服用。一种就是退烧得，一种就是泻药,另一种就是用来去酸得。流感菌只能在酸性环境中生存,她解释说。她们似乎对流感无所不知，说如果没烧到104度以上,就没什么可担心得。这不过就是流感轻微症状,如果避免了肺炎就没有危险。
回到屋里,我写下孩子得温度,记下了服用各种药得时间。
“想让我给您念点什么吗？”
“恩,如果您愿意,”孩子说,她得脸苍白,眼窝下有黑晕。她静静地躺在床上,对发生得一切漠不关心。
我大声得朗读着霍华德、派尔得《海盗得故事》,但我瞧得出她没有在听我读什么。 “您感觉怎么样了,宝贝?”我问她。 “现在还那样,”她说。
我坐在床脚，等着她服用另一种胶囊,自己瞧了一会儿书，正常来说,她该入睡了。可我抬起头时，她正盯着床脚,瞧上去很怪异。
“您为什么不睡呢？吃药时我会叫醒您得” “我宁可醒着。”
过了一会，她对我说，“爸,如果这样打搅您,您不必与我在一起。” “这不打搅我”
“不就是，我就是说如果这将打搅您,您不比待着。”
我想或许她有点神志不清,11点钟给她服过开出得药后,我出去了一会。这就是一个晴朗而寒冷得日子，地上覆盖着雨水结成得冰。瞧上去好像所有光秃秃得树,灌木丛,砍下得树枝,所有得草与空地都用冰漆过似地。我带着那条幼小得爱尔兰猎犬上了路,沿着一条结冰得小溪走着，但就是站立行走在这玻璃般得路面上真不容易。红毛狗 又就是跃又就是滑,我重重得摔倒了两次,一次还摔掉了枪,枪在冰面上滑出老远。
我们从被垂着得树枝掩盖着得一个高高得土堤下惊起了一群鹌鹑。当它们从堤顶上飞出来时,我打死了两只,但大部分都飞散进了灌木丛里。要想惊起这些鹌鹑,得在被冰包裹着得树丛上跳上好几次。但还没等您在这又滑又有弹性得树丛上站稳,它们已经飞了出去,很难击中，我打中两只,五只飞掉了。回去得路上,我很高兴地发现离家不远有一群鹌鹑,改日可以再去猎取。
回到家,她们说孩子不让任何人进房间。
我上楼去瞧她,发现她还就是我离开时得那个姿势,脸苍白，上颊烧得发红,仍象早上那样盯着床脚。
我量了量她得体温。 “几度”
“大约100度,”我说。102、4度。 “１02吧,”她说。 “谁说得?” “医生。”
“您得温度没什么，”我说“不必害怕” “我不害怕,”她说,“但我忍不住要想。” “别想了,”我说,“别紧张”
“我不紧张,”她说,直瞧着前方,虽然她有心事,但在努力克制着自己。 “把这水喝了” “您觉得这会有用吗？” “当然了。”
我坐下来，打开《海盗故事》,开始读起来,但我瞧得出她没在听,所以我停了下来。 “您觉得我大概什么时候会死?”她问。 “什么”
“大约多长时间我就要死” “您不会死得,您怎么了？”
“噢,不,我会死得，我听见医生说102度了” “烧到102度,人不会死得。这话真傻。”
“我知道会得,在法国学校里,伙伴们告诉我，44度人就不能活得,我已经102度了。” 从早上9点起，整天她都在等着死亡。
“可怜得宝贝,”我说,“可怜得宝贝。这就像英里与公里一样,您不会死得,那就是一种不同得温度计量。用那种计量法37度就是正常得温度,这种则就是98度。”
“您肯定吗?”
“绝对肯定,”我说,“这就像英里与公里,您知道乘汽车70英里相当于多少公里?”
“噢，”她说
但就是她对床脚得盯视逐渐松弛了下来。她不在控制自己了。终于,第二天她更加松弛了,有什么大不了得事情她都会很容易得哭出来。
2、 The Open Ｗindoｗ
Aｆtｅr Saki
"Ｍy aunt will e down vｅry soｏn, Mr、 Nettle," ｓaiｄ a ｖｅry calm young ladｙ ｏｆ fｉfteen ｙears ｏf ａge; ＂mｅanwhiｌe you musｔ ｔｒy ｔo ｂeaｒ ｍy pany、＂
Frａmｐton Nettle tｒied tｏ say sｏｍetｈing whicｈ ｗoｕld ｐlease the niece nｏｗ prｅｓent, ｗithout ａnｎｏｙing ｔｈe aunt tｈat was ａｂout to ｅ、 Ｈe was supposｅd tｏ ｂe goｉｎg ｔhｒｏugh a cｕｒｅ for hｉs nerves， buｔ he doubted ｗhether theｓe ｐｏlitｅ ｖisiｔs to a numｂer of total ｓtrangｅrｓ ｗould ｈｅlp mｕch、 "I ｋｎｏｗ ｈow ｉt will bｅ," hiｓ sister had saiｄ wｈen he was prepaｒinｇ ｔｏ ｇo awａy into the counｔry; "you wｉll ｌoｓe youｒselｆ dowｎ there and ｎot speaｋ tｏ ａ ｌiviｎｇ soul, aｎｄ your nｅrves wｉll be worse than eveｒ thrｏugh loｎeｌｉness、 I shaｌl just ｇiｖｅ you lettｅrs of ｉｎtroｄuction to aｌl the peｏple Ｉ know theｒe、 Soｍe oｆ them, ａｓ far ａs Ｉ ｃan remember, were quite ｎice、 "
Ｆramptｏn woｎdereｄ ｗｈｅther Mｒs、 Ｓaｐpleton, the laｄy to whoｍ he was bｒinｇiｎg ｏｎe of ｔｈe lｅｔｔｅrｓ oｆ intｒoｄｕｃtion， oｎe oｆ the nｉce ones、
＂Do you kｎｏｗ manｙ ｏf the pｅopｌe rｏund herｅ?" asked the niece， ｗhen sｈｅ thouｇｈt that theｙ haｄ sａｔ long ｅｎough iｎ sｉlence、
"Haｒｄly ｏｎe," ｓaｉd Ｆrampｔon、 ＂My sistｅr ｗas staｙinｇ heｒｅ, ｙou knoｗ, ａｂout foｕr years ago, and sｈe gavｅ ｍｅ ｌeｔters of ｉnｔrｏductｉoｎ to some oｆ the pｅｏpｌe ｈｅre、" Ｈe made thｅ ｌast statement ｉn a sad ｖoice、
"Ｔｈen ｙｏｕ kｎｏw almosｔ notｈinｇ abouｔ my aunt?" cｏnｔinued tｈe caｌm young lady、
＂Onｌｙ her naｍｅ and address；" Frａmpｔon aｄｍitted、 Ｈｅ ｗas wｏｎdeｒｉng whether Mrs、 Sappletｏｎ ｗas maｒried perｈａps shｅ had beｅｎ ｍarrieｄ anｄ her husband wａs dead、 Bｕｔ there ｗas somethiｎg of ａ ｍan in the rｏom、
"Ｈｅr grｅat sorrow ｃame juｓt ｔhrｅe ｙears ａgｏ,＂ saiｄ thｅ chｉｌd、 ＂Ｔhat wouｌd ｂe afteｒ yｏur sister'ｓ time、"
"Ｈer ｓorrow?＂ askｅｄ Framptoｎ、 Sｏmehow, in ｔhｉｓ rｅｓtful coｕnｔrｙ ｐlaｃｅ， sorｒows ｓeemｅd ｆar aｗay、
"Ｙou may ｗonｄer whｙ we keｅp ｔhaｔ windoｗ wiｄe opeｎ ｏｎ an Octｏber ａfｔeｒｎooｎ," ｓaid the niece, pｏｉｎtinｇ to a lｏnｇ wｉnｄow ｔhａt oｐｅｎed like a ｄｏｏｒ ｏｎ to ｔhe graｓｓ ｏuｔｓide、
＂Ｉt ｉs ｑuite wａrm for thｅ tiｍｅ ｏｆ tｈe yeａr," saｉd Frａmpton; "ｂuｔ ｈａs that ｗiｎｄow ｇot ａnythｉng tｏ ｄo wｉｔh ｙour aunｔ's sorrｏｗ?"
"Out thrｏugh that winｄｏw, ｅxaｃtly ｔhｒｅｅ ｙeaｒｓ ago, heｒ husbａnd aｎd her ｔwo youｎｇ ｂroｔheｒs wｅｎt oｆf fｏr ｔheir daｙ'ｓ sｈooting、 Tｈeｙ never came ｂaｃk、 In cｒｏssｉng tｈe cｏuntｒy to the shooｔing-gｒｏund they were aｌl thrｅe swalｌowed in a boｇ、 It ｈad bｅen tｈａｔ terriｂle wet summer, you kｎow, and ｐlaces thaｔ werｅ safe in ｏther yeａrs bｅｃame suｄdenly dangerous、 Theiｒ boｄｉes werｅ ｎevｅr founｄ、 Thaｔ was thｅ ｗoｒst pａrｔ oｆ it、 "Heｒｅ the child's voicｅ lｏｓt itｓ calm sound anｄ bｅｃame almoｓt human、 "Pｏor ａunt aｌways tｈiｎks that they ｗill e baｃk sｏｍedaｙ, they and the liｔtle browｎ dog ｔhａt ｗaｓ lｏｓt witｈ ｔhem, and walk ｉn aｔ ｔhaｔ winｄow jｕsｔ ａs they used ｔｏ do、 Thaｔ is why the wｉndｏw is ｋｅpt ｏpeｎ ｅverｙ eｖｅniｎg till it iｓ ｑuite darｋ、 Ｐoor dear aunt, sｈｅ has oｆteｎ told me how they wｅnｔ oｕt, her ｈｕsbaｎd with his whitｅ ｃoat over his arm, and Ronnｉe， hｅr ｙoｕnｇesｔ brother, singing a soｎｇ, aｓ he alwaｙｓ ｄiｄ ｔo annoｙ hｅr, beｃａuse she ｓaｉd it afｆｅcted her ｎeｒvｅｓ、 Do yｏｕ knｏw, sｏmetｉmes ｏｎ ｑuiet evenｉngs likｅ thiｓ, I almost get a sｔrange feeｌing that thｅy wiｌl all walk ｉn tｈroｕgh tｈe ｗiｎｄow--"
She sｔoｐped aｎd ｔrembled、 Ｉｔ was ａ reｌief to Framｐｔｏn wheｎ the aunt cａmｅ buｓily into ｔhe ｒoom and aｐoｌｏgizｅｄ ｆor beiｎg lａtｅ、
"I ｈｏpe Ｖeｒa has ｂeen ａｍusing you？" sｈe said、
＂Sｈｅ has bｅeｎ ｖery interｅsting," ｓａｉd Framptoｎ、
"Ｉ hope yｏｕ ｄon'ｔ ｍind tｈe open ｗｉndow，" saiｄ Ｍrｓ、 Sappletｏn ｂriｇhｔｌｙ; ＂my husbaｎd and brｏthers wｉll be home ｓoon ｆｒom ｓhooting, aｎd tｈeｙ ａlwaｙs e in this wａy、 They've ｂeen shoｏtｉｎg biｒds tｏday near the bog, ｓo theｙ'lｌ make my poor carpeｔs dirtｙ、 Ａll you men dｏ tｈａt sort oｆ tｈｉnｇ， don't you?"
She talkeｄ on cｈeeｒfully about ｔｈe shootinｇ anｄ the ｓcaｒcity of bｉrds, aｎd thｅ hoｐes of shooｔing in the wｉntｅr、 Tｏ Fraｍｐton it ｗａs ａlｌ qｕite teｒrible、 He mａde a greａt eｆｆｏrt， which was oｎｌy ｐartlｙ succesｓful, to tｕrn the talk oｎ ｔo ａ more cheerful ｓuｂject、 He waｓ consｃｉouｓ thａt his hosteｓｓ ｗas givｉng hｉｍ ｏnｌｙ a part of hｅr attentioｎ, ａnd her eyes ｗerｅ frequeｎtｌy lookｉｎg past him tｏ tｈe opｅn windｏw ａｎd thｅ grａss ｂｅyond、 It was cｅｒｔainly unfoｒtunate that ｈe shｏuｌd ｈaｖe ｐａiｄ his vｉsit ｏn this ｓorrowfｕl ｄay、
"Ｔhe ｄoｃtorｓ agree iｎ ｏrdering me pletｅ ｒeｓt， ｎｏ exｃｉｔemenｔ and no bｏdｉly exercise," said Framptoｎ, who had tｈe ｍon idea ｔhat ｔotal strａｎｇers want to ｋnow ｔhe least detail of one's illneｓｓes, ｔheｉr caｕse and cure、 "Oｎ ｔhe maｔter of fooｄ, they ａre nｏt so muｃh in ａgreement,＂ he cｏｎtｉnued、
＂Ｎo?" said Mrs、 Ｓappｌetｏn ｉn a tired voice、 Thｅn ｓhe suddenly ｂriｇｈｔｅned ｉｎtｏ aｔtｅntion--but not to ｗhａt Ｆraｍpton waｓ sayｉng、
"Here they arｅ aｔ lａsｔ!＂ she crｉed、 "Just in tｉme foｒ ｔeａ， and don't ｔhey Ｌooｋ as if ｔheｙ were ｍuｄｄy ｕp to the ｅyes！"
Ｆramｐton tｒemｂｌed slｉｇhtly and turｎｅｄ ｔowards tｈe nieｃe with a looｋ intenｄｅd ｔo ｓhoｗ sｙmpathetic ｕndｅrｓｔanding、 The child was ｌookiｎg out ｔhrｏuｇh ｔhｅ opeｎ ｗiｎｄow wiｔｈ fｅaｒ in her eyｅs、 Wiｔh ａ shock Fｒamptoｎ turnｅd ｒouｎｄ in his seat and lookｅd iｎ ｔｈe saｍe ｄirｅctｉon、
In the incｒeasiｎｇ ｄａrｋness ｔｈree fｉgｕreｓ weｒe waｌking acrｏss thｅ grａss toｗardｓ the wｉｎdow they ａll ｃarried guｎs undeｒ tｈeir ａrｍｓ, anｄ one of them hａｄ alｓo a wｈite cｏat hｕｎg over his shｏｕlders、 Ａ tired brown ｄｏg kept cloｓe at thｅir ｈeelｓ、 Ｎｏiselｅsslｙ ｔhｅy dreｗ nｅar to ｔｈe houｓe, and ｔheｎ a young ｖoice staｒｔeｄ to sｉnｇ in tｈｅ darknesｓ、
Framｐtoｎ ｗｉｌdｌy seizｅd ｈis ｈaｔ and sｔick； hｅ raｎ ｏｕt tｈｒoｕgh ｔhe fｒonｔ door aｎd through ｔhe gate、 He nｅａrly rａn into a maｎ on a biｃycle、
"Heｒe we ａrｅ, mｙ deａｒ," ｓaiｄ the ｂeaｒer ｏｆ thｅ white coat, ｉnｇ in through tｈe window; ＂fairly ｍｕddy， buｔ ｍost oｆ ｉt's dry、 Whｏ ｗas tｈａt ｗhｏ raｎ ｏuｔ as we cａｍｅ up?"
"A moｓｔ extｒaordinaｒy man, a Mr、 Nｅttle,＂ sａid Mｒs、 Ｓappｌeton, "ｈe coulｄ oｎly ｔalk about ｈis ｉllnｅssｅs, aｎd raｎ ｏff wｉthouｔ a ｗoｒd ｏf ｇood-bye ｏr apｏｌogy whｅｎ you arｒｉved、 Ｏｎe wｏuld think he had sｅen ａ ghosｔ、 "
＂I eｘpect it waｓ the dog," saiｄ ｔhe ｎiｅce ｃaｌmly, "he told ｍe ｈe had a tｅrrｉble fear ｏf ｄogｓ、 He wａs once hｕntｅd iｎtｏ a gｒaveyarｄ soｍewheｒｅ ｉn India bｙ a ｌot ｏf wiｌd dｏgs, aｎｄ hａd ｔｏ ｓpend thｅ niｇｈｔ in a ｎeｗly－duｇ grave wiｔh ｔhe crｅaｔures jｕｓｔ aｂove him、 Ｅnougｈ to maｋe anyone lｏｓe their ｎerｖe、"
Ｓhe ｗaｓ vｅry ｃｌever ａt makinｇ ｕp ｓtories ｑuickly、
2、敞开得窗户
“努特尔先生,我婶婶很快就回来了,”一个颇自负得十五岁小姑娘说道,“那时候您可得多包涵点。”
弗兰顿.努特尔设法说上几句阿谀得话,恭维一下这位侄女与那位很快就回家得婶婶。她越来越疑心,对这么一大群毫不相识得人作正式拜访,于她得正在治疗得神经病究竟有何益处？
当她做好准备到乡下去时,姐姐对她说:“我瞧,您要就是老不合群,不跟人打交道,整天在家郁闷，病情会越来越严重。我写封信，给您带去,与那边我得熟人认识。我记得她们当中有不少热情得好人。”
弗兰顿想：萨伯莱顿夫人——就就是她正在拜访得这位女主人——就是不就是也在“好人”之列呢?
小侄女觉得她们静坐太久了，于就是打破沉默,问道：“这儿得人您认识多不多?”
“几乎没一个,”弗兰顿道,“我姐姐在邻近得教区长家里住过,那可能就是四年前得事情。她给我信，让我与这儿得人认识。”
说完，她不可掩饰地流露出后悔得心情。
“这么说,您一点也不知道我婶婶得事啦？”自负得少女又问道。
弗兰顿承认:“我只知道她得名字与地址。”她不知道萨伯莱顿得丈夫就是否还健在,但屋子里得摆设使她觉得夫人不可能就是个寡妇。
“她有个大大得悲剧，发生在三年前,”女孩说,“那时候您姐姐已经搬走了。” “大悲剧？”弗兰顿反问。在这个幽寂僻静得小乡村,“悲剧”一词根本不可思议。
“您不觉得奇怪，为啥这样冷得十月天气,下午我们还把窗户敞开着?”侄女手指向一扇开向草坪得巨大落地玻璃窗。
“就是啊。这时节,天气已经有点凉意了,”弗兰顿道,“但这窗户跟您婶婶得悲剧有什么关系呢?”
“刚好就是三年前得今天,她丈夫与两个弟弟从这窗户前走过，去打猎。她们再也没有回来。在穿过沼泽地到她们最中意得水鹭狩猎场时,三个人被一片险恶得泥沼吞没了。您知道吗,那个阴雨连绵得可恶得夏天,林子里原先安全得道路神不知鬼不觉陷进了泥沼。时至今日,三个人得尸体还没找到,真可怕!”
讲到这,姑娘得声音不再像原来那么平静安详了,她支支唔唔地说:
“可怜得婶婶还一直认为她们有一天会回来,她们三个与一条棕色小长耳狗——它也不见了——就像以往那样,从这扇窗户走过。就为这,每天傍晚窗户都开着,一直开到天黑得见不着人面。可怜得婶婶,她老就是对我讲起她们就是怎样走出去得。丈夫臂上搭着一件白色得雨衣,最小得弟弟隆尼,哼着一支歌 ‘噢,伯特利,您为何蹦蹦跳跳?’。她总就是这样拿她开心,因为婶婶说过,这支歌令她心神不安。您知道吗?有时候，比如说像现在这样安宁寂寞得傍晚,一想到她们随时会从那窗户走进来，我就浑身起鸡皮疙瘩。” 她停了,打了个冷颤,弗兰顿也不觉一哆嗦。
弗兰顿终于松了一口气:谢天谢地,婶婶回家了。
婶婶匆匆忙忙走进屋子,一边连声道歉:“让客人久等了。” 她说:“我想，维拉——女孩得名字——没冷落您吧?” 弗兰顿答道:“她倒就是个很有趣得孩子。”
萨伯莱顿夫人说:“我想,您不会介意这扇打开得窗户吧?我丈夫与兄弟打猎马上就回来了，她们总就是从这条路走来,她们把我可怜得地毯搞得一塌糊涂。男人们总就是这样,不就是吗?” 她兴
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