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新概念英語(yǔ)第三冊(cè)第24課:A skeleton in the cupboard
聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)題。
Who was Sebastian?
We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spend an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided to hang one of the tow suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a read skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'
參考譯文
在小說(shuō)中，我們經(jīng)常讀到一個(gè)表面上受人尊重的人物或家庭，卻有著某種多年不為人所知的駭人聽(tīng)聞的秘密。英語(yǔ)中有一個(gè)生動(dòng)的說(shuō)法來(lái)形容這種情況。驚人的秘密稱作“柜中骷髏”。在小說(shuō)的某個(gè)戲劇性時(shí)刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出來(lái)，接著便是某人的聲譽(yù)掃地。當(dāng)讀者到小說(shuō)最后幾頁(yè)了解到書(shū)中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可愛(ài)的老婦人年輕時(shí)一連毒死了她的5個(gè)丈夫時(shí)，不禁會(huì)毛骨悚然。
這種事發(fā)生在小說(shuō)中是無(wú)可非議的。盡管我們?nèi)巳硕加懈鞣N大小秘密。連最親密的朋友都不愿讓他們知道，但我們當(dāng)中極少有人有柜中骷髏。我所認(rèn)識(shí)的唯一的在柜中藏骷嶁的人便是喬治.卡爾頓，他甚至引以為自豪。喬治年輕時(shí)學(xué)過(guò)醫(yī)，然而，他后來(lái)沒(méi)當(dāng)上醫(yī)生，卻成了一位成功的偵探小說(shuō)作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，過(guò)得很不愉快。這事我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記。喬治把我領(lǐng)進(jìn)客房，說(shuō)這間很少使用。他讓我打開(kāi)行裝后下樓吃飯。我將襯衫、內(nèi)衣放進(jìn)兩個(gè)空抽屜里，然后我想把隨身帶來(lái)的兩套西服中的一套掛到大衣柜里去。我打開(kāi)柜門(mén)，站在柜門(mén)前一下驚呆了。一具骷髏懸掛在眼前，由于柜門(mén)突然打開(kāi)，它也隨之輕微搖晃起來(lái)，讓我覺(jué)得它好像馬上要跳出柜門(mén)朝我撲過(guò)來(lái)似的。我扔下西服沖下樓去告訴喬治。這是比“駭人聽(tīng)聞的秘密”更加驚人的東西，這是一具真正的骷髏�。〉珕讨螀s無(wú)動(dòng)于衷�！班�，是它呀！他笑著說(shuō)道，儼然在談?wù)撘晃焕吓笥�。“那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是學(xué)醫(yī)的了。”
New words and expressions生詞和短語(yǔ)
skeleton
n.骷髏
seemingly
adv.表面上地
respectable
adj.體面的，雅觀的
conceal
v.隱藏，隱瞞
vivid
adj.生動(dòng)的
dramatic
adj.令人激動(dòng)的，扣人心弦的
ruin
v.毀壞
heroine
n.女主人公
fiction
n.小說(shuō)
varying
adj.不同的
medicine
n.醫(yī)學(xué)
guestroom
n.（家庭中的）來(lái)客住房
unpack
vt.（從箱中）取出
stack
v.（整齊地）堆放，排放
underclothes
n.內(nèi)衣
drawer
n.抽屜
petrify
v.使驚呆
dangle
v.懸掛
sway
v.搖擺
unsympathetic
adj.不表同情的，無(wú)動(dòng)于衷的
medical
adj.醫(yī)學(xué)的
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 A skeleton in the cupboard，直譯為“柜中骸骸”，此系一成語(yǔ)作“家丑”解釋。
2 conceal sth from sb.作“對(duì)某人隱瞞某事”解說(shuō)。
3 The reader's hair stands on end,讀者感到毛骨諫然。
4 to varying degrees，在不同程度上。
5 stood in front of it petrified，站在柜前嚇呆了。
stand此處表示處于某種狀態(tài)，起系動(dòng)詞的作用，后面常接形容詞、介詞短語(yǔ)或過(guò)去分詞，表示主語(yǔ)處于某種狀態(tài)中的特征，可視作表語(yǔ)。
6 the impression that it was about to leap out...，
that引導(dǎo)的從句作impression的同位語(yǔ)。be about to do sth，表示按照計(jì)劃即將做的動(dòng)作。
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