新概念必背文章36篇(風(fēng)中勁草)

新就念三Lesson14Anoblegangster貴族歹徒

TherewasatimewhentheownersofshopsandbusinessesinChicagohcdtopaylargesumsofmoneyto

gangstersinreturnfor'protection.'Ifthemoneywasnotpaidpromptly,thegangsterswouldquicklyputamanout

ofbusinessbydestroyinghisshop.Obtaining'protectionmoney'isnotamoderncrime.Aslongagoasthefourteenth

century,anEnglishman,SirJohnHawkwood,madetheremaikablediscoverythatpeoplewouldratherpaylargesums

ofmoneythanhavetheirlifeworkdestroyedbygangsters.

Sixhundredyearsago,SirJohanHawkwoodarrivedinItalywithabandofsoldiersandsettlednearFlorence.

HesoonmadeanameforhimselfandcametobeknowntotheItaliansasGiovanniAcuto.WhenevertheItalian

city-stateswereatwarwitheachother,Hawkwoodusedtohirehissoldierstoprinceswhowerewillingtopaythe

highpricehedemanded.Intimesofpeace,whenbusinesswasbad,Hawkwoodandhismenwouldmarchintoa

city-stateand,afterburningdownafewfarms,wouldoffertogoawayifprotectionmoneywaspaidtothem.Hawkwood

madelargesumsofmoneyinthisway.Inspiteofthis,theItaliansregardedhimasasortofhero.Whenhedied

attheageofeighty,theFlorentinesgavehimastatefuneralandhadapicturedpaintedwhichwasdedicatedtothe

memoryof*themostvaliantsoldierandmostnotableleader,SignorGiovanniHaukodue.)

曾經(jīng)有一個(gè)時(shí)期，芝加哥的店主和商行的老板們不得不拿出大筆的錢給歹徒以換取“保護(hù)”。如果交款不及時(shí)，歹徒們就會(huì)很快搗毀他的商

店，讓他破產(chǎn).榨取“保護(hù)金”并不是一種現(xiàn)代的罪惡行徑.早在14世紀(jì)，英國人約翰.霍克伍德就有過非凡的發(fā)現(xiàn):“人們情愿拿出大筆的錢，也不

愿畢生的心血?dú)в诖跬街?

600年前，約翰.霍克伍德爵士帶著一隊(duì)士兵來到意大利，在佛羅倫薩附近駐扎下來，很快就出了名.意大利人叫他喬凡尼.阿庫托.每次意大

利各城邦之間發(fā)生戰(zhàn)爭，霍克伍德把他的士兵雇傭給愿給他出高價(jià)的君主。和平時(shí)期，當(dāng)生意蕭條時(shí),霍克伍德便帶領(lǐng)士兵進(jìn)入某個(gè)城邦，縱火

燒毀一兩個(gè)農(nóng)場，然后提出,如向他們繳納保護(hù)金，他們便主動(dòng)撤離?；艨宋榈掠眠@種方法掙了大筆錢.盡管如此，意大利人還是把他視作某種英

雄。他80歲那年死去時(shí)，佛羅倫薩人為他舉行了國葬，并為他畫像以紀(jì)念這位“驍勇無比的戰(zhàn)士、杰出的領(lǐng)袖喬凡尼.阿庫托先生.“

Lesson17Thelongestsuspensionbridgeintheworld世界上景長的吊標(biāo)

Verrazano,anItalianaboutwhomlittleisknown,sailedintoNewYorkHarbourin1524andnameditAngouleme.

Hedescribeditas*averyagreeablesituationlocatedwithintwosmallhillsinthemidstofwhichflowedagreatriver.,

ThoughVerrazanoisbynomeansconsideredtobeagreatexplorer,hisnamewillprobablyremainimmortal,for

onNovember21st,1964,thelongestsuspensionbridgeintheworldwasnamedafterhim.

TheVerrazanoBridge,whichwasdesignedbyOthmarAmmann,joinsBrooklyntoStatenIsland.Ithasaspan

of4,260feet.Thebridgeissolongthattheshapeoftheearthhadtobetakenintoaccountbyitsdesigner.Two

greattowerssupportfourhugecables.Thetowersarebuiltonimmenseunderwaterplatformsmadeofsteelandconcrete.

Theplatformsextendtoadepthofover100feetunderthesea.Thesealonetooksixteenmonthstobuild.Above

thesurfaceofthewater,thetowersrisetoaheightofnearly700feet.Theysupportthecablesfromwhichthebridge

hasbeensuspended.Eachofthefourcablescontains26,108lengthsofwire.Ithasbeenestimatedthatifthebridge

werepackedwithcars,itwouldstillonlybecarryingathirdofitstotalcapacity.However,sizeandstrengtharenot

theonlyimportantthingsaboutthisbridge.Despiteitsimmensity,itisbothsimpleandelegant,fulfillingitsdesigner's

dreamtocreate'anenormousobjectdrawnasfaintlyaspossible'.

1524年，一位鮮為人知的意大利人維拉薩諾駕船駛進(jìn)紐約港，并將該港名為安古拉姆。他對(duì)該港作了這樣的描述：“地理位置十分適

宜，位于兩座小山的中間，一條大河從中間流過”。雖然維拉薩諾絕對(duì)算不上一個(gè)偉大的探險(xiǎn)家，但他的名字將流芳百世，因?yàn)?964年11

月21日建成的一座世界上最長的吊橋是以他的名字命名。

維拉薩諾大橋由奧斯馬.阿曼設(shè)計(jì)，連結(jié)著布魯克林與斯塔頓島，橋長4,260英尺。由于橋身太長，設(shè)計(jì)者不得不考慮了地表的形狀。

兩座巨塔支撐著4根粗大的鋼纜。塔身建在巨大的水下鋼盤混凝土平臺(tái)上。平臺(tái)深入海底100英尺。僅這兩座塔就花了16個(gè)月才建成。

塔身高出水面將近700英尺。高塔支撐著鋼纜，而鋼纜又懸吊著大橋，4根鋼纜中的每根由26,108股鋼繩組成。據(jù)估計(jì)，若橋上擺滿了

汽車，也只不過是橋的總承教力的1/3o然而，這座橋重要特點(diǎn)不僅是它的規(guī)模與強(qiáng)度。盡管此橋很大，但它的結(jié)構(gòu)簡單，造型優(yōu)美，實(shí)

現(xiàn)了設(shè)計(jì)者企圖創(chuàng)造一個(gè)“盡量用細(xì)線條勾畫出一個(gè)龐然大物”的夢想。

Lesson21DanielMendoza丹尼東.門多薩

BoxingmatcheswereverypopularinEnglandtwohundredyearsago.Inthosedays,boxersfoughtwithbarefists

forprizemoney.Becauseofthis,theywereknownas'prize-fighters'.However,boxingwasverycrude,fortherewere

norulesandaprize-fightercouldbeseriouslyinjuredorevenkilledduringamatch.

OneofthemostcolourfulfiguresinboxinghistorywasDanielMendoza,whowasbornin1764.Theuseofgloves

wasnotintroduceduntil1860,whentheMarquisofQueensberrydrewupthefirstsetofrules.Thoughhewastechnically

aprize-fighter,Mendozadidmuchtochangecrudeprize-fightingintoasport,forhebroughtsciencetothegame.In

hisday,Mendozaenjoyedtremendouspopularity.Hewasadoredbyrichandpooralike.

Mendozarosetofameswiftlyafteraboxing-matchwhenhewasonlyfourteenyearsold.Thisattractedtheattention

ofRichardHumphrieswhowasthenthemosteminentboxerinEngland.HeofferedtotrainMendozaandhisyoung

pupilwasquicktolearn.Infact,MendozasoonbecamesosuccessfulthatHumphriesturnedagainsthim.Thetwo

menquarrelledbitterlyanditwasclearthattheargumentcouldonlybesettledbyafight.AmatchwasheldatStilton,

wherebothmenfoughtforanhour.ThepublicbetagreatdealofmoneyonMendoza,buthewasdefeated.Mendoza

metHumphriesintheringonalateroccasionandhelostforasecondtime.Itwasnotuntilhisthirdmatchin1790

thathefinallybeatHumphriesandbecameChampionofEngland.Meanwhile,hefoundedahighlysuccessfulAcademy

andevenLordByronbecameoneofhispupils.Heearnedenormoussumsofmoneyandwaspaidasmuchas100

poundsforasingleappearance.Despitethis,hewassoextravagantthathewasalwaysiedebt.Afterhewasdefeated

byaboxercalledGentlemanJackson,hewasquicklyforgotten.Hewassenttoprisonforfailingtopayhisdebts

anddiedinpovertyin1836.

兩百年前，拳擊比賽在英國非常盛行。當(dāng)時(shí)，拳擊手們不戴手套，為爭奪獎(jiǎng)金而搏斗。因此，他們被稱作“職業(yè)拳擊手”。不過，拳擊

是十分野蠻的，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)沒有任何比賽規(guī)則，職業(yè)拳擊手有可能在比賽中受重傷，甚至喪命。

拳擊史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼爾.門多薩，他生于1764年。1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次為拳擊比賽制定了規(guī)則，拳擊比賽這

才用上了手套。雖然門多薩嚴(yán)格來講不過是個(gè)職業(yè)拳擊手，但在把這種粗野的拳擊變成一種體育運(yùn)動(dòng)方面，他作出了重大貢獻(xiàn)。是他把科

學(xué)引進(jìn)了這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)。門多薩在他的全盛時(shí)期深受大家歡迎，無論是富人還是窮人都對(duì)他祟拜備至。

門多薩在14歲時(shí)參加一場拳擊賽后一舉成名。這引起當(dāng)時(shí)英國拳壇名將理查德.漢弗萊斯的注意。他主動(dòng)提出教授門多薩，而年少的

門多薩一學(xué)就會(huì)。事實(shí)上，門多薩不久便名聲大振，致使?jié)h弗萊斯與他反目為敵。兩個(gè)人爭吵不休，顯而易見，只有較量?番才能解決問

題。于是兩人在斯蒂爾頓設(shè)下賽場，廝打了一個(gè)小時(shí)。公眾把大筆賭注下到了門多薩身上，但他卻輸了。后來，門多薩與漢弗萊斯再次在

拳擊場上較量，門多薩又輸了一場。直到1790年他們第3次對(duì)壘，門多薩才終于擊敗漢弗萊斯，成了全英拳擊冠軍。同時(shí)，他建立了一

所拳擊學(xué)校，辦得很成功，連拜倫勛爵也成了他的學(xué)生。門多薩掙來大筆大筆的錢，一次出場費(fèi)就多可達(dá)100英鎊。盡管收入不少，但他

揮霍無度，經(jīng)常債臺(tái)高筑。他被一個(gè)叫杰克遜紳士的拳擊手擊敗后很快被遺忘。他因無力還債而被捕入獄，最后于1836年在貧困中死去。

Lesson24Askeletoninthecupboard“家丑”

Weoftenreadinnovelshowaseeminglyrespectablepersonorfamilyhassometerriblesecretwhichhasbeen

concealedfromstrangersforyears.TheEnglishlanguagepossessesavividsayingtodescribethissortofsituation.

Theterriblesecretiscalled'askeletoninthecupboard'.Atsomedramaticmomentinthestory,theterriblesecret

becomesknownandareputationisruined.Thereader'shairstandsonendwhenhereadsinthefinalpagesofthe

novelthattheheroine,adearoldladywhohadalwaysbeensokindtoeverybody,had,inheryouth,poisonedevery

oneofherfivehusbands.

Itisallverywellforsuchthingstooccurinfiction.Tovaryingdegrees,weallhavesecretswhichwedonot

wantevenourclosestfriendstolearn,butfewofushaveskeletonsinthecupboard.TheonlypersonIknowwho

hasaskeletoninthecupboardisGeorgeCarlton,andheisveryproudofthefact.Georgestudiedmedicineinhis

youth.Insteadofbecomingadoctor,however,hebecameasuccessfulwriterofdetectivestories.Ioncespentan

uncomfortableweekendwhichIshallneverforgetathishouse.Georgeshowedmetotheguest-roomwhich,hesaid,

wasrarelyused.Hetoldmetounpackmythingsandthencomedowntodinner.AfterIhadstackedmyshirtsand

underclothesintwoemptydrawers,IdecidedtohangoneofthetwosuitsIhadbroughtwithmeinthecupboard.

Iopenedthecupboarddoorandthenstoodinfrontofitpetrified.Askeletonwasdanglingbeforemyeyes.Thesudden

movementofthedoormadeitswayslightlyanditgavemetheimpressionthatitwasabouttoleapoutatme.

Droppingmysuit,IdasheddownstairstotellGeorge.Thiswasworsethan,aterriblesecret1;thiswasarealskeleton!

ButGeorgewasunsympathetic.tOh,that/hesaidwithasmileasifheweretalkingaboutanoldfriend.That'sSebastian.

YouforgetthatIwasamedicalstudentonceuponatime.'

在小說中，我們經(jīng)常讀到一個(gè)表面上受人尊重的人物或家族，卻有著某種多年不為人所知的駭人聽聞的秘密。英語中有一個(gè)生動(dòng)的說

法來形容這種情況。驚人的秘密被稱作“柜中骷髏”。在小說的某個(gè)戲劇性時(shí)刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出來，接著便是某人的聲譽(yù)掃地。當(dāng)讀者

讀到小說最后幾頁了解到書中女主人公，那位?向待大家很好的可愛的老婦人年輕時(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)生在小說中是無可非議的。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髏的人便是喬治?卡爾頓，他甚至引以為自豪。喬治年輕時(shí)學(xué)過醫(yī)，然而，他后來沒當(dāng)上醫(yī)生，卻成

了一位成功的偵探小說作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，過得很不愉快。這事我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記。喬治把我領(lǐng)進(jìn)客房，說這間房間很少使

用。他讓我打開行裝后下樓吃飯。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的兩套西服中的一套掛到大衣柜里去。我打開

柜門，站在柜門前一下子驚呆了。一具骷髏懸掛在眼前，由于柜門突然打開，它也隨之輕微搖晃起來，讓我覺得它好像馬上要跳出柜門朝

我撲過來似的。我扔下西服沖下樓去告訴喬治。這是比“駭人聽聞的秘密”更加驚人的東西，這是一具真正的骷髏??！但喬治卻無動(dòng)于衷?！班?，

是它呀！他笑著說道，儼然在談?wù)撘晃焕吓笥??！澳鞘侨退沟侔?。你忘了我以前是學(xué)醫(yī)的了。”

Lesson27Nothingtosellandnothingtobuy沒有東西可賣也沒有東西可買

Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightofthisstatement,teacherslivebyselling

knowledge,philosophersbysellingwisdomandpriestsbysellingspiritualcomfort.Thoughitmaybepossibletomeasure

thevalueofmaterialgoodintermsofmoney,itisextremelydifficulttoestimatethetruevalueoftheserviceswhich

peopleperformforus.Thorearetimeswhenwewouldwillinglygiveeverythingwepossesstosaveourlives,yet

wemightgrudgepayingasurgeonahighfeeforofferinguspreciselythisservice.Theconditionsofsocietyaresuch

thatskillshavetobepaidforinthesamewaythatgoodsarepaidforatashop.Everyonehassomethingtosell.

Trampsseemtobetheonlyexceptiontothisgeneralrule.Beggarsalmostsellthemselvesashumanbeings

toarousethepityofpassers-by.Butrealtrampsarenotbeggars.Theyhavenothingtosellandrequirenothingfrom

others.Inseekingindependence,theydonotsacrificetheirhumandignity.Atrampmayaskyouformoney,buthe

willneveraskyoutofeelsorryforhim.Hehasdeliberatelychosentoleadthelifeheleadsandisfullyawareof

theconsequences.Hemayneverbesurewherethenextmealiscomingfrom,butheisfreefromthethousands

ofanxietieswhichafflictotherpeople.Hisfewmaterialpossessionsmakeitpossibleforhimtomovefromplaceto

placewithease.Byhavingtosleepintheopen,hegetsfarclosertotheworldofnaturethanmostofuseverdo.

Hemayhunt,beg,orstealoccasionallytokeephimselfalive;hemayeven,intimesofrealneed,doalittlework;

buthewillneversacrificehisfreedom.Weoftenspeakoftrampswithcontemptandputtheminthesameclass

asbeggars,buthowmanyofuscanhonestlysaythatwehavenotfeltalittleenviousoftheirsimplewayoflife

andtheirfreedomfromcare?

據(jù)說每個(gè)人都靠出售某種東西來維持生活。根據(jù)這種說法，教師靠賣知識(shí)為生，哲學(xué)家靠賣智慧為生，牧師靠賣精神安慰為生。雖然

物質(zhì)產(chǎn)品的價(jià)值可以用金錢來衡量，但要估算別人為我們?yōu)樗峁┑姆?wù)的價(jià)值卻是極其困難的。有時(shí)，我們?yōu)榱送炀壬?，愿意付出?/p>

們所占有的一切。但就在外科大夫給我們提供了這種服務(wù)后，我們卻可能為所支付的昂貴的費(fèi)用而抱怨。社會(huì)上的情況就是如此，技術(shù)是

必須付錢去買的，就像在商店里要花錢買商品一樣。人人都有東西可以出售。

在這條普遍的規(guī)律前面，好像只有流浪漢是個(gè)例外，乞丐出售的幾乎是他本人，以引起過路人的憐憫。但真正的流浪并不是乞丐。他

們既不出售任何東西，也不需要從別人那兒得到任何東西，在追求獨(dú)立自由的同時(shí)，他們并不犧牲為人的尊嚴(yán)。游浪漢可能會(huì)向你討錢，

但他從來不要你可憐他。他是故意在選擇過那種生活的，并完全清楚以這種方式生活的后果。他可能從不知道下頓飯有無著落，但他不像

有人那樣被千萬樁愁事所折磨。他幾乎沒有什么財(cái)產(chǎn)，這使他能夠輕松自如地在各地奔波。由于被迫在露天睡覺，他比我們中許多人都離

大自然近得多。為了生存，他可能會(huì)去打獵、乞討，偶爾偷上一兩回：確實(shí)需要的時(shí)候，他甚至可能干一點(diǎn)兒活，但他決不會(huì)犧牲自由。

說起流浪漢，我們常常帶有輕蔑并把他們與乞丐歸為一類。但是，我們中有多少人能夠坦率地說我們對(duì)流浪漢的簡樸生活與無憂無慮的境

況不感到有些羨慕呢？

Lesson33Adaytoremember難忘的一天

Wehaveallexperienceddayswheneverythinggoeswrong.Adaymaybeginwellenough,butsuddenlyeverything

seemstogetoutofcontrol.Whatinvariablyhappensisthatagreatnumberofthingschoosetogowrongatprecisely

thesamemoment.Itisasifasingleunimportanteventsetupachainofreactions.Letussupposethatyouare

preparingamealandkeepinganeyeonthebabyatthesametime.Thetelephoneringsandthismarkstheprelude

toanunforeseenseriesofcatastrophes.Whileyouareonthephone,thebabypullsthetable-clothoffthetable,

smashinghalfyourbestcrockeryandcuttinghimselfintheprocess.Youhanguphurriedlyandattendtobaby,crockery,

etc.Meanwhile,themealgetsburnt.Asifthiswerenotenoughtoreduceyoutotears,yourhusbandarrives,unexpectedly

bringingthreegueststodinner.

Thingscangowrongonabigscale,asanumberofpeoplerecentlydiscoveredinParramatta,asuburbofSydney.

Duringtherushhouroneeveningtwocarscollidedandbothdriversbegantoargue.Thewomanimmediatelybehind

thetwocarshappenedtobealearner.Shesuddenlygotintoapanicandstoppedhercar.Thismadethedriver

followingherbrakehard.Hiswifewassittingbesidehimholdingalargecake.Asshewasthrownforward,thecake

wentrightthroughthewindscreenandlandedontheroad.Seeingacakeflyingthroughtheair,alorry-driverwho

wasdrawingupalongsidethecar,pulledupallofasudden.Thelorrywasloadedwithemptybee」bottlesandhundreds

ofthemslidoffthebackofthevehicleandontotheroad.Thisledtoyetanotherangryargument.Meanwhile,the

trafficpiledupbehind.Ittookthepolicenearlyanhourtogetthetrafficonthemoveagain.Inthemeantime,the

lorrydriverhadtosweepuphundredsofbrokenbottles.Onlytwostraydogsbenefitedfromallthisconfusion,for

theygreedilydevouredwhatwasleftofthecake.Itwasjustoneofthosedays!

我們大家都有過事事不順心的日子。一天開始時(shí)，可能還不錯(cuò)，但突然間似乎一切都失去了控制。情況經(jīng)常是這樣的，許許多多的事

情都偏偏趕在同一時(shí)刻出問題，好像是一件無關(guān)緊要的小事引起了一連串的連鎖反應(yīng)。假設(shè)你在做飯，同時(shí)又在照看孩子。這時(shí)電話鈴響

了，它預(yù)示著一連串意想不到的災(zāi)難的來臨。就在你接電話時(shí)，孩子把桌布從桌子上扯了下來，將家中最好的陶瓷餐具半數(shù)摔碎，同時(shí)也

弄傷了他自己。你急急忙忙掛上電話，趕去照看孩子和餐具。這時(shí)，飯又燒糊了。好像這一切還不足以使你急得掉淚，你的丈夫接著回來

了，事先沒打招呼就帶來3個(gè)客人吃飯。

就像許多人最近在悉尼郊區(qū)帕拉馬塔所發(fā)現(xiàn)的那樣，有時(shí)亂子會(huì)鬧得很大。一天傍晚交通最擁擠時(shí)，一輛汽車撞上前面一輛汽車，兩

個(gè)司機(jī)爭吵起來。緊跟其后的一輛車上的司機(jī)碰巧是個(gè)初學(xué)者，她一驚之下突然把車停了下來。她這一停使得跟在后頭的司機(jī)也來了個(gè)急

剎車。司機(jī)的妻子正坐在他身邊，手里托著塊大蛋糕。她往前一沖，蛋糕從擋風(fēng)玻璃飛了出去掉在馬路上。此時(shí)，一輛卡車正好從后邊開

到那輛汽車邊上，司機(jī)看見一塊蛋糕從天而降，緊急剎車?？ㄜ嚿涎b著空啤酒瓶，成百只瓶子順勢從卡車后面滑出車外落在馬路上。這又

引起了一場唇槍舌劍的爭吵。與此同時(shí)，后面的車輛排成了長龍，警察花了將近一個(gè)小時(shí)才使車輛又開起來。在這段時(shí)間里，卡車司機(jī)不

得不清掃那幾百只破瓶子。只有兩只野狗從這一片混亂中得到了好處，它們貪婪地吃掉了剩下的蛋糕。這就是事事不順心的那么一天！

Lesson34Ahappydiscovery幸運(yùn)的發(fā)現(xiàn)

Antiqueshopsexertapeculiarfascinationonagreatmanypeople.Themoreexpensivekindofantiqueshop

whererareobjectsarebeautifullydisplayedinglasscasestokeepthemfreefromdustisusuallyaforbiddingplace.

Butnoonehastomusterupcouragetoenteralesspretentiousantiqueshop.Thereisalwayshopethatinitslabyrinth

ofmusty,dark,disorderedroomsarealraritywillbefoundamongstthepilesofassortedjunkthatlitterthefloors.

Noonediscoversararitybychance.Atrulydedicatedbargainhuntermusthavepatience,andaboveall,the

abilitytorecognizetheworthofsomethingwhenheseesit.Todothis,hemustbeatleastasknowledgeableas

thedealer.Likeascientistbentonmakingadiscovery,hemustcherishthehopsthatonedayhewillbeamply

rewarded.

Myoldfriend,FrankHalliday,isjustsuchaperson.Hehasoftendescribedtomehowhepickedupamasterpiece

foramere￡50.OneSaturdaymorning,Frankvisitedanantiqueshopinmyneighbourhood.Ashehadneverbeen

therebefore,hefoundagreatdealtointeresthim.ThemorningpassedrapidlyandFrankwasabouttoleavewhen

henoticedalargepacking-caselyingonthefloor.Thedealertoldhimthatithadjustcomein,butthathecould

notbebotheredtoopenit.Frankbeggedhimtodosoandthedealerreluctantlypriseditopen.Thecontentswere

disappointing.Apartfromaninteresting-lookingcarveddagger,theboxwasfullofcrockery,muchofitbroken.Frank

gentlyliftedthecrockeryoutoftheboxandsuddenlynoticedaminiaturepaintingatthebottomofthepacking-case.

AsitsCompositionandlineremindedhimofanItalianpaintingheknewwell,hedecidedtobuyit.Glancingatit

briefly,thedealertoldhimthatitwasworth￡50.Frankcouldhardlyconcealhisexcitement,forheknewthathehad

madearealdiscovery.ThetinypaintingprovedtobeanunknownmasterpiecebyCorreggioandwasworthhundreds

ofthousandsofpounds.

古玩店對(duì)許多人來說有一種特殊的魅力。高檔一點(diǎn)的古玩店為了防塵，把文物漂亮地陳列在玻璃柜子里，那里往往令人望而卻步。而

對(duì)不太裝腔作勢的古玩店，無論是誰都不用壯著膽子才敢往里進(jìn)。人們還常常有希望在發(fā)霉、陰暗、雜亂無章、迷宮般的店堂里，從雜亂

地?cái)[放在地面上的、一堆堆各式各樣的破爛貨里找到一件稀世珍品。

無論是誰都不會(huì)一下子就發(fā)現(xiàn)一件珍品。一個(gè)到處找便宜貨買的人必須具有耐心，而且最重要的是看到珍品時(shí)要有鑒別珍品的能力。

要做到這一點(diǎn)，他至少要像占董商一樣在行。他必須像一個(gè)專心致志進(jìn)行探索的科學(xué)家那樣抱有這樣的希望，即終有一天，他的努力會(huì)取

得豐碩的成果。

我的老朋友弗蘭克?哈利戴正是這樣一個(gè)人。他多次向我詳細(xì)講他如何只花50英鎊便買到一位名家的杰作。一個(gè)星期六的上午，弗蘭

克去了我家附近的一家古玩店。由于他從未去過那兒，結(jié)果他發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多有趣的東西。上午很快過去了，弗蘭克正準(zhǔn)備離去，突然看見地

板上放著一只體積很大的貨箱。古董商告訴他那只貨箱剛到不久，但他嫌麻煩不想把它打開。經(jīng)弗蘭克懇求，古董商才勉強(qiáng)把貨箱撬開了。

箱內(nèi)東西令人失望。除了一柄式樣別致、雕有花紋的匕首外，貨箱內(nèi)裝滿了陶器，而且大部分都已破碎。弗蘭克輕輕地把陶器拿出箱子，

突然發(fā)現(xiàn)在箱底有一幅微型畫，畫面構(gòu)圖與線條使他想起了一幅他所熟悉的意大利畫，于是他決定將畫買下來。古董商漫不經(jīng)心看了一眼

那幅畫，告訴弗蘭克那畫值50英鎊。弗蘭克幾乎無法掩飾自己興奮的心情，因?yàn)樗靼鬃约喊l(fā)現(xiàn)了一件珍品。那幅不大的畫原來是柯勒

喬的一幅未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的杰作，價(jià)值幾十萬英鎊。

Lesson38Thefirstcalender錄早的e歷

Futurehistoriansw川beinauniquepositionwhentheycometorecordthehistoryofourowntimes.Theywill

hardlyknowwhichfactstoselectfromthegreatmassofevidencethatsteadilyaccumulates.Whatismore,theywill

nothavetorelysolelyonthewrittenword.Films,videos,CDsandCD-ROMSarejustsomeofthebewilderingamount

ofinformationtheywillhave.Theywillbeable,asitwere,toseeandhearusinaction.Butthehistorianattempting

toreconstructthedistantpastisalwaysfacedwithadifficulttask.Hehastodeducewhathecanfromthefewscanty

cluesavailable.Evenseeminglyinsignificantremainscanshedinterestinglightonthehistoryofearlyman.

Uptonow,historianshaveassumedthatcalendarscameintobeingwiththeadventofagriculture,forthenman

wasfacedwitharealneedtounderstandsomethingabouttheseasons.Recentscientificevidenceseemstoindicate

thatthisassumptionisincorrect.

Historianshavelongbeenpuzzledbydots,linesandsymbolswhichhavebeenengravedonwalls,bones,and

theivorytusksofmammoths.ThenomadswhomadethesemarkingslivedbyhuntingandfishingduringthelastIce

Agewhichbeganabout35,000B.C.andendedabout10,000B.C.Bycorrelatingmarkingsmadeinvariouspartsof

theworld,historianshavebeenabletoreadthisdifficultcode.Theyhavefoundthatitisconnectedwiththepassage

ofdaysandthephasesofthemoon.Itis,infact,aprimitivetypeofcalendar.Ithaslongbeenknowsthatthe

huntingscenesdepictedonwallswerenotsimplyaformofartisticexpression.Theyhadadefinitemeaning,forthey

wereasnearasearlymancouldgettowriting.Itispossiblethatthereisadefiniterelationbetweenthesepaintings

andthemarkingsthatsometimesaccompanythem.Itseemsthatmanwasmakingarealefforttounderstandthe

seasons20,000yearsearlierthanhasbeensupposed.

未來的歷史學(xué)家在寫我們這一段歷史的時(shí)候會(huì)別具一格。對(duì)于逐漸積累起來的龐大材料，他們幾乎不知道選取哪些好，而且，也不必

完全依賴文字材料。電影、錄像、光盤和光盤驅(qū)動(dòng)器只是能為他們提供令人眼花繚亂的大量信息的幾種手段。他們能夠身臨其境般地觀看

我們做事，傾聽我們講話。但是，歷史學(xué)家企圖重現(xiàn)遙遠(yuǎn)的過去可是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)，他們必須根據(jù)現(xiàn)有的不充分的線索進(jìn)行推理。即使

看起來微不足道的遺物，也可能揭示人類早期歷史的一些有趣的內(nèi)容。

歷史學(xué)家迄今認(rèn)為日歷是隨農(nóng)業(yè)的問世而出現(xiàn)的，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)人們面臨著了解四季的實(shí)際需要，但近期科學(xué)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，好像這種假設(shè)是

不正確的。

長期以來，歷史學(xué)家一直對(duì)雕刻在墻壁上、骨頭上、古代長毛象的象牙上的點(diǎn)、線和形形色色的符號(hào)感到困惑不解。這些痕跡是游牧

人留下的，他們生活在從公元前約35,000年到公元前10,000年的冰川期的末期，以狩獵、捕魚為生。歷史學(xué)家通過把世界各地留下的

這種痕跡放在一起研究，終于弄懂了這種費(fèi)解的代碼。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)代碼與晝夜更迭和月亮圓缺有關(guān)，事實(shí)上是一種最原始的日歷。大家早就

知道，畫在墻上的狩獵圖景并不是單純的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)形式，它們有著一定的含義，因?yàn)樗鼈円呀咏糯说奈淖中问?。有時(shí)，這種圖畫與墻

壁上的刻痕共存，它們之間可能有一定的聯(lián)系?？磥砣祟愒缇椭铝τ谔剿魉募咀冞w了，比人們想像的要早20,000年。

Lesson40Who'swho真假難辨

Ithasneverbeenexplainedwhyuniversitystudentsseemtoenjoypracticaljokesmorethananyoneelse.Students

specializeinaparticulartypeofpracticaljoke:thehoax.Invitinqthefire-brigadetoputouta00n-existentfireisa

crudeformofdeceptionwhichnoself-respectingstudentwouldeverindulgein.Studentsoftencreateamusingsituations

whicharefunnytoeveryoneexceptthevictims.

Whenastudentrecentlysawtwoworkmenusingapneumaticdrilloutsidehisuniversity,heimmediatelytelephoned

thepoliceandinformedthemthattwostudentsdressedupasworkmenweretearinguptheroadwithapneumatic

drill.Assoonashehadhungup,hewentovertotheworkmenandtoldthemthatifapolicemanorderedthemto

goaway,theywerenottotakehimseriously.Headdedthatastudenthaddressedupasapolicemanandwas

playingallsortsofsillyjokesonpeople.Boththepoliceandtheworkmenweregratefultothostudentforthispiece

ofadvanceinformation.

Thestudenthidinanarchwaynearbywherehecouldwatchandheareverythingthatwenton.Sureenough,

apolicemanarrivedonthesceneandpolitelyaskedtheworkmentogoaway.Whenhereceivedaveryrudereply

fromoneoftheworkmen,hethreatenedtoremovethembyforce.Theworkmentoldhimtodoashepleasedand

thepolicemantelephonedforhelp.Shortlyafterwards,fourmorepolicemenarrivedandremonstratedwiththeworkmen.

Asthemenrefusedtostopworking,thepoliceattemptedtoseizethepneumaticdrill.Theworkmenstruggledfiercely

andoneofthemlosthistemper.Hethreatenedtocallthepolice.Atthis,thepolicepointedoutironicallythatthis

wouldhardlybenecessaryasthemenwerealreadyunderarrestPretendingtospeakseriously,oneoftheworkmen

askedifhemightmakeatelephonecallbeforebeingtakentothestation.Permissionwasgrantedandapoliceman

accompaniedhimtoapayphone.Onlywhenhesawthatthemanwasactuallytelephoningthepolicedidherealize

thattheyhadallbeenthevictimsofahoax.

誰也弄不清為什么大學(xué)生好像比任何人都更喜歡惡作劇。大學(xué)生擅長一種特殊的惡作劇一戲弄人。請(qǐng)消防隊(duì)來撲滅一場根本沒有的大

火是一種低級(jí)騙局，有自尊心的大學(xué)生決不會(huì)去做。大學(xué)生們常常做的是制造一種可笑的局面，除了受害者大家都覺得非常滑稽。

最近有個(gè)學(xué)生看見兩個(gè)工人在大學(xué)校門外用風(fēng)鉆干活，馬上打電話報(bào)告警察，說有兩個(gè)學(xué)生裝扮成工人，正在用風(fēng)鉆破壞路面。掛上

電話后，他又馬上來到工人那兒，告訴他們?nèi)粲袀€(gè)警察來讓他們走開，不要把他當(dāng)回事；還對(duì)工人說，有個(gè)學(xué)生常裝扮成警察無聊地同別

人開玩笑。警察與工人都對(duì)那個(gè)學(xué)生事先通報(bào)情況表示感謝。

那學(xué)生躲在附近一拱形門廊里，在那兒可以看見、聽到現(xiàn)場發(fā)生的一切。果然，警察來了，有禮貌地請(qǐng)工人離開此地；但其中一個(gè)工

人粗魯?shù)鼗亓藥拙?。于是警察威脅要強(qiáng)行使他們離開。工人說，悉聽尊便。警察去打電話叫人。一會(huì)兒工夫，又來了4個(gè)警察，規(guī)勸工人

離開。由于工人拒絕停下手中的活，警察想奪風(fēng)鉆。兩個(gè)工人奮力抗?fàn)?，其中一個(gè)發(fā)了火，威脅說要去叫警察。警察聽后譏諷地說，這大

可不必，因?yàn)樗麄z已被逮捕了。其中一個(gè)工人裝模作樣地問道，在被帶往警察局之前，是否可以打一個(gè)電話。警察同意了，陪他來到一個(gè)

投幣電話前。當(dāng)他看到那個(gè)工人真的是給警察掛電話，才恍然大悟，原來他們都成了一場騙局的受害者。

Lesson41IllusionsofPastoralPeace宇齡田園生活的遐想

Thequietlifeofthecountryhasneverappealedtome.Citybornandcitybred,Ihavealwaysregardedthe

countryassomethingyoulookatthroughatrainwindow,orsomethingyouoccasionallyvisitduringtheweekend.Most

ofmyfriendsliveinthecity,yettheyalwaysgointorapturesatthemerementionofthecountry.Thoughtheyextol

thevirtuesofthepeacefullife,onlyoneofthemhasevergonetoliveinthecountryandhewasbackintownwithin

sixmonths.Evenhestilllivesundertheillusionthatcountrylifeissomehowsuperiortotownlife.Heisforevertalking

aboutthefriendlypeople,thecleanatmosphere,theclosenesstonatureandthegentlepaceofliving.Nothingcan

becompared,hemaintains,withthefirstcockcrow,thetwitteringofbirdsatdawn,thesightoftherisingsunglinting

onthetreesandpastures.Thisidyllicpastoralsceneisonlypartofthepicture.Myfriendfailstomentionthelong

andfriendlesswintereveningsinfrontoftheTVvirtuallytheonlyformofentertainment.Hesaysnothingabout

thepoorselectionofgoodsintheshops,oraboutthoseunfortunatepeoplewhohavetotravelfromthecountryto

thecityeverydaytogettowork.Whypeoplearepreparedtotolerateafour-hourjoumeyeachdayforthedubious

privilegeoflivinginthecountryisbeyondme.Theycouldbesavedsomuchmiseryandexpenseiftheychoseto

liveinthecitywheretheyrightlybelong.

Ifyoucandowithoutthefewpastoralpleasuresofthecountry,youwillfindthecitycanprovideyouwiththe

bestthatlifecanoffer.Youneverhavetotravelmilestoseeyourfriends.Theyinvariablylivenearbyandarealways

availableforaninformalchatoranevening'sentertainment.Someofmyacquaintancesinthecountrycomeupto

townonceortwiceayeartovisitthetheatreasaspecialtreat.Forthemthisisamajoroperationwhichinvolves

considerableplanning.Astheplaydrawstoitsclose,theywonderwhethertheywillevercatchthatlasttrainhome.

Thecitydwellerneverexperiencesanxietiesofthissort.Thelatestexhibitions,films,orplaysareonlyashortbus

rideaway.Shopping,too,isalwaysapleasure.Thereissomuchvarietythatyouneverhavetomakedowithsecond

best.Countrypeoplerunwildwhentheygoshoppinginthecityandstaggerhomeloadedwithasmanyoftheexotic

itemsastheycancany.Noristhecitywithoutitsmomentsofbeauty.Thereissomethingcomfortingaboutthewarm

glowshedbyadvertisementsoncoldwetwinternights.Fewthingscouldbemoreimpressivethanthepeacethatdescends

ondesertedcitystreetsatweekendswhenthethousandsthattraveltoworkeverydayaretuckedawayintheirhomes

inthecountry.Ithasalwaysbeenamysterytomewhycitydwellers,whoappreciateallthesethings,obstinately

pretendthattheywouldprefertoliveinthecountry.

寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活從來沒有吸引過我。我生在城市，長在城市，總認(rèn)為鄉(xiāng)村是透過火車車窗看到的那個(gè)樣子，或偶爾周末去游玩一下的

景象。我的許多朋友都住在城市，但他們只要一提起鄉(xiāng)村，馬上就會(huì)變得欣喜若狂。盡管他們都交口稱贊寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活的種種優(yōu)點(diǎn)，但

其中只有?人真去農(nóng)村住過，而且不足6個(gè)月就回來了。即使他也仍存有幻覺，好像鄉(xiāng)村生活就是比城市生活優(yōu)越。他滔滔不絕地大談?dòng)?/p>

好的農(nóng)民，潔凈的空氣，貼近大自然的環(huán)境和悠閑的生活節(jié)奏。他堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為，凌晨雄雞第一聲啼叫，黎明時(shí)分小鳥吱喳歡叫，冉冉升起的

朝陽染紅樹木、牧場，此番美景無與倫比。但這種田園詩般的鄉(xiāng)村風(fēng)光僅僅是一個(gè)側(cè)面。我的朋友沒有提到在電視機(jī)前度過的漫長寂寞的

冬夜一電視是唯?的娛樂形式。他也不說商店貨物品種單調(diào)，以及那些每天不得不從鄉(xiāng)下趕到城里工作的不幸的人們。人們?yōu)槭裁辞樵该?/p>

天在路上奔波4個(gè)小時(shí)去換取值得懷疑的鄉(xiāng)間的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，我是無法理解的。要是他們愿意住在本來屬于他們的城市，則可以讓他們省去諸多

不便與節(jié)約大量開支。

如果你愿舍棄鄉(xiāng)下生活那一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)樂趣的話，那么你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)城市可以為你提供生活中最美好的東西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好幾英里，

因?yàn)樗麄兌甲≡诟浇汶S時(shí)可以同他們聊天或在晚上一起娛樂。我在鄉(xiāng)村有一些熟人，他們每年進(jìn)