趔趄地走

horizon

n. 地平线

reservoir

n. 水库

参考译文

我停下车，让汽车发动机冷却一下，同时查看一下地图。我本想离目的地已经不远，但周围一切对我仍很陌生。我5岁那年，父亲就带我出了国，那是18年前的事了。当时我母亲在一次事故中惨死，父亲未能很快从悲痛与孤独中恢复过来。他身边的一切都是母亲的影子不断勾起他的伤感。于是他决定移居他国。在这个新的国家里，父亲专心致志地为我们俩开创一种新的生活，慢慢地不伤心了。父亲没有再娶，因此，我在没有母亲的环境里长大成人。但我却什么都不缺，他既当父亲又当母亲。他总想将来回国看看，但却不愿长期住下去，因为他与我一样已经把根深深地扎在异国的土地上。 但是，他想看一看家乡父老乡亲，为我的母亲扫墓。就在他计划回国的前几个月，他突然身患绝症。他知道自己已奄奄一息，于是他要我答应一定单独回故乡一趟。

我下飞机后租了一辆车，并买了一本详尽的地图册。在乡间行车途中，我觉得它非常有用，但快到家了，我倒觉得它没什么用了。这倒并非是我背熟了地图，而是父亲曾详细给我讲了，在过了离故乡最近的那个小镇后，在每一个路标处可见到些什么。因此，我相信这段路对我来说会是很熟悉的。唉，实际我错了，我现在迷路了。

我看了看地图，又查了一下里程表。从小镇出来，我走了10英里。照父亲的说法，我面前应是一个山谷，有农场与村舍，还可远远望见老家村子里的教堂的尖顶。可现在我却看不出山谷，看不见农舍，也看见教学尖顶，看见只是一片湖泊。我想一定是什么地方拐错了弯儿。于是我驾车返回小镇，重新按路线行驶。结果又来到刚才那个拐弯处。奇怪的是那个湖没有在地图上标出。我感到自己就像平时作梦那样迷迷糊糊地闯进了恶梦境地。就像在恶梦里一样，见不到一个人可以帮助我。不过，我是幸运的，正当我走投无路之时，从天边出现一个骑马的人向我骑来。等他走近了，问他去老家的路。他说那村子已经没有了。我想他一定误解了我的意思，于是又说一遍村庄的名字。这次他用手指了一下那个湖。村庄已不复存在，因为已经为水所淹，山谷也被水淹没了。这不是一个天然湖泊，是一座人工修建的水库。

lesson 58

a spot of bother

一点儿小麻烦

listen to the tape then answer the question below.

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

what did the old lady find when she got home?

the old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. her shopping had tired her and her basket ad grown heavier with every step of the way home. in the life her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open. she was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks, she walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out. looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk. it was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence. her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from his basement. by this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police. then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for nay intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.

they went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints. the chaos was inconceivable. she had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over. at least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her. then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat. the inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony. there was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers. so their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed. the inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights. the old lady though the was a fussy creature, but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.

new words and expressions 生词和短语

life

n. 电梯

monstrous

adj. 极大的，可怕的

negligence

n. 粗心大意

lurk

v. 潜藏

hinder

v. 妨碍

fingerprint

n. 指纹

chaos

n. 混乱，无秩序

inconceivable

adj. 不可思议的

veritable

adj. 真正的，地地道道的

magpie

n. 喜欢收藏物品的人

prudent

adj. 谨慎的

composure

n. 镇静，沉着

intruder

n. 入侵者（尤指欲行窃者）

toss

v. 扔

discard

v. 丢

discard

v. 丢弃

constable

n. 警察

ransack

v. 洗劫

balcony

n. 阳台

fussy

adj. 大惊小怪的，小题大作的

参考译文

老妇人回到了她居住的公寓楼，心里很高兴。去商店买东西把她搞得筋疲力尽；在回家的路上，她每走一步，就感到手里的篮子又重了一点。她乘上电梯后，只想着午餐和好好休息一下。但她到自己的楼层走出电梯后，就把这两件事忘了个干净，因为她突然发现她家的大门开着。她心想明天上午一定要好好训斥那个干家务的帮手，她竟如此疏忽大意。但突然记起来了，帮手是在她出去买东西之前走的，她还记得曾用了两把钥匙把大门锁上了。她慢慢地走进前厅，立即发现所有的房门都敞开着，而她记得在出门买东西前，她按老规矩是把房门一一锁上的。她往起居室里看去，写字台边一片狼籍。事情很清楚，在她外出时，窃贼曾闯进家门。她第一个条件反射是各个房间搜寻一下窃贼，但转念一想，像她这个年纪，最好找个人一起去。于是她到地下室去找看门的人。这时她两腿累得开始发抖，于是坐了下来，喝了一杯浓茶。与此同时，看门的人给警察挂了电话。此刻老妇人也镇定了下来，准备在看门人的协助下搜寻可能仍躲藏在她房里的窍贼。

他俩搜遍这每一个房间，小心翼翼地不接触任何东西，因为他们怕妨碍警察寻找指纹。房间里