'The Black Cat,' by Edgar Allan Poe
时间：2018-12-08 作者：英语课 分类：2018年VOA慢速英语(四)月
Tomorrow I die. Tomorrow I die, and today I want to tell the world what happened and thus perhaps free my soul from the horrible 1 weight which lies upon it.
But listen! Listen, and you shall hear how I have been destroyed.
When I was a child, I had a natural goodness 2 of soul which led me to love animals — all kinds of animals, but especially those animals we call pets, animals which have learned 3 to live with men and share their homes with them. There is something in the love of these animals which speaks directly 4 to the heart of the man who has learned from experience how uncertain and changeable 5 is the love of other men.
I was quite young when I married. You will understand the joy I felt to find that my wife shared with me my love for animals. Quickly she got for us several pets of the most likeable kind. We had birds, some goldfish, a fine dog, and a cat.
The cat was a beautiful animal, of unusually large size, and entirely 6 black. I named the cat Pluto 7, and it was the pet I liked best. I alone fed it, and it followed me all around the house. It was even with difficulty 8 that I stopped it from following me through the streets.
Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which, however, my own character became greatly changed. I began to drink too much wine and other strong drinks.
As the days passed I became less loving in my manner; I became quick to anger; I forgot how to smile and laugh. My wife — yes, and my pets, too, all except the cat — were made to feel the change in my character.
One night I came home quite late from the inn 9, where I now spent more and more time drinking. Walking with uncertain step, I made my way with effort into the house. As I entered I saw — or thought I saw — that Pluto, the cat, was trying to stay out of my way, to avoid me. This action, by an animal which I had thought still loved me, made me angry beyond reason. My soul seemed to fly from my body. I took a small knife out of my coat and opened it. Then I took the poor animal by the neck and with one quick movement I cut out one of its fear-filled eyes!
Slowly the cat got well. The hole where its eye had been was not a pretty thing to look at, it is true; but the cat no longer appeared to suffer any pain. As might be expected, however, it ran from me in fear whenever I came near. Why should it not run? Yet this did not fail to anger me. I felt growing inside myself a new feeling. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself doing wrong, some evil 10 thing for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Are not we humans at all times pushed, ever driven in some unknown way to break the law just because we understand it to be the law?
One day, in cold blood, I tied a strong rope around the cat’s neck, and taking it down into the cellar 12 under the house I hung it from one of the wood beams 13 above my head. I hung it there until it was dead. I hung it there with tears in my eyes, I hung it because I knew it had loved me, because I felt it had given me no reason to hurt it, because I knew that my doing so was a wrong so great, a sin 14 so deadly that it would place my soul forever outside the reach of the love of God!
That same night, as I lay sleeping, I heard through my open window the cries of our neighbors. I jumped from my bed and found that the entire house was filled with fire. It was only with great difficulty that my wife and I escaped. And when we were out of the house, all we could do was stand and watch it burn to the ground. I thought of the cat as I watched it burn, the cat whose dead body I had left hanging in the cellar. It seemed almost that the cat had in some mysterious way caused the house to burn so that it could make me pay for my evil act, so that it could take revenge 15 upon me.
Months went by, and I could not drive the thought of the cat out of my mind. One night I sat in the inn, drinking as usual. In the corner I saw a dark object that I had not seen before. I went over to see what it could be. It was a cat, a cat almost exactly like Pluto. I touched it with my hand and petted it, passing my hand softly 16 along its back. The cat rose and pushed its back against my hand.
Suddenly, I realized that I wanted the cat. I offered to buy it from the innkeeper, but he claimed he had never seen the animal before. As I left the inn, it followed me, and I allowed it to do so. It soon became a pet of both my wife and myself. The morning after I brought it home, however, I discovered that this cat, like Pluto, had only one eye.
How was it possible that I had not noticed this the night before? This fact only made my wife love the cat more. But I myself found a feeling of dislike growing in me. My growing dislike of the animal only seemed to increase its love for me. It followed me, followed me everywhere, always. When I sat, it lay down under my chair. When I stood up it got between my feet and nearly made me fall. Wherever I went, it was always there. At night, I dreamed of it. And I began to hate that cat!
One day my wife called to me from the cellar of the old building where we were now forced to live. As I went down the stairs, the cat, following me as always, ran under my feet and nearly threw me down.
In sudden 17 anger, I took a knife and struck wildly at the cat. Quickly my wife put out her hand and stopped my arm. This only increased my anger and, without thinking, I turned and put the knife’s point deep into her heart! She fell to the floor and died without a sound.
I spent a few moments looking for the cat, but it was gone. And I had other things to do, for I knew I must do something with the body, and quickly. Suddenly, I noted 18 a place in the wall of the cellar where stones had been added 19 to the wall to cover an old fireplace 20 which was no longer wanted.
The walls were not very strongly built, and I found I could easily take down those stones. Behind them there was, as I knew there must be, a hole just big enough to hold the body. With much effort I put the body in and carefully put the stones back in their place. I was pleased to see that it was quite impossible for anyone to know that a single stone had been moved.
Days passed. Still there was no cat. A few people came and asked about my wife, but I answered them easily. Then one day several officers of the police came. Certain that they could find nothing, I asked them in and went with them as they searched.
Finally, they searched the cellar from end to end. I watched them quietly, and, as I expected, they noticed nothing. But as they started up the stairs again, I felt myself driven by some unknown inner 21 force to let them know, to make them know, that I had won the battle.
“The walls of this building,” I said, “are very strongly built; it is a fine old house.” And as I spoke 22, I struck with my stick that very place in the wall behind which was the body of my wife. Immediately I felt a cold feeling up and down my back as we heard coming out of the wall itself a horrible cry.
For one short moment, the officers stood looking at each other. Then quickly they began to pick at the stones, and in a short time they saw before them the body of my wife, black with dried blood and smelling of decay 23. On the body’s head, its one eye filled with fire, its wide open mouth the color of blood, sat the cat, crying out its revenge!
Words in This Story
uncertain - adj. not exactly known 11 or decided 24
“in cold blood” - expression. without feeling or with cruel intent 25
wine – n. an alcoholic 26 drink made from the liquid part that can be squeezed 27 out of a small, round fruit that is green, dark red, or purplish-black in color
inn – n. a house usually in the country where people can eat, drink and rent a room to sleep in
cellar – n. the part of a building that is entirely or partly below the ground
sin – n. an action that is considered to be wrong according 28 to religious 29 or moral 30 law
revenge – n. the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you
pet(ted) – v. to touch an animal or person with your hand in a loving or friendly way
innkeeper – n. a person who owns or operates an inn
decay – n. the process or result of being slowly destroyed by natural processes
- This is a horrible monster.这是一个可怕的怪物。
- That is a horrible accident.那是一次可怕的事故。
- Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
- Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！
- He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
- In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。
- I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
- She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。
- The weather here is quite changeable.这儿的天气变化无常。
- He has a changeable character.他性格多变。
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
- Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
- Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。
- If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
- A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。
- I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
- We stayed in a small village inn,right off the map.我们住在一家偏僻的乡村小店里。
- We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
- Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。
- He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
- He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。
- He took a bottle of wine from the cellar.他从酒窖里拿出一瓶酒。
- The little girl hid away in the cellar.小姑娘藏在地下室里。
- The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
- In front were five rooms with painted beams and carved pillars. 正面五间上房，皆是画梁雕栋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- It's a sin to waste food.浪费食品是一种罪过。
- It's a sin to be indoors on holiday.假期中待在家里实在是罪过。
- She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
- There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。
- He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
- She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。
- All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
- The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
- The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。
- The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
- I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。
- The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
- Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- The vegetables have begun to decay.那些蔬菜已开始腐烂。
- Our powers decay in old age.我们的体力在老年时就衰退。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- He was intent on the job he was doing.他专心致志于正在做的工作。
- His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
- The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
- Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。
- freshly squeezed orange juice 鲜榨橙汁
- They squeezed too many people into the small room. 他们把太多的人塞进这间小房间里。
- According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
- We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。