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化身博士-8 Doctor Lanyon's letter
添加时间:2014-01-28 15:40:51 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • Dear Utterson,

    Four days ago,on the 9th of January,I received a letterby the evening post it was in the handwriting of my oldfriend Henry Jekyll.I was rather surprised,as we were not inthe habit of writing to each other, and I had had dinner withhim the night before. When I came to read the letter, I waseven more surprised. The letter said:

    Dear Lanyon,

    You are one of my oldest friends. Although we havesometimes disagreed on scientific matters,I have alwaysremained your friend. I would do anything for you, Lanyon-please will you do something for me now?

    Please, old friend,come to my house at once wth thisletter in your hand Poole,my servant, has his orders. Hewill be here with a locksmith.Break the lock of my studydoor, and then you must go in there alone.Open the glassfronted cupboard on the left-hand side and look on the fourthshelf from the top.On it you will find some pacKets of chemical powders, a small bottle and a book.Please take everything back to your house.

    If you leave as soon as you receve this letter, you shouldbe back home before midnight.At that time you will recevea visit from a man.Please give him the bottle, the powdersand the book, and I shall aways be grateful1 to you.

    Do not fail me, Lanyon. Believe me, my life and mypeace of mind depend on you.I am in fearful2 danger and only you can save me.

    Your friend,

    Henry Jekyll

    After reading this letter, I was sure that Doctor Jekyll wasmad. But a friend is a friend, and so I went at once to hishouse.Jekyll's servant had received by the same post a letter similar to mine, and he was waiting for me with the locksmith.Together we went through the old laboratory3 andclimbed the stairs to the doctor's private study.The doorwas very strong, with an excellent lock, but the locksmithknew his job.Soon the door stood open and I entered thestudy.I opened the cupboard and found the shelf.Sureenough,the powders,the bottle and the book were there,and I took them home with me.

    At home I lcoked at everything more carefully.There wereseveral packets of white powder and a bottle of red,strong-smelling liquid.The book contained nothing except alist of dates, going back several years.The last date wasnearly a year ago.Here and there the doctor had added4 afew words.The word‘donble’appeared very early in thelist, followed by the word‘Failed!!’.‘Double’appeared inthe list several more times…What was Jekyll doing?Thebook looked like a list of unsuccessful experiments.Howcould I,by taking these things to my house,save my friend's life and peace of mind?And what was the reason for thismidnight visitor? I put my old gun in my pocket, then I putevery thing in a box for my midnight visitor to collect.

    At midnight exactly there was a knock on my door. A shortman was standing5 in the shadows.

    ‘Are you from Doctor Jekyll?’I asked.He bent6 his head.

    Although I could not see his face,there was something unpleasing about him and I was glad I had a weapon.I invitedhim into the house and there, in the bright light, I took a closer look at him.

    His appearance7 was extremely8 strange. His clothes werewell made and expensive, but they were far too large forhim. He looked like a child wearing his father's clothes, butthere was nothing childlike about this man. He was short, asI have said, but very strong At the same time there was alook of sickness and horror9 about him,and his face was amask of pain, violence10 and hate.As a doctor I could pernapsfeel sorry for him;as a mau I felt only fear and dislike.

    ‘you got it?’said the stranger impatiently,reachingout his hand and touching11 my arm. His touch made my bloodrun cold.I shook off his hand.‘Come, sir,’ I said calmly.‘Sit down and introduce yourself.’

    ‘I apologize, Doctor Lanyon,’the stranger said more politely.‘Doctor Henry Jekyll sent me here on an importantmatter.I have to collect something from you.’

    I gave him the box.He took it with trembling12 hands.‘ Atlast!’he cried.He turned to me.His face was deathly pale.‘Have you a medicine glass?’he asked.

    I gave it to him.He put a little of the red liquid in the glassand added a packet of powder.A small cloud of smoke rosefrom the glass and the colour of the liquid changed from redto purple, and from purple to a watery13 green.The strangerput the glass down on the table and looked sharply14 at me.

    ‘And now,’he said,‘choose carefully.You can leave theroom now .Or you can stay and experience something new,something unknown to science. You can be rich,famous andsuccessful,if only you will believe’

    ‘Sir,’I said,trying to remain calm,‘I don't understandwhat you're trying to say,and I think you are probably madBut I will stay.’

    ‘Very well,’said the stranger.‘Now remember yourpromise. You've been an unbeliever all your life.Youlaughed at Doctor Jekyll's ideas and called them unscientificrubbish-now see for yourself!’

    He put the glass to his lips15 and drank the liquid.His wholebody shook and jumped and he almost fell.He held onto theedge of the table, breathing fast through his open mouth. AsI watched,his whole body seemed to change.He seemed tobecome taller, fatter-his face turned black and its shapebegan to change…The next moment I jumped back againstthe wall,trembling with fear and horror.There before myeyes, pale and shaken and sick, stood Henry Jekyll!

    I cannot make myself write down the things that Jekyll,with tears in his eyes, confessed16 to me that night

    Now fear and horror are my only companions.Sleep has left me and I feel that I have not long to live. As I write, Iwonder. Did I imagine it all?As a scientist I cannot believeit-but I saw it happen with my own eyes.

    I will say just one thing more,Utterson.The evil17 thing thatcame into my house that night-as Jekyll told me-wasknown by the name of Hyde, and was wanted by the policefor the murder of Sir Danvers Carew.

    Hastie Lanyon

    With fear in his heart,Mr Utterson put away Doctor Lanyon's letter, and then opened the confession18 of Doctor Henry Jekyll.



    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 grateful [ˈgreɪtfl] meZz5   第4级
    adj.感谢的,感激的,受欢迎的,表示谢意的
    参考例句:
    • If you will help us, we shall be very grateful. 如果你愿意帮助我们,我们会很感激你。
    • He closed his letter with expression of grateful thanks. 他在那封信的结尾表达了自己的感激之情。
    2 fearful [ˈfɪəfl] tksxs   第5级
    adj.惧怕的,担心的;可怕的,吓人的
    参考例句:
    • What a fearful waste of time! 简直太浪费时间了!
    • They are fearful of another business depression. 他们担心会再次发生商业萧条。
    3 laboratory [ləˈbɒrətri] P27xd   第5级
    n.实验室,化验室
    参考例句:
    • She has donated money to establish a laboratory. 她捐款成立了一个实验室。
    • Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect, but we must make do. 实验室设备是不够理想,但我们只好因陋就简。
    4 added ['ædɪd] mzJzm0   第4级
    adj.更多的,附加的,额外的
    参考例句:
    • 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。
    5 standing [ˈstændɪŋ] 2hCzgo   第8级
    n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
    参考例句:
    • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing. 地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
    • They're standing out against any change in the law. 他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
    6 bent [bent] QQ8yD   第7级
    n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的;v.(使)弯曲,屈身(bend的过去式和过去分词)
    参考例句:
    • He was fully bent upon the project. 他一心扑在这项计划上。
    • We bent over backward to help them. 我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
    7 appearance [əˈpɪərəns] 2V7zL   第4级
    n.出现,露面;容貌
    参考例句:
    • In appearance, he was a little like his father. 他看起来有点像他的父亲。
    • She was a young woman of good appearance. 她是一位年轻貌美的女子。
    8 extremely [ɪkˈstri:mli] 2tJzAz   第4级
    adv.极其,非常,极度
    参考例句:
    • The film is extremely good, I just cannot miss it. 这部电影太精彩了,我非看不可。
    • The old man was extremely difficult to get along with. 这个老人极难相与。
    9 horror [ˈhɒrə(r)] DdUzN   第5级
    n.惊骇,恐怖,惨事,极端厌恶
    参考例句:
    • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
    • The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror. 一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。
    10 violence [ˈvaɪələns] 0hewn   第4级
    n.暴力,暴虐,暴行,猛烈,强烈,强暴
    参考例句:
    • It was an absolutely senseless act of violence. 这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
    • They attacked with violence. 他们猛烈攻击。
    11 touching [ˈtʌtʃɪŋ] sg6zQ9   第7级
    adj.动人的,使人感伤的
    参考例句:
    • It was a touching sight. 这是一幅动人的景象。
    • His letter was touching. 他的信很感人。
    12 trembling ['tremblɪŋ] omTwh   第4级
    n.发抖adj.发抖的v.发抖( tremble的现在分词 );焦虑;颤动;轻轻摇晃
    参考例句:
    • My legs were trembling with fear. 我吓得双腿直发抖。
    • Daddy was trembling with anxiety as to how the talks would go. 爸爸为那些商谈的进展而焦虑不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    13 watery [ˈwɔ:təri] bU5zW   第9级
    adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的
    参考例句:
    • In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust. 他那含泪的眼睛流露出不信任的神情。
    • Her eyes became watery because of the smoke. 因为烟熏,她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。
    14 sharply [ˈʃɑ:pli] UiRziL   第6级
    adj.锐利地,急速;adv.严厉地,鲜明地
    参考例句:
    • The plane dived sharply and rose again. 飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
    • Demand for personal computers has risen sharply. 对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。
    15 lips [lɪps] f6e924595f10c1d9b68b5ae6a448f051   第4级
    abbr.logical inferences per second 每秒的逻辑推论n.嘴唇( lip的名词复数 );(容器或凹陷地方的)边缘;粗鲁无礼的话
    参考例句:
    • Her lips compressed into a thin line. 她的双唇抿成了一道缝。
    • the fullness of her lips 她丰满的双唇
    16 confessed [kən'fest] confessed   第5级
    adj. 众所周知的,公认的 动词confess的过去式和过去分词形式
    参考例句:
    • She confessed to the murder. 她供认犯了谋杀罪。
    • He confessed to a priest that he had sinned. 他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
    17 evil [ˈi:vl] KiHzS   第5级
    n.邪恶,不幸,罪恶;adj.邪恶的,不幸的,有害的,诽谤的
    参考例句:
    • 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。
    18 confession [kənˈfeʃn] 8Ygye   第10级
    n.自白,供认,承认
    参考例句:
    • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation. 她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
    • The police used torture to extort a confession from him. 警察对他用刑逼供。

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