标题: 英语听力：雾都孤儿 11. Nancy makes a visit听力原文 [打印本页] 作者: 问题儿童 时间: 2012-8-12 18:46 标题: 英语听力：雾都孤儿 11. Nancy makes a visit听力原文
11 Nancy makes a visit
On the evening after the Bumbles’ little business meeting，Mr
Bill Sikes，waking from a sleep，called out to ask the time．
The room he was lying in was very small and dirty．It was a
different room from the one he had occupied before the
Chertsey expedition远征，but it was in the same poor part of
London．There were so few possessions or comforts in the room
that it was clear Mr Sikes had met hard times．He himself was
thin and pale from illness，and was lying on the bed，wrapped
in an old coat．The white dog lay on the floor next to him．
Seated by the window was Nancy，repairing Sikes’old jacket．
She，too，was thin and pale．At Sikes’ voice she raised her
head from her work． ‘Not long past seven，’she said． ‘How
do you feel now，Bill？’
‘As weak as water．Help me get up，will you？’
As Nancy helped him out of bed，Sikes swore and cursed a her
clumsiness．Illness had not improved his temper．
‘You wouldn’t speak like that if you knew how kindly I’ve
nursed you these last few days，’said Nancy． ‘So many
nights，I’ve looked after you．’She sat down in a chair，
exhausted．
‘Get up！’shouted Sikes． ‘What’s wrong with you？’
But Nancy was unable to get up．Her head fell back against the
chair and she fainted．
Sikes swore and cursed again，but Nancy remained unconscious．
‘What’s the matter here？’asked a voice from the door，and
Fagin，followed by the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates，
entered the room．When They saw Nancy，They hurried to help
her．Charley rubbed her hands and the Dodger gave her a drink
from the bottle he carried．Gradually，Nancy recovered her
senses．
Sikes then turned to Fagin． ‘What are you here for？’he
asked roughly． ‘You haven’t been here for weeks-all the
time I was ill．I haven’t two coins to rub together．Why didn
’t you help me？You treat me worse than a dog！’
‘Don’t be bad-tempered，my dear，’said Fagin calmly． ‘I
haven’t forgotten you，Bill．’
‘Well，what about some money，the n？I’ve done enough work
for you recently-what about some money？’
‘I haven’t a single coin with me，my dear，’said Fagin．
‘Then go and get some-you’ve got lots at home．No，I don’t
trust you．Nancy can go back with you to your house and fetch
some money．I’ll stay here and sleep．’
After a good deal of arguing，Fagin managed to reduce the
amount Sikes was demanding from five pounds to three pounds．
He went back to his house with Nancy and the boys．
When They were inside，Fagin told the girl， ‘I’ll just go
upstairs and fetch the cash for Bill，my dear．There’s little
money in this business，Nancy，little money and no thanks- but
I’m fond of seeing the young people around me．’
Suddenly the re was a man’s voice at the front door．As soon
as Nancy heard it，she sat up in her chair．
‘That’s the man I was expecting earlier，’said Fagin．
‘Don’t worry．He’ll only be ten minutes．’
The man entered the room．It was Monks．When he saw Nancy，he
moved back，as if he had expected no one but Fagin．
‘It’s all right，only one of my young people，’Fagin said
to him． ‘Did you see him？’
‘Yes，’answered Monks．
‘Any news？’
‘Good news，’said Monks with a smile． ‘Let me have a word
with you．’He and Fagin went upstairs to talk privately．
As soon as They had left the room，Nancy took off her shoes
and crept silently up the stairs to listen in the passage-as
she had done once before．She was gone for a quarter
of an hour，then，like a ghost，she reappeared in the
downstairs room and sat down．Immediately afterwards，the two
men descended the stairs．
‘How pale you are，Nancy！’said Fagin，once Monks had left
the house． ‘What have you been doing to yourself？’
‘Nothing-except waiting here for you too long，’she
answered，turning her face away from him． ‘Now，where’s the
money for Bill？’
With a sigh for every piece of money，Fagin put the agreed
amount into her hand ．
When Nancy was out in the street again，she sat down on a door
step，and for a few minutes seemed unable to move．Then she
started running wildly through the streets，and when she was
exhausted she stopped and burst into tears．This strange mood
seemed to leave her then，and she turned and hurried back to
Sikes’ house．
At first when she returned，Sikes noticed nothing unusual
about her．Fagin，with his sharp，suspicious eyes，would have
noticed something at once．But as night came，the girl’s
nervous excitement increased and even Sikes was alarmed by the
paleness in her cheeks and the fire in her eye．
He lay in bed，drinking hot gin-and-water，and staring at her
．‘You look like a corpse尸体 that’s come back to life again
．What’s the matter with you tonight？’
‘Nothing．Why are you staring at me so hard？’
‘Either you’ve caught the fever yourself，or-no，you’re
not going to…you wouldn’t do that！’
‘Do what？’asked the girl．
‘There’s not a girl alive as loyal as you．If you weren’t
， I’d have cut your throat months ago．No，you must have the
fever coming on，that’s it．Now，give me some of my medicine
．’
Nancy quickly poured out his medicine with her back to him．He
took it，and after turning restlessly for some time，he
eventually fell into a deep，heavy sleep．
‘The drug’s taken effect at last，’Nancy said to herself
as she rose from her position beside the bed． ‘I hope I’m
not too late．’
Quickly，she put on her coat and hat，looking round fearfully
as if she expected at any moment to feel Sikes’ heavy hand
on her shoulder．She kissed the robber’s lips softly，then
ran from the house without a sound．
She hurried in the direction of west London，pushing past
people on the pavement，and running across crowded streets
without looking．
‘The woman is mad！’said the people，turning to look
ather as she rushed past them．
She came to a wealthier part of the town where the street
swere quieter，and before long she had reached her destination
．It was a family hotel in a quiet street near Hyde Park．The
clock struck eleven as she entered．
The man at the desk looked at her and asked， ‘What do you
want here？’
‘I want to see Miss Maylie．’
The man looked at the young woman with strong disapproval． ‘
She won’t want to see someone like you．Come on，get out．’
‘Let me see her-or two of you will have to throw me
out！’said Nancy violently．
The man looked at her again，and decided it would be easier to
do as she asked．He led her upstairs to Rose’s room．
Nancy entered with a brave face but with fear in her heart．
‘Please sit down and tell me why you wish to see me，’said
Rose Maylie，looking with some surprise at this poor，rough
girl from the streets．Rose’s manner was so kind and sincere
，and so unexpected，that Nancy burst into tears．
When she had recovered a little，she asked， ‘Is the door
shut？’
‘Yes，’answered Rose，a little nervously． ‘But why？’
‘Because I am about to put my life，and the lives of others
，in your hands．I am the girl that kidnapped little Oliver
and took him back to old Fagin’s house on the night Oliver
was going to the bookseller．’
‘You！’said Rose．
‘Yes，it was me．I am that wicked creature you have
heard about．I’ve no friends except thieves and robbers．
I’ve lived on the streets since I was a child，cold，hungry，
among people who are always drunk and fighting．And that’s
where I’ll die，too．’作者: 问题儿童 时间: 2012-8-12 18:47
‘I pity you！’said Rose in a broken voice．
‘But I’ll tell you why I’m here．Do you know a man called
Monks？’
‘No，’answered Rose．
‘He knows you．I heard him tell Fagin that you were at this
hotel．Maybe he’s changed his name．Soon after Oliver was
put into your house on the night of the robbery，I listened in
secret to a conversation between Monks and Fagin in the dark．
And I heard Monks say that he’d seen Oliver in the street，
and that he knew at once Oliver was the child he was looking
for，although I couldn’t hear why．Monks then agreed to pay
Fagin some money if he could find Oliver again，and more money
if he could turn the poor boy into a thief．’
‘Why？’asked Rose．
‘He saw my shadow on the wall as I listened，and I had to
escape．I didn’t see him again until last night．’
‘And what happened then？’
‘I listened at the door again．And I heard Monks say this：
“So the only proof of the boy’s identity is at the bottom of
the river，and the old woman who received it is dead．”He and
Fagin laughed．Then Monks said that he had all Oliver’ s
money safely now，but how funny it would be if the boy went to
prison for stealing，after his father’s unfair will．’
‘What is all this？’asked Rose．
‘It’s the truth，lady．Then Monks said he couldn’t have
Oliver killed because suspicion would point to himself．But he
'd try for the rest of his life to harm the boy if he could．
Then Monks laughed again about the money Oliver should have
got from his father’s will．“My young brother Oliver will
never see that money！”he said．’
‘His brother！’exclaimed Rose．
‘Those were his words，’said Nancy，looking round uneasily
，as if she still expected to see Sikes． ‘And then he talked
about how amazed you would be if you knew who Oliver really
was．
‘And this man was serious？’
‘His voice was full of anger and hatred．I know many people
who do worse things，butI’d rather listen to all of them than
to this man Monks．But I must get back now，or people will
wonder where I’ve been．’
‘Back！How can you go back to such a life？’asked Rose． ‘
You’ve told me all this．Now I can help you by letting you
stay somewhere safe．’
‘No．Perhaps it’s hard for you to believe，but there’s one
man，the most dangerous of them all，that I can never leave．
You’re the first person who’s ever spoken to me so kindly-
but it’s too late．’
‘It’s never too late！’
‘It is！’cried the girl． ‘I can’t leave him now．And if
I tell anyone about this man，he’ll die．’
‘But how can I find you again，when we want to investigate
this mystery further？’
‘I’ll meet you secretly，if you promise not to watch or
follow me，’said Nancy． ‘And if you promise just one more
thing-not to do anything to hurt the man I can never leave．’
‘I promise．’
‘Every Sunday night，between eleven and twelve，I will walk
on London Bridge if I am alive．Meet me there if you want more
information．’
As Nancy said these words，she left the room and ran down the
stairs and out into the street once more．Rose was left alone
，her thoughts in great confusion，as she wondered desperately
what to do and who to ask for advice．
The next morning，Oliver，who had been out walking，ran in to
Rose’s room at the hotel．He was breathless with excitement．
‘I can’t believe what I’ve seen！Now you’ll all know that
I’ve told you the truth！’he shouted．
‘I know you’ve always told us the truth-but what are you
talking about？’asked Rose．
I’ve seen Mr Brown low ，the kind man who was so good to me．
‘Where？’
‘Going into a house，’said Oliver，crying with joy．
‘I’ve got the address here．’
‘Quick，’said Rose． ‘Call a coach．I’ll take you there
immediately．’
The idea came to Rose that perhaps Mr Brown low would advise
her．She had been afraid to tell Nancy’s story to Dr Losberne
，since the good doctor was very excitable and often acted
with more enthusiasm than wisdom．
In less than five minutes They were in the coach on their way
to the address．Rose went in first to talk to Mr Brown low
alone．She was taken into his study，and polite greetings were
exchanged．When they were seated again，Rose said，
‘This will surprise you very much，but you were once very
kind to a dear friend of mine，and I’m sure you will be
interested to hear news of him．’
‘Really？May I ask you his name？’
‘Oliver Twist．’
Mr Brown low said nothing for a few seconds，but simply stared
at Rose．Finally he moved his chair nearer to her and said
with great feeling， ‘I once thought that he was a liar and a
thief．If you have evidence to show me I was wrong，please
tell me at once．’
‘I know him to be a child with a warm heart，’said Rose．
‘And despite the hardships of his life，he’s a better
person than almost anyone I know．’
‘I looked for him everywhere，’said Mr Brown low ，‘but I
could never find him．I could never quite believe that he
really did intend to rob me．’
Rose told him everything that had happened to Oliver since
then．She finished by saying， ‘And his only sorrow，for some
months，has been that he could not find you，his former friend
．’
‘Thank God！’said Mr Brown low ．‘This is great happiness
to me，great happiness．But why haven’t you brought him with
you，Miss Maylie？’
‘He’s waiting in a coach at the door，’replied Rose．
Mr Brown low hurried out of the room，down the stairs and into
the coach without another word．In a minute he had returned
with Oliver． ‘How well he looks！’he said．‘New clothes，
the same sweet face，but not so pale；the same eyes，but not
so sad．’
They talked with great joy for some time．Then Mr Brown low
sent for Mrs Bed win，the old housekeeper．She came in quietly
and waited for her orders．
‘You get blinder every day，’said Mr Brown low impatiently
．
‘People’s eyes，at my time of life，don’t improve with age
，’replied the old lady．
‘Then put on your glasses．’
As she searched for them in her pocket，Oliver could not wait
any longer and ran into her arms．
‘Dear God！’she said． ‘It’s my innocent boy！’
‘My dear old nurse！’cried Oliver．
‘I knew he would come back，’said the old lady，holding him
in her arms． ‘How well he’s dressed-how well he looks again
！’She laughed and cried at the same time，and could not let
Oliver go．
While Oliver talked to Mrs Bed win，Rose asked Mr Brown low
if she could speak to him privately．He led her in to another
room，and there listened，with a good deal of amazement，to
Rose’s account of her extraordinary conversation with Nancy．
Between them，They decided that Mrs Maylie and Dr Losberne
should be told，and that Mr Brown low would come to the hotel
that evening for a discussion．For the moment，nothing would
be said to Oliver himself．
That evening at the hotel Oliver’s four friends met as
arranged．Dr Losberne，of course，was full of immediate plans
to rush round London arresting all the gang and hanging them
at once．Mr Brown low ，fortunately，was able to persuade him
to abandon this wild idea．
‘Then what’s to be done？’cried the doctor impatiently．
‘First，’said Mr Brown low calmly，‘we must discover who
Oliver's parents were.Then if this story is true,we must
regain the inheritance that should have been his．’
‘Yes，yes，’said the doctor，nodding in agreement．‘But
how shall we achieve these aims？’
‘We must find this man Monks，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘
Nancy will not betray the man who is special to her，but she
will surely agree to tell us how or where to find Monks．Then
we must find a way to force Monks to talk．We must be both
cautious and clever．After all，we have no proof against him，
and if we cannot make him talk，this mystery will never be
solved．But we’ll have to wait five days until Sunday before
we can meet Nancy on London Bridge．Until then，we can do
