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VOA慢速英语2011--A Story for Halloween: ‘She Reaps What She Sows

时间:2011-10-31 06:14:36

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(单词翻译)

THIS IS AMERICA - A Story for Halloween: ‘She Reaps1 What She Sows

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE2: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Christopher Cruise.

This Monday night, millions of American children will celebrate Halloween. Dressed in costumes, often as princesses or action heroes, they will go to their neighbors to collect candy by yelling3 "trick or treat!"

For the past two years our Halloween treats have been scary stories written by our own Caty Weaver4. Caty has written another original story. Here is "She Reaps What She Sows."

BARBARA KLEIN: Howell Hall was a big, old house, almost two hundred years old. It was a kind of house called a Victorian. Old Victorians can be beautiful, with tall windows and detailed5 woodwork. But not Howell Hall. It looked dark and oppressive, not bright and cheerful like the other houses in the neighborhood.

Something else was strange about Howell Hall. It was not nice and straight like other houses. Honestly it looked deformed7, like some giant had taken hold of it and squeezed.

Maggie and her friend Matthew stood in the front yard and looked at the old house. The children knew they were not supposed to be there. Their parents told them it was dangerous. They told them some kid once went inside and fell through a floorboard and broke his leg.

Maggie and Matthew were not only disobeying their parents. They were also breaking the law. The house had been empty for years and no one seemed to care about it. Still, it was private property and they did not have permission to be there.

And really who in their right mind would want to go inside a haunted8 house? Yes, I know what you're thinking -- another Halloween story about a "haunted house." But Howell Hall really was haunted. All the children in the neighborhood knew the story. Something terrible happened there. That was all people in the town would say -- "something terrible."

Whatever it was, it happened long ago. Some said it was back in the eighteen hundreds. Others said it happened in the early nineteen hundreds. Either the details somehow got lost in time, or people chose to forget. Maybe whatever happened was too scary for anyone to want to remember.

What do you think happened at Howell Hall? Yes, you -- listening to my voice right now. What do you think happened? Let your imagination run wild when you go to bed tonight. And then, if your parents come in and ask why you're still awake, you can tell them: it's because of the terrible thing that happened at Howell Hall.

And you can tell them about the blood. Oh, yes, there was blood. Lots of it. That's one detail that survived all these years. And here is another detail that survived. When the police came, they discovered the blood but they found nobody -- what I mean is, they found no body. They found the owner of the house very much alive. Alive and out of his mind. They found him on the first floor in the music room, calmly playing the piano.

Maggie and Matthew and the other neighborhood children had heard all the theories about what happened at Howell Hall. But not all of the children believed the story.

MAGGIE: "OK. Let’s go."

MATTHEW: "Go home?"

MAGGIE: "Home? No! In the house. We’re here to explore the house. Are you chickening out?"

MATTHEW: "No way, Maggie. I’m not scared of a house."

Maggie and Matthew looked up again at the big, old house. What they did not see was someone in the top floor window, looking back at them.

(SOUND: Door creak)The children opened the front door and stepped inside. The hallway was covered in spider webs and dust. There were large areas of the walls where the paint had peeled away.

Maggie and Matthew took a few steps down the hall. Suddenly the front door slammed shut behind them.

(SOUND: Door)

MATTHEW: "OK How’d that happen? Don't tell me the wind shut the door, Maggie. There's no wind!"

MAGGIE: "Oh, come on, Matt. The door closed because the house isn't straight. It closed because of gravity. It wasn't a ghost."

Maggie walked back to the front door and reached for the knob9 to turn it.  The knob came off in her hand.

MAGGIE: "I guess it would be nice if we could open it, though."

Matthew looked sick.

MAGGIE: "I’m kidding.  It’s an old house. Things are broken.  We're not trapped. We can climb out a window."

(PIANO MUSIC)

Maggie and Matthew heard a piano being played somewhere in the house.

MATTHEW: "Who’s playing the piano?”

MAGGIE: “Hello, hello. Is anybody there?"

The children headed down the long hallway. The music got louder.

MAGGIE: "Matthew – there – the music room."

As soon as the kids got to the doorway10, the music stopped. A tall piano stood in the far corner of the room. All they could see was the back of it.

The children were shaking as they walked slowly toward the piano. They wanted to see who was sitting at the keyboard. But, what they saw lying on the seat was a pile of bones. Human bones.

MATTHEW: "Is this enough for you, Maggie?  Can we go now?"

MAGGIE: "Let’s get out of here. Run, Matthew, run!"

(SOUND: Door slam, kids scream)

MAGGIE: [almost crying]"Matt, who closed the door? Matthew, who closed it? I’m scared, I want to go home. Why did I come here?"

[Sound of Matthew trying to turn door knob.]

MATTHEW: "It won’t open, Maggie. We’re stuck. I can’t believe you got me into this. I should have known better when Jenny and Will refused to come."

Jenny and Will were their friends from school.

MAGGIE: "I’m sorry, Matt. Matt, I’m sorry. I thought it would be fun, especially on Halloween."

(SOUND: Moans11 )

MATTHEW: "Did you hear that? DO you hear that?"

MAGGIE: "Yes, of course, I hear it."

MATTHEW: "I think it’s above us. What does it want?"

Just then the door that had been stuck slowly opened. Matt and Maggie froze with fear. What would they see on the other side? But there was nothing there. Just the empty hallway. And a way out, they thought.

The children ran down the hall. They were headed for the front room where they could climb out a broken window. Suddenly they stopped. Some one -- or some thing – stood a few meters before them. It wore a dark, hooded12 robe. It just stood there, holding a sharpened stick of some kind and looking at the children. Or appearing to look at them. They could not really see any eyes under the hood6.

They heard a horrible noise. The figure started coming toward them.

MAGGIE AND MATTHEW: [screaming]: "NOOO! Go away, go away!"

The figure stopped and then turned and went up the staircase13.

FIGURE: "There’s just one way out, Matthew and Margaret. And one chance to make it out. You must follow me."

MAGGIE : "No, Matthew. NO! We can't go upstairs. We have to get to the window in the front room."

Maggie and Matt raced past the stairs. Somehow Matt’s foot caught Maggie’s feet and the two children fell and slid into the front room. They jumped up and started toward the window. But Maggie stopped and grabbed14 Matt’s arm.

Their path was blocked by something hanging from the ceiling. It was the body of a man with a rope around his neck.

MATTHEW: "I’m not going near that window, Maggie. No way. We’re going with that thing on the stairs."

MAGGIE: "Are you crazy? Matt, that thing wants to kill us.”

She pointed15 to the hanging body.

MAGGIE: “It probably killed him. He can’t hurt us, he’s dead."

And then the man hanging from the rope looked over at them -- and smiled a wide smile.

(SCREAMS)

GHOSTLY VOICE: "Matthew and Margaret. There’s just one way out.  Follow the Reaper16. You wanted to come, against the rules, now death awaits you little fools."

Matthew and Maggie knew there was no choice but to go upstairs.  They walked slowly up the steps.

The Reaper stood at the top. When the children got to the first landing, they looked up and saw the Reaper speeding down a long and twisting hall.  They followed as fast as they could, but the Reaper was always a few steps ahead.

The Reaper entered a room. There was a greenish light and strange sounds coming from inside. Matthew looked at Maggie.

MATTHEW: "This is it, Maggie."

They walked into the room.

CHILDREN: "SURPRISE!"

Matt and Maggie looked around.  There were Jenny and Will -- and Michael and Sophie and Derrick and their other friends from school.

And there was the Reaper. Without the hood.

MAGGIE: "Dad! DAD! How could you. I was so scared. I thought we were going to die."

MAGGIE'S DAD: "But you didn’t.  And you DID learn a lesson. And we all had a good time teaching it -- including Matthew."

MAGGIE: "Matthew! You knew about this the whole time? You were faking it?”

MATTHEW: “Yep. Took a few days to set it up.”

MAGGIE: “Then who was the dead guy downstairs?"

DEAD GUY: "That would be me."

Maggie turned around. The dead man was very much alive.

DEAD GUY: "I’m Mr. Silva. I manage this property and I'm a friend of your dad. And, you know, I think we could have a lot of fun making this place into a haunted house every Halloween."

Maggie's face was red. Her pride was a little hurt, but she was ready to forget about that. She turned to her friends.

MAGGIE: "Well, guys, what do you say? Wanna go trick-or-treating now?

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: "She Reaps What She Sows" was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Maggie was Daisy Bracken, and Jack17 Goodwin played Matthew. Doug Johnson was Maggie's dad. And Mr. Silva was Mario Ritter. You can find an MP3 and transcript18, along with links to our other Halloween stories, at voanews.cn. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 reaps 97d6f000d439aed96b61b723d78e20dc     
收割庄稼,收获( reap的第三人称单数 ); (因自己或他人所为)获得(某事物)
参考例句:
  • He alone reaps all the benefits derived from their employment. 他单独享用从对它们的使用中获得所有利益。
  • For here the saying is verified that'One sows and another reaps. 这正如俗语所说的:撒种的是一人,收割的是另一人。
2 cruise 2nhzw     
v.巡航,航游,缓慢巡行;n.海上航游
参考例句:
  • They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
  • She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。
3 yelling 3511049a0a263aa2fca072a416e83d6a     
v.叫喊,号叫,叫着说( yell的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The coach stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to the players. 教练站在场外,大声指挥运动员。
  • He let off steam by yelling at a clerk. 他对一个职员大喊大叫,借以发泄怒气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
5 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
6 hood ddwzJ     
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
7 deformed iutzwV     
adj.畸形的;变形的;丑的,破相了的
参考例句:
  • He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
  • His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。
8 haunted 5rEz4M     
adj.闹鬼的;受到折磨的;令人烦恼的v.“haunt”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • There was a haunted look in his eyes. 他眼中透露出忧虑的神色。
  • The country is haunted by the spectre of civil war. 内战仿佛一触即发,举国上下一片恐慌。
9 knob NkCyB     
n.球形把手,球形柄,旋钮,小块
参考例句:
  • There is a knob of butter on the table.桌子上有一小块黄油。
  • This knob is only held on by sellotape.这个旋钮只是用透明胶带固定住的。
10 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
11 moans 6b964b67ebe8111c1938ea8a736a79e4     
n.呻吟声( moan的名词复数 );(尤指风的)呼啸声;萧萧声v.呻吟,悲叹( moan的第三人称单数 );抱怨;发出萧萧声
参考例句:
  • They get fed up with her moans. 她的抱怨令他们感到厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • O the long, long night, with the moans of the poor wife! 啊,那可怜的妻子痛哭着度过的漫漫长夜呀! 来自互联网
12 hooded hooded     
adj.戴头巾的;有罩盖的;颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的
参考例句:
  • A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
  • Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘,用华丽的手巾包着头,突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句
13 staircase ju5wq     
n.楼梯,楼梯间
参考例句:
  • Footsteps on the staircase interrupted his train of thought.楼梯上传来脚步声,打断了他的思路。
  • I crossed the staircase landing,and entered the room she indicated.我经过一个楼梯平台,走进她说的那个房间。
14 grabbed grabbed     
v.抢先,抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指匆忙地)取;攫取;(尤指自私、贪婪地)捞取
参考例句:
  • He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
  • She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。
15 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
16 reaper UA0z4     
n.收割者,收割机
参考例句:
  • The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
  • A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。
17 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
18 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

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