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VOA慢速英语2012 THIS IS AMERICA - A Story for Halloween: 'Innocence Burned'

时间:2012-10-30 09:00:01

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THIS IS AMERICA - A Story for Halloween: 'Innocence1 Burned'

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in Special English.

On Halloween, children dress in costumes and collect candy from their neighbors. At each house the little zombies, princesses and superheroes yell "trick or treat!" Halloween, October thirty-first, is also a time for scary stories. For the fourth year in a row, our own Caty Weaver2 has written an original horror story. It's called "Innocence Burned." Here is Christopher Cruise.

It was raining again. It always seemed to be raining in Sephul County. The people rarely enjoyed a blue sky. The sky was usually gray, like ash. And it was a big sky that hung like a huge ash-colored dome3 over the open prairie land.

Carrie Thead was walking home. Her husband, Caleb, and two sons, Sam and Stuart, were waiting for her. She was passing the ruins of a chapel4. The building had burned a long time ago -- a long, long time ago, back in the seventeen hundreds. What remained of it now leaned sideways. The angle was such that it made you dizzy to look at. It bothered her that the county government just left it there – dark and hollow. A shadow of a holy place.

Carrie shivered and walked even faster. For some reason it always felt a little hard to breathe when she passed the blackened ruins of the chapel. It was like the structure had sucked in all the air around it.

Six people had died in the fire. Six others were badly burned but survived. Another six escaped without a single injury. But they suffered in a different way. A heavy wooden beam had fallen in their way. They could not help their friends and loved ones escape the fire. They were an audience to horror.

And it stayed with them the rest of their lives. None of the six "untouched" survivors5 ever spoke6 again. The tragedy had struck them mute.

A few people had seen the bolt of lightning hit the chapel. But there was no storm, no thunder. The lightning came from out of a blue sky.

So people blamed the fire on a fifteen-year-old girl named Charlotte Reed. Two years earlier, her little village of Lenfer had accused her of witchery. Her parents disowned her. Her friends turned against her. The village expelled her in every way but physically7. She began to walk through the streets, talking to herself in a language no one recognized. Her eyes always turned to the ground.

The eighteen villagers had gathered in the chapel for a community meeting that day. They had to decide how to deal with the Charlotte Reed. They had just voted in favor of executing the “little witch” by fire when the unexpected lightning struck.

Carrie turned to look back at the chapel. A shadow moved inside the ruins. Carrie slowly stepped forward for a better look. "No one goes in there," she thought.

Then she heard a quiet voice say, "We must attend to the condemned9."

Carrie spun10 around on her heels. "Who's there?"

The sky opened suddenly and rain poured down. "What in the world? Where'd this storm come from?"

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning. It made the hairs stand up on Carrie's arms. "Way too close, I could be killed out here. I gotta' get inside."

She ran as fast as she could toward the chapel.

Carrie went into the broken building. She moved toward the back where there was still some roof that could protect her from the storm.

But, halfway11 to the back, she stopped. She noticed some shapes in the darkness. It looked like a small group of people crouched12 low to the ground. She could see them. She could also see through them. Carrie screamed.

Behind her, she sensed a presence. She could not look back. She could not move forward. She could not speak. She could not even breathe.

Suddenly she was thrown through the air. She landed on her back meters from the chapel. Her head hit the ground. She was knocked unconscious.

“Mom…Mom? Can you talk to me? Mom!”

Carrie heard Sam's voice but couldn't see him or answer. "Where am I?" she thought. Her head hurt. Her mind was filled with visions of fire and people crowded together. All she could feel was fear. 

"What's wrong with her, Stu? Why can't she answer? Where is the ambulance?"

"I don't know. I'm sure they're on their way. Don't worry. She'll be…she’ll be fine."

"But where did the blisters13 come from Stuart? Look at her feet. What is happening?"

Sam was crying. Stuart grabbed hold of his little brother and held him close.

Carrie wanted to cry. All she wanted to do was speak to her boys. To see them.

She could hear a siren in the distance -- emergency help was on the way.

But then Carrie felt something grab her under her arms. She felt like she was being dragged along the ground. Then other hands picked up her legs and she felt herself being carried away, away from her boys.

She had no idea where she was being taken. She again tried to call out. She struggled to kick whoever was carrying her, but her hands and feet were tied with ropes. She heard whispers.

"Don't fight…This is the path…They are waiting…Release child…free yourself."

Then a horrible, screeching14 laugh filled the air. "Give her to me," the voice said. "I condemn8 her soul to the fire."

Carrie's eyes opened. Her hands and feet were tied. Flames leapt up near her. "What's happening to me?" she screamed. She saw a crowd gathered around the fire.

"You are condemned to the fire for the fire you began. The fire will cleanse15 you and set you free. You must die for those you murdered."

The voices fell into a moaning and groaning16 call.

"Murder...throw her to the fire…witch…burn the witch!"

"I'm Carrie, I'm Carrie! I've never hurt anyone. Please, I've never done anything. Put out the fire. Help me!"

The emergency medical technicians arrived as Sam and Stuart were bent17 over their mother. One of the EMTs asked Stuart:

"What happened?"

"We don't know. She didn't come home. We came looking for her. We found her here, on the chapel field."

Sam spoke up. "It doesn't make sense. She hates this place. It spooks her. And why are her clothes and hair wet? Everything else is dry." He patted the grass around his mother. "And look at her feet."

The EMT began chest compressions on Carrie to try to bring her back to life. Then he shouted to the boys.

"Check the chapel. See if you can find out what happened in there. Maybe it'll help me know what to do."

The two brothers entered the building slowly and quietly. "What is that smell, Stu? It smells like a bonfire.”

"Something horrible happened here, Sam. Something shameful18. Can you feel it?"

As he spoke the remaining chapel walls began to creak. The building shook. "Hurry, Stu, let's get out of here!"

They got out of the chapel just before it collapsed19. Every piece of it shattered as if it had been crushed. The dust blew up toward the sky. And the sun came out from behind the clouds.

The boys heard their mother coughing. They ran to her. The two EMTs smiled. "She'll be OK, guys. She's breathing now. It looks like she was overcome by smoke."

But the other EMT look puzzled. "Isn’t it weird20, though, that this happened here?" he said.

"What do you mean? Why is it weird?"

"Don't you kids know where we are? This is the place where there was a horrible fire hundreds of years ago. Some people blamed a teenager named Charlotte Reed for starting it. They said she caused a bolt of lightning to strike the chapel. So to punish her they threw her into the burning building. Can you imagine that?"

Stuart listened as he leaned over his mother. She was moving her lips but there was no sound. "What happened, Mommy? What happened to you?"

Carrie opened her eyes and looked at her son's face. Her eyes had a wild look of fear. She tried to smile.

“I’m glad that chapel’s gone.” 

And she never spoke again.

Caty Weaver wrote and produced our Halloween story, "Innocence Burned." Carrie was Laurel Bowman. Seth Goodwin played Sam. Stuart was Chris Grace. Additional voicing came from Daisy Bracken, Our narrator was Christopher Cruise.

I’m June Simms. You can find an MP3 and transcript21 of our story, along with links to our other Halloween stories, at www.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 innocence ZbizC     
n.无罪;天真;无害
参考例句:
  • There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
  • The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
2 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。
3 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
4 chapel UXNzg     
n.小教堂,殡仪馆
参考例句:
  • The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
  • She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午,她在小教堂的演出,可以说是登峰造极。
5 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • 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。
7 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
8 condemn zpxzp     
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑
参考例句:
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
  • We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。
9 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
10 spun kvjwT     
v.纺,杜撰,急转身
参考例句:
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
11 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
12 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
13 blisters 8df7f04e28aff1a621b60569ee816a0f     
n.水疱( blister的名词复数 );水肿;气泡
参考例句:
  • My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 screeching 8bf34b298a2d512e9b6787a29dc6c5f0     
v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 );发出粗而刺耳的声音;高叫
参考例句:
  • Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
  • the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景
15 cleanse 7VoyT     
vt.使清洁,使纯洁,清洗
参考例句:
  • Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
  • Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。
16 groaning groaning     
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
  • The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着,无人救助。
17 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
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。
18 shameful DzzwR     
adj.可耻的,不道德的
参考例句:
  • It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己,真不害臊。
  • We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。
19 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
20 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
21 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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