(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
BARBARA KLEIN: Now the Special English program AMERICAN STORIES.
(MUSIC)
Our story today is called "The Purloined Letter." It was written by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is generally known for his horror stories. This is the third of three stories he wrote about Auguste Dupin and how he solves crimes. The story is about a stolen letter. It first appeared in eighteen forty-four in a yearly magazine. It was reprinted in many publications, newspapers and books. This is one of Poe's stories that influenced the development of the modern detective story. Here is Shep O'Neal with "The Purloined Letter."
(MUSIC)
SHEP O'NEAL: One evening in Paris, during the autumn of eighteen forty-five, I went to visit a friend, Auguste Dupin. We were smoking our pipes and talking when the door of his apartment opened. Mister Germont, the head of the Paris police force, came into the room.
Short Story: 'The Purloined Letter' by Edgar Allan Poe
poemuseum.org
Edmund Quinn's sculpture of Edgar Allan Poe is on display at The Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia.
"I came to ask your advice," Germont said to my friend Dupin. "I am trying to solve a very important case. It is also a very simple case, so I really need your help. But I thought you would like to hear about it, because it is so strange.
"My men and I have worked on this case for three months," Germont said. "It is a very simple case of robbery. But we still cannot solve it."
Dupin took the pipe out of his mouth. "Perhaps the mystery is too simple," he said.
Germont began to laugh. "Too simple?" he said. "Who ever heard of such a thing?"
I looked at Germont. "Why don't you tell us the problem?" I said.
Germont stopped laughing and sat down.
"All right," he said. "But you must never tell anyone I told you this."
"The wife of a very important person needs help. I cannot tell you her name, because her husband is a powerful man in the French government. Let us just call her Madame X. Three months ago, someone stole a letter from Madame X. She is offering a large amount of money to anyone who can return the letter to her.
"We know that her husband's political enemy, Mister D'Arcy, stole the letter. We also know it is somewhere in his apartment. D'Arcy plans to use the letter to embarrass Madame X's husband and destroy his political power.
"As you know, I have keys which can open any lock in Paris. For the last three months, my men and I have spent every evening looking for the letter in his apartment. But we cannot find it."
Dupin stopped smoking. "Tell me how you looked for it," he said. Germont moved forward in his chair.
"We took our time," he said. "First, we examined the furniture in every room. We opened all the drawers. We looked under the rugs. We searched behind all the paintings on the walls.
"We opened every book. We removed the boards of the floor. We even took the tops off the tables to see if he had hidden the letter in the table legs. But we cannot find it. What do you advise me to do?"
Dupin puffed on his pipe. "What does the letter look like?" he asked.
"It is in a white envelope with a red stamp," Germont said. "The address is written in large black letters."
Dupin puffed on his pipe again. "I advise you to go back and search the apartment again," he said.
(MUSIC)
About one month later, Germont came back to see us.
"I followed your advice," he said. "But I still have not found the letter."
Dupin smiled. "I knew you would not find it," he said. Germont became very red in the face. "Then why did you make me search the apartment again?" he shouted.
"My dear Germont," Dupin said. "Let me tell you a little story. Do you remember the famous doctor, Louis Abernathy?"
"No!" Germont shouted. "Get to the point, Dupin!"
"Of course! Of course," Dupin said. "Once, a rich old man met Abernathy at a party. The old man was not feeling very well. He decided he would get a medical opinion from the doctor without paying for it. So he described his problems to Abernathy. 'Now doctor,' the old man said, 'suppose you had a patient like that. What would you tell him to take?'"
"'Oh, that is quite simple,' said Abernathy. 'I would tell him to take my advice.'"
Germont looked embarrassed. "Look here, Dupin. I am perfectly willing to pay for advice."
Dupin smiled at Germont. "How much money did you say the reward was?" he asked. Germont sighed. "I do not want to tell you the exact amount. But I would give fifty thousand francs to the person who helps me find that letter."
"In that case," Dupin said, "take out your checkbook and write me a check for fifty thousand francs. When you have signed the check, I will give you the letter."
Germont looked at Dupin with his mouth open. His eyes seemed to jump out of his head. Then he took out his checkbook and pen, and wrote a check for fifty thousand francs. He gave it to Dupin.
My friend examined the check carefully and put it in his pocket. Then he unlocked a drawer of his desk, took out the letter, and gave it to Germont.
The policeman's hands shook as he opened the letter. He read it quickly. Then he put it in his pocket and ran out of the room without saying a word.
"Dupin!" I said, as I turned to my friend. "How did you solve the mystery?"
"It was simple, my friend," he said. "Germont and his policemen could not find the letter, because they did not try to understand the mind of the man who stole it. Instead, they looked for the letter where they would have hidden it.
"Mister D'Arcy is not a policeman. He is, however, very intelligent. He knew the police would search his apartment. He also knew how police think. So, he did not hide the letter where he knew they would look for it.
"Do you remember how Germont laughed when I said the mystery was difficult for him to solve because it was so simple?"
Dupin filled his pipe with tobacco and lit it. "Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the police could not find the letter because D'Arcy had not hidden it at all.
"So I went to visit D'Arcy in his apartment. I took a pair of dark green eyeglasses with me. I explained to him that I was having trouble with my eyes and needed to wear the dark glasses at all times. He believed me. The glasses permitted me to look around the apartment while I seemed only to be talking to him.
"I paid special attention to a large desk where there were a lot of papers and books. However, I saw nothing suspicious there. After a few minutes, however, I noticed a small shelf over the fireplace. A few postcards and a letter were lying on the shelf. The letter looked very old and dirty.
"As soon as I saw this letter, I decided it must be the one I was looking for. It must be, even though it was completely different from the one Germont had described.
"This letter had a large green stamp on it. The address was written in small letters in blue ink. I memorized every detail of the letter while I talked to D'Arcy. Then when he was not looking, I dropped one of my gloves on the floor under my chair.
"The next morning, I stopped at his apartment to look for my glove. While we were talking, we heard people shouting in the street. D'Arcy went to the window and looked out. Quickly, I stepped to the shelf and put the letter in my pocket. Then I replaced it with a letter that looked exactly like it, which I had taken with me. I had made it the night before.
"The trouble in the street was caused by a man who had almost been run over by a horse and carriage. He was not hurt. And soon the crowd of people went away. When it was over, D'Arcy came away from the window. I said good-bye and left.
"The man who almost had an accident was one of my servants. I had paid him to create the incident."
Dupin stopped talking to light his pipe. I did not understand. "But, Dupin," I said, "why did you go to the trouble of replacing the letter? Why not just take it and leave?"
Dupin smiled. "D'Arcy is a dangerous man," he said. "And he has many loyal servants. If I had taken the letter, I might never have left his apartment alive."
(MUSIC)
BARBARA KLEIN: "The Purloined Letter" was written by Edgar Allan Poe and adapted into Special English by Dona De Sanctis. The storyteller was Shep O'Neal. The producer was Lawan Davis.
重点解析
1.write about 写到
He wrote about the intimate details of his family life
他写到了关于他家庭生活的一些不为人知的细节。
2.look for 寻找
Have you found the book you have been looking for?
你找的书找着了吗？
3.pay for 支付
She feels it's a small price to pay for the pleasure of living in this delightful house.
她觉得，和住在这套令人愉快的房子里的那种快乐相比，这点代价不算大。
4.The trouble in the street was caused by a man who had almost been run over by a horse and carriage. He was not hurt.
街上的骚乱是由一个男人引起的，那个男人差点被一匹马和一辆马车碾过去。但他实际毫发未损。
run over 撞到
You can always run him over and make it look like an accident.
你总可以选择撞死他，并使之看起来像一起车祸。
5.When it was over, D'Arcy came away from the window.
当骚乱结束后，D先生从窗边回来。
came away from 离开
The light switch came away from the wall.
电灯开关从墙上掉下来了。
6."Dupin!" I said, as I turned to my friend. "How did you solve the mystery?"
“迪潘！”我转向我的朋友，问道：“你是如何解开这个谜的？”
turn to 转向
There was no one to turn to, no one to tell.
没人可以求助，没人可以诉说。
参考译文
巴巴拉·克莱因：现在为您演播，美国之音慢速英语节目，美国故事。
我们今天的故事叫做《失窃的信》，作者埃德加·爱伦·坡。
坡以恐怖故事著称。
这是他以虚构的奥古斯特·迪潘为主人公所著的三部侦探故事的第三部，该系列作品描述了奥古斯特·迪潘的断案经过。
这个故事关于一封失窃的信。它首次在1844年的一本年度杂志上发表。
后来众多出版物、报纸及书籍将其再版印刷。
坡的很多作品都对现代侦探小说的发展产生了影响，其中也包括这一部。
《失窃的信》，演播谢普·奥尼尔。
谢普·奥尼尔：1845年的巴黎，在一个秋风萧瑟的傍晚，我拜访了朋友奥古斯特·迪潘。我们一边抽着烟斗，一边闲聊，这时有人敲开了他寓所的门，是巴黎警察局局长G先生。
“我来向你讨点点子，”G先生对我那朋友迪潘说道。“我手头有一件非常重要的案子。倒也是件非常简单的案子，所以真的需要你的帮助。但我想你愿意听听，因为这件案子真的非常古怪。
“这个案子，我和我那帮伙计已经干了三个月了，” G先生说。这是个非常简单的抢劫案。但我们仍然没能把它破了。”
迪潘将烟斗从嘴里抽出来。“或许这个谜团并不复杂。”他说。
我们的客人发自心底地放声大笑。“并不复杂？”他说。“有谁听说过这等事？”
我看着G先生，问道：“你手上究竟是宗什么案子？”
G先生收起了笑容，在椅子上坐定。
说道：“哎，我给你说说，但我可得提醒你这事儿需要绝对保密。”
一位重要人物的夫人遇到了麻烦。
她的名字，恕我无可奉告，因为她丈夫是法国政府里的一个要人。
我们就叫她X夫人吧。三个月前，有人偷了她一封信。
如果有人能将信归还给她，她将重金悬赏。
“我们知道她丈夫有个政敌D先生，就是他偷了那封信。
我们也知道，这封信就藏在他的住处。
D先生打算用这封信来羞辱X夫人的丈夫，并毁掉他的政治前途。
“你知道，我有一把能打开全巴黎任何一扇门的万能钥匙。”
但是三个月过去了，我和我那帮伙计每天晚上都到他的公寓里去搜查那封信。但一无所获。”
迪潘停下口中的烟。“告诉我你们是怎么搜的，”他说。G先生往前拉了拉椅子。
“哎，事实上我们投入了大量的时间。首先，我们检查了每个房间里的家具，打开每个抽屉。地毯下面也看了，就连壁画背后都搜了。
“我们翻开每一本书。连地板都掀了。
我们甚至取下桌面，看看他有没有把信藏在桌腿里。
但是没有一点蛛丝马迹。你会建议我做什么？”
迪潘不住地抽着烟斗。“你能准确地描述出那封信的特点吗？”他问。
“白色的信封上面有张红邮票，”G先生说。地址是用黑色大写字母写的。
迪潘又抽了口烟斗。“我建议你回去，再次搜查整栋房屋。”他说。
一个月过去了，G先生再次回来拜访。
“我听从了你的建议，”他说。但那封信仍然不知所踪。”
迪潘笑了。“我就知道你找不到，”他说。G先生脸红了，他喊道：“那你为什么还要让我再回去搜查呢？”
“我亲爱的G先生，”迪潘说。“让我来给你讲个故事。你记不记得那个名医路易斯·阿伯内西？”
“不记得！”G先生大喊道。“快说重点，迪潘！”
“当然！当然！”迪潘说道。
有一次，一个有钱的老头在一次聚会上遇见了阿伯内西。当时老头感觉不太舒服。
这个老头决定向阿伯内西问诊，但却不想付钱。
于是，他向阿伯内西描述了他的病症。
‘现在，医生，’老头说道，‘假设你遇到了这样一位病人。你会给他什么建议？’
“‘哦，这很简单，’阿伯内西说。‘我会告诉他听从我的建议。’”
G先生看上去一脸尴尬。“看这，迪潘。我当然愿意征求建议，而且为此支付费用。”
迪潘对G先生笑了笑。那你说奖金是多少？”他问。
G先生叹了口气。“我不想告诉你奖金的具体数额。但谁要是能在这件事上帮我，我真的愿意给他五万法郎。
“那样的话，”迪潘回答说，“拿出你的支票，就按照刚才说的钱数给我开具一张。你签了字，我就把那封信交给你。”
G先生看着迪潘，惊得目瞪口呆，眼珠好像要从眼窝里跳出来。
然后，他拿出支票和笔，填写了一张面额为五万法郎的支票，递给迪潘。
迪潘仔细地核对了支票后，把它放进了口袋；然后，打开了他写字台的抽屉，拿出一封信，交给了警察局长。
这位局长把信抓在手里，真是高兴到了极点，手颤颤巍巍地把信打开，很快地扫了一眼内容，然后连滚带爬地冲向门口，唐突地离开了屋子。从迪潘要求他填写支票到离开屋子一声都没吭。
“迪潘！”我转向我的朋友，问道：“你是如何解开这个谜的？”
“这很简单，我的朋友，”他说。G先生和他的警察找不到那封信，因为他们没有尝试去理解那个小偷的心理。相反，他们灯下黑了。
“D先生不是警察。然而，他非常聪明。他知道警察会搜查他的公寓。他也知道警察是怎么想的。所以，他才不会把信藏在他们会去搜查的地方。
“你还记得当我说这个谜对于G先生来说很难解开是因为它太简单了时，他笑了吗？”
迪潘往烟斗里填满烟丝，点着。“我越想，就越意识到警察找不到那封信，因为D先生根本就没有把信藏起来。”
“于是我备好了一副绿眼镜，来到了D先生的公寓。”
我抱怨说自己的视力差，还为自己不得不配戴眼镜而长吁短叹了一番。
他信以为真。我假装只顾跟主人聊天，却在眼镜的掩饰下小心翼翼地把整个房间彻底地环视了一圈儿。
“我尤其注意到房间里有一张大写字台，写字台上面乱七八糟地堆放着各种各样的信件和书籍。
但是，我没看见什么能够引起特别怀疑的东西。然而，几分钟后，我注意到了壁炉旁边有一个小架子。
上面放着几张弄脏的明信片和一封孤零零的信。这封信脏兮兮、皱巴巴的。
“我一瞥见那封信，就当即断定这正是我要找的那封信。当然，外表上怎么看，都跟警察局长的描述完全不同。
架子上的信印又大又绿，地址用蓝色墨水书写，字写得又小又细。
我和D先生说话时，把信的每一个细节都记住了。
然后，趁他不注意，我把一只手套掉在了椅子下面的地板上。
“第二天早晨，我借着取回手套的名头又去拜访。正当我们聊到兴头上，突然街面上传来了人们大声的叫喊。
D先生冲向一扇窗户，推开向外张望。这时候，我走到卡片架前，拿起那封信，装进了我的衣袋里。
同时用一封在家中事先备好摹写的信来替换了原来的信，那是我昨夜在家里炮制的。
“街上的骚乱是由一个男人引起的，那个男人差点被一匹马和一辆马车碾过去。但他实际毫发未损。
人们很快散去。当骚乱结束后，D先生从窗边回来。我说了再见便离开了。
那个差点出事的人是我的侍者，那个事故也是我自己出钱雇他制造的。
迪潘不再说活，点起烟斗。我不明白。“但是，迪潘，”我说：“你又何必费力去置换那信，干嘛不拿了就走？”
迪潘笑了。“D先生是个危险的人物。他也不是没有死心塌地为他效劳的侍者。假如我拿了信就走，我可能根本无法活着离开那里。”
巴巴拉·克莱因：《失窃的信》，作者埃德加·爱伦·坡，Dona De Sanctis将其改编为VOA慢速英语节目。演播谢普·奥尼尔。拉万·戴维斯制作。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
