(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The Black Cat. Tomorrow I die. Tomorrow I die, and today I want to tell the world what happened and thus perhaps free my soul from the horrible weight which lies upon it. But listen! Listen, and you shall hear how I have been destroyed. When I was a child, I had a natural goodness of soul which led me to love animals — all kinds of animals, but especially those animals we call pets, animals which have learned to live with men and share their homes with them. There is something in the love of these animals which speaks directly to the heart of the man who has learned from experience how uncertain and changeable is the love of other men. I was quite young when I married. You will understand the joy I felt to find that my wife shared with me my love for animals. Quickly she got for us several pets of the most likeable kind. We had birds, some goldfish, a fine dog, and a cat. The cat was a beautiful animal, of unusually large size, and entirely black. I named the cat Pluto, and it was the pet I liked best. I alone fed it, and it followed me all around the house. It was even with difficulty that I stopped it from following me through the streets.
Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which, however, my own character became greatly changed. I began to drink too much wine and other strong drinks. As the days passed I became less loving in my manner; I became quick to anger; I forgot how to smile and laugh. My wife — yes, and my pets, too, all except the cat — were made to feel the change in my character. One night I came home quite late from the inn, where I now spent more and more time drinking. Walking with uncertain step, I made my way with effort into the house. As I entered I saw — or thought I saw — that Pluto, the cat, was trying to stay out of my way, to avoid me. This action, by an animal which I had thought still loved me, made me angry beyond reason. My soul seemed to fly from my body. I took a small knife out of my coat and opened it. Then I took the poor animal by the neck and with one quick movement I cut out one of its fear-filled eyes! Slowly the cat got well. The hole where its eye had been was not a pretty thing to look at, it is true; but the cat no longer appeared to suffer any pain. As might be expected, however, it ran from me in fear whenever I came near. Why should it not run? Yet this did not fail to anger me. I felt growing inside myself a new feeling. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself doing wrong, some evil thing for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Are not we humans at all times pushed, ever driven in some unknown way to break the law just because we understand it to be the law?
One day, in cold blood, I tied a strong rope around the cat's neck, and taking it down into the cellar under the house I hung it from one of the wood beams above my head. I hung it there until it was dead. I hung it there with tears in my eyes, I hung it because I knew it had loved me, because I felt it had given me no reason to hurt it, because I knew that my doing so was a wrong so great, a sin so deadly that it would place my soul forever outside the reach of the love of God! That same night, as I lay sleeping, I heard through my open window the cries of our neighbors. I jumped from my bed and found that the entire house was filled with fire. It was only with great difficulty that my wife and I escaped. And when we were out of the house, all we could do was stand and watch it burn to the ground. I thought of the cat as I watched it burn, the cat whose dead body I had left hanging in the cellar. It seemed almost that the cat had in some mysterious way caused the house to burn so that it could make me pay for my evil act, so that it could take revenge upon me. Months went by, and I could not drive the thought of the cat out of my mind. One night I sat in the inn, drinking as usual. In the corner I saw a dark object that I had not seen before. I went over to see what it could be. It was a cat, a cat almost exactly like Pluto. I touched it with my hand and petted it, passing my hand softly along its back. The cat rose and pushed its back against my hand
Suddenly, I realized that I wanted the cat. I offered to buy it from the innkeeper, but he claimed he had never seen the animal before. As I left the inn, it followed me, and I allowed it to do so. It soon became a pet of both my wife and myself. The morning after I brought it home, however, I discovered that this cat, like Pluto, had only one eye. How was it possible that I had not noticed this the night before? This fact only made my wife love the cat more. But I myself found a feeling of dislike growing in me. My growing dislike of the animal only seemed to increase its love for me. It followed me, followed me everywhere, always. When I sat, it lay down under my chair. When I stood up it got between my feet and nearly made me fall. Wherever I went, it was always there. At night, I dreamed of it. And I began to hate that cat! One day my wife called to me from the cellar of the old building where we were now forced to live. As I went down the stairs, the cat, following me as always, ran under my feet and nearly threw me down. In sudden anger, I took a knife and struck wildly at the cat. Quickly my wife put out her hand and stopped my arm. This only increased my anger and, without thinking, I turned and put the knife's point deep into her heart! She fell to the floor and died without a sound.
I spent a few moments looking for the cat, but it was gone. And I had other things to do, for I knew I must do something with the body, and quickly. Suddenly, I noted a place in the wall of the cellar where stones had been added to the wall to cover an old fireplace which was no longer wanted. The walls were not very strongly built, and I found I could easily take down those stones. Behind them there was, as I knew there must be, a hole just big enough to hold the body. With much effort I put the body in and carefully put the stones back in their place. I was pleased to see that it was quite impossible for anyone to know that a single stone had been moved. Days passed. Still there was no cat. A few people came and asked about my wife, but I answered them easily. Then one day several officers of the police came. Certain that they could find nothing, I asked them in and went with them as they searched.
Finally, they searched the cellar from end to end. I watched them quietly, and, as I expected, they noticed nothing. But as they started up the stairs again, I felt myself driven by some unknown inner force to let them know, to make them know, that I had won the battle. "The walls of this building," I said, "are very strongly built; it is a fine old house." And as I spoke, I struck with my stick that very place in the wall behind which was the body of my wife. Immediately I felt a cold feeling up and down my back as we heard coming out of the wall itself a horrible cry. For one short moment, the officers stood looking at each other. Then quickly they began to pick at the stones, and in a short time they saw before them the body of my wife, black with dried blood and smelling of decay. On the body's head, its one eye filled with fire, its wide open mouth the color of blood, sat the cat, crying out its revenge!
重点解析
1.cut out 割掉；除去
Two suits can be cut out of this piece of material.
这块料子可以裁两套衣服。
2.at all times 不论什么时候；老是
The centre is staffed at all times.
该中心随时都有工作人员。
3.dream of 梦见；梦到
I shouldn't dream of doing such a thing.
我不该梦想做这样的事。
4.fill with 充满；装满
My eyes fill with mist again.
我的眼睛再次模糊了。
参考译文
《黑猫》。明天我将离世，明天我将离世，今天我想告诉世人发生过的事情，好让灵魂安生。但是，听好！听好，你会听到我如何遭到毁灭。我从小就心地善良，特别喜欢动物，各种各样的动物都爱，尤其是那些我们称之为宠物的动物。这些动物学会了与人在一起生活，和人共享家园。对那些了解到与其他人之间爱恋是多么不确定，又多变的人来说，对这些动物的爱怜，可以直抵心间。我很早就结了婚，幸喜妻子跟我意气相投，她也喜爱动物。不久，她就为我们找到几只最可爱的宠物，我们养了小鸟、金鱼、一只好狗和一只猫。这只猫个头特大，非常好看，浑身乌黑。我给它取名为普路托，它是我最喜欢的宠物。我一个人喂它，它跟着我在屋里转来转去。连我上街去，它都要跟，拦都拦不住。
我和猫的交情就这样维持了好几年。在这几年工夫中，我的脾气习性因过度饮酒，彻底改变了。日子一天天过去，我越来越缺少爱心，变得喜怒无常；我忘记了笑的滋味。我妻子，还有我的宠物，都感到我的脾气在变坏，但那只猫除外。有一天晚上，我在城里一个常去的酒吧喝得酩酊大醉，很晚才回家。我步履蹒跚，费力地走进屋子。我看到，或者是我以为这猫躲着我。我认为这只动物还爱着我，而它的这个动作，让我无缘无故地发了火。原本那个善良的灵魂一下子飞出了我的躯壳，我从背心口袋里掏出一把小刀，打开刀子，攥住那可怜畜生的喉咙，迅速地把它充满恐惧的眼珠剜了出来！那只猫的伤势渐渐好转，眼珠剜掉的那个眼窠果真十分可怖。不过，看来它再也不感到痛了。它在屋里走动时，只要一见我走近，就不出所料地吓得拼命逃走。它怎么可能会不逃走？但这让我十分恼怒。我觉得内心产生了一种新的情感，谁没有在无意中多次干下坏事或蠢事呢？而且这样干时无缘无故，心里明知干不得而偏要干。哪怕我们明知这样干犯法，但有股拼命想去以身试法的邪念吗？
有一天早晨，我心狠手辣，用结实的绳子勒住猫的脖子，然后把它带到房子下面的地窖里，我把它挂在头顶的一根木梁上。眼泪汪汪，就此把猫吊死了，因为我知道这猫爱过我，因为我觉得这猫没冒犯过我，因为我知道这样干是在犯罪，罪大之极，足以害得我那永生的灵魂永世不得超生！就在当天晚上，我在睡梦中忽听见邻居喊叫着失火了。我从床上跳起来，发现整栋屋子都烧着了。我们夫妻俩好不容易才从这场火灾中逃脱。我们走出房子时，只能眼巴巴的站在那，看着它被火焰夷为平地。当我看着房子在大火中燃烧的时候，我想起了那只猫，它的尸体还挂在地窖里。这只猫似乎以某种神秘的方式烧毁了整栋房子，让我为自己的恶行付出代价，也是对我的报复。几个月过去了，我都无法把有关猫的念头从脑海中驱散。一天晚上，我像往常一样坐在酒吧里喝酒。我在角落里看到一个以前从没见过的黑色物体。我走过去看，发现那是一只猫，一只几乎和普路托一模一样的猫。我用手碰了碰它，还轻抚了几下，轻轻地用手在它的背上抹搓。那只猫站起来，身子在我手上一味蹭着。
突然之间，我意识到这只猫正是我梦寐以求的。我向店东请求想买下它，谁知店东说以前从没见到过这只猫。我离开酒吧时，这猫一直跟着我，我也没哄它。它到我家后，一下子就博得了我和妻子的欢心。然而，在我把它带回家的第二天早上，我发现它和普路托一样，只有一只眼睛。前天晚上我怎么可能没注意到呢？这只让妻子更爱这它，但我渐渐对这猫说不出地厌恶。而我对它的嫌恶，似乎只会让它更爱我。它一直跟着我，无论我去哪，它都如影相随。我坐着的时候，它就躺在我的椅子下面。当我站起来时，它会跑到我的两脚之间，差点让我摔倒。我去哪，它就跟到哪。晚上，我会梦到它，我开始憎恨起那只猫来！我们现在不得不住在烧毁的旧房子里，有一天，妻子从地窖里大声喊我。我下楼的时候，那只猫就像平时那样跟着我，然后跑到我脚下，差点让我摔下楼梯。我突然之间感到极度愤怒，拿起一把刀，疯狂地向猫捅去。妻子很快伸出手，拦住我的胳膊。这只让我更加愤怒，我想都没想，转过身来，把刀尖深深地刺进了她的心脏！她摔倒在地上，一声不响地就死去了。
我花了会功夫找那只猫，但它不见了。我还有其他事要做，因为我知道必须尽快处理尸体。忽然，我注意到地下室的墙上有一个地方，有后来砌上去的石块，用来盖住一个不再需要的旧壁炉。墙面不是很坚固，我发现自己能很轻松地拆下那些石块。我想，墙后面一定有一个足以放得下尸体的空洞。我费力地把尸体挪进去，小心地把石块放回原位。任何人都不会知道有哪块石头被挪动过，我很是高兴。几天过去了，我还是没看到那只猫。有几个人来问过我妻子的情况，但我很轻松地回应了他们。有一天，几个警察来了。我确定他们什么也找不到，就请他们进了屋，和他们一起四处查找。
最后，他们把地下室搜了个遍。我静静地看着他们，正如我所料，他们什么也没发现。但当他们再次上楼的时候，我感到自己被某种未知的内在力量驱使着，想让他们知道我赢得了这场战斗的胜利。我说：“这座建筑的墙壁建造得很坚固，是一棟漂亮的老房子。”我说话时，用手杖敲遍了掩盖妻子尸体的那面墙。当我们听到从墙里传出一声可怕的哀嚎时，我立刻感到背脊上一阵寒意。有那么一小会儿功夫，警察们站在那面面相觑。接着，他们开始快速地挖石块，不一会儿他们就看到了我妻子的尸体，上面有干血，散发着腐烂的气味。在尸体的头上，坐着那只猫，它一只眼中充斥着火焰，张着血盆大口，疾呼着复仇的誓言！
