(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
And now the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories.
This week we finish the three-part story "Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn." You will learn not only the ending of the mystery but also more English expressions that deal with cold.
At the end of part two, our four travelers had gone on a treasure hunt. They followed clues and searched the castle. But as they gather by the fire to tell what they found, no one is happy. What they found are not treasures at all.
The actress, Sylvia, is deeply disturbed by a pink baby's rattle. A framed termination letter unnerves teacher Madeline. A white wedding veil angers Vincent, the handsome athlete. Major Jack is saddened by a military medal.
As each person looks at their so-called treasure, they hear a terrifying sound from the room above.
They all break out in a cold sweat. They are so scared they cannot speak -- well, all but one. The housekeeper remains as cool as a cucumber. They wonder why she is able to stay so calm while they are scared to death.
The housekeeper tells them to not move. She will investigate.
As they listen to her footsteps traveling up the massive staircase, Sylvia asks, "Shouldn't one of us go with her? What if it is a wild animal?"
Vincent says, "I am staying right here by the fire and drink my wine. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."
The teacher suggests they use furniture to block the door in case the creature, whatever it is, is dangerous. Major Jack suggests they each find something to use as a weapon.
Time passes. Finally, Sylvia speaks. "Someone needs to check on the housekeeper," she says. The actress goes the door. But when she tries the knob, it will not turn! She runs to a window and pulls up. But it does not move.
She cries out. "We are not only snowed in --- we are locked in!"
Everyone stops cold. They stop immediately.
"You can't snow us, Sylvia," yells Vincent. "And why would you try to fool us, anyway?"
He hurries to the door but finds it is, indeed, locked. The others run to the windows but none will open.
Major Jack finally loses his cool and yells at the group. "Why are we here?! What is going on?"
"Look, everyone just chill out," Madeline says, using her poor classroom discipline skills to try to calm the group. Then, she explains why she is at The Ice Castle Inn.
"I was invited," she says. "That's why I'm here. The plane ticket, room, food -- everything was free!"
The others look at each other in shock. They all received identical invitations. Each guest comes to the same realization at once: they are victims of a trick.
"Getting us all together here in this castle – it is one big snow job," says Major Jack.
Sylvia agrees, "Yes, but who is trying to snow us? Who invited us?"
Just then, the door to the room creaks open. The four guests stare as the housekeeper walks into the room. She has returned from investigating the upstairs.
"I invited you," she says.
"You? You?! You're just a housekeeper," says Madeline.
She eyes them each, coldly.
"No, I'm not just the housekeeper. My name is Crystal Castle. The Ice Castle Inn is mine. And now, I'd like you to meet my daughter, my adopted daughter, Hope."
A young woman enters. She is very thin and her straight, blond hair is messy. But her face – it's like an angel's. She wears a silky white nightgown and robe. They look costly. But her feet are bare. Her body twitches and her eyes move nervously around the room. She doesn't speak.
Vincent drops his wine glass. He is suddenly stone cold sober, as he says, "Hope? Is that you?"
Madeline, is now standing next to Vincent.
"It can't be. Hope? I haven't seen you in years."
"You haven't seen her in exactly 5 years." says Crystal.
Sylvia and Major Jack do not recognize Hope. They are only more confused.
"Was she the one who made that terrible noise? Is she ... mad? I mean, is she crazy?" asks the major.
Crystal, no longer the housekeeper, yells at them, "Hope is as pure as the driven snow! She is good and kind. But yes, she is mad. And you four people in this room drove her to madness! That is why you are here!"
It is now the middle of the night. Crystal let's everything out in the open. She explains how each person in that room contributed to her beloved girl's insanity.
"I'll start with you, Vincent. You and Hope were engaged. But on the wedding day, you broke your promise to marry her, leaving her stranded at the church!"
Vincent says nervously, "I got cold feet! I was nervous and changed my mind at the last minute."
He picks up the white wedding veil from the floor and holds it tightly.
"If you must know, it was the worst mistake of my life. I've never been the same. I've never been happy. I was happy with Hope. But I was too young to marry."
He sinks into the chair. He looks deep into the fire, his mind trapped in the mistake of years past.
"You may think you know me but you don't know anything about me," he says, his voice filled with regret.
"I know a lot about you, Vincent," Crystal says.
She knows, for example, that Vincent's wealth and status come entirely from his wife's family. She also knows that he was married before and never got divorced.
"Which means," she continues, "that you are not legally married to your rich wife. What will happen if I tell her and her family?"
"I would lose it all," he says, "my wealth, home, social position. But, I don't care. Tell them. I don't care about anything. Life without Hope has been a cold and lonely place. I bet you didn't know that."
Outside the storm is easing. The wind blows lighter and the snow has stopped. And, Hope has changed ever so slightly. She puts on a pair of slippers and moves toward the fireplace. Standing over Vincent, she lays a hand on his head.
And then she speaks. "It is okay, Vincent. We were very young."
They are Hope's first words in many months.
The young man can't bring himself to look at Hope. He simply holds tighter to her wedding veil.
Crystal moves to her daughter, hugs her tightly and puts a coat over her shoulders. Then, she redirects her frigid stare to Madeline. The teacher looks down at the framed letter in her hands.
"You don't need to speak, Crystal. I can explain this myself," Madeline says.
She says she and Hope worked at the same school. At first, they were best friends. Hope was very talented, beautiful and kind. Everyone liked her very much. Over time, Madeline became very jealous.
"I tried to freeze her out as much as possible. I gave Hope the cold shoulder. I tried my best to leave her out of things. But that didn't work. So, I stole money from the school and made it look like Hope did it. She was fired immediately."
Crystal answers with anger. "You destroyed her career and her reputation!"
"Crystal, you should check again," Madeline says." Several teachers investigated the theft knowing their beloved Hope would not steal. They suspected I was to blame for the situation. But, they couldn't find any evidence against me so they couldn't fire me."
"But, my career has been in a deep freeze ever since," Madeline continues. "My students hate me, the other teachers hate me and I hate my job. And I've never had another friend like Hope." As she says this she throws the framed termination letter across the room.
Hope says in a calm, clear voice, "It will all be okay. Listen... outside... the storm has stopped."
The actress, Sylvia, suddenly feels an unexpected and strong feeling for this strange, quiet young woman. Then she asks Crystal how she is connected to Hope.
Crystal says with an icy tone in her voice, "Why, Sylvia, Hope is your daughter."
With that news, Sylvia passes out cold.
When she wakes up, the others learn why the actress so often holds her gold locket close to her heart. In the locket are pictures of a baby girl and a baby boy – babies she gave up for adoption.
"I was young and alone," Sylvia explains. "I was poor and snowed under so many unpaid bills that I could barely breathe. I didn't know what to do with two babies. But I have thought of them every day since. But how did you come to adopt them?"
Crystal says she was a young doctoral student assigned to the orphanage. She took care of the brother and sister. When a rich relative died, she inherited a fortune and The Ice Castle Inn. So, she adopted the two babies and raised them as her own.
As Crystal talks of raising two wonderful children, the actress holds the locket to her chest.
It was Crystal's plan all along to expose Sylvia's history. She thought that people would stop seeing her films if they knew she had given up her own children to further her career. But she now realizes that that is not true.
Crystal also realizes she was wrong and feels, quite unexpectedly, ashamed. She doesn't feel any better when Sylvia looks down at her locket and asks, "Where is my son?"
"This is where the major comes into the story," Crystal says hesitantly.
Major Jack says that he does not know this young woman.
Crystals agrees with him. "That's right. You don't," she says. "But you did know her brother – her only brother. They were so close growing up. They were more like best friends than brother and sister. His name was Lieutenant Justice Castle."
Major Jack's blood turns to ice. Yes, he knows the name Justice Castle very well.
"Justice was a soldier under my command – one of the finest soldiers I have ever met. We were on a peace keeping mission and weren't supposed to see any fighting. But I got my information wrong. I sent his squad into a dangerous area."
The major has a difficult time continuing. His voice breaks as he speaks and his eyes fill with tears.
"Justice was killed in action because of my mistake. But I lied on official reports. I blamed him for misreading a map. This has haunted me ever since. Before coming on this trip, I told my superiors the truth about what happened that day. When I return, I will probably be court-martialed. And I deserve it."
Crystal turns off a recording device. She had planned to say, "And now I have recorded your statement, Major." She had planned to say, "Now, I have the proof I need to ruin you too."
But her plans are not necessary now. He is already a ruined man.
Vincent is the next to speak. "Do you mean to tell us, that for the past several years you have been collecting information on us, planning this whole trip just to get even with us?"
Crystal stares at the empty faces of the group and says, "Revenge is a dish best served cold."
"What does that mean, mother?" asks Hope as she moves to Crystal's side.
"It means," she explains, "that I have waited a long time to get my revenge. And that just makes my revenge feel even better."
"But revenge won't bring back Justice, will it."
"No, it won't, my dear."
Crystal collapses into a chair, tired from the years of planning and hating. She has waited so long to get her revenge for her daughter but now it is cold comfort. The revenge has offered her none of the reward she thought it would.
"Oh, look! The sun is coming up!" Hope says happily. "And what's that on the horizon?"
The group are shocked to hear the sounds of a helicopter approaching.
"Look mother!" says Hope. "A helicopter is landing on the big lawn! How beautiful the day is going to be." She looks reborn, renewed.
"Yes, I think it will be," says Crystal Castle. "Let's get our bags and leave this cold place. How would you like to spend the rest of the winter on a tropical island?"
"That sounds lovely," Hope says as the color returns to her cheeks. "But what about the others? I hope they will be alright. I hope."
A helicopter is not the only sound they hear. A snow plow is slowly working its way up the long drive to The Ice Castle Inn. It won't be long before Vincent, Madeline, Sylvia and Major Jack will be able to leave the inn and return to their normal lives.
Or will they? Will their lives ever be normal again? Will any of them ever be the same ever again?
And so ends "Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn."
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.pull up 使突然终止;使突然中断;（车或驾车者）减速停下;把（椅子）拉近并坐下
The cab pulled up and the driver jumped out.
出租车减速停下，司机跳了出来。
2.chill out （疲劳、紧张过后）放松，松弛
You know I just need to chill out.
你知道的，我只是需要冷静一下。
3.snow job 花言巧语的劝说;诱骗
He did a snow job on the girl by saying that he is the son of a minister.
他花言巧语的哄骗那个女孩，说自己是某个部长的儿子。
4.stone cold sober 完全解酒；完全清醒；绝对清醒
I fear some vintners fail to remember that you should only ever make business decisions when you are stone-cold sober.
我担心许多酒商未能记住这一点：你应该在只有完全清醒的时候才进行业务决策。
参考译文
现在是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》时间。
本周我们完结“冰雪城堡旅店之谜”故事的第三部分。你不仅会了解故事的结局，还会学到更多和“cold(寒冷)”相关的英语表达。
在第二部分结尾的时候，我们的四位旅客进行了一场寻宝游戏。他们跟随着线索在城堡里搜索。但是当他们聚集在壁炉旁讲述他们发现的宝物，没人感到开心。他们发现的东西根本不是什么宝物。
演员西尔维娅深受一支粉色宝宝拨浪鼓所带来的困扰。一封辞退信让教师玛德琳自觉不安。一件白色新娘头纱惹恼了帅气的运动员文森特。杰克少校则因一枚军章陷入悲伤。
当每个人看着他们所谓的珍宝，他们听到楼上房间传来的可怕声响。
他们都吓出一身冷汗（break out in a cold sweat）。他们吓到说不出话来，好吧，除了一个人。管家依然镇定自若（as cool as a cucumber）。他们很疑惑，为什么他们都快被吓死的时候，她还能保持那么淡定。
管家告诉他们不要乱走。她会去调查的。
当他们听着管家踏上那厚重的楼梯时，西尔维娅问道：“难道我们之中不应该有人和她一块上去吗？要是只野兽怎么办呢？”
文森特说：“我就待在这壁炉这喝我的酒。我感觉这将是一个漫漫长夜。”
那位老师建议他们用家具挡住门以防是什么危险的生物。杰克少校建议每人找件东西当武器用。
时间在流逝。最后，西尔维娅说话了。“有人得去看看管家，”她说。这位演员走向门去。但是当她打开把手的时候，把手转不动了！她跑向窗户并拉起来，但拉不动。
她喊了出来。“我们不仅被雪困住了，我们还被锁了！”
大家突然都停下来。他们立马停住了。
“你蒙不了我们，西尔维娅”，文森特吼道。“你为什么总是要愚弄我们呢？”
他匆忙走向门口，却发现门确实是被锁住了。其他人跑向窗边，但没有一扇窗户能打开。
杰克少校终于失去了冷静并对大家喊道。“我们为什么会在这里？！发生了什么？”
“听着，大家冷静下来（chill out），”玛德琳用她那贫乏的课堂纪律技巧试图让这一群人冷静。然后，她说明了她来冰雪城堡旅店的缘由。
“我是受邀来的，”她说。“所以我才来到这里。飞机票，房间，食物，一切都是免费的！”
其他人震惊地互相看了看。他们搜收到了同样的邀请。大家立刻都意识到：他们中了圈套。
“把我们所有人聚集在这座城堡里——这是一个大骗局（snow job），”杰克少校说道。
西尔维娅同意他的说法，“是啊，但是谁要骗我们呢？谁邀请我们的呢？”
此时，房间的门嘎吱一声响了。四位旅客盯着管家走进房间。她从楼上调查回来了。
“我邀请的你们，”她说。
“你？是你？！你只是个管家，”玛德琳说道。
她冷冷地看着他们。
“不，我不仅是管家。我名字叫克里斯托•凯瑟（Crystal Castle音译）。冰雪城堡是我开的。现在，我想让你们见见我的女儿，我的养女，霍普（Hope音译）。
一位年轻女士走了进来。她非常消瘦，她那直直的金发很蓬乱。但她有着天使的面庞。她穿着一件丝质的白色长睡袍，看起来价值不菲。但她是光着脚的。她的身体颤栗着，眼神慌张地环顾整个房间。她一言不发。
文森特放下酒杯。他突然完全清醒（stone cold sober）了，他说道：“霍普？是你吗？”
玛德琳此时站在文森特旁边。
“不可能。那是霍普？我好几年没看见你了。”
“你已经整整五年没有看见她了。”克里斯托说。
西尔维娅和少校杰克不认识霍普。他们便更疑惑了。
“她就是那个发出恐怖声响的人吗？她是有精神病吗？我是说，她疯了吗？”少校问道。
再也不是管家的克里斯托对他们嚷道：“霍普像飞雪一样纯洁！”她很善良可亲。但是是的，她疯了。就是这间屋子里的你们四个人逼疯了她！这就是你们在这儿的原因！”
现在是深夜时分。克里斯托把一切都说开了（let's everything out in the open）。她解释了屋子里的每一个人是如何逼疯了她心爱的女儿的。
“我将从你开始说起，文森特。你和霍普订了婚。但在婚礼那天，你违背了和她结婚的诺言，把她留在了教堂里！”
文森特紧张地说：“我临阵脱逃了！”我很紧张，最后一刻的时候我改变了主意。”
他捡起地板上的白色头纱，紧紧地握着。
“如果你非要知道的话，那是我人生中最大的错误。我和以前再也不一样了。我再也不开心了。我和霍普在一起的时候是开心的。但那时候结婚还太年轻了。”
他瘫坐在椅子里。出神地看着火焰，他的思绪沉浸在了多年前的错误里。
“你也许觉得你了解我，但你对我一无所知，”他说，他的声音里充满了悔恨。
“我非常了解你，文森特”克里斯托说道。
比如，她知道文森特的财富和地位全都源于他妻子的家庭。她也知道他之前结过婚，而且一直没有离婚。
“那就是说，”她继续说道，“你和你那有钱的妻子结婚是违法的。如果我告诉她和她的家人，会发生什么呢？”
“我会失去一切，”他说，“我的财富，家庭，社会地位。但是我无所谓。告诉他们吧。我什么都不关心。没有霍普的世界一直冰冷而寂寞。我想这点你不知道。”
外面暴风雪慢慢减弱。风刮得小点了，雪已经停了。霍普也略微变化了点。她穿上一双拖鞋朝壁炉走去。站在文森特旁边，她把一只手放在了文森特的头上。
然后她说。“没关系，文森特。我们那时都太年轻了”
这是长久以来霍普第一次开口说的话。
这位年轻人不敢看霍普。他只是把她的头纱握得更紧了。
克里斯托走向她的女儿，抱紧她并在她的肩上披了件外套。之后，把她冰冷的目光转向玛德琳。这位老师低着头看着她手中的辞退信。
“你不必说什么，克里斯托。我自己能解释这一切，”玛德琳说。
她说她和霍普在同一所学校工作。开始的时候，她们是好朋友。霍普很聪明、美丽、友善。大家都很喜欢她。慢慢玛德琳开始很嫉妒她。
“我尽力排挤她（freeze out）。”我对霍普很冷漠（cold shoulder）。我尽我所能让她参与不了事务。但不管用。所以，我偷了学校的钱并嫁祸给霍普。她立即被开除了。”
克里斯托生气地说。“你毁掉了她的事业和声誉！”
“克里斯托，你应该再确认下，”玛德琳说。“几位老师调查了那件盗窃案，他们知道霍普不会偷钱。他们怀疑是我造成的这样的局面。但是他们发现不了任何针对我的证据，因此他们不能开除我。”
“但自此之后我的事业停滞不前，”玛德琳继续说道。“我的学生们讨厌我，其他老师们讨厌我，而我，讨厌我的工作。我再也没有交过一个像霍普那样的朋友。”她说这些的时候，把辞退信扔到了房间的另一头。
霍普用沉着清晰的声音说道：“一切都会好起来的。听……外面，暴风雪已经停了。”
演员西尔维娅忽然对这位陌生恬静的姑娘产生了一种突如其来的强烈情感。然后，她问克里斯托她和霍普有什么关联。
克里斯托冷冷地说道：“有什么关联，西尔维娅，霍普是你的女儿。”
听到这个消息，西尔维娅晕了过去（pass out cold）。
当她醒了的时候，其他人明白了这位女演员经常把她的金项链握在胸前的原因。项坠里有一个小女婴和小男婴的照片，她放弃了这两个孩子，让别人领养去了。
“我那时年轻且孤身一人，”西尔维娅解释道。“我很穷，我被太多没有付款的账单压得喘不过气来。我不知道拿这两个婴儿怎么办。但自那之后我每天都很想念他们。但你是怎么收养的他们？”
克里斯托说她是一个被分配到孤儿院的年轻博士研究生。她负责照顾这兄妹俩。她的一位有钱的亲戚去世后，她继承了一笔钱和这家冰雪城堡旅店。于是，她收养了这两个婴儿并当成自己的孩子抚养。
当克里斯托说到养育这两个完美的孩子，演员把她的项坠握在了胸前。
克里斯托一直计划着揭露西尔维娅的过去。她认为人们在知道她曾为了自己的职业前途放弃了自己的孩子后会不再去看她演的电影。但现在她明白这是不对的。
克里斯托也意识到她错了并突然感到很羞愧。当西尔维娅看向自己的项坠并问道：“我儿子在哪？”，克里斯托感觉更不好了。
“这就要说到少校了，”克里斯托迟疑地说。
少校杰克说我不认识这位姑娘。
克里斯托同意他的说法。“是的。你不认识她，”她说。“但你一定认识她的哥哥——她唯一的哥哥。他们从小就很亲密。相比哥哥和妹妹，他们更像是好朋友。他叫卡斯尔•凯瑟中尉。”
杰克少校不寒而栗。是的，他对卡斯尔•凯瑟这个名字再熟不过了。
“卡斯尔是他的一名部下，是他见过的最好的战士之一。我们当时正执行一项维和任务，我们本不会看见任何战争场面。但是我判断失误了。我派他的小队去了一个危险的地方。”
少校很难继续说下去。他说话时声音沙哑，眼里充满泪水。
“卡斯尔因为我的失误在行动中牺牲了。但我在官方报告中撒了谎。我把事情归咎于他看错了地图。这件事自那之后一直让我难以忘怀。在来这旅行之前，我告诉我上级那天发生的事情的真相了。我回去后，很大可能会被军事法庭判刑。我罪有应得。”
克里斯托关闭了一台录音设备。她之前打算说：“现在我已经录下了你说的话，少校。”她本打算说：“现在，我也有了毁掉你的证据。”
但现在她不需要计划了。他已经一名不文了。
文森特接着说。“你是想告诉我们，在我们的几年里，你一直在搜集我们的信息，策划这场旅行，只是为了报复（get even with）我们？”
克里斯托看向这群面无表情的人，说道：“君子报仇十年不晚（revenge is a dish best served cold）。”
“那是什么意思，妈妈？”霍普走到克里斯托的身旁问道。
“这句话的意思是，”她解释道：“我为了复仇等了很长时间，而这会让我更好地复仇。”
“但复仇也救不回卡斯尔，是这样吧。”
“是的，救不回，我亲爱的。”
克里斯托倒进了椅子里，多年的谋划和憎恨让她感到疲惫。她为了替女儿复仇等了这么久，但现在却是于事无补（cold comfort）。这场复仇并没有给她带来任何她曾认为会有的回报。
“噢，看！太阳要升起来了！”霍普开心地说道。“地平线上的那是什么？”
大家都被临近的直升机的声音震撼到了。
“看，妈妈！”霍普说。“一架直升机正降落在大草坪上！这将会是多么美丽的一天啊。”她看起来像是重生了，重获新生。
“是的，我想会是这样的，”克里斯托回答。“我们去拿包裹吧，离开这个冰冷的地方。你觉得在一座热带岛屿上过完冬天怎么样？”
“听起来很不错，”霍普说道，脸颊也红润起来。“但其他人呢？我希望他们会安好。希望如此。”
直升机的声音并不是他们唯一听见的声音。一辆铲雪机正慢慢地开在去往冰雪城堡旅店的漫漫长路上。不久后，文森特、玛德琳、西尔维娅和杰克少校就能离开这座旅店并恢复他们的正常生活。
或者他们会吗？他们的生活会像以前一样恢复正常吗？他们中的任何一个人都会像以前一样吗？
这样，“冰雪城堡旅店之谜”的故事就结束了。
我是安娜•马特奥。
