(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Our story today is called "The Diamond Lens. " It was written by Fitz-James O'Brien. We will tell the story in two parts. Now, here is Maurice Joyce with part one of "The Diamond Lens." When I was ten years old, one of my older cousins gave me a microscope. The first time I looked through its magic lens, the clouds that surrounded my daily life rolled away. I saw a universe of tiny living creatures in a drop of water. Day after day, night after night, I studied life under my microscope. The fungus that spoiled my mother's jam was, for me, a land of magic gardens. I would put one of those spots of green mold under my microscope and see beautiful forests, where strange silver and golden fruit hung from the branches of tiny trees. I felt as if I had discovered another Garden of Eden. Although I didn't tell anyone about my secret world, I decided to spend my life studying the microscope.
My parents had other plans for me. When I was nearly twenty years old, they insisted that I learn a profession even though we were a rich family, and I really didn't have to work at all. I decided to study medicine in New York. This city was far away from my family, so I could spend my time as I pleased. As long as I paid my medical school fees every year, my family would never know I wasn't attending any classes. In New York, I would be able to buy excellent microscopes and meet scientists from all over the world. I would have plenty of money and plenty of time to spend on my dream. I left home with high hopes. Two days after I arrived in New York, I found a place to live. It was large enough for me to use one of the rooms as my laboratory. I filled this room with expensive scientific equipment that I did not know how to use. But by the end of my first year in the city, I had become an expert with the microscope. I also had become more and more unhappy. The lens in my expensive microscope was still not strong enough to answer my questions about life. I imagined there were still secrets in Nature that the limited power of my equipment prevented me from knowing.
I lay awake nights, wishing to find the perfect lens – an instrument of great magnifying power. Such a lens would permit me to see life in the smallest parts of its development. I was sure that a powerful lens like that could be built. And I spent my second year in New York trying to create it. I experimented with every kind of material. I tried simple glass, crystal and even precious stones. But I always found myself back where I started. My parents were angry at the lack of progress in my medical studies. I had not gone to one class since arriving in New York. Also, I had spent a lot of money on my experiments. One day, while I was working in my laboratory, Jules Simon knocked at my door. He lived in the apartment just above mine. I knew he loved jewelry, expensive clothing and good living. There was something mysterious about him, too. He always had something to sell: a painting, a rare stature, an expensive pair of lamps. I never understood why Simon did this. He didn't seem to need the money. He had many friends among the best families of New York. Simon was very excited as he came into my laboratory. "O my dear fellow!" he gasped. "I have just seen the most amazing thing in the world!"
He told me he had gone to visit a woman who had strange, magical powers. She could speak to the dead and read the minds of the living. To test her, Simon had written some questions about himself on a piece of paper. The woman, Madame Vulpes, had answered all of the questions correctly. Hearing about the woman gave me an idea. Perhaps she would be able to help me discover the secret of the perfect lens. Two days later, I went to her house. Madame Vulpes was an ugly woman with sharp, cruel eyes. She didn't say a word to me when she opened the door, but took me right into her living room. We sat down at a large round table, and she spoke. "What do you want from me?" "I want to speak to a person who died many years before I was born." "Put your hands on the table." We sat there for several minutes. The room grew darker and darker. But Madame Vulpes did not turn on any lights. I began to feel a little silly. Then I felt a series of violent knocks. They shook the table, the back of my chair, the floor under my feet and even the windows.
Madam Vulpes smiled. "They are very strong tonight. You are lucky. They want you to write down the name of the spirit you wish to talk to." I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote down a name. I didn't show it to Madame Vulpes. After a moment, Madame Vulpes' hand began to shake so hard the table moved. She said the spirit was now holding her hand and would write me a message. I gave her paper and a pencil. She wrote something and gave the paper to me. The message read: "I am here. Question me." It was signed "Leeuwenhoek." I couldn't believe my eyes. The name was the same one I had written on my piece of paper. I was sure that an ignorant woman like Madame Vulpes would not know who Leeuwenhoek was. Why would she know the name of the man who invented the microscope? Quickly, I wrote a question on another piece of paper. "How can I create the perfect lens?" Leeuwenhoek wrote back: "Find a diamond of one hundred and forty carats. Give it a strong electrical charge. The electricity will change the diamond's atoms. From that stone you can form the perfect lens."
I left Madame Vulpes' house in a state of painful excitement. Where would I find a diamond that large? All my family's money could not buy a diamond like that. And even if I had enough money, I knew that such diamonds are very difficult to find. When I came home, I saw a light in Simon's window. I climbed the stairs to his apartment and went in without knocking. Simon's back was toward me as he bent over a lamp. He looked as if he were carefully studying a small object in his hands. As soon as he heard me enter, he put the object in his pocket. His face became red, and he seemed very nervous. "What are you looking at?" I asked. Simon didn't answer me. Instead, he laughed nervously and told me to sit down. I couldn't wait to tell him my news. "Simon, I have just come from Madame Vulpes. She gave me some important information that will help me find the perfect lens. If only I could find a diamond that weighs one hundred forty carats!" My words seemed to change Simon into a wild animal. He rushed to a small table and grabbed a long, thin knife. "No!" he shouted. "You won't get my treasure! I'll die before I give it to you!"
"My dear Simon," I said, "I don't know what you are talking about. I went to Madame Vulpes to ask her for help with a scientific problem. She told me I needed an enormous diamond. You could not possibly own a diamond that large. If you did, you would be very rich. And you wouldn't be living here." He stared at me for a second. Then he laughed and apologized. "Simon," I suggested, "let us drink some wine and forget all this. I have two bottles downstairs in my apartment. What do you think?" "I like your idea," he said. I brought the wine to his apartment, and we began to drink. By the time we had finished the first bottle, Simon was very sleepy and very drunk. I felt as calm as ever…for I believed that I knew Simon's secret.
重点解析
1.Day after day, night after night 日复一日，夜复一夜
Day after day and night after night we have wandered among the crumbing wonders of rome.
日日夜夜，我们在罗马名胜古迹的废墟中徘徊。
2.even though 即使；尽管
I will have a try even though I should fail.
哪怕失败，我也要试一下。
3.be angry at 因某事生气；因……而发怒
You have to be angry at what's happening.
对发生的事你应该感到愤怒才对啊。
4.as soon as 一……就；一怎么样就怎么样
As soon as we found this out, we closed the ward.
我们一发现此事就关闭了病房。
参考译文
我们今天要讲述的故事叫做《钻石镜头》，作者菲茨·詹姆斯·奥布莱恩。我们将分两部分讲述这个故事。现在，由莫里斯·乔伊斯讲述《钻石镜头》的第一部分。我十岁的时候，我的一个大表兄给了我一个显微镜。我第一次透过它神奇的镜头看去，包围着我日常生活的阴云散去了。我在一滴水里看到了一个由微小生物组成的宇宙。日日夜夜，我在显微镜下研究生命。对我来说，破坏了母亲果酱的真菌是一片神奇的花园。我会把其中一个绿色的霉菌点放到显微镜下，看那美丽的森林，那里的小树枝上挂着奇怪的银色和金色的果实。我觉得自己好像发现了另一个伊甸园。虽然我没告诉任何人我的秘密世界，但我决定用我的一生研究显微镜。
我的父母对我的人生另有安排。当我快二十岁时，他们坚持要我学一门专业，我家其实很富裕，我根本用不着工作。我决定在纽约学医。纽约离我家很远，所以我可以随心所欲地消磨时间。只要我每年支付医学院的学费，我的家人就永远不会知道我没有去上课。在纽约，我能买到质量上乘的显微镜，见到来自世界各地的科学家。我有足够的钱和时间花在自己的梦想上。我满怀希望地离开了家。在我到达纽约两天后，我找到了一个住的地方。那里很大，我可以把其中一个房间用作实验室。我在屋里摆满了不知道该怎么使用的各种昂贵的科学仪器。在这里待到第一年快结束时，我已经成为了显微镜专家，我也变得越来越不开心。那些昂贵的显微镜里的镜片还是不够强大，不能回答我有关生活的问题。我想象着自然界中还有一些秘密，但我所拥有的设备的有限功能使我无从了解。
我躺在床上彻夜未眠，希望找到完美的镜头——一个具有超棒放大能力的仪器。这样的镜头可以让我看到生命在其发展过程中最微小的部分。我确信，可以建造这样一个强大的镜头。我在纽约度过的第二年里，都在试图创造这样的镜头。我使用各种材料做实验，试过普通玻璃、水晶甚至宝石，但我总是发现自己又回到了起点。父母对我的医学研究缺乏进展很生气，我到纽约后没上过一节课。而且，我在实验上花了很多钱。一天，我在实验室工作时，朱尔斯·西蒙敲响了我的门。他住在我楼上的公寓里。我知道他喜欢珠宝，昂贵的衣服和优质的生活。他也有点神秘，总有东西要卖：一幅画、一个罕见的雕塑，一对昂贵的台灯。我不明白西蒙为什么这么做，他似乎不需要钱。他在纽约的许多朋友，家室都非常好。西蒙走进我的实验室时非常兴奋。“哦，我亲爱的朋友！”他气喘吁吁地说。“我刚刚看到了世界上最神奇的东西！”
他告诉我他去看望一位拥有奇异魔力的女人，她能和死人说话，能读懂活人的心思。为了测试她，西蒙在一张纸上写了一些关于自己的问题。那个叫做伍尔普斯的女士，正确地回答了所有的问题。听说了这位女士的故事，让我有了一个主意，也许她能帮我发现完美镜头的秘密。两天后，我去了她家。伍尔普斯夫人相貌丑陋，她有一双锐利、残忍的眼睛。她开门时没跟我说一句话，而是把我带进了客厅。我们在一张大圆桌旁坐下，她说了几句话。“你想从我这里了解什么？”“我想和在我出生前去世多年的一个人谈谈。” “把你的手放到桌上。”我们在那里坐了几分钟，房间越来越黑了，但伍尔普斯夫人没有开灯。我开始觉得这样做有点愚蠢。然后，我感到一阵猛烈的敲门声。敲门声摇动了桌子、我的椅背，我脚下的地板，甚至还有窗户。
沃尔普斯夫人笑了。“他们今晚气势很强，你真幸运。他们要你写下你想交谈的灵魂的名字。”我从笔记本上撕下一张纸，写下了一个名字。我没让沃尔普斯夫人看。过了一会儿，沃尔普斯夫人的手开始剧烈颤抖，桌子都动了起来。她说那个灵魂现在握着她的手，要给我留话。我把纸笔给她，她在纸上写了些东西后，把纸给我。上面写着：“我在这里，向我提问吧。”署名是“卢文胡克”。我不敢相信自己的眼睛，那名字和我写在纸上的名字一样。我确信一个像沃尔普斯夫人这样无知的女性，不会知道卢文胡克是谁。为什么她会知道发明显微镜的那个人的名字？很快，我在另一张纸上写了一个问题。“我怎样才能创造出完美的镜头？”卢文胡克写道：“找一颗140克拉的钻石，给它施加一个强劲的电流。电流会改变钻石的原子，用这块钻石，你能造出完美的镜片。”
我怀着极度兴奋的心情离开了沃尔普斯夫人的家。我在哪儿能找到这么大的钻石呢？用尽我家所有的钱，都买不到这样的钻石。即使我拥有足够的钱，我也知道这样的钻石也很难找到。到家时，我看见西蒙的窗口有一盏灯。我爬楼梯来到他的公寓，没敲门就进去了。西蒙弯下腰俯在一盏灯上，背对着我。他看上去好像在仔细研究手里的一个小东西。他一听到我进来，就把东西放进口袋里。他的脸变红了，看上去很紧张。“你在看什么？”我问。西蒙没有回答我，而是紧张地笑着，叫我坐下。我迫不及待地告诉他我得到的消息。“西蒙，我刚从沃尔普斯夫人那儿回来。她给了我一些重要的信息，帮助我找到完美的镜头。我要是能找到一颗重达140克拉的钻石就好了！”我的话似乎把西蒙变成了野兽，他冲到一张小桌子前，抓住一把又长又细的刀。“不！”他喊道。“你得不到我的宝贝！只有我死，我才会把它给你！”
“亲爱的西蒙，”我说，“我不知道你在说什么。我去找沃尔普斯夫人，要她帮忙解决一个科学问题。她说我需要一颗大钻石，你不可能拥有那么大的钻石。如果你有，你肯定非常富有，也就不会住在这儿了。”他盯着我看了一会儿，然后笑着向我道歉。“西蒙，”我提议，“我们喝点酒吧，忘掉这一切。我公寓楼下有两瓶酒，你觉得呢？”“我喜欢你的主意，”他说。我把酒带到他的公寓，我们开始喝酒。喝完第一瓶时，西蒙很困倦，也喝醉了。我和以前一样平静......因为我认为我知道西蒙的秘密。
