英语博客(A cup of English):074 Story time part 2.

　　History is uncovered.
It was a few days after the incident that Betsy Brompton came home from the hospital. The village was buzzing with rumors¹ that she had lost her mind, or that she had made up the whole story. Anyone who knew Betsy didn't believe either. Nevertheless, homes, shops, and businesses were full of conversation about the church bell mystery. Reverend Holtworth and a regional Bishop³ paid Betsy a friendly visit shortly after her return. Again, the gossip shot around the village. The word "curse" was adding color to everybody's imagination, and since Betsy had uttered that word, the village had not been the same. In the pubs, stories of  battles, tragedies, and romances that had taken place in the village flowed like the beer, and the more the beer flowed, the more dramatic and ridiculous the stories. But everyone wanted to believe them, of course. Nothing this interesting had happened in the village since the daughter of a wealthy, local land owner had run off with a clown from a traveling circus.
Since the vicar's visit, Betsy had told whoever asked her that she had not felt well that day, and so had imagined that the bells were ringing themselves. As for the word "curse", well, she didn't remember saying it at all. She told everybody the same thing, and, though her story was consistent, nobody chose to believe her. It would be a disappointment to believe her story now. This mystery was far to juicy to give up. Perhaps Reverend Holtworth had had words with her about not stirring up panic or superstition⁴ in the village. Perhaps he had advised her to believe her new story. Either way, church was full the following Sunday. There wasn't an empty pew, and villagers were even standing⁵ at the back. The Rev². was delighted and surprised. The attendance had never been so good. His sermon was about God's order and how it should be reflected in our lives, how reason should control imagination.
By the end of the second Sunday, the church bell mystery seemed to have faded to simply an interesting episode. Mrs Brompton had gone back to work at the church, and though she looked over her shoulder more often, life seemed to be back to normal. But then he came to town. A stranger, who stopped in at Cranshaw's cafe on his way up north, upon hearing about the bells, told a story of the bell tower that took place exactly one hundred years ago. The few people in the cafe were silent as they listened. No one chewed, no one swallowed, no one even blinked. He said that a poor, shy bell ringer by the name of Peter Witcome fell desperately⁶ in love with a local beauty who promised to marry him. But she did so as a joke. When he discovered her cruelty, he rang the bells wildly and with such strength that the largest of them fell on him and squashed him as flat as a pancake. His family moved away, vowing⁷ that their son would be avenged⁸, even if it took a hundred years. Silence hung in the cafe for several minutes after the

1 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

3 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

4 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

8 avenged   

v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复

参考例句：

• She avenged her mother's death upon the Nazi soldiers. 她惩处了纳粹士兵以报杀母之仇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Indians avenged the burning of their village on〔upon〕 the settlers. 印第安人因为村庄被焚毁向拓居者们进行报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》