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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
“I’ll tell you what I know about Effie‘s history. She was a widow1 when I met her first, though quite young — only twenty-five. Her name then was Mrs. Hebron. She went out to America when she was young and lived in the town of Atlanta, where she married this Hebron, who was a lawyer with a good practice. They had one child, but the yellow fever broke out badly in the place, and both husband and child died of it. I have seen his death certificate2. This sickened her of America, and she came back to live with a maiden3 aunt at Pinner, in Middlesex. I may mention that her husband had left her comfortably off, and that she had a capital of about four thousand five hundred pounds, which had been so well invested5 by him that it returned an average of seven per cent. She had only been six months at Pinner when I met her; we fell in love with each other, and we married a few weeks afterwards.
“I am a hop6 merchant myself, and as I have an income of seven or eight hundred, we found ourselves comfortably off and took a nice eighty-pound-a-year villa7 at Norbury. Our little place was very countrified, considering that it is so close to town. We had an inn4 and two houses a little above us, and a single cottage at the other side of the field which faces us, and except those there were no houses until you got halfway8 to the station. My business took me into town at certain seasons, but in summer I had less to do, and then in our country home my wife and I were just as happy as could be wished. I tell you that there never was a shadow between us until this accursed affair began.
“There’s one thing I ought to tell you before I go further. When we married, my wife made over all her property9 to me — rather against my will, for I saw how awkward10 it would be if my business affairs went wrong. However, she would have it so, and it was done. Well, about six weeks ago she came to me.
“‘Jack11,’ said she, ‘when you took my money you said that if ever I wanted any I was to ask you for it.’
“‘Certainly ‘ said I. ‘It’s all your own.’
“‘Well,’ said she, ‘I want a hundred pounds.’
“I was a bit staggered12 at this, for I had imagined it was simply a new dress or something of the kind that she was after.
“‘What on earth for?’ I asked.
“‘Oh,’ said she in her playful way, ‘you said that you were only my banker, and bankers never ask questions, you know.’
“‘If you really mean it, of course you shall have the money,’ said I.
“‘Oh, yes, I really mean it.’
“‘And you won’t tell me what you want it for?’
“‘Some day, perhaps, but not just at present, Jack.’
“So I had to be content with that, though it was the first time that there had ever been any secret between us. I gave her a check, and I never thought any more of the matter. It may have nothing to do with what came afterwards, but I thought it only right to mention it.
“我先把我所知道的艾菲的历史告诉你。我初次见到她时，虽然她很年轻，仅仅二十五岁，却已是未亡人了。那时她叫赫伯龙夫人。她小时就到美国去了，住在亚特兰大城，在那里嫁给了那个赫伯龙，他是个律师，顾客很多。他们有一个孩子，可是那地方流行了黄热病，她的丈夫和孩子得黄热病双双死去，我看到了赫伯龙的死亡证。这使她对美国产生了恶感，便回国和她未出嫁的姑母一起住在米德尔塞克斯的平纳尔。我还要说明，她的丈夫给她留下相当多的遗产，大约有四千五百镑。她丈夫在世时对这笔资产投资得利，平均年利七厘。我遇见她时，她到平纳尔才六个月，我们互相倾心，几星期后就结婚了。
“我自己是个蛇麻商人，每年有七八百镑的收入。我们在诺伯里租了一座小别墅，每年租金八十镑，生活非常舒适。我们这小地方离城虽然很近，却有乡村风味。离我们不远，有一家小旅馆和两所房屋，我们门前田地的那一边有一所单独的小别墅。除此以外，只有到车站去的半路上才有房子。我的职业使我在一定的季节才进城去办事，可是在夏季我就不用进城了。于是我和我的妻子在自己的乡下住宅纵情欢乐。我可以告诉你，在这件不幸的事情发生之前，我们夫妇从来没有发生过任何不愉快的事。
“还有一件事，我应当先告诉你，然后再讲下去。我们结婚时，妻子把全部财产都转让到我名下了。这原不是我的本意，因为我觉得我的事业如果失败，那就很难周转了。可是，她一定要这样做，我只好照办了。啊，大约六个星期以前，她来找我。
“'杰克，'她说道，'当你接受我那笔钱的时候，你说过，我什么时候要用就可以向你要。'
“'不错，'我说道，'那本来都是你自己的钱嘛。'
“'好，'她说道，'我要一百镑。'
“我听到这话，感到有些惊愕，因为我以为她不过是要买一件新衣服或其他这一类的东西。
“'到底怎么回事？'我问道。
“'噢，'她开玩笑地说道，'你说过你只不过做我的银行保管，你知道，银行保管是从来不向人家乱发问的。'
“'如果你真需要这些钱，当然可以拿到它。'我说道。
“'啊，是的，我当真需要它。'
“'你不能告诉我你用这笔钱作什么吗？'
“'杰克，过几天可以告诉你，不过现在不行。'
“于是我只好这样办了。不过如果说我们夫妇间有什么秘密的话，这就是破题儿第一遭。我给了她一张支票，事后也没再想这件事。这件事也许和后来发生的事没有什么关系，但我想我还是都说出来好。
收听单词发音 |
1
widow
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| n.寡妇 | |
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2
certificate
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| n.证书，证明书；vt.发给证明书，认可，鉴定 | |
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3
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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4
inn
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店，小饭店 | |
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5
invested
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| v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等） | |
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6
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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7
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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8
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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9
property
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| n.财产，所有物，所有权，性质，特性，（小）道具 | |
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10
awkward
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| adj.笨拙的，尴尬的，使用不便的，难处理的 | |
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11
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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12
staggered
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| 错列的，叉排的 | |
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