双语有声阅读:The Gentleman Thief 怪盗亚森•罗苹

The Gentleman Thief 怪盗亚森•罗苹

He is handsome, charming, highly intelligent, and a master of disguise. He steals, but only from the rich, and marries four times. He travels the world using a number of names and his adventures are the talk of Paris. Who is this fascinating celebrity¹? He is Arsene Lupin, gentleman-criminal-turned-detective and one of France’s best-known and best-loved literary figures.

Created by French writer Maurice Leblanc, Lupin first appeared in 1905 in the French magazine “Je Sais Tout” (I Know Everything). The magazine regularly contained stories featuring the criminal genius, and in 1907 published a collection called “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.”

The daring thief’s exploits achieved a level of popularity to match that of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, Leblanc was himself a great fan of the fictional² English detective, and wrote a Holmes-like detective named Herlock Sholmes into several of Lupin’s greatest adventures.

Maurice Leblanc was born in northern France in 1864. His wealthy father, the owner of a successful shipping³ firm, sent Maurice to be educated in France, Germany and Italy. Leblanc spent some time working for his father, and later began studying law. However, he gave it all up to become a writer.

After spending many years in obscurity, Leblanc finally gained literary fame in his 40s with the creation of Arsene Lupin. In contrast to Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate detective, Lupin was an extreme version of the gentleman criminal, a popular character in fiction and film throughout the 20th century.

Following the success of the first novel, Arsene Lupin kept his creator busy for the next quarter of a century. The last book in the 20-book series, “the Billions of Arsene Lupin,” came out in 1933. Leblanc died in the south of France eight years later.

It may seem surprising that a fictional thief should be so enthusiastically received. Yet Lupin,though often on the wrong side of the law, is definitely a force for good. His true enemies are always evil men whose crimes are far worse than his own. Moreover his crimes are often motivated by good intentions. Later in his career, Lupin actually works with the police, and in one adventure, even leads a murder investigation⁴.

His ongoing⁵ battle of wits with Herlock Sholmes accounts for some memorable⁶ events. Their rivalry⁷ leads to a gun battle which kills the woman with whom Lupin had decided⁸ to settle down. Devastated⁹ by her death, Lupin returns once more to his life of crime. He eventually has his revenge on Sholmes by solving a riddle¹⁰ that the detective couldn not. By outwitting Sholmes, Arsene Lupin is, once and for all, proved to be the world’s greatest criminal genius.

他英俊迷人，聪明绝顶，是个伪装高手。他行窃，但只对富人下手，他结过四次婚。他以多个化名环游世界，他的冒险也在巴黎传颂一时。这个让人着迷的人是谁呢？他就是亚森·罗苹，绅士怪盗名侦探，也是法国最有名而且最受喜爱的文学人物之一。

由法国作家莫里斯·勒布朗所塑造的罗苹在1905年的一本法语杂志《我什么都知道》中首次登场。这本杂志定期在专栏刊登这位犯罪天才的故事，并在1907年编辑出版《怪盗亚森·罗苹》一书。

这个大胆窃贼的业绩受欢迎的程度足以与阿瑟·柯南道尔笔下的福尔摩斯媲美。事实上，勒布朗自己就是这名虚构英国侦探的狂热崇拜者，而且他将一名神似福尔摩斯的侦探写入罗苹的许多精彩冒险故事中，甚至给他取名为“摩尔福斯”。

1864年莫里斯·勒布朗出生在法国北部。莫里斯富有的父亲是一家生意兴隆的运输公司老板，他把莫里斯送到法国、德国和意大利接受教育。勒布朗为父亲工作了一段时间，后来开始攻读法律。可是他还是放弃了一切成为了一名作家。

勒布朗多年来一直默默无闻，终于在四十多岁时因创作亚森·罗苹享誉文坛。不同于福尔摩斯，这位天下第一侦探—罗苹，以绅士怪盗这个极为不同的造型，成为纵横20世纪小说界和影坛受欢迎的人物。

第一本小说一炮打响后，亚森·罗苹使他的创作者忙碌了25年。20本亚森·罗苹系列丛书中的最后一本《万变的亚森·罗苹》于1933年问世。勒布朗于八年后在法国南部逝世。

一个虚构的窃贼竟会受到如此热烈的反应似乎很让人感到意外。虽然罗苹经常犯法，但他绝对是一个促人从善的人。他的真正敌人总是远比他罪孽还要深重的邪恶之徒。而且他犯罪的动机总是出于善意。在后期的侦探生涯中，罗苹其实还与警方一同办案，在一次冒险中，他甚至还主持了对一件谋杀案的调查
 

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。