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[00:00.00]Lesson Two Text
[00:04.70]The Man Who Could Work Miracles
[00:09.06]H. G. Wells Until he was thirty years old,
[00:17.24]Fotheringay did not believe in miracles.
[00:22.39]It was while he was asserting the impossibility of miracles
[00:27.95]that he discovered his extraordinary powers.
[00:32.78]He was having a drink in a bar.
[00:37.15]Toddy Beamish opposed everything he said
[00:42.19]by a monotonous1 but effective "So you say,
[00:48.07]and drove him to the limit of his patience
[00:52.72]Angry with Mr.Beamish,
[00:56.24]Mr. Fotheringay determined2 to make an unusual effort.
[01:02.41]"Look here,Mr.Beamish," said Mr. Fotheringay.
[01:07.97]"Let us clearly understand what a miracle is.
[01:13.61]It's something contrary to the course of nature done by power of Will, "
[01:21.87]"So you say," said Mr.Beamish.
[01:27.01]"For instance," said Mr.Fotheringay
[01:31.27]"Here would be a miracle.
[01:34.75]That lamp,in the natural course of nature,
[01:40.02]couldn't bum3 like that upside down, could it.Beamish?"
[01:45.77]"You say it couldn't,"said Beamish.
[01:50.63]"And you?" said Fotheringay.
[01:54.39]You don't mean to say
[01:57.86]"No," said Beamish reluctantly."No, it couldn't."
[02:03.22]"Very well," said Mr. Fotheringay.
[02:07.76]"Then here comes someone,perhaps myself, and stands here,
[02:14.64]and says to that lamp,as I might do,
[02:19.18]collecting all my will Turn upside down without breaking,
[02:27.25]and go on burning steady,'and Hullo!"
[02:32.89]It was enough to make anyone say "Hullo!"
[02:37.26]The incredible was visible to them all.
[02:41.93]The lamp hung upside down in the air,
[02:47.50]burning quietly with its flame pointing down.
[02:54.58]Mr.Fotheringay stood with a forefinger4 stretched out
[03:00.51]and the troubled face of one expecting a terrible crash.
[03:06.67]A cyclist, who was sitting next to the lamp, ducked and jumped across the bar.
[03:14.53]For nearly three seconds the lamp remained still.
[03:20.59]A faint cry of mental distress5 came from Mr. Fotheringay;
[03:27.15]"I can't keep it up,"he said, "any longer."
[03:32.40]He staggered back, and the lamp suddenly fell.
[03:37.97]It was lucky it had a metal container,
[03:42.09]or the whole place would have been on fire.
[03:46.46]Mr. Cox, the landlord was the first to speak
[03:52.10]and his remark was to the effectthat Fotheringay was a fool.
[03:59.18]Fotheringay himself was astonished beyond measure at the thing that had occurred.
[04:06.73]The subsequent conversation threw no light on the matter,
[04:12.50]and everyone accused Fotheringay of a silly trick.
[04:18.43]He himself was terribly puzzled,
[04:22.66]He went home red-faced and hot.
[04:27.49]It was only when he found himself alone inhis little bedroom
[04:33.55]that he was able to think clearly and ask,
[04:38.88]"What on earth happened?"He had removed his coat and boots,
[04:45.86]and was sitting on the bed with his hands in his pocket.
[04:50.82]He was repeating for the seventeenth time,
[04:55.58]"I didn't want the thing to turn over,"
[04:59.65]when it occurred to him that at the precise moment hesaid the commanding words
[05:07.98]he had willed the thing that he said
[05:12.63]And when he saw the lamp in the air he had felt that it depended on him
[05:20.71]to maintain it therewith out being clear how this was to be done.
[05:27.97]He decided6 on another experiment.
[05:32.33]He pointed7 to his candle and collected his mind,
[05:37.97]though he felt he did a foolish thing.
[05:42.05]"Be raised up," he said.
[05:46.59]The candle was raised,hung in the air for a moment,
[05:52.86]and then fell with a crash on his table,
[05:57.12]leaving him in darkness.
[06:00.65]For a time Mr.Fotheringay sat perfectly8 still,
[06:06.11]"It did happen, after all," he said.
[06:11.44]"And how I'm going to explain it, I don't know."He sighed heavily,
[06:19.69]and began feeling in his pockets for a match.
[06:24.26]"I wish I had a match,he said. He tried his coat, and there were none there,
[06:32.59]and then it dawned upon him that miracles were possible even with matches.
[06:40.04]He stretched out a hand.
[06:43.70]"Let there be a match in that hand," he said.
[06:49.76]He felt some light object fall across his palm,
[06:54.80]and his fingers closed upon a match
[07:00.26]After several futile9 attempts to light this he threw it down,
[07:06.42]and then it occurred to him that he might have willed it to be lit.
[07:12.46]He did so, and saw it burning on the table.
[07:18.80]He caught it up hastily, and it went out.
[07:23.56]His perception of possibilities enlarged,
[07:28.60]and he felt for and replaced the candle in its candlestick.
[07:34.77]"Here!You be lit," said Mr.Fotheringay,and at once the candle was burning.
[07:44.33]For a time he stared at it,
[07:47.98]and then looked up and met his own gaze in the looking glass.
[07:54.15]"What about miracles now?" said Mr.Fotheringay, addressing his own reflection.
[08:03.08]The subsequent thoughts of Mr.Fotheringay were confused.
[08:08.75]So far as he could see he had only to will the thing.
[08:15.80]After his first experiences, he wished to make only very cautious experiments.
[08:24.27]But he lifted a sheet of paper,and turned a glass of water pink,
[08:31.53]and then green,and got himself a toothbrush.
[08:37.17]In the early hours of the morning he had reached the fact
[08:43.23]that his will power must be unusual and strong.
[08:49.29]The fears of his first discovery were now mixed with pride
[08:57.34]and ideas of advantage.
[09:02.51]He heard the church clock striking one,
[09:06.77]and decided to get into bed without further delay.
[09:12.12]As he struggled to get his shirt over his head,
[09:17.09]he was struck with a brilliant idea.
[09:21.35]"Let me be in bed," he said, and found himself so.
[09:28.29]"Undressed," he added;and finding the sheets cold, he said hastily,
[09:36.23]"and in my nightshirt no,in a nice soft woollen nightshirt.
[09:43.60]Ah!" he said with immense enjoyment10.
[09:49.17]"And now let me be comfortably asleep..."
[09:54.63]He awoke at his usual hourand was thoughtful all through breakfast time.
[10:01.89]He wondered whether his experience might not be a dream.
[10:08.13]At last his mind turned again to cautious experiments.
[10:14.40]For instance, he had three eggs for breakfast;
[10:19.86]two were supplied by his landlady11, good,
[10:25.19]but from the shop,and one was a delicious fresh goose egg,
[10:32.42]laid, cooked,and served by his extraordinary will.
[10:40.16]He hurried to work in a state of profoundbut carefully concealed12 excitement.
[10:48.52]All day he could do no work because of his astonishing knowledge,
[10:55.78]but this caused him no inconvenience,
[11:00.04]because he made up for ii miraculously in his last ten minutes.
[11:06.59]As the day passed, his state of mind passed from wonder to delight.
[11:14.85]He intended,among other things,to increase his personal property
[11:21.69]by acts of creation,
[11:25.06]and called into existence a number of nice things.
[11:31.02]But he could see that the gift required caution and watchfulness13.
[11:37.97]After supper one night he went out
[11:43.01]to try a few miracles in private by the gasworks.
[11:49.04]He stuck his walking stick into the ground
[11:53.40]and commanded the dry wood to blossom.
[11:58.05]The air was immediately full of the scent14 of roses.
[12:03.62]He struck a matchand saw that this beautiful miracle was indeed accomplished15.
[12:12.06]His satisfaction was ended by advancing footsteps.
[12:17.91]Afraid that someone would discover his powers,he said to the stick hastily,
[12:25.77]"Go back. "What he meant was"Change back";
[12:32.43]but the stick moved backwards16 at a considerable speed,
[12:38.70]and there came a cry of anger from the approaching person.
[12:44.55]"Who are you throwing rosebushes at, you fool?" cried a voice.
[12:51.71]"I'm sorry," said Mr.Fotheringay. He saw Winch, a policeman, advancing.
[12:59.28]"What do you mean by it?" asked Winch.
[13:03.83]"Hullo! It's you, is it?The man who broke the lamp at that bar!
[13:10.49]What did you do it for?Do you know that stick hurt?"
[13:16.45]For the moment Fotheringay could not utter a word.
[13:21.49]His silence seemed to irritate Mr. Winch.
[13:26.03]"You've been assaulting the police, young man, this time."
[13:31.31]"Look here,Mr. Winch,"said Fotheringay,annoyed and confused.
[13:37.48]"I'm very sorry. The fact is ...""Well?"
[13:42.73]He could think of no answer but the truth.
[13:47.87]"I was working a miracle."He tried to speak as casually17 as he could.
[13:55.24]"Working a . . !Look! Don't talk rot.Working a miracle,indeed!
[14:01.90]Well, that's really funny!
[14:06.05]You're the man who doesn't believe in miracles. . .
[14:10.49]The fact is, this is another of your silly tricks.Now I tell you ..."
[14:18.15]But Mr. Fotheringay never heard what Mr.Winch was going to tell him.
[14:24.99]He realized that he had given himself away.
[14:31.34]He became violently irritated.He turned on the policeman swiftly and fiercely.
[14:39.70]"Listen," he said.
[14:42.76]"I've had enough of this.I'll show you a silly trick, Go to Hades!"
[14:51.82]He was alone!Mr.Fotheringay performed no more miracles that night,
[15:01.28]nor did he trouble to see what had become of his flowering stick
[15:05.53]He went back, scared and very quiet.
[15:11.39]"Good Heavens!" he said,
[15:14.76]"It's an extremely powerful gift.I didn't mean as much as that.
[15:21.60]Not really...I wonder what Hades is like."
[15:27.56]He sat on the bed taking off his shoes.
[15:32.23]Struck by a happy thought he transferred the policeman to San Francisco,
[15:40.28]and then went to bed.
[15:43.33]The next day Fotheringay heard two interesting pieces of news.
[15:50.41]Someone had planted a most beautiful climbing rose near the gasworks,
[15:57.86]and everyone was looking for Constable18 Winch.
收听单词发音 |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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bum
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| n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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8
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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10
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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11
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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12
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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13
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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14
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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15
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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16
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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