英語短篇小說在線閱讀

① 求一篇短篇英文小說（顏色不對那種），直接貼上來！

Black Horse 黑駿馬

Jed got to the top of the mountain and sat down to rest. The July sun had made him hot.
傑德到了山頂，就坐下來休息。7月底太陽使他熱汗淋淋。

It had been a long walk to the top and he was tired. He knew the horse he was trying to capture could not be too far away. He looked at the mountain and the valleys below, searching footmarks left by the horse.
他走了很長一段路才到山頂的，所以感到渾身乏力。他知道他想方設法要逮住的那匹馬離此不會太遠。他察看折山上及下面的山谷，尋找著那匹馬留下的蹄印。

Then he saw the marks going down the other side of the mountain. He must capture the horse. He knew better men than he had tried. Tom Raglan, the best rancher in the state, had tried with the help of his cowboys.
這時，他看到在山的另一側，順坡而下有一行馬蹄印。他一定要逮住這匹馬。他知道曾有比他更有能耐的人嘗試過。州內最好的牧場主湯姆·拉格倫就曾經在他那幫牛仔的幫助下做過嘗試.

But they had not been able to capture it. It had gotten away from others, too. They all said it was too wild. It could not be captured.
但他們並沒有能逮住它,其他試圖去逮它的人也都失敗了，都讓它逃脫了。他們都說他太野，是不可能被逮住的。

After a slow, painful walk down the mountain, Jed came to a cool-looking river. He drank the clear water.順著山路向下，慢慢地、艱難地走了一段之後，傑德到達一條水看上去十分清澈的河邊，喝了幾口河水。

Further down the valley he saw the black horse. It stood under a tree out of the sun. Jed moved closer, then hid behind a tree to watch. It was the biggest and blackest and blackest he had ever seen.
接著又沿山谷向前走了一段，這是他看到了那匹黑馬，他站在一棵樹下遮太陽。傑德又走進了些，然後躲在一棵樹後觀察。這是他有生以來見過的最大、最黑的馬。

Jed knew all about horse. He had grown into a man caring for them. He had never earned more than '10 but he had dreams: If he could get a male and female house and 10 hectares of land, he could sell horses. That would be all the happiness Jed wanted.
傑德對馬了如指掌。他是一個從小與馬廝混、在馬背上長大的人。盡管他掙的錢從來沒有超過10美元，但他有自己的夢想：如果他能夠得到一匹公馬、一匹母馬和10公頃土地，他就可以養馬並以賣馬為生了。那就是傑德想要得到的全部幸福了。

Night came. The big black house moved from under the tree and began to eat grass near the river. Jed watched again. A few hours later, he found a soft place in the ground. He placed his head against an old fallen tree and slept.
夜幕降臨。那匹大黑馬從樹下走了出來，走到河邊開始吃草。傑德繼續觀察著。幾小時後，他在地上找了一塊柔軟的地方，將頭靠在一棵倒著的老樹上睡著了。

The next day he woke with the sun. His eyes searched for the horse, and there it was, grazing. Jed saw how it ate, then lifted its head and looked all around. It was the mark of the wild, always looking for hidden danger.
第二天日出時他醒了過來，馬上就用目光尋找那匹馬，還好，它就站在那裡，正吃著草呢。傑德看著它吃草，隨後又見它抬起頭，朝四周看看。這就是野馬的特徵：它們總是十分小心，不時地看看四周是否有什麼暗藏的危險。

Jed started to walk toward the horse. The horse stopped eating and looking at Jed. Jed's heart began to beat heavily. Men had said the horse was a killer. Still, he walked closer.
傑德開始慢慢向它走近。它停止吃草，看著傑德。傑德的心開始「咚咚」直跳。人們都說這馬是一個殺手，但他還是繼續向它靠近。

Fifteen meters away from the horse Jed stopped. The horse had lifted its front feet high in the air, then placed them heavily back on the ground. Jed moved closer. He talked to the horse in a soft voice.
在離它15米遠的地方，傑德停了下來。只見它高高的抬起前蹄，然後又重重的落回原地。傑德又走近了些。他開始柔聲跟它說話。

Then, with a loud scream, the horse turned and ran down the valley. Jed sank to the ground wet with excitement. He had done what no man had done.
接著，隨著一聲響亮的嘶鳴，這匹馬轉身順著山谷跑了下去。傑德卻因興奮而渾身大汗淋漓，倒在地上。他已經做了別人沒有做到的事兒.

He had almost touched the wild horse. The animal was not a killer. If it had been, Jed would be dead now.
他幾乎快要挨到這匹野馬了。它並不是一個殺手，如果它是的話，傑德現在已經沒命了。

For six days he followed the horse. He rested when the horse rested. Jed did not like the land they were in now. The sides of the valley were high and filled with big rocks. Few trees were around. And the bottom of the valley was soft and wet.
他一連跟蹤了這匹馬6天。只有馬歇的時候，他才歇。傑德不喜歡他現在所呆的地方。這山谷的兩側都很高，到處是大岩石，周圍沒有多少樹，而且谷底又軟又濕。

Jed watched the horse a while, and then lay down to sleep.
傑德又看了一會兒馬，隨後躺下來睡覺。

In the middle of the night, he was awakened by thunder and rain. He walked up the rocks until he found a dry hole, safe from the rain, and he slept again.
半夜十分，他被雷雨聲驚醒。他立刻沿著岩石向上走，直到找了一個可以蔽雨的乾燥的山洞，他再接著睡。

The next day was cold and wet. Heavy rains had softened the bottom of the valley. He followed the house most of the day. The wet valley was the only place it could walk now.
第二天又冷又濕。大雨已經泡軟了谷底的土壤。這一天他大部分時間都在跟著馬走。濕濕的山谷是現在它唯一可以行走的地方了。

The sides of the valley had gotten higher. Toward evening he saw it again. But this time there was fear in its face. He stopped and watched. The horse's nose was smelling the air. It smelled danger. It smelled danger.
越走，山谷兩側就顯得越高。臨近黃昏時分，他才又見到了它，但這次它的臉上出現了一種恐懼的神情。他停下來仔細觀察，只見馬鼻子在嗅著空氣，他聞到了危險的氣息。

Jed thought of wild animals, a wildcat(鏈接至同目錄下wildcat）or bear maybe. He pulled his knife from his pants. He looked among the rocks but saw nothing.
傑德想到是不是有什麼野獸，一隻豹貓，也可能是一隻熊。他從褲子里抽出刀，在岩石間四處看看，但什麼也沒有看見。

He began walking toward the horse. The wildcat could have been on either side of the valley. He walked slowly, trying to watch both sides at the same time.
他便向馬走過去。豹貓可能在山谷的某一側。他走得很慢，盡力同時看著兩側。

Slowly he came to the horse's side. Jed kept watching the rocks. If the cat was going to attack, it would do it now. He felt the excitement of danger.
慢慢地，他來到了馬身邊。傑德一直盯著那些岩石。豹貓如果要襲擊，它現在就會跳出來的。他感到既危險又興奮。

Suddenly the silence was broken. The black horse screamed loudly, a cry of fear. It began running down the wet valley.
突然，寂靜被打破了。黑駿馬大聲嘶叫起來，那是一種充滿恐懼的叫喊。隨後，它順著濕漉漉的山谷奔跑起來。

At the same time there was a heavy, deep noise from the rocks. Then it happened. Tons of wet earth and big rocks began moving down the sides of the mountain. The land itself was the enemy.
與此同時，岩石中傳出了一種沉重的、深沉的響聲。緊接著，事情就發生了。成噸成噸的濕土和大岩石開始從山坡兩側滾落下來。原來山地本身就是馬的敵人。

When the air became clear, Jed looked for the horse. In front of him were tons of the fallen earth. He could not see down the valley and could not see the horse.

當空氣恢復清新的時候，傑德立刻開始找馬。在他面前是滾落下來的成噸的泥土，他無法看到山谷的前方，也看不到馬。

He slowly climbed over the fallen rocks. On the other side was the horse, more frightened than ever. Its legs were stuck in the soft earth and it could not move. The more it struggled, the deeper it sank in the mud.

他慢慢地爬過那些落下來的岩石。馬在這個石土堆的另一邊，看上去比先前更加恐懼。它的腿陷入了軟土裡，動彈不得。 而它越掙扎，就在泥中陷的越深。

Jed walked toward the animal. Each step he took, the soft mud tried to suck him down, too. He walked on the grassy places harder than the mud.

傑德向它走過去。他每走一步都感到軟泥也在將他向下吸，而且在長草的地方走比在泥里走還要艱難。

When he got to the horse, it was in the mud up to his stomach. Now it could move only its head. Jed felt wildly happy when he touched the horse. 「Don't struggle and do not worry, Horse! I'll get you out!」

當他趕到馬身邊的時候，泥已經驗到了馬肚上，現在它只剩下頭部還能動彈。摸到馬，傑德感到欣喜若狂。「別掙扎，別擔心，馬兒！我會把你弄出來的！」

Suddenly he felt the horses teeth on his arm. He bit his lip to stop it from crying aloud. His free hand gently calmed the horse and slowly it let go. It pressed its nose against Jed's face. At last they were friends.

突然，他趕到馬的牙齒咬住了他的手臂。他咬住嘴唇，以防自己疼得叫出聲來。他用那隻沒被咬著的手輕撫馬身，使它平靜下來，慢慢地讓它松開了嘴。隨後，馬將鼻子貼在了傑德的臉上。最後，他們成了朋友。

Now Jed could go to work. He studied the problem carefully. He had no way to lift the big horse from the mud. Certainly his rope was not strong enough.

現在傑德可以開始忙活了。他仔細研究了這個問題。他沒有辦法將這么大的一匹馬從泥里拽出來，它的繩子顯然不夠結實。

He began to pull the mud away with his hands. But more mud fell into the hole he g. He ran to the rocks that had fallen down the mountain. He took off his shirt and filled it with rocks. He g again.

他開始用手將泥刨開，但這樣以後，更多的泥又落進了他剛挖開的窟窿里。他就跑到那些山上落下的岩石邊，脫下襯衣將岩石裹住，又挖了起來。

Only this time, he placed rocks in the holes he g. The rocks stayed still and slowly a wall began to form. He did this through the day and when night came, his hands were bloody, torn by the sharp rocks.

這一次，他將岩石放進他挖開的窟窿里，岩石穩穩地呆在裡面，慢慢地形成了一面擋土石壁。他整整挖了一天。夜幕降臨時，他的兩手已經被尖銳的岩石劃得血淋淋的。

He knew night would be a bad time for the horse. He did not want it to become frightened and struggle against the wall of rock he was building in the mud.

他知道，夜晚對馬來說是很難熬的。他不想讓馬害怕，以至於掙紮起來踢壞他在泥里建好的石壁。

He cut some small trees, laid them on the ground next to the horse and all through the night, he spoke soft, kind words to it to calm its fears.

他砍了一些小樹，將它們放在馬旁邊的地上。另外，整整一夜，他都跟馬說一些溫柔友善的話來解除它的恐懼。

The next morning, he brought grass for it to eat and began his work again. It was slow, hard work. When night came, he lay next to the horse again. He did not want it to struggle yet. The time had not come for the test.

第二天早上，他抱來些草讓它吃，然後又開始忙活起來。這是一項好時而又艱苦的工作。夜幕降臨時，他又在馬旁邊躺了下來。現在他還不想讓馬從泥中掙脫出來，考驗的時機還沒有到。

By the middle of the next day, he had enough rocks in the mud on one side of the horse. Now he began to dig near the houses front legs. His rocks began to make the mud harder. The horse was able to move a little.

到第三天中午的時候，他在馬一邊的泥里放進了足夠的岩石。現在他開始挖馬前腿附近的土了。他放的岩石使泥地堅硬了起來，馬開始能動一點兒了。

And when the pressure became less, it raised one of its front legs on to the rocks. It pushed against the rocks on its side and lifted its body a little out of the mud.

而感到壓力變小了的時候，馬便將它的一條前腿拔了出來，翹到了岩石的上面，然後朝身邊的岩石猛蹬，使它的身體從泥里稍微抬起了點兒。

Jed got his rope and tied it around the horses neck. He began to pull on the rope.

傑德拿出繩子，將它繫到馬的脖子上，開始拉繩。

The horse felt the pull and struggled with all its power against the mud. It raised its other front leg on the rocks and with a mighty push with its back legs and with Jed pulling on its neck, it moved forward toward hard land.

馬感到了拉力，就用盡全力在泥里向外掙扎。他將另一條前腿也拔出來，搭在了岩石上，靠著後腿的巨大蹬力和傑德對它脖子施加的拉力，他向前面的硬地移動著。

Jed fell on the earth, happy but tired. He had not eaten for three days. He had slept little. Half sleep, he felt the horses nose push against his face. He jumped to his feet and when he brought grass for the horse it made friendly noises and playfully pushed him.

傑德倒在地上，高興而又疲憊。他已經三天沒吃東西了，睡的覺也不多。正有點迷迷糊糊的，他感到馬的鼻子拱到了他的臉上，他趕快一躍而起。當他為馬抱來草料時，馬發出了友好的叫聲，頑皮地拱拱他，和他戲耍。

A week later, a big black horse rode on the land owned by Tom Raglan. It stopped near the ranch house. A little man got off the horses back. Tom Raglan looked at the horse with eyes that did not believe. Finally he said: "You got him."

一周之後，有人騎了一匹大黑馬來到牧場主湯姆·拉格倫的領地上。他在牧場房邊停下來，一名小個子男人從馬背上跳了下來。湯姆·拉格倫用吃驚的眼光看著這匹馬，眼前的情景簡直令他難以置信。最後，他說：「你得到了他。」

"I got him, Tom, and I brought him back as I said I would."

「我的得到了他，湯姆，而且正像我說過的那樣，我把他騎回來了。」

Raglan looked at the horse. Above all, he was a horseman and there was no need for Jed to tell him how he captured it. Jed's tired face, his torn hands, dirty clothes and thin body told the story.

拉格倫看著馬。他畢竟是一個馬主，沒有必要讓傑德告訴他是怎麼逮住馬的。傑德疲憊的臉、劃爛的手、骯臟的衣服和瘦弱的身體就已說明了一切。

「Jed,」 Raglan said. 「that horse will kill anyone except you. I do not want it. But I have not forgotten my promise."

「傑德，」拉格倫說，「那匹馬會弄死除你之外的任何人，我不想要它。但我沒忘記自己的諾言。

"I will give you some land and the old house in back of the ranch if you will keep the horse there. I pay you '30 a month, if you will let me send my female horses to the black horse."

如果你讓這匹馬一直呆在這兒，我就把一些土地和牧場後邊的那坐老房子送給你。如果你讓我把我的母馬送到你的黑駿馬那裡去交配的話，我會每個月付給你三十美元。

"I want the black horse's blood in my horses. And you can keep every seventh horse for yourself.」

我想要我的馬的身體力都有黑駿馬的血統。而且，你可以留下交配後產下的小馬中的七分之一。」

Jed put his arm around the black horse. The black horse was his. His dream had come true. It was too much all at once.

傑德伸出手臂，抱住大黑馬。黑駿馬成他的了。他的夢想已經變為現實了。突然之間，他得到的真是太多了。

② 求1000字以內英語短篇小說！

《蒙娜麗莎》風波

On Tuesday August 11th, 1911, a young artist, Louis Beraud, arrived at the Louvre（盧浮宮） in Paris to complete a painting of the Salon Carre（卡雷沙龍，盧浮宮的畫廊名）. This was the room where the world 's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci（列奧那多·達·芬奇）, was on display. To his surprise there was an empty space where the painting should have been. At 11 o'clock the museum authorities realized that the painting had been stolen. The next day headlines all over the world announced the theft.

這一天是1911年8月11日，星期二，一位年輕的藝術家路易斯·貝勞德來到了巴黎盧浮宮的卡雷沙龍畫廊完成一幅油畫，在這條畫廊里陳列著世界上最著名的油畫——列奧納多·達·芬奇創作的《蒙娜麗莎》。令路易斯感到吃驚的是，本該掛著油畫的地方卻是空空盪盪的。中午11時博物館館方意識到這幅名畫已經被盜了。第二天全球各大報刊的頭條新聞都報道了《蒙娜麗莎》被盜的消息。

Actually the Leonardo had been gone for more than twenty-four hours before anyone noticed it was missing. The museum was always closed on Mondays for maintenance（維修）. Just before closing time on Sunday three men had entered the museum, where they had hidden themselves in a storeroom. The actual theft was quick and simple. Early the next morning Perrugia removed the painting from the wall while the others kept watch. Then they went out a back exit.

實際上，直到達·芬奇的這幅畫被盜24小時後才有人發現此事。每逢星期一盧浮宮都要閉館例行保養文物。就在星期天，有三個人進入了博物館並藏在貯藏室里。他們的盜竊行動迅速而簡單，第二天一大早，三個盜賊之一佩魯吉亞從牆上取下《蒙娜麗莎》，其餘兩個為他望風，然後他們從後門溜走逃得無影無蹤了。

Nothing was seen or heard of the painting for two years when Perrugia tried to sell it to a dealer for half a million lire（里拉）. Perrugia was arrested on December 13th. Perrugia claimed he had stolen it as an act of patriotism（愛國主義）, because, he said, the painting had been looted from the Italian nation by Napoleon（拿破崙）. Perrugia was imprisoned for seven months. It seemed that the crime of the century had been solved.

《蒙娜麗莎》在被盜後的兩年間一直杳無音迅，直到有一天佩魯吉亞想以50萬里拉賣給一個文物販子時，人們才重新見到它。佩魯吉亞於1913年12月13日被捕，他宣稱偷《蒙娜麗莎》之舉完全是出於愛國心。他說，盧浮宮的這幅畫是被拿破崙從義大利搶劫來的。佩魯吉亞為此被判了7個月的監禁，看來這個世紀奇案好像是解決了。

But had it? Perrugia was keen to claim all responsibility for the theft, and it was twenty years before the whole story came out. In fact Perrugia had been working for two master criminals, Valfierno and Chaudron, who went unpunished for their crime. They would offer to steal a famous painting from a gallery for a crooked（不誠實的） dealer or an unscrupulous（肆無忌憚的） private collector. They would then make a of the picture and, with the help of bribed gallery attendants（服務員）, would then tape the to the back of the original（原始的） painting. The dealer would then be taken to the gallery and would be invited to make a secret mark on the back of the painting. Of course the dealer would actually be marking the . Valfierno would later proce forged（偽造） newspaper cuttings announcing the theft of the original, and then proce the , complete with secret marking. If the dealer were to see the painting still in the gallery, he would be persuaded that it was a , and that he possessed the genuine（真正的） one.

果真如此嗎?佩魯吉亞試圖把這次盜竊案的全部責任都攬到自己身上。直到二十年後，整個事件的真相才大白於天下。事實上，佩魯吉亞一直在為兩個犯罪頭目瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍工作。在這個案件中，另兩個傢伙一直逍遙法外。瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍經常從陳列館偷竊名畫提供給奸詐的商人或肆無忌憚的私人收藏家。他們先製作名畫的贗品，然後向博物館的工作人員行賄，以便在博物館工作人員的協助下將偽造品粘在原作的背後，爾後他們再將文物販子帶到陳列室，並要他在要買的那幅畫的背面做上秘密的記號。當然，事實上文物販子只是在贗品的背面作記號。在此之後，瓦爾菲爾諾就偽造一些剪報宣稱原作被盜，然後拿出帶有秘密記號的贗品。如果買畫的販子看見畫仍然在展出，偷盜者將說服他相信展出的畫是贗品，而賣給他的才是真正的原作。

Chaudron then painted not one, but six copies of the Mona Lisa, using 400-year-old wood panels from antique Italian furniture. The forgeries（贗品） were carefully aged, so that the varnish（光澤） was cracked and dirty. Valfierno commissioned Perrugia to steal the original, and told him to hide it until Valfierno contacted him. Perrugia waited in vain in a tiny room in Paris with the painting, but heard nothing from his partners in crime. They had gone to New York, where the six copies were already in store. They had sent them there before the original was stolen. At that time it was quite common for artists to old masters, which would be sold quite honestly（合法的） as imitations（仿造品）, so there had been no problems with US Customs. Valfierno went on to sell all six copies for '300,OOO each. Valfierno told the story to a journalist in 1914, on condition that it would not be published until his death.

肖德龍不僅偽造了一幅，而是六幅《蒙娜麗莎》。他用400年前古義大利老傢具做油畫板，所有贗品均經過了細心的老化處理，以使油畫表面產生裂縫顯得不幹凈。瓦爾菲爾諾指派佩魯吉亞盜走《蒙娜麗莎》的真品並叫他躲藏起來直到與他取得聯系。佩魯吉亞一直帶者那幅畫首在巴黎的一間小屋裡，可是他卻一直未見同夥們的蹤跡。原來瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍早已跑到了紐約，那裡儲存著六幅《蒙娜麗莎》的贗品。他們在原作被盜前就已將贗品運到了美國。在那個時代，藝術家們復制已故大師的作品是司空見慣的事情，而且復製品還能夠合法地在市場上進行交易，因此復製品可以毫不費力地通過美國海關。在美國瓦爾菲爾諾以每幅300，000美元的價格陸續將這六幅《蒙娜麗莎》贗品出售。1914年瓦爾菲爾諾將事件真相透露給了一位記者，條件是只有等到他死後才能將此事公之於眾。

Does the story end there? Collectors have claimed that Perrugia returned a . It is also possible that Leonardo may have painted several versions of the Mona Lisa, or they might be copies made by Leonardo's pupils. There has been a lot of controversy and argument about a 450-year-old painting, but after all, maybe that's what she's smiling about.

事情就此了解了嗎?收藏專家們宣稱佩魯吉亞還回的《蒙娜麗莎》或許是贗品。或許當初達·芬奇創作了幾個不同版本的《蒙娜麗莎》；或許這些《蒙娜麗莎》皆為達·芬奇的學生們製作的復製品。因此迄今為止人們對於這幅有著450年左右歷史的名畫，仍有著諸多的爭議。也許，這就是蒙娜麗莎微笑的原因吧！

③ 英語小說推薦

英語小說推薦有《世界的最後一晚》和《幸福結局》

1、《世界的最後一晚》The Last Night of the Worldby 雷·布萊伯利Ray Bradbury

內容簡介：布萊伯利最有名的是他的《華氏451度》(Fahrenheit 451)，這本書是有關焚書的反烏托邦(dystopian)故事。但書迷們對他的短篇小說應該也很熟悉，比如《紋身人》(The Illustrated Man)和《火星紀事》(The Martian Chronicles)。

阿特伍德，也就是最近大熱的《使女的故事》的作者，在這篇短小精悍的小說中盡情炫耀了一把自己標志性的諷刺手法，帶領讀者體驗了一對虛構夫婦約翰和瑪麗可能經歷的各種不同結局。溫馨提示：這些結局並沒有那麼幸福。

④ 英語短篇小說

英語短篇小說

Appointment With Love --By Sulamith Ish-Kishor

Six minutes to six, said the great round clock over the information booth in Grand Central Station. The tall young Army lieutenant who had just come from the direction of the tracks lifted his sunburned face, and his eyes narrowed to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat that shocked him because he could not control it. In six minutes, he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 months, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had been with him and sustained him unfailingly.
He placed himself as close as he could to the information booth, just beyond the ring of people besieging the clerks...
Lieutenant Blandford remembered one night in particular, the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of Zeros. He had seen the grinning face of one of the enemy pilots.
In one of his letters, he had confessed to her that he often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle, he had received her answer: "Of course you fear...all brave men do. Didn't King David know fear? That's why he wrote the 23rd Psalm. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me.'" And he had remembered; he had heard her imagined voice, and it had renewed his strength and skill.
Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six. His face grew sharp.
Under the immense, starred roof, people were walking fast, like threads of color being woven into a gray web. A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a red flower in her suit lapel, but it was a crimson sweet pea, not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was too young, about 18, whereas Hollis Meynell had frankly told him she was 30. "Well, what of it?" he had answered. "I'm 32." He was 29.
His mind went back to that book - the book the Lord Himself must have put into his hands out of the hundreds of Army library books sent to the Florida training camp. Of Human Bondage, it was; and throughout the book were notes in a woman's writing. He had always hated that writing-in habit, but these remarks were different. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the bookplate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold of a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written, she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
For 13 months, she had faithfully replied, and more than replied. When his letters did not arrive she wrote anyway, and now he believed he loved her, and she loved him.
But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. That seemed rather bad, of course. But she had explained: "If your feeling for me has any reality, any honest basis, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always be haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain (and you must admit that this is more likely). Then I'd always fear that you were going on writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decision. Remember, both of us are free to stop or to go on after that - whichever we choose..."
One minute to six - Lieutenant Blandford's heart leaped higher than his plane had ever done.
A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale green suit, she was like springtime come alive.
He started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.
"Going my way, soldier?" she murmured.
Uncontrollably, he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes. But she wore a red rose in the rumpled lapel of her brown coat.
The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.
Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.
Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn, blue leather of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love - a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful.
He squared his broad shoulders, saluted and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt shocked by the bitterness of his disappointment.
"I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you - you are Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May...may I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened in a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit - the one who just went by - begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test. I've got two boys with Uncle Sam myself, so I didn't mind to oblige you."

⑤ 英語短篇小說泄密的心翻譯

泄密的心
愛倫?坡
真的！焦慮，很焦慮，極其焦慮，經久以來，我都超級焦慮；可是為何說我瘋了？病痛消弱了我的知覺——木有消除——木有麻痹我的知覺。先說說我的聽力。放耳聽去，天上人間，冥界繁事，盡收耳內。所以我怎麼算是瘋子？聽仔細了！我可以不緊不慢、心平氣和地告訴你整個故事的來龍去脈。
講不清啥時候第一次冒出這念頭；但自從想過後，它就日日夜夜縈繞心頭。木啥目的，也木啥貪念。我還挺喜歡那老人。他自從木有煩擾，甚至辱罵過我。我也不念叨他的小金庫。我想：是他的眼！對，就是他的眼！他其中一隻眼像禿鷹眼一樣——蒼藍色。每次他看我，我都全身涼透了；所以，自然而然，我決定滅了他，永遠脫離出那陰冷的視線。
此時正是關鍵。你當我是瘋子？瘋子可是什麼都不知道。你已經明白我做事多麼理智，多麼謹慎，多麼高瞻遠矚——我若無其事地上班！殺他前一星期，我對這老人超殷勤。每晚，午夜，我打開他的卧室門——哎，要多輕柔就多輕柔的說！接著，門縫夠容下腦袋時，我就伸進去一盞提燈。燈被裹得緊緊的，黑乎乎的，一絲光都不透的。然後我伸進頭。哈哈，你要是真看到我怎麼機智地進去的，你肯定會點32個贊的！我慢慢的，很慢很慢，超級緩慢地伸進頭，當然吵不醒那熟睡的老人啦。差不多1小時後，我才完全伸進頭去，就看到他躺在床上。哈哈——瘋子有這智商？後來，我可以方便點動時，就打開提燈。哇塞，我那麼謹慎，那麼小心，剛好露出一絲光線，正好投射到他那禿鷹眼。
連續七晚，我都干這事——每晚午夜——但是他眼睛一直閉著的；我沒辦法下手；因為惹火我的不是這個老人，而是他的魔眼。每天早晨，我進屋，親切地和他交談，誇獎他，呼喚他，問候他睡得好嗎。因此正如你所見，實際上他是純良之人，毫不懷疑每晚午夜時分我窺視他的睡顏。
第八天晚上，一如既往，我極其小心地開門。動作比手錶分針還磨蹭。此前，我從不知道我預見能力這么厲害。勝利在望，我又害怕又激動。心有所思地一點點推開門。他做夢都想不到我的心思我的行為。一想到這，我咯咯地笑了。莫非他聽到了？他好像驚醒，突然動了。你可能猜我現在會退縮——錯。他房間那麼黑，暗黑得不得了，（他害怕匪徒所以緊綳著身子顫抖。）因此我知道他看不見門在打開。我依舊偷偷摸摸地推開門。我伸進頭，要開提燈，手指剛滑過燈線，老人在床上跳起大吼「誰在那？」
我一動不動，始終沉默。一個小時過去了，我一絲肌肉也不曾鬆懈。這時我聽到他躺下的聲音。他也躺在床上聽著——如同我夜夜做的那樣，聽到死神注視著牆面。馬上我就聽到極低的嗚聲，我曉得這是神經恐懼才有的聲音。這不是因為疼痛或憂傷而產生——絕不是！這是過度驚悚時，從心靈深處升起的陰郁的顫抖的聲音。我深知這聲音。每每深夜，萬物皆眠，唯我夢醒子時，內心深處、靈魂深淵中就發出這種聲音，回聲陣陣，讓我恐懼到崩潰。我說了我了解這種聲音。我知道老人想啥子。雖然我心裡竊笑但我仍可憐他。我知道從第一次輕微聲音使他在床上轉身時，他就一直清醒著。他越來越害怕。他嘗試去忽視，但這不可能做到。他不停地自語——「什麼事都沒有，只是煙囪里的風——只是老鼠穿過地板」或「只是蟋蟀的聲音」。是的，他一直這么安慰他自己：但是白費力氣。毫無作用；因為死神來了，都站在他面前和他的影子談判，簽約受害者了。老人感覺得到陰郁地黑影——雖然看不見聽不到——卻真切感知我存在在房間里。
我耐心地呆了很久，還沒聽到他躺下的聲音。我打開了提燈，僅露出一絲縫隙。我開燈了——你想不到我有多偷偷摸摸地開燈——終於，從蜘蛛絲般細的狹縫里射出一線光，落進那禿鷹般的眼眸中。
睜著眼睛的——掙得大大的——看到這些我變得激動。我清楚明白地看到它——蒼藍的眸，似蒙了昏沉的紗，讓我感到徹骨寒氣；但我看不到老人的臉或身體：因為我順著光線直接精準鎖定目標。
跟你說了沒？有這么敏銳的感官會是瘋子？——此刻，我聽到一種聲音，沉悶，模糊，像是鍾表在棉花里發出的聲音。我也熟悉這種聲音。這是老人的心跳聲。我更為興奮，好像受到鼓聲激勵的士兵。但是我依然克制自己，保持沉默，呼吸都有些膽怯。我恍惚地提著燈，小心地保持光線照在那眼上。同時，那該死的心臟跳得更歡了。速度越來越快，聲音越來越大。他一定怕極了！聲音越來越大，分分鍾變大！——你懂我意思嗎？我說過我焦慮：我現在就焦慮著。今晚，挺屍的時，房內死一般的沉寂，多麼搞怪，我驚訝有這聲響竟讓我產生難以抑制的恐慌。目前為止，我仍極度克制，數分鍾一動不動。此時，我異常焦慮——鄰居會聽到聲音的！動手時候到了！大吼一聲，扔掉還亮著的提燈，我沖進房間。老人驚叫一聲——僅一聲。我一下把他抓到地上，掀倒厚重的床板壓住他。然後我會心地笑了。可是，過了很久，他心臟還跳著，發出那種沉悶的聲音。不過這回我沒發火；隔牆聽不到這聲音。終於聲音消失了，老人死了。我移開床，檢查屍身。的確，他死得硬硬的。我手在他心臟那很久，沒有感覺到脈搏。他最終死了。他的眼再也不會煩我了。
還當我瘋了么？聽完我多麼聰明細心地藏屍後，你就不會這么想了。夜深，我安靜地忙碌著。首先，肢解屍體，砍下頭、胳膊和腿。接著拿起卧室地板上的三個木板，把屍塊放入方格。然後重新放好木板。我如此聰慧如此機敏。沒人，就算是老人的眼——也察覺不到異常。沒啥要清洗的——沒任何污漬——沒血斑，啥子也沒有。我超級謹慎地處理了。都用澡盆清洗過了——哈哈！
都處理完，到四點了——天依然漆黑如午夜。鍾聲響起，街上傳來陣陣敲門聲。我淡定地下樓開門——我還有啥怕頭？進來三個人，他們和善地介紹自己是警署人員。那晚鄰居聽到那聲尖叫了；已經懷疑涉嫌謀殺；他們在警局登記了信息，已經開始著手調查。
我笑了——我還怕什麼？我歡迎他們進屋。我說，我做夢時尖叫了。還說，老人去鄉下了沒在這。我讓調查人員在屋子裡全部查看下。我請求他們好好查查——查仔細了。我帶他們去他的卧室。我給他們看他的財寶，一分不少，穩穩當當地放著呢。我相信自己，所以我熱情地搬了椅子進那間屋，招呼他們坐，緩緩疲乏。而我自己，肆無忌憚，坐在存放遇害者屍體的位置上的那把椅子上。警察們很滿意。我的舉止取信了他們。我非常放鬆。他們說話，我也開心地回應著。他們聊著類似的事情。不過，一會兒，我覺得不舒服了，我想他們先離開。我頭疼，幻聽到鈴聲：但他們還坐那兒聊天。鈴聲清晰了，越來越清晰。我說得更加流暢，不顧自己的感受。可是聲音還在，更清晰，更悠長，原來不是在耳朵里響的。
毫無疑問，我現在很虛弱——但是我說得更流利，聲音高昂。聲音越來越大——我能怎麼辦？有低沉的模糊的頻率很快的聲音——像棉花里的鍾表聲。我呼吸不順——警察還沒聽到吧。我說得更快速——更激動；可是雜聲自動變大了。我提高嗓門，嘲諷爭辯，聲音高昂，舉止粗魯；但是那聲音還在增大。他們為什麼還不離開？我大步走來走去，好像被人們看著而激動起來——但是他們干嗎還不滾？我要怎麼辦？我吐口水——胡言亂語——發誓！那些人正愉快地談笑。他們可能聽不到？萬能的神吶！——不，不可能！——他們懷疑啦！——他們嘲笑我的恐懼！——我止不住地這么想。但是沒什麼比這痛苦更糟糕了！沒什麼比嘲笑更不能容忍的了！我受不了這些虛偽的笑容了！我感覺我要麼咆哮要麼去死！——此刻——又來了！——聽！吵！很吵！更吵了！越來越吵！
「夠啦」我吼叫「別裝了！我承認我乾的！掀開地板——這兒，就這兒——就他的心跳聲在吵。」