英语听力：远大前程 04 A present from a stranger

　　4 A present from a stranger

　　I desperately wanted to be accepted by Estella．I realized I could never become well-educated just by attending old Mrs Wopsle's evening school，so I asked Mr Wopsle's cousin Biddy to teach me everything she knew．She helped me as much as she could，but I knew it would take a long time to reach Estella's level．

　　One evening I went to fetch Joe from the village pub, where my sister sometimes allowed him to smoke his pipe and have a beer．Mr Wopsle and Joe were sitting with a stranger，a man I'd never seen before．One of his eyes was half closed,and he wore a big hat which covered most of his head．He suddenly looked interested when I arrived，and rubbed his leg in a rather strange way．He had just ordered hot rum for the three of them．

　　‘It' s lonely country round here，gentlemen，’he said．‘Yes，'said Joe，‘just marshes down to the river．’

　　Do people ever spend the night on the marshes？’

　　‘No，’‘replied Joe，‘except an escaped prisoner sometimes．Difficult to find，they are．Went out to look for one once，me，and Mr Wopsle，and young Pip here．Didn't we，Pip？’

　　‘Yes，Joe.’

　　The stranger looked at me with his good eye．

　　‘What's his name？Pip？Your son，is he？’

　　‘The boy is the blacksmith's wife's brother，’explained Mr Wopsle in his official church clerk's voice．

　　When the drinks arrived，the stranger did something that he wanted nobody to see except me. He mixed his hot rum and water，not with a spoon，but with a file，which he put back in his pocket when he had finished．As soon as I saw the file，I knew it was the one I had stolen from Joe，and I knew that this man knew my convict. I stared at him in horror.

　　The men continued their conversation in a friendly way until Joe stood up to leave，and took my hand．

　　‘Wait a moment，'I said the stranger．‘I'd like to give the boy something，'and wrapping a coin in some old paper from his pocket，handed it to me. ‘That' s yours！he told me，giving me a look full of meaning .

　　‘Thank you，sir，'I said，still staring at him．Together Joe and I walked home，Joe with his mouth open all the way so that my sister would not notice the smell of rum on his breath .

　　But when we arrived home，we found the stranger had giv-en me two Pound notes as well as the coin．My sister thought it must have been a mistake，and kept the pound notes in case he came back for them．But I knew they came from my con－vict，and I felt that having criminal friends made me more common than ever.

　　The next time I went to Miss Havisham's，I was shown in－to a different room to wait. Several ladies and gentlemen，relations of hers，were there. They all turned and looked at me in disgust when I was the first to be called by Estella．

　　As Estella was leading me along the dark passages，she stopped suddenly and put her face close to mine．

　　‘Look at me，boy！Am I pretty？'

　　‘Yes，I think you're very pretty．'

　　‘Am I rude to you？'

　　‘Not as much as last time．'

　　She hit my face as hard as she could.

　　‘Now，you coarse little boy，what do you think of me？’

　　‘I won't tell you．’

　　‘Why don't you cry again，you fool？'

　　‘Because I'll never cry for you again，'I said，which was a very false promise，because I was crying inside at the time，and only I know how much I cried for her later．

　　On our way upstairs we met a gentleman coming down in the dark．He was a large，heavy man，with a very dark skin，sharp eyes，and a huge head，almost bald on the top．His hands smelt strongly of perfumed soap．I didn't know then how important he would ha later on in my life. ‘Who's this？’he asked Estella，stopping to look at me. ‘A local boy. Miss Havisham sent for him，'she replied． ‘Well，in my experience most boys are bad，'he said to me.‘Behave yourself！'He bit the side of his large finger as he frowned at me，and then continued downstairs.

　　This time Miss Havisham was in another room，which I had not seen before．All the furniture was covered in dust．In the candle－light I could see a long table，in the middle of which was a large yellow shape，with hundreds of insects feeding off it．

　　‘This，'said Miss Havisham，pointing to the table，‘is where they will put me when I'm dead． I'll lie on the table，and my relations can come and look at me．' She put a bony hand on my shoulder，but I didn't want her to touch me．I was afraid she would die there and then．‘And that，'she added，pointing to the yellow shape，‘that was my wedding cake．Mine！'she looked all round the room angrily．‘Come！'she said suddenly．‘Help me walk round the room．And call Estella！’

　　I held her arm to support her as she walked．We were still going slowly and painfully round the room when Estella brought in the relations who had been waiting downstairs．They stood watching us at the door．I thought they blamed me for Miss Havisham's cold manner towards them．

　　‘Dear Miss Havisham！'said one of the ladies lovingly．‘How well you look！’

　　‘I do not，’replied Miss Havisham sharply．‘I am yellow skin and bone．'

　　‘How could Miss Havisham look well，after all her suffer－ing？'said a second lady quickly．‘ Impossible！What a silly idea！’

　　‘ And how are you？’Miss Havisham asked this lady．As we were close to her then，I would have stopped，but Miss Havisham insisted on walking past .It seemed rather rude．

　　‘Not well at all，'said this lady sadly.‘I don't want to talk too much about my feelings，but－well－I often lie awake at night thinking of you，dear Miss Havisham！'

　　‘Well，don't！'said Miss Havisham crossly as we hurried past the little group again.

　　‘I'm afraid I can't stop myself．I often wish I were less sensitive and loving . But that's my character and I have to live with it！'And she started crying softly．‘Look at Matthew now！'she added，through her tears.‘Matthew never comes to see dear Miss Havisham .But I-’

　　When she heard Matthew's name，Miss Havisham stopped walking and stood looking at the speaker，who suddenly became silent. ‘Matthew will come in the end，'said Miss Havisham firmly，‘when I die and am laid on that table. You will stand around and look at me，you here，you there，you next to her，you two there Now you know where to stand．And now go！'

　　The ladies and gentlemen went slowly out of the room，some protesting quietly that they had not seen enough of their dear relation. When they had all gone，Miss Havisham said to me，

　　‘This is my birthday，Pip．I don't allow anyone to speak of it．My relations always come on this day once a year．This day，long before you were born，was my wedding day .Pehaps I shall die on this day too．And when they lay me in my wedding dress on that table，I'll have my revenge on him！’

　　In the heavy air of that dark，dusty room，she was a ghostly figure in her yellow－white dress．There was a long silence．

　　As usual I left the house and walked towards the gate， but this time something strange happened．In the garden I met a pale young gentleman with fair hair．

　　‘Hello！’he said．‘Come and fight！This way！’

　　I was so surprised that I followed him without a word．

　　‘Wait a minute，’he said，turning round quickly．‘I must give you a reason for fighting．There it is！’And he pulled my hair，then pushed his head hard into my stomach．I was ready to fight him after this，but he danced abut so much that I couldn't get close to bim．

　　‘Follow the laws of the game！’he said，eagerly preparing himself for our fight．He seemed to know so much about fighting that I was very surprised when I knocked him down with my first hit，and then again with my second．He always got up immediately and seemed very glad to be fighting in the correct manner．I admired him greatly for his bravery and his cheerfulness．Finally he had to agree I had won，and we said goodbye． When I reached the gate，I found Estella waiting for me．She seemed very pleased about something．I wondered if she had been watching our fight．Before I went out，she said，

　　‘Here！you can kiss me if you like．’

　　I kissed her cheek．It was true I wanted to kiss her very much，but I felt that kiss was almost like a coin thrown to a poor common boy，and not worth anything．

　　I didn't see the pale young gentleman there again．I continued my visits to Miss Havisham for almost a year．She took great pleasure in watching my growing admiration for Estella，and my unhappiness when Estella laughed at me．

　　‘Go on，my love，she used to whisper in Estella's ear，‘break men's hearts and have no mercy！I want my revenge！'

　　Meanwhile my sister and that fool Pumblechook never stopped discussing Miss Havisham and her considerable wealth．They were sure I could expect a large present from her，either before or after her death．But one day Miss Havisham decided it was time to apprentice me to Joe，and told me to bring him to her house．My sister was very angry because she was not invited as well．

　　Dear old Joe simply could not believe his eyes when he and I entered Miss Havisham s room the next day．The darkness，the candles，the dust，the ancient furniture，the old lady in her bride's dress－it was almost too much for Joe's limited intelligence．That may be why he refused to speak to Miss Havisham directly，but spoke only to me during the conversation．I was ashamed of him，especially as I could see Estella laughing at me over Miss Havisham's shoulder．

　　‘So，’began Miss Havisham，‘you，Joe Gargery，black－smith，are ready to take Pip as an apprentice？'

　　‘You know，Pip，’replied Joe，‘how we've both been looking forward to working together．Haven't we，Pip？'

　　‘You don't expect any payment when he becomes your ap－prentice？'she continued．

　　‘Now，Pip，'said Joe，rather offended，‘that question doesn't need an answer. Between you and me. Does it，Pip？’

　　Miss Havisham looked kindly at Joe. I think she understood more of his character than Estella did．She picked up a little bag from the table．‘Pip has earned something here．There are twenty-five pounds in this bag .Give it to your master， Pip．'

　　The strange situation seemed to have made Joe go mad.Even now，he insisted on speaking to me．

　　This is very generous of you，Pip．Very generous．Now，old boy，we must try to do our duty to each other Mustn't we，Pip？’

　　‘Goodbye，Pip！'said Miss Havisham．‘Take them out，Estella！’

　　‘Shall I come again？I asked．

　　‘No，Gargery is your master now. Gargery！Remember，I'm giving you this money because he has been a good boy．Don't expect anything more！’

　　Somehow I managed to get Joe out of the house，and in the daylight he gradually became normal again．In fact I think his intelligence was improved by the interview，because as we walked home he invented a surprisingly clever plan．

　　‘Well，'cried my sister，as we arrived，‘so you've finished visiting your fine ladies，have you？ I'm surprised you bother to come home at all！’

　　‘Miss Havisham asked me to send，'said Joe，as if trying to remember the exact words，‘her-best wishes，was it，Pip？to Mrs J．Gargery…'

　　‘Best wishes，'I agreed．

　　‘And apologized for not being well enough，what was it，Pip？’

　　‘To have the pleasure，'I said．

　　‘To have the pleasure of a lady 's company，’he nodded，giving the impression of a man glad to pass on a message ocr－rectly .

　　‘Well！'said my sister，pleased．‘She could have sent that message earlier，but better late than never．And what did she give the boy？’

　　‘Nothing，'said Joe firmly，stopping Mrs Joe from speaking by raising his hand．‘What she gave，she gave to his sister，Mrs J．Gargery．That' s what she said．Didn't she，Pip？’

　　‘And how much did she give？asked my sister，laughing．She was actually laughing！

　　‘What would you say to ten pounds？’ asked Joe．

　　‘Not bad，'said my sister．

　　‘It's more than that．What would you say to twenty pounds？’ ‘That's good！'said my sister， ‘Well，here you are，it s twenty-five pounds！'said Joe de－lightedly，handing the bag to my sister．

　　4 一份从陌生人那里来的礼品

　　我不顾死活地想被艾丝黛拉所接受。我认识到，只参加陈旧的伍甫赛夫人的夜校，不可能成为有良好教养的人。因此，我要求伍甫赛先生的表妹毕蒂，把她所有的知识都教给我，她尽全力帮助我。但是，我知道要达到艾丝黛拉的水平，需要花费很长的时间。

　　一天晚上，我想去镇上的小酒店接乔。有时，我姐姐允许他在这儿抽烟斗和喝点啤酒。伍甫赛先生和乔正在同一个陌生人坐着，这个人我以前从没见过。他的一只眼半闭着，戴着一顶大帽子几乎把他的头都盖住。当我到来时，他突然感兴趣地看着，并用一种奇特的方式，磨蹭着腿。他刚为他们三人要了热朗姆酒。

　　“这里周围是一个孤独的农村吗？先生们。”他说。

　　“是的，”乔说，“过了沼泽地就是河。”

　　“人们总是要天黑才到沼泽地里吗？”

　　“不是，”乔回答说，“有时除了逃犯，他们很难去发现。我和伍甫赛先生，还有这儿的小匹普出去寻找过一次，是吗？匹普。”

　　“是的，乔。”

　　陌生人用他的好眼睛看着我。

　　“他的名字叫什么？匹普？你的儿子，是吗？”

　　“这个孩子是铁匠妻子的弟弟，”伍甫赛先生用他那正式的教堂职员腔调解释说。

　　当酒上来时，那个陌生人要的东西除了我没有人看见。搅拌着他的热朗姆酒和水，不是用勺子，而是用一把锉。搅拌好后，他把锉放进口袋。我一看到这把锉，就知道是我从乔那儿偷的那一把；就知道这个人了解我那个囚犯，我用恐慌的目光盯着他。

　　直到乔站起来，拉着我的手要离开，他们才终止友好的谈话。

　　“等一会儿，”陌生人说，“我想给这孩子点东西，”并从他的口袋里拿出一枚用旧报纸裹着的硬币递给我，“这是你的！”他告诉我，并使了个意味深长的眼神。

　　“谢谢你，先生，”我说，仍然盯着他。我和乔一起往家走，乔一路上张着嘴，以便我姐姐不会在他呼吸时发现朗姆酒味。

　　当我到达家里时，我发现那个陌生人给我的相当两镑钞票的硬币。我姐姐认为，那一定是搞错了，用盒子保存起来，万一他回来要。可是，我知道它们来自我那个囚犯，这使我感觉到有犯罪的朋友比以前更低贱。

　　第二次我拜访郝薇香小姐的家，我被领进另一间屋子等候。有几个太太和先生在那儿，都是她的亲戚。当艾丝黛拉第一次喊我的时候，他们都转过身，用一种厌恶的目光看着我。

　　当艾丝黛拉带我沿着那个黑过道走时，她突然停住脚步，她的脸紧靠近我的脸。

　　“看着我，孩子！我漂亮吗？”

　　“是的，我认为你很漂亮。”

　　“我对你不友好吗？”

　　“比上次好一些。”

　　她拼命地揙我一个耳光。

　　“喂，你这个粗俗的小孩子，你现在觉得我怎么样？”

　　“我不告诉你。”

　　“你为什么不再哭鼻子呢？你这个傻瓜。”

　　“因为，我永远不会再为你哭鼻子，”我说，但是，这话是自欺欺人的。因为，这次在内心里还是哭了，只有我知道，我不记恨她。

　　在我们上楼的路上，遇见一位先生正在摸黑下楼。他是个身材魁梧的家伙，皮肤很黑、小眼睛、大脑袋，几乎是秃了顶，他的双手有一股扑鼻的香肥皂味。我并不知道他在我以后的生活中起多大作用。

　　“这是谁呀？”他停止脚步，望着我问艾丝黛拉。

　　“一个当地的孩子，郝薇香小姐让他来的。”他回答说。

　　“噢，以我的了解看，大部分孩子都很坏，”他对我说。“要规矩点！”他向我皱着眉头，用粗大的手指弹我一下。然后，继续下楼。

　　这一次，郝薇香小姐是在一间我以前没有见过的房间里，所有的陈设布满尘土，在影影绰绰的烛光下，我能看见一张长桌，桌子中间有一大块黄色的圆东西，上面有成千上万只虫子在叮食。

　　“这，”郝蔽香小姐指着那张桌子说，“是我的葬身之地，我将躺在桌子上，亲戚们能来看看我。”她把瘦瘦的手放在我肩上。但是，我不让她来碰我。我害怕她随时会死去的。“那个，”她指着那个黄色的圆形东西补充说，“是我的结婚蛋糕，我的！”她忿怒地满屋环视了一下，“过来！”她突然说，“扶着我在屋里转转，叫艾丝黛拉！”

　　我扶着她的手臂支撑着她走走。当艾丝黛拉带着那些在楼下等候的亲戚到来时，我们仍然在慢慢地、艰难地围着屋子兜圈圈。他们站在门口看着我们，我觉得这些来客把郝薇香小姐对他们的不礼貌行为推到我身上。

　　“亲爱的郝薇香小姐！”其中一位太太讨好地说，“你看上去多么健康呀！”

　　“我不好，”郝薇香小姐吹毛求疵地回答，“脸色蜡黄皮包骨头”。

　　“郝薇香小姐身体怎么能好呢，毕竟她患了场大病？”第二个太太赶紧说，“那不可能，多么愚蠢的想法！”

　　“你怎么样？”郝薇香小姐问这位太太。当我们靠近她时，我已经停止了脚步。可是，郝薇香小姐坚持走下去，看上去相当粗暴。

　　“身体一点也不好，”这位太太伤心地说，“我不想讲太多的感受。但是——唉——我常常醒着躺在床上整夜地想你，亲爱的郝薇香小姐！”

　　“嗯，不可能！”当我们已快速通过一群人时，郝薇香小姐不高兴地说。

　　“我害怕不能控制自己，我常希望自己少一点感情少一点爱，可是，那是我的秉性改不了，我必须那样生活！”她低声地喊着，“看看马修！”她流着泪接着说，“马修从不来探望亲爱的郝薇香小姐。可我--”

　　郝薇香小姐一听到马修的名子，便停住了脚步，站在那里望着说话的人，说话的人突然变沉默了。

　　“马修最终会来的，”郝薇香小姐坚定地说，“当我死了躺在那张桌子上，你们会围站在这看着我的。你在这儿，你在那儿，你下一个就是她，你俩在那儿。现在你们就知道在这儿站着，都滚。”

　　这些太太和先生们小心翼翼地出了房间，一些暗中抗议者，还没有见过他们亲爱的亲戚发这么大的火。当他们都走了，郝薇香小姐对我说，“这是我的生日，匹普，我不允许任何人来祝贺，我的亲戚每年总是这一天来这里一次。这一天，也就是你生下来的不久，是我结婚的日子，或许我也会在这一天死去，当他们把穿着结婚礼服的我放在那张桌子上时，我将向他们报一箭之仇！”

　　在那阴暗、布满灰尘的房间、沉闷的空气里，她穿着褪了色的衣服，活像一个幽灵的化身。沉默了很长一段时间。

　　我照例离开了这所房屋向大门口走去。但是，这一次有一件奇怪的事情发生了。在花园里，遇见了一位留着漂亮发式的白面少年绅士。

　　“喂！”他说，“过来打一架！下决心吧！”

　　我很吃惊，以致我无话可说地跟着他。

　　“等一会儿，”他迅速地转过身来说，“我必须给你一个打架的理由，就这个！”他揪着我的头发，用头狠狠地撞我肚子。接着，我准备揍他，但是，他蹦跳地躲着以致我接近不了他。

　　“注意比赛的规则！”他说，渴望准备自己打4局，当我第一拳接着再来第二拳把他打倒在地时，他好像知道打如此多的局会使我感到很惊讶。他总是立即爬起来，似乎对这种合适的手法击打很高兴，我很钦佩他的勇敢和爽快。最后，他不得不同意是我取胜，于是我们互相告别。

　　当我到了大门口，发现艾丝黛拉正在等着我，她好像对发生的事情感到很高兴，我不晓得她是否已经看到了我们的打斗。我出门之前，她说：

　　“喂！如果你喜欢可以吻我”。

　　我吻了她的面颊，真的，我想不停地吻她。可是，我感到吻几乎像一枚硬币抛向一个可怜粗俗的孩子，一文不值。

　　我再也没有见过那个白脸少年绅士。几乎是过了一年，我继续去拜访郝蔽香小姐，看到我的成长，赞美艾丝黛拉她很高兴。当艾丝黛拉嘲笑我时，我不高兴。

　　“继续，宝贝，”她在艾丝黛拉耳边用习惯的耳语说，“打碎男人的心，决不仁慈手软！我要报仇雪恨！”

　　其间，我姐姐和傻瓜潘彼趣从来没有停止过讨论郝蔽香小姐和她可观的财富。他们确信我能期望从她那儿，或死前或死后得到大量的赠品。可是，一天郝获香小姐决定是我做乔的徒弟的时候了，还告诉我把他带到她家来。我姐姐很愤怒，因为也没有邀请她。

　　第二天，当我和他进入郝证香小姐的房间时，亲爱的老乔却不敢相信自己的眼睛，黑暗、蜡烛、尘土、陈旧的家具、穿着新娘衣着的老夫人——乔的有限智力几乎应接不暇。那可能是他为什么拒绝与郝薇香小姐直接说话，而在整个谈话中，他只冲着我讲话。尤其是当我越过郝花香小姐的肩膀看到艾丝黛拉在嘲笑我的时候，我真为他感到羞耻。

　　“哦！”郝薇香小姐开始说，“你，乔·葛吉瑞，铁匠，准备收匹普当徒弟？”

　　“你知道，匹普，”乔回答说，“我们俩多么盼望能在一起干活，是吧？匹普。”

　　“他当你的徒弟，你不想收费吗？”她接着说。

　　“喂，匹普”，乔特别伤感的说，“这个问题不需要回答，你我之间还谈钱的事儿吗？匹普？”

　　郝薇香小姐友好地看着乔，我想她比艾丝黛拉更了解他的性格。她从桌子上拿起一个小袋子，“匹普在这里挣的工钱，这个袋子里有25英镑，匹普，把钱给你的师傅。”

　　这突如其来的情形似乎让乔发疯。甚至现在他还坚持对我说。

　　“你们十分大方，匹普，慷慨大方。喂，老伙计，我们必须努力尽职，是吧，匹普？”

　　“再见，匹普！”郝薇香小姐说，“带他们出去吧，艾丝黛拉！”

　　“我还能来吗？”我问道。

　　“不用了，现在葛吉瑞是你的师傅了。葛吉瑞！记住，我给你这笔钱是因为他在这里是个好孩子，别期望再要更多的钱！”

　　我想办法让乔出了这间房屋。在明媚的阳光下，他慢慢地又恢复了正常。事实上，我认为通过这次拜访，他的智商得到了提高，因为当我们走到家的时候，他想出了一个惊奇的聪明的计划。

　　“喂，”我们到家，我姐姐叫喊着，“你们已经结束了对你们的好小姐们的拜访，不是吗？你们都缠着回家我很惊奇！”

　　“郝薇香小姐让我捎给她，”乔说着好像努力地去记住这句准确的话，“她最好的祝福，不是吗？匹普。对乔·葛吉瑞夫人说……。”

　　“最美好的祝福，”我顺从着说。

　　“并对做的不是太完美表示道歉，那是什么？匹普。”

　　“敬请，”我说。

　　“敬请一位夫人出席，”他点点头，通过一句合适的祝词，给了一个男人高兴的印象。

　　“喂！”我姐姐高兴地说，“她可以早一点送这个祝福，不过，晚送总比不送好。她给这个孩子什么了？”

　　“什么也没给，”乔马上说，他举起手阻止乔夫人说话。“她给了什么，她给他姐姐的，乔·葛吉瑞夫人，那是她说的，是吗？匹普。”

　　“她给了多少？”我姐姐大笑起来问道，她确确实实在大笑！

　　“你说给了10镑怎么样？”乔问道。

　　“不错，”我姐姐说。

　　“那比这更多呢，你说给20镑怎么样？”

　　“那太好了！”我姐姐说。

　　“喂，你听好，这是25镑！”乔高兴地说，把钱袋递给我姐姐。