第一章 一个人也没剩下

刘珂

Chapter One   No one left

The Secret Garden（《秘密花园》）是家喻户晓的儿童文学女作家弗朗西丝·霍奇森·伯内特最负盛名的经典作品。书中有许多充满童趣又浪漫的情节，内容注重对人性光明面的描写。这本书一直是英美家庭孩子们的必备文学读物。本书出自书虫·牛津英汉双语读物The Secret Garden。

小女孩玛丽被送往亲戚家中收养后，待在幽僻宁静的乡野，与淳朴的人们相处，她渐渐变得平易近人。一天深夜，玛丽循着神秘大宅长廊一端传来的隐隐哭声，被带到了同样古怪而孤僻的表兄科林面前。玛丽带着科林一起进入了庄园里被关闭多年的秘密花园。孩子们在生机勃勃的小天地里不受干扰地探索与玩耍，学会了友爱待人，恢复了纯真快乐的天性。

难词探意

1. itchy /??t?i/ adj. 发痒的

2. scowl /ska?l/ v. 怒视

3. corridor /?k?r?d??（r）/ n. （建筑物内的）走廊;通道;过道

When cholera swept through the house in India where ten?year?old Mary Lennox lived， it killed her mother， her father and her servants. Mary only survived by hiding herself away.

Days later she was found by two soldiers. They stared at each other， wondering what to do with this little orphan girl.

“Poor little kid，” said one. “There is nobody left.”

Mary sighed as the train pulled out of the station. “More travelling！” she thought to herself. “Ive been going from person to person for weeks， like the booby prize（末等獎） in passing the parcel.” She was going to stay with the only relation she had left， her Uncle Archibald in Yorkshire.

Her black dress was stiff and itchy. She felt cold. Was England always so wet？ So grey？ It was very different from India. Even the people were different. They looked and sounded strange.

Just then Mrs Medlock spoke. She was her uncles housekeeper and had come to take Mary back to Yorkshire. “So，” said Mrs Medlock， “what do you know about your uncle？”

Mary said nothing.

“What a rude child！” thought Mrs Medlock. “And very plain looking. Why， her face is so pale！ Almost yellow.” But she asked again，“What did your mother and father tell you about your uncle？”

Mary just stared out of the window and scowled. The truth was， Marys mother and father had never said much to her about anything. Her father was always at work， and her mother was always at some party or others.

“Well， Ill tell you anyway，” Mrs Medlock sniffed. “First of all， dont expect a big welcome when you get to Misselthwaite Manor.”

“I shant！” Mary said， stung as if she had been accused of something.

Mrs Medlock raised an eyebrow. “Oh！

You shant， shant you？ Well its a good job because you shant get one！ Mr Cravens as sour as a crab apple （酸苹果）. His wife who died young didnt help but he was like it before then. He was born with a crooked back， see. That formed him， if you want my opinion.”

Mary felt her spirits sink even lower. So Yorkshire was going to be just like India， then. There no one wanted her.

As if to prove it， when they finally arrived at Misselthwaite Manor， Mrs Medlock took her straight upstairs. “Master doesnt want to see you，” she said. “Hes going to London in the morning.”

“Fine！ I dont want to see him either！” Mary thought. Holding her head high， she fol?lowed Mrs Medlock up a broad staircase and along corridor after corridor. At last Mary was shown into a room. It had a fire in it and a supper set out.

“Well， here you are. This room and the next is where youll stay. And I mean staying！

No wandering about！ Mr Craven wont have it and nor will I！” Mrs Medlock told her.

With that warm welcome， Mary Lennox was left alone.

Activity A   Reading for comprehension

Ⅰ. Understanding the main idea

What does Chapter One mainly talk about？

A. Why Mary became an orphan.

B. How Uncle Archibald gave Mary a welcome.

C. Why and how Mary went to Misselthwaite Manor.

D. What happened when Mary first met Mrs Medlock.

Ⅱ. Understanding the basic elements

Ⅲ. Understanding the details

1. What information about Mary can you get from this chapter？ Fill in the table.

2. According to this chapter， how might Marys parents treat her when they were alive？

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3. Based on Mrs Medlocks description， what kind of person is Mr Craven like？ And why is he like that？

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Ⅳ. Understanding the feelings

According to the clues in the article， how might Mary feel in your opinion？

Activity B   Reading for writing

Ⅰ. Useful expressions for creating a novel

1. expressions for describing emotions

sigh  嘆气

feel cold  感到寒冷

look and sound strange  看起来和听起来很怪异

her spirits sink even lower  她的情绪更低落了

2. expressions for describing behaviour

scowl 怒视

sniff  抽鼻子

raise an eyebrow  挑了挑眉

hide oneself away  把自己藏起来

stare at each other  相视

stare out of the window  凝视着窗外

hold ones head high  昂起头

3. expressions for describing appearance

a pale face  苍白的脸

be born with a crooked back  先天驼背

4. expressions for describing others

think to oneself  暗自思量

be accused of 由于……被指责

Ⅱ. Writing techniques

Irony （反讽）

Irony is a common literary writing technique. The author uses the words that say the opposite of what he/she really means for the purpose of humorous or emphatic effect. Which part of the article do you think involves irony？ Find it out and explain the functions it fulfills.

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Ⅲ. Summary writing

Write a summary of Chapter One with about 60 words. Remember to leave out unnecessary details.

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Ⅳ. Continuation task

If youre Mary，what will happen to you next？ Please write an article of around 150 words about your new life the next morning.

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