人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT13-1

 The novel The Moonstone is set in England in 1848, but the story really began 50 years earlier. The Moonstone is a huge yellow diamond that was once part of a statue of the moon god in India. An Englishman¹ murdered three holy men, stole the diamond from the temple and brought it back with him to London. When his sister heard about this, she would not speak to him any more. The diamond was cursed² and the man lived a sad, lonely life without friends or family. When he died he left the Moonstone to his sister's daughter, Rachel, in an act of revenge³, passing on his bad fortune to her. Rachel would receive the Moonstone as a present on the reception for her eighteenth birthday.
 
      Rachel Verinder is a beautiful and wealthy young woman. She lives with her mother and several servants in a fine house in the north of England. She spends the days before her birthday party with her childhood friend Franklin Blake, painting a door in her sitting room with flowers and birds. They work together on it and finish it on Rachel's birthday. Franklin, who is a smoker⁴, is very considerate towards Rachel. His move to quit smoking cigars to please her is seen by the servants as evidence that he is in love with Rachel.
 
      The Moonstone is the most splendid gift to Rachel at her birthday party. All the guests are astonished by its size and rare beauty. But from the moment Rachel fastens it to her dress, things start going wrong. Is it coincidence or is it the Moonstone's bad luck that causes the tension⁵ and strange things that happen during the rest of the evening?
 
      First of all, one of the guests, Godfrey, asks Rachel to marry him, but she declines⁶. Godfrey is an elegant⁷ and successful bachelor with many lady admirers. Then over dinner, Franklin mentions that he has not been sleeping well since he gave up smoking and Dr Candy, the local doctor, offers to write him a prescription⁸ for some medicine. Franklin's reply that doctors just guess which drug they should recommend, makes Dr Candy extremely angry. Finally, some Indians in unusual foreign clothes come to the house offering to entertain the guests, but they are not very skilled⁹ and behave strangely.
 
      At the end of the party everyone leaves except for Franklin and Godfrey, who are staying the night. Before going to bed, Rachel puts the diamond in a drawer of a cupboard in her sitting room, but the following morning it is gone. Troubled by the loss of such a valuable jewel, Rachel's mother hires the famous detective Sergeant¹⁰ Cuff¹¹ to investigate the theft. As the story develops, we discover some secrets about the people at the house that night, and the reasons why they might have stolen the diamond.
 
      At first Sergeant Cuff suspects the Indians. He finds out that they are not real entertainers, but religious followers¹² of the moon god. They follow the Moonstone around the world waiting for an opportunity to take the diamond back to India. The detective wonders whether they hid somewhere in the house until everyone was asleep and then stole it.
 
      He goes on asking questions about the party and learns about Franklin's quarrel with Dr Candy. He also hears that Godfrey was disappointed when Rachel refused to marry him. Did Dr Candy or Godfrey take the Moonstone as revenge for loss of face?
 
      The servants also had opportunities to steal the Moonstone. Sergeant Cuff discovers that Rosanna, the maid, was a thief before Rachel's mother gave her the job. The other servants report that she has recently been busy doing something in her room late at night, and often goes for walks alone. Rosanna also seems very fond of Franklin. The detective believes she may have taken the diamond either from force of habit or to cause a disagreement between Rachel and Franklin.
 
      Finally he considers Rachel and Franklin. Rachel is stubborn¹³ in resisting his enquiries about the Moonstone to the degree that she makes it seem as if she does not want the mystery to be solved. Did she steal the diamond herself? Perhaps she has debts that need to be paid. Franklin, on the other hand, gives the detective as much assistance¹⁴ as he can. Why is he so enthusiastic when the whole investigation¹⁵ clearly annoys Rachel?
 
      Sergeant Cuff has one vital clue. He has found a smear¹⁶ in the wet paint on the door of Rachel's sitting room that was not there during the party. Whoever is guilty must have a stain¹⁷ on his or her clothes. If he can find the stained¹⁸ garment, he will have found the thief. So who stole the Moonstone?

1 Englishman   

n.(pl.Englishmen)英国人；英国男人

参考例句：

• I was astonished that he was not an Englishman.我很惊讶,他竟不是英国人。
• She stared thoughtfully at the Englishman across the table.她若有所思地盯着桌子对面的那个英国人。

2 cursed   

a.可憎的，可恶的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The necklace was cursed. 这条项链上附有会给人带来灾难的符咒。
• She cursed at one of her servants this morning. 今天早晨她大骂了一个仆人。

3 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

4 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

5 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

6 declines   

辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的第三人称单数 )； （道路、物体等）下倾； （太阳）落下； （在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• As one grows older one's memory declines. 一个人的记忆力随着年老而衰退。
• Hearing sensitivity declines with age. 听觉因年老而衰退。

7 elegant   

adj.优美的，文雅的，简练的，简结的

参考例句：

• She was an elegant and accomplished woman.她是位优雅的才女。
• She has a life of elegant ease.她过着风雅悠闲的生活。

8 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

9 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

10 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

11 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

12 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

13 stubborn   

adj.难以移动，去除的，固执的，顽固的

参考例句：

• I can not cope with that boy;he is stubborn.我对付不了那个孩子，他很固执。
• When he's in his stubborn mood,he isn't easily talked round.他那股牛劲上来了，一时不容易说服。

14 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

15 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。

16 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

17 stain   

n.污染，污点，著色；v.沾染，染污，著色

参考例句：

• It will remain an indelible stain on his memory.这将成为他记忆中一个不可磨灭的污点。
• Does this material stain easily?这种料子容易染色吗？

18 stained   

adj.污染的，玷污的

参考例句：

• My dress was stained. 我的连衣裙弄上了污渍。
• The doors are then stained and varnished. 这些门还要染色涂清漆。