英语听力：远大前程 05 Pip's sister is attacked（在线收听）

　　5 Pip's sister is attacked

　　I n a single year everything had changed．Before I went to Miss Havisham 's and met Estella，I had always wanted to be apprenticed to Joe，and I had always been happy at home，in spite of my sister' s scolding．Now I was ashamed of my home and my work．I was very miserable．Because of Joe，however，I stayed at the forge and did my best to work hard .I'm glad that I never told him how unhappy I was then. I tried to follow his example and become an honest，happy，hardworking man．But all the time I thought of Estella．My worst fear was that one day she would come to the forge and see me working as a common blacksmith，with black face and hands．She would certainly turn away in disgust．

　　In the evenings I studied as hard as I could，educating my-self for Estella．Whatever I learnt，I shared with Joe，not，I'm afraid，so that he would be more educated，but so that I would be less ashamed of him in front of Estella．One Sunday Joe and I went out on the marshes，as usual，to study together．I don't think he ever remembered anything from one week to the next，but he smoked his pipe comfortably，looking as intelli－gent as he could . I had a question I had been intending to ask him．

　　‘Joe,do you think I should visit Miss Havisham again？’

　　‘Well，Pip，'said Joe，‘will she think you expect her to give you something？ She told me she wouldn't give you any－thing else．'

　　‘But，Joe， I've been apprenticed nearly a year now，and I've never thanked her！’

　　‘That's true，Pip，'said Joe slowly．

　　‘Could you give me a half day's holiday tomorrow，Joe？ I would like to visit Miss Est-Havisham．'

　　‘Her name isn't Estavisham，as far as I know，Pip，'said Joe very seriously．

　　‘I know，Joe！Please，Joe！’

　　‘All right，Pip，but if she isn't happy to see you， better not go again .'

　　Joe had another blacksmith working for him at the forge．His name was Orlick，and he had no friends or family in the village.He was a big，strong，lazy man，who moved about in a strangely unhurried way，his shoulders bent and his eyes on the ground .For some reason he never liked me，even when I was a child， and when I became Joe's apprentice，he seemed to hate me．When he heard about my half-day holiday，he threw down his hammer angrily .

　　‘Come now，master！'he said to Joe. ‘ If young Pip 's having a holiday，give me one too！'

　　‘Well，’nodded Joe after thinking for a moment，‘I will．'

　　Just then my sister，who had secretly been listening outside the forge，called to Joe through one of the windows，‘You fool！You think you' re a rich man，giving a holiday to a lazy man like that Orlick！I wish I were his master！I'd soon show him！’ ‘You want to be everybody's master！' Orlick told her angrily．‘And what's more， you're a wicked, ugly，old woman！'

　　‘What did you say？' cried my sister，beginning to scream.‘Oh！Oh！What did you call me？ Hold me，someone！’Little by little she was deliberately making herself angry．Joe and I had seen this happen many times before．

　　‘Hold you！'said Orlick in disgust．‘If you were my wife，I'd hold you tight round the neck until you couldn't breathe！'

　　‘Oh！'screamed my sister．‘Me，a married woman！Being spoken to like this！In my own house！And my husband standing nearby！Oh！Oh！’And like a mad woman she pulled her hair loose，and rushed at the forge door，which I had，luckily，locked.

　　Poor Joe had no choice． He had to challenge Orlick to fight．But Joe was the strongest man in the village，and very soon Orlick，like the pale young gentleman，was lying on the ground .Then Joe unlocked the door and picked up my sister, who had dropped unconscious to the ground，but only after watching the fight through the window． She stayed in the kitchen for the rest of the day，and Joe and Orlick shared a glass of beer peacefully together in the forge．

　　That afternoon when I arrived at Miss Havisham's house，it wasn't Estella who opened the gate，but a cousin of the old lady's．Miss Havisham looked just the same as before．

　　‘Well？'she said，‘I hope you don't expect me to give you anything．’ ‘No，indeed，Miss Havisham．I only want you to know that I'm very grateful to you for helping me become Joe's apprentice. ‘Good．Come and see me again，on your birthday．Ah！'she cried suddenly，‘you're looking for Estella，aren't you？Answer！’ ‘Ye-yes，’I admitted．‘I hope Miss Estella is well？’ ‘ She's abroad, receiving a lady's education．She's more beautiful than ever，and admired by all who see her .Do you feel you've lost her？' She gave such an unpleasant laugh with these last words that I didn't know what to say，and as I left the house I felt even more miserable．

　　On my way through town I met Mr Wopsle，and together we started the long walk home to the village． It was a dark，wet，misty night，and we could only just see someone ahead of us．

　　‘Hello！’we called.‘Is that Orlick？’

　　‘Yes！’he answered．‘I'll walk home with you．Been in town all afternoon，I have．Did you hear the big gun firing，from the prison-ships？Must be some prisoners who' ve escaped．'That made me think of my convict．We didn't talk any more，but walked along in silence．We heard the gun firing several times.

　　It was late by the time we got to the village，and we were surprised to see lights on at the pub，and people running in and out . Mr Wopsle went in to discover what was happening，and after a few minutes rushed out，calling，‘Something wrong up at the forge，Pip！Run！They say perhaps it was an escaped convict who got into the house while Joe was out．Someone's been attacked！’

　　We didn't stop running until we reached the forge．In Mrs Joe's kitchen there was a doctor，and Joe，and a group of Women . And on the floor in the middle of them all was my sister，lying unconscious．She would never scold us again．

　　Joe had been at the pub that evening，and when he arrived home just before ten，he found her on the floor．Nothing had been stolen .She had been hit violently on the back of the head with a heavy weapon．On the floor beside her was a convict's iron chain．It did not belong to the prisoners who had escaped that day．

　　The police spent the next week investigating the attack，but did not arrest anybody. I felt sure the iron chain belonged to my convict，but I did not think he had attacked my sister. The attacker could have been either Orlick，or the stranger who had shown me the file . But several witnesses had seen Or－lick in town all evening．My only reason for suspecting him was his quarrel with my sister，but she had quarrelled with everyone in the village ten thousand times．And if the stranger had come to ask for his two pounds back，my sister would gladly have given it to him．So I could not imagine who her attacker was．

　　She lay ill in bed for a long time．She could not speak or understand much，and her character was greatly changed．She had become quiet，patient，and grateful for all our care．She used to write a word or draw a picture when she wanted some－thing，and we tried to discover what she meant．She needed someone to take care of her all the time，and luckily old Mrs Wopsle had just died，so Biddy came to live with us. She understood my sister perfectly and looked after us all very well.

　　One day my sister drew a T，and seemed to want it very much．I brought her toast，and tea，but Biddy knew immediately.

　　‘It's not a T，it's Orlick's hammer！'she cried．‘She's forgotten his name but she wants to see Orlick！’

　　I must say l expected to see my sister accuse Orlick of at－tacking her，but instead she seemed very pleased to see him. She often used to ask for him after that，and nobody knew why.

　　One Sunday I asked Biddy to come for a walk on the marshes．

　　‘Biddy，’I said seriously，‘promise to keep this a secret．I'm going to tell you something．I want to be a gentleman.'

　　‘Don't you think you're happier as you are？'she replied．

　　I had often wondered this myself，but I didn't want to hear it from her. ‘It's a pity，I know，’I said．‘It would have been much better if I could have been happy working at the forge．Perhaps you and I would have spent more time together．I would have been good enough for you，wouldn't I，Biddy？’

　　‘Oh yes，'she said sadly．‘But I don't ask for very much．'

　　‘The point is，'I continued crossly，‘if nobody had told me I was coarse and common，I wouldn't have thought abut it！’

　　Biddy looked at me，interested．‘That wasn't a true or polite thing to say. Who said it？’

　　‘It was the beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's，and I admire her greatly，and I want to be a gentleman for her！'The words rushed out before I could stop them．

　　Biddy said gently，‘She may not be worth the trouble，Pip.’

　　‘That may be true，but I can't stop myself admiring her.'

　　Biddy was the most sensible of girls，and did not try to persuade me any more．As we walked home，I felt rested and comforted．

　　‘Pip，what a fool you are！'I said to myself．I realized how much happier I would always be with Biddy than with Estella．

　　‘Biddy，I wish I could make myself fall in love with you！’I said suddenly．‘You don't mind my speaking so openly，as you're such an old friend？’

　　‘No，of course not．But you never will fall in love with me，you see，'she answered，a little sadly .

　　I wondered if I should continue working with Joe in a plain，honest way of life，and perhaps marry Biddy. Or dare I hope that Miss Havisham would make my fortune and marry me to Estella？

　　5 匹普的姐姐被袭击

　　在仅有的一年中，每一件事情都发生了变化。我去郝薇香小姐家，遇见艾丝黛拉之前，我总是想做乔的徒弟，不管我姐姐的训斥，在家里总是很愉快。现在，我对我的家和工作感到苦恼，我很悲伤。然而，为了乔，我呆在铁匠铺并拼命地工作。使我欣慰的是没有把这些烦恼告诉他，我尽可能地以他为榜样，成为一个诚实的、幸福的实干家。但是，我每时每刻忘不了艾丝黛拉，我最怕的是有一天她会来到铁匠铺，看一个黑脸黑手粗俗的铁匠在干活，她自然会厌恶地当场离去。

　　晚上，我拼命地学习，为艾丝黛拉而自修。无论怎样，我学到的要与乔分享。不，我是担心，以便他受到更多的教育，好让我在艾丝黛拉面前少为他丢丑。一个星期天，乔和我出门到了沼泽地，照常一起学习。我相信他不会把这周学到的东西记到下一周。不过，他舒适地吸着烟斗，看上去倒挺自信，我有一个问题打算问他。

　　“乔，你想我应该再去拜访郝薇香小姐了吧？”

　　“喂，匹普，”乔说，“她会认为你又期望她给你东西吗？她告诉过我，她不会再给你任何东西。”

　　“可是，乔，现在我当徒弟快一年了，我还从没有感谢她！”“这的确是，匹普，”乔慢慢地说。

　　“明天你能给我半天假吗，乔？我想去看望艾丝黛拉——郝薇香小姐。”

　　“就我所知，她的名字不是艾丝黛薇香，匹普。”乔十分严肃地说。

　　“我知道，乔！求你啦，乔！”

　　“好，好，匹普，不过，如果她见到你不高兴，最好别再去。”

　　在铁匠铺里，乔还有另一名铁匠帮他干活，他的名字叫奥立克，他在村里既没有家也没有朋友。他个头很大、很强壮，是一个懒惰的家伙，他走起路来躬着腰、瞅着地，吊儿郎当的样子。不知什么原因，他从来不喜欢我，甚至我还是一个小孩子时，他就当了乔的徒弟，那时他好像就恨我。当听说我要请半天假时，他生气地扔下手头的锤子。

　　“喂，师傅！”他对乔说，“如果给小匹普放假的话，你也必须给我放假！”

　　“好，”乔想了一会儿点点头说，“我同意。”

　　正在那时，我姐姐在铁匠铺外面隐藏着，所说的话她都听到了。她从一个窗户口对乔喊道，“你这个傻瓜！你认为你是富翁，给像奥立克这样的懒蛋放假！我希望我是他的师傅！我会马上给他个眼色瞧瞧！”

　　“你想当所有人的师傅！”奥立克愤怒地告诉她，“还有，你是一个恶劣的、丑陋的老女人！”

　　“你说什么？”我姐姐喊着，开始尖叫起来，“哎哟！哎哟！你骂我什么？有人掐我！”她渐渐地使自己故作忿怒起来。这种现象，乔和我以前见过许多次。

　　“掐你！”奥立克厌恶地说，“如果你是我老婆，我会紧紧地掐住你的脖子直到你咽气！”

　　“哎哟！”我姐姐尖叫着，“我一个结了婚的女人！遭到这般污辱！在我自己家里！我的丈夫就站在旁边！哎哟！哎哟！”像一个发了疯的女人，她抓乱头发，往铁匠铺门上撞，幸运的是我阻止了她。

　　可怜的乔别无选择，他不得不向奥立克做出打的挑战。不过，乔在村里是最强壮的人，马上，奥立克就像那个白面少年绅士一样，被打倒在地。然后，乔没有关门，抱起我姐姐，她已经跌倒在地上失去了知觉，不过，这只是她通过窗户看到了这场打斗以后发生的事情。这一天，她呆在厨房里休息，而乔和奥立克在铁匠铺里一起和好地分享一瓶啤酒。

　　那天下午，我到达郝薇香小姐家时，开大门的不是艾丝黛拉，而是那个老夫人的表妹。郝薇香小姐看上去仍和以前一样。

　　“哦？”她说，“我希望你不是来要东西的。”

　　“不是，确实不是，郝薇香小姐，我只想让你知道，我十分感激你帮助我当了乔的徒弟。”

　　“很好，过来我再看看你，在你的生日，啊！”她突然喊起来，“你是来看艾丝黛拉的，是吗？回答我！”

　　“是——是的，”我承认地说，“我希望艾丝黛拉身体很好？”

　　“她出国啦，接受上层教育，她比以前更漂亮了，见过她的人都赞不绝口。你感到失去她了吗？”她带着讥笑说最后一句话，让我不知该说什么好。离开这座房子时，我感到特别的悲伤失望。

　　在经过镇上的路上，我遇到伍甫赛先生，我们一起长途跋涉往村庄走去。那是一个天色漆黑、潮湿雾大的夜晚，我们刚刚能看到前面有一个人。

　　“喂！”我们喊道，“那是奥立克吗？”

　　“是！”他回答，“我跟你们一起回家，我一下午都在镇上，你们听到从船上监狱传来激烈的枪声吗？想必是有些犯人越狱了。”这使我想起我那个囚犯，我们再也没有说话，而是静悄悄地走着，我们听到了几次枪击声。

　　我们到了村里，时间已经晚了，我们吃惊地看到小酒店里有灯光亮着，里面的人往外跑。伍甫赛先生走了进去，看看发生了什么事情，他转眼跑了出来，喊了起来，“铁匠铺出事了，匹普！快跑！他们说不准，可能是乔不在家时，逃犯闯进你们家，有人被击伤了！”

　　我们马不停蹄地跑到铁匠铺。在乔夫人的厨房里有一位医生、乔和一群妇女，他们的中间是我姐姐——不省人事地躺在地板上，她永远不会再训斥我们了。

　　那天傍晚，乔是在小酒店里，他10点之前刚到家，就发现她躺在地板上，东西没有被偷，她的后脑勺儿被重器严重击伤。她的旁边，在地板上是一个罪犯的铁链，这个铁链不是那天那个逃犯的。

　　警察用了一周的时间调查这起暴力事件。可是，没有逮住任何人。我确信铁链是属于我那个囚犯的，但是，我认为不是他袭击了我姐姐。那个袭击者可能是奥立克或者是让我看到那把挫的陌生人。我怀疑他仅有的原因是他和我姐姐吵过架，可是，她和村上的每一个人吵了千万次架。如果是那个陌生人来索要回他的两镑钱，我姐姐会愉快地给他。因此，我推断不出是谁袭击了她。

　　她伤得卧床不起很长时间，她不能说话，理解力下降，她的性格产生了巨大变化。她变得安静、有耐性了，并对我们大家的照料很感激。要什么东西时，她用笔写下来或画一张图来，我们设法搞清她的意思。她随时需要有人来侍候，幸亏老伍甫赛夫人刚去世。所以，毕蒂和我们住在一起，她完全理解我姐姐，也能很好地照料我们大家。

　　一天，我姐姐画了一个T，好象特别想要它，我拿给她烤面包和茶，可是毕蒂马上明白了。

　　“那不是一个T，它是奥立克的锤子！”她喊起来，“她忘记了他的名子，但是，她要见奥立克！”

　　我必须说，我期望见到我姐姐控诉袭击她的奥立克。可是，代替的却是她见到他很高兴，从那以后，她常常请求他，没有人知道为什么。

　　一个星期天，我要求毕蒂到沼泽地去散步。

　　“毕蒂，”我认真的说，“答应为这件事保密，我打算告诉你一些事情，我要做个有教养的人。”

　　“你认为你现在这样不快活吗？”她反问说。

　　我对这一点习以为常，但不想从她那里听到。“我知道那是一种同情的话，”我说，“如果我已经能在铁匠铺里快活地工作，那是再好不过的。或许你和我在一起能消磨更多的时间，为你我将会更完美，是吗？毕蒂。”

　　“噢，是的，”她伤心地说，“但是，我不要求太多。”

　　“你指的是，”我不高兴地接着说，“如果没人对我讲过我粗俗和下等的话，我不会这样想的！”

　　毕蒂看看我，感兴趣地说，“那不对，说这话的人太没礼貌了，这话是谁说的？”

　　“是郝薇香小姐府上一位年轻美丽的小姐，我很羡慕她，我要做个有教养的人，就是为了她！”我一口气说完。

　　毕蒂温和地说：“不值得为她烦恼，匹普。”

　　“那倒是，不过，我总羡慕她。”

　　毕蒂是一个最通情达理的姑娘，她并不是想让我伤心。当我们走到家时，我感到既轻松又痛快。

　　“匹普，你真傻！”我自言自语道，我体会到，永远和毕蒂在一起比和艾丝黛拉在一起要幸福得多。

　　“毕蒂，我希望我能爱上你！”我突然说道，“你是如此知心的朋友，我这样公开地说你不介意吧？”

　　“不，当然不会。但是，你永远不会爱上我，你明白，”她有点伤心地回答。

　　我不知道是否将继续以朴素诚实的生活方式和乔一起工作，也许和毕蒂结婚，还是希望郝薇香小姐操纵我的命运，并让我和艾丝黛拉结婚。