【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER TWO（1）

Ciao, Bella!

How  are  you?  And  how  is  Rome?  The  Eternal  City  is  all  very  well,  but  I’ve  been  here  in 

Wolverhampton for two days now and that’s felt pretty eternal (though I can reveal that the Pizza Hut 

here is excellent, just excellent).

Since I last saw you I have decided¹ to take that job I was telling you about, with Sledgehammer 

Theatre Co-operative and for the last four months we have been devising, rehearsing and touring with 

‘Cruel Cargo²’, an Arts Council-funded spectacular about the slave-trade told through the medium of 

story, folk song and some pretty shocking mime³. I have enclosed a crudely photocopied⁴ leaflet so that 

you can see what a classy number it really is.

 

Cruel Cargo is a TIE piece (that’s Theatre-in-Education to you) aimed at 11–13-year-olds that 

takes the provocative⁵ view that slavery was a Bad Thing. I play Lydia, the, um, well, yes, the LEAD 

ROLE as a matter of fact, the spoilt and vain daughter of the wicked Sir Obadiah Grimm (can you tell 

from  his name that he’s not very nice?) and in the show’s most powerful moment I come to realise 

that all  my  pretty  things, all  my  dresses  (indicate dress)  and  jewels  (likewise)  are  bought  with the 

blood of my fellow human beings (sob-sob) and that I feel dirty (stare at hands as if  SEEING THE 

BLOOD)  dirty  to  my  SOOOOOOUUUUL.  It’s  very  powerful  stuff,  though  ruined  last  night  by 

some kids throwing Maltesers at my head.

But seriously, actually, it’s not as bad as that, not in context, and I don’t know why I’m being 

cynical⁶, defence-mechanism probably. We actually get a great response from the kids who see it, the 

ones that don’t throw stuff, and we do these workshops in schools that are just really exciting. It’s 

staggering how little these kids know about their  cultural heritage, even the West Indian kids, about 

where they come from. I’ve enjoyed writing it too and it’s given me lots of ideas for other plays and 

stuff. So I think it’s worthwhile even if you think I’m wasting my time. I really, really think we can

change things, Dexter.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 mime   

n.指手画脚，做手势，哑剧演员，哑剧；vi./vt.指手画脚的表演，用哑剧的形式表演

参考例句：

• Several French mime artists will give some lectures this afternoon.几位法国哑剧表演艺术家将在今天下午做几场讲座。
• I couldn't speak Chinese,but I showed in mime that I wanted a drink.我不会讲汉语，但我作摹拟动作表示要一杯饮料。

4 photocopied   

v.影印，照相复制（photocopy的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• If neatly done, this field map can be photocopied and serve as a permanent map. 假如能精致地完成，这张野外图可以照象复制并作为永久性的地图。 来自辞典例句
• She photocopied the town plan. 她复印了一份城市规划图。 来自互联网

5 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

6 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。