Lesson 22 By heart
熟記臺詞
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Which actor read the letter in the end, the aristocrat or the gaoler?
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.
有些劇目十分成功，以致連續(xù)上演好幾年。
In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
這樣一來，可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因為他們需要一夜連著一夜地重復(fù)同樣的臺詞。
One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.
人們以為，這些演員一定會把臺詞背得爛熟，絕不會臨場結(jié)巴的，
Yet this is not always the case.
但情況卻并不總是這樣。
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years.
有一位名演員曾在一出極為成功的劇目中扮演一個貴族角色，這個貴族已在巴士底獄被關(guān)押了20年。
In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.
在最后一幕中，獄卒手持一封信上場，然后將信交給獄中那位貴族。
Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance,
盡管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。
he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if,
一天晚上，獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑，
after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart.
看看他反復(fù)演出這么多場之后，是否已將信的內(nèi)容記熟了。
The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell.
大幕拉開，最后一幕戲開演，貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗后陰暗的牢房里。
Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands.
這時獄卒上場，手里拿著那封珍貴的信。
He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat.
獄卒走進牢房，將信交給貴族。
But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual.
但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全，
It was simply a blank sheet of paper.
而是一張白紙。
The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines.
獄卒熱切地觀察著，急于想了解他的同事是否記熟了臺詞。
The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.
貴族盯著紙看了幾秒鐘，
Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me.'
然后，眼珠一轉(zhuǎn)，說道：“光線太暗，請給我讀一下這封信?！?BR> And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.
說完，他一下子把信遞給獄卒。
Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either,
獄卒發(fā)現(xiàn)自己連一個字也記不住，
the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire. I must get my glasses.'
于是便說：“陛下，這兒光線的確太暗了，我得去把眼鏡拿來。”
With this, he hurried off the stage.
他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下臺。
Much to the aristocrat's amusement,
貴族感到非常好笑的是：
the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然后為那囚犯念了起來。
熟記臺詞
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Which actor read the letter in the end, the aristocrat or the gaoler?
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.
有些劇目十分成功，以致連續(xù)上演好幾年。
In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
這樣一來，可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因為他們需要一夜連著一夜地重復(fù)同樣的臺詞。
One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.
人們以為，這些演員一定會把臺詞背得爛熟，絕不會臨場結(jié)巴的，
Yet this is not always the case.
但情況卻并不總是這樣。
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years.
有一位名演員曾在一出極為成功的劇目中扮演一個貴族角色，這個貴族已在巴士底獄被關(guān)押了20年。
In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.
在最后一幕中，獄卒手持一封信上場，然后將信交給獄中那位貴族。
Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance,
盡管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。
he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if,
一天晚上，獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑，
after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart.
看看他反復(fù)演出這么多場之后，是否已將信的內(nèi)容記熟了。
The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell.
大幕拉開，最后一幕戲開演，貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗后陰暗的牢房里。
Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands.
這時獄卒上場，手里拿著那封珍貴的信。
He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat.
獄卒走進牢房，將信交給貴族。
But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual.
但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全，
It was simply a blank sheet of paper.
而是一張白紙。
The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines.
獄卒熱切地觀察著，急于想了解他的同事是否記熟了臺詞。
The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.
貴族盯著紙看了幾秒鐘，
Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me.'
然后，眼珠一轉(zhuǎn)，說道：“光線太暗，請給我讀一下這封信?！?BR> And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.
說完，他一下子把信遞給獄卒。
Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either,
獄卒發(fā)現(xiàn)自己連一個字也記不住，
the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire. I must get my glasses.'
于是便說：“陛下，這兒光線的確太暗了，我得去把眼鏡拿來。”
With this, he hurried off the stage.
他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下臺。
Much to the aristocrat's amusement,
貴族感到非常好笑的是：
the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然后為那囚犯念了起來。