象人(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：（英）维克瑞（Vicary,T.）

出版社：外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

象人试读：

简介

一百年前的世界与现在的截然不同。大多数人生活在没有电的阴冷、潮湿的环境中。他们从不上医院，往往死得很惨。

本书讲述了一个贫穷、丑陋的人的故事。没有人喜欢他，大家都嘲笑他。人们将他放在笼子里，当作动物一样展览。直到有一天一位医生发现了他，觉得他很有趣，想研究他。象人就这样出了名，每个人都想去拜访他，甚至女王都来看望他。

为什么刚开始人们逃避他，后来又接近他呢？看了这本书，你便会明白了。

蒂姆·维克瑞是一位经验丰富的教师兼作家，生活在英格兰北部的约克郡。

Chapter 1 The Creature in the Shop

I read the writing under the picture．It said:

Come in and see the Elephant Man.2 pence.

I opened the door and went in.

There was a man in the shop．He was a dirty man in an old coat with a cigarette in his mouth．'What do you want?' he asked.

'I'd like to see the elephant man, please,' I said.

The man looked at me angrily．'Well, you can't,' he said．'The shop's closing now．You can come back tomorrow.'

'I'm sorry,' I said．'But I would like to see him now．I have no time tomorrow—I have a lot of work to do．But I can give you more than 2 pence.'

The man looked at me carefully．Then he took the cigarette out of his mouth and smiled with his yellow teeth.

'All right, sir,' he said．'Give me twelve pence then.'

I gave him the money and he opened a door at the back of the shop．We went into a little room．The room was cold and dark, and there was a horrible smell in it.

A creature sat on a chair behind a table．I say a creature, because it was not a man or a woman, like you or me．The creature did not move or look at us．It sat very quietly on the chair in the cold, dark, dirty room, and looked at the table．The creature had a cloth over its head, because of the cold．On the table in front of it, there was a dead flower.

'Stand up！' said the shopkeeper, loudly.

The creature stood up slowly．It took the old cloth off its head, and put it on the chair.

I looked at the creature and felt sad．I am a doctor, so I know a lot about accidents and ill people．I see horrible, ugly things every day．But this creature, this thing, was the worst of all．There were no men or women in the hospital like him.

He wore some old trousers, but no shirt, coat, or shoes, so I could see his body very well．His head was the most interesting thing．It was very, very big—like an enormous bag with a lot of books in it．The head did not have much hair, and there was another bag of brown, dirty skin at the back of it．This skin came down below his neck．I could not see one of his eyes very well, because a lot of skin came down in front of his face, too.

An enormous red tooth came out of his mouth, under his nose．It looked like an elephant's tooth．The mouth and nose were like holes in the face．The face could not smile or laugh or look angry or sad, because the skin could not move．It was dead, like an elephant's face.

There were more bags of dirty skin on the front and back of the creature's body．These bags came down to his legs．The right arm was enormous, and there were bags of skin on it, too．The right hand was like a man's foot.

But the left hand—the left arm and the left hand were beautiful！The left arm had wonderful skin, and the fingers of the left hand were long and beautiful．It was like a young woman's hand！

'Walk, Merrick！' said the shopkeeper angrily．'Come on, quickly, move！' He hit the creature with his hand.

Slowly, the creature walked across the room．But he could not walk well．His legs were very big and fat, and he had a bad back．He could not walk far without a stick.

'All right, thank you,' I said．'Let him sit down．I don't want to see any more.' I felt ill, and the smell in the room was very bad.

'Yes, sir,' said the shopkeeper．'Sit down, Merrick.'

We went out of the room and closed the door．The shopkeeper smiled at me with his yellow teeth.

'Wonderful, sir, isn't it?' he said．'The best Elephant Man in England！Hundreds of people come to see him, you know, hundreds！I take him all over the country, I do！'

'Yes, very interesting,' I said．'Can I sit down?'

'Yes, sir, of course．Here's a chair.' He looked at me, smiling．'Would you like a glass of water, sir?'

'Yes, please,' I said．Then I looked at the things in the dirty shop．There were two or three bad apples and some old black bananas: that was all．'Er, no…… no, thank you．I'm all right,' I said．'Did you…… did you call the creature Merrick?'

'That's right, sir．Joseph Merrick．The best Elephant Man in England！I take him all over the country, you know．Lots of people want to see him.'

'Yes, I see．Do you get a lot of money?'

'Well, sometimes we do, sir, yes．But it's difficult, you see, sir, because of the police．The police don't like us, you see, sir．So we can't stay in a town very long．We usually move every week.'

'Yes, I see．Well, anyway, Mr……er?'

'Silcock, sir．Simon Silcock.'

'Yes, well, Mr Silcock, I'm a doctor at the London Hospital．My name is Dr Treves．I think this…… er…… this man Joseph Merrick is very interesting, and I would like to see him at the hospital．I want to look at him more carefully, you see.'

'Yes sir, I see．But how can he get to the hospital? It's going to be difficult.'

'Why, man? The hospital's not far from here.'

'Well, yes, sir．I know．But, you see, Merrick can't walk very well．He needs help.'

'You can come with him．Do you want more money? Is that it?'

'Well, yes, sir, I do．But, you see, people are afraid of him too…… In the road, little boys always run after him and hit him．Then the police get angry because people are afraid．Sometimes they take us to prison.'

'I see,' I said．'Well, how can he come to the hospital, then?'

'Bring a cab, sir,' said Silcock．'You can take him to the hospital in a cab.'elephant n．a very large animal with two long curved teeth and a long nose．大象。horrible adj．causing horror．可怕的。hospital n．place providing medical treatment for ill people．医院。creature n．an animal or being of some kind．生物。enormous adj．very big．巨大的。shopkeeper n．usu．the owner, in charge of a small shop．店主；零售商。sad adj．not happy．悲伤的。smell n．a quality that has an effect on the nose．气味。accident n．something that happens unexpectedly and causes damage．不测；意外。hit to give a blow to; strike．打；击。hole n．an empty space within something solid．洞。nose n．your nose is between your eyes and your mouth．鼻子。skin n．you have skin all over your body; some people have white skin, others have yellow, brown or black skin．皮肤。glass n．a drinking vessel made of glass．玻璃杯。police n．an official body of men and women whose duty is to protect people and property, to make sure that everyone obeys the law, to catch criminals, etc．警察。cab n．(in former times) a horse-drawn carriage for hire.（旧时）出租马车。prison n．a large (state) building where criminals are kept locked up as a punishment．监狱。angry adj．annoyed．愤怒的。

1 店铺里的怪物

我是弗雷德里克·特里夫斯医生，伦敦医院的医生。1884年的一天，我在医院附近一家店铺的橱窗里看见了一张照片。我在店铺前停了下来，看着这张照片。起先我觉得这张照片挺有趣，后来就感到生气、害怕起来。那是一张可怕的、丑陋的照片。照片上有个男人，但和你我不同。他看上去不像个人，而像一头大象。

我看了看照片下面的文字，上面写着：进来吧，看看这个象人，一次两便士。我推开门走了进去。

店里有个男人，邋邋遢遢的，穿着一件旧外套，嘴里叼着一支烟。“你想干什么？”他问道。“我想看看象人。”我说。

这个人生气地看着我。“不行。”他说，“店铺现在关门了，你明天来吧。”“对不起，”我说，“我想现在就看，明天我没有空——我有许多事情要做，我可以另外多给你一些钱。”

这个人仔细地打量着我，后来他取下嘴里的烟卷笑了起来，露出了满嘴黄牙。

他说，“好吧，先生。就给12便士吧。”

我把钱给了他，他就打开了店铺后门。我们走进一个小房间，房间又冷又暗，里面还有一股恶心的气味。

一个怪物坐在桌子后面的椅子上。我称他为怪物，是因为他不像你和我，不是男人也不是女人。他一动不动，也没有看我们，只是安静地坐在这间又冷又暗又脏的房间里的椅子上，眼睛盯着桌子。由于阴冷，这个怪物的头上盖着一块布，在他面前的桌子上放着一朵枯萎的花。“站起来！”店老板大声地说。

怪物慢慢地站起来，取下头上的盖布放在椅子上。

看着这个怪物，我感到很悲伤。我是一个医生，我很熟悉事故和病人。我每天要遇到许多可怕的、丑恶的东西，可这个怪物却是最糟糕的。医院里没有任何一个男人或女人像他这个样子。

他穿着条旧裤子，没有穿衬衫、外套和鞋子。所以，我可以清楚地看见他的身体。他的头部最有趣，长得很大很大——就像一个装着许多书籍的大口袋。头上头发不多，脑后还耷拉着一块褐色的、肮脏的头皮，一直垂到脖子下面。我看不见他的一只眼睛，因为大块的皮肤也从脸部垂下来。

鼻子下面一颗巨大的红牙齿从嘴里露出来，就像一颗象牙，嘴和鼻子就像是脸上开的洞，从他脸上看不出微笑还是大笑，也看不出生气和悲伤，因为这种皮肤无法活动，它已经失去了活力，像一只大象的脸。

这个怪物身体的前胸和后背的脏皮肤上有许多囊肿，这种囊肿（包状物）一直拖到他的腿部。他的右臂巨大，皮肤上也有包状物，右手像男人的脚。

然而左手——左臂和左手——却是长得很美！左臂上有漂亮的皮肤，左手手指纤长、美丽，就像年轻女人的手一样。“走一走，梅里克！”店老板生气地说，“朝前走，动一动，快！”他用手打着这个怪物。

慢慢地，这个怪物走到房间的对面。可他腿脚不便，他的腿又粗又肥，背部有病，没有拐杖走不远。“好了，谢谢你，”我说，“让他坐下来，我不想再看什么了。”我感到恶心，房间里的气味难闻极了。“好的，先生，”店老板说着。“坐下，梅里克。”

我们走出房间，关上门。店老板朝我笑了笑，露出满嘴黄牙。“好极了，先生，是不是？”他说，“这是英国最棒的象人！成百上千的人来看他，知道吗？成百上千！我带他到全国各地去，真的！”“是的，挺有意思！”我说，“我可以坐下吗？”“当然可以，先生。请坐。”他朝我看了看，笑了笑说：“来杯水吗，先生？”“好的，请给我一杯水，”我说。接着我朝脏商店里那些东西看着，有两三个坏苹果、几根烂香蕉。仅此而已。“啊！不……不，谢谢，我没事！”我说。“你……你把这个怪物叫作梅里克吗？”“不错，先生，约瑟夫·梅里克。英国最棒的象人！我把他带到全国各地去，你知道，许多人要看他。”“是的，我明白。那你会赚到很多钱吗？”“嗯，有时会赚到很多钱，先生。但是也很难，因为警察找麻烦，你知道的，先生，警察不喜欢我们，所以我们不能在一个城镇待很长时间，通常每星期就换个地方。”“是的，我明白，噢，……先生，您是……呃？”“西尔科克，先生。西蒙·西尔科克。”“是的，哦，西尔科克先生，我是伦敦医院的一个医生。我是特里夫斯医生。我想，这个……呃……约瑟夫·梅里克这个人非常有趣，我想在医院里看看他，我想更仔细地观察他，你看怎么样？”“是的，先生，我明白您的意思！但是，他怎能到医院去呢？这是很困难的。”“为什么不行呢，先生，医院离这儿不远。”“是的，先生，我知道，但是，您看，梅里克腿脚不灵便，他需要别人帮他。”“你可以和他一块儿来，你还要钱吗？是这样吗？”“噢，是的，先生，但是，你知道，人们也害怕他……走在路上，小男孩们总是追他打他。警察也会生气，怪他吓着了大家。有时候警察就把我们送进监狱里。”“我明白，”我说，“那么，他怎么能到医院里去呢？”“弄一辆马车来，先生，”西尔科克说，“您可以用马车送他去医院。”

Chapter 2 The Card

I could not see his face or his body．He had an enormous black hat on his head, like a big box．A grey cloth came down from the hat, in front of his face．There was a hole in the cloth in front of his eyes．He could see out of the hole but I could not see in．He wore a long black coat, too．The coat began at his neck, and ended at his feet, so I could not see his arms, his body, or his legs．On his feet he wore big shoes, like old bags.

He had a stick in his left hand, and he walked very slowly．I opened the door of the cab, and got out.

'Good morning, Mr Merrick,' I said．'Can you get in?'

'Elpmyupasteps,' he said.

'I'm sorry,' I said．'I don't understand.'

For a minute he stood by the door of the cab and said nothing．Then he hit the cab with his stick.

'STEPS！' he said loudly．'Help me up the steps！'

Then I understood．There were three steps up into the cab, and he could not get up them.

'Yes, I see．I'm sorry,' I said．'Let me help you.'

I took his left hand and began to help him．My right hand was behind his back．I felt very strange．His left hand was like a young woman's, but his back under the coat, was horrible．I could feel the bags of old skin on his back under the coat.

He put one enormous foot on the first step, and then he stopped．After a minute, he moved his second foot slowly．Then he stopped and waited again.

'Hello, sir．Can I help you?'

I looked behind me．It was the postman．And behind him, I could see three young boys．One of the boys laughed.

The postman smiled．'Is the gentleman ill?' he asked.

I thought quickly．'Yes．But this is a lady, not a gentleman．I'm a doctor, and she's ill．Take her hand, so I can help her better.'

The postman took Merrick's left hand, and I helped him with two hands from behind．Slowly, very slowly, Merrick went up the steps and into the cab.

One boy was very near the cab．He called to his friends.

'Come and see this, boys！A fat lady in a black coat！And look at that enormous hat！'

The boys laughed．They were very near the cab too, now．I closed the door quickly.

'Thank you,' I said to the postman.

'That's all right, sir,' he said．'She's a strange lady, sir, isn't she?'

'She's ill, that's all,' I said quickly．'We're going to the hospital．Goodbye, and thank you.'

The cab drove down the road to the hospital．I looked at Merrick．'That was difficult, wasn't it?' I said.

At first he said nothing, but then he spoke．His voice was very strange, but I listened to him carefully, and I could understand him.

'The steps were very difficult,' he said．'But most things are difficult for me.'

'Yes,' I said．'Nothing is easy for you, is it?'

'No,' he said．He was very quiet for a minute．Then he said, 'Who are you, sir?'

'Who am I? Oh, I'm sorry, My name is Dr Treves．Here, this is my card.'

I gave him a card with my name on．Then I thought, 'That was no good．This man can't read.' But Merrick took the card and looked at it very carefully．Then he put it in his trousers pocket.

I did not talk to him very much at the hospital．I looked at his head and arms and legs and body very carefully．Then I wrote the important things about him in a little book．A nurse helped me．Merrick looked at her sometimes, but she did not smile at him or talk to him．I think she was afraid of him．I think Merrick was afraid too, because he was very quiet.

At four o'clock I took him back to the shop in a cab．The next day I looked in the shop window again, but the picture was not there.card n．a small sheet of plastic or stiffened paper usu．with information printed on it and having various uses.end v．finish．结束。loudly adv．noisily．大声地。steps n．place to put the foot when climbing up and down．台阶。stick n．a thin rod of wood used for a special purpose．棍；杖。postman n．person employed to collect and deliver letters, parcels, etc．邮递员。strange adj．different．奇怪的。

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