书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：3级全套（套装共19册）(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：(英)奥斯卡·王尔德,(英)杰克·伦敦

出版社：外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：3级全套（套装共19册）试读：

弗兰肯斯坦（3级）

简介

或许以这个悲伤而恐怖的故事拍成的电影要比世界上由任何其他故事拍成的电影都要多。为什么有这么多的人喜欢它？因为当我们第一次读到它时，它就好像是出自我们梦中的记忆一样。

这是一个古老的故事，也是一个新的故事。说它“古老”是因为它创作于一百五十多年以前，那时的科学发展才刚刚起步；说它“新”是因为弗兰肯斯坦的问题也就是我们今天所面临的问题。科学给予我们力量去改造世界，但这种力量也可能与我们作对并毁灭我们。弗兰肯斯坦创造了一个新的人，他比任何其他人都要巨大和强壮——然而弗兰肯斯坦控制不了他，这个怪物毁灭了弗兰肯斯坦所爱的一切。今天的科学家正在创造着巨大的机器、电脑和武器，他们声称这些东西对我们有益——但我们能够驾驭它们吗？

玛丽·雪莱（

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The sailor stood at the top of the mast，high above the Captain. His hand pointed away from the ship，across the miles of ice that covered the sea.

The Captain looked to the north，where the sailor was pointing. He saw something coming fast towards the ship across the ice. He put his telescope to his eye，and through it he could see the shapes of ten dogs pulling a sledge over the ice. He could also see the driver of the sledge—a huge figure，much bigger than a man.

The sledge came nearer and nearer to the sea. Soon it was only a quarter of a mile from the ship. No one needed a telescope now to see the huge figure of the driver.

Suddenly the sledge went behind a mountain of ice and disappeared. At that moment another sledge appeared. It，too，was moving fast，and was clearly chasing the first sledge. This driver was a smaller figure，more like an ordinary man. Faster and faster the dogs ran；then the second sledge also disappeared behind the mountain of ice.

Two hours passed. The sledges did not appear again. Nothing moved on the ice. Soon night came，and in the night there was a storm. In the morning，the sailors saw that great pieces of ice were floating round the ship. Suddenly the sailor on the mast shouted again:

'Captain，I can see a man on the ice.'

The sailor was pointing to a piece of ice that was floating near the ship. A man was sitting on the ice，and near him was a broken sledge. The man was nearly dead from cold and could not walk. The sailors carried him carefully onto the ship，and took him to the Captain，who said:

'Welcome to my ship. I am the Captain and my name is Robert Walton.'

'Thank you，Captain Walton，' the man said. 'My name is Frankenstein，Victor Frankenstein.'

Then he fainted and said no more.

Two days passed before the man was strong enough to talk and then the Captain asked him to tell his story.

'I am trying to catch someone，' said Frankenstein. 'That is why I have come so far north on the ice.'

'We saw you following someone，' the Captain said. 'He was huge，much bigger than a man. We saw his sledge just in front of you on the night before the storm.'

'I am pleased you all saw that huge figure，' Frankenstein said. 'Perhaps that will help you to believe my story.'

During the days，while the Captain worked on the ship，Frankenstein wrote down his story，and each evening he read what he had written to the Captain.

Here is Victor Frankenstein's story.

mast n. tall pole. 船桅，长杆。

telescope n. 望远镜。

sledge n. 雪橇。

disappear v. go out of sight，be seen no more. 消失。

appear v. come into view. 出现。

chase v. run after. 追赶。

float v. stay on the top of water. 浮起，漂流。

nearly adv. almost. 几乎。

welcome v. &；n. 欢迎；adj. 受欢迎的。

during prep. in the period of... 在……期间。1“船长，有东西在冰面上移动！瞧那儿！”

那个船员高高地站在船长头顶的桅杆顶上。他的手指着离船数英里以外覆盖着大海的冰面。

船长朝那个船员指示的北方望去。他看见有个东西正穿过冰面、快速地朝船靠近。他把单筒望远镜凑近眼前并透过它看见有十只狗在冰面上拉着一只雪橇。他还看到驾驶雪橇的那个人——那是一个巨大的身躯，比常人要大得多。

雪橇离水面越来越近，很快它便离船只有1/4英里之遥。现在已不需借助望远镜便可看见那个乘雪橇的人的庞大身躯了。

突然那个雪橇驶到一个冰山的后面消失了。就在那时，另一辆雪橇出现在眼前。它也在急驰着，并且显然是在追逐那第一辆雪橇。驾驶这辆雪橇的人身形小些，更像个普通人。狗跑得越来越快，接着第二辆雪橇也消失在了冰山的后面。

两小时过去了，雪橇再也没有出现过。再没有东西在冰上移动。不久夜晚降临了，晚上起了一场风暴。早上，船员们看到轮船的周围都漂浮着巨大的冰块。突然，桅杆上的船员又喊了起来：“船长，我看见冰上有一个人。”

那个船员正指着漂近轮船的一块浮冰。有个人正坐在冰上，他的身旁有一辆坏了的雪橇。那个人快要冻死了并且走不了路。船员们小心地把他扶上了船，并把他带到船长跟前。船长说道：“欢迎您到我的船上来。我是船长，叫罗伯特·沃尔顿。”“谢谢您，沃尔顿船长。”那个人说道，“我的名字叫弗兰肯斯坦，维克多·弗兰肯斯坦。”

然后他就昏过去，不再说什么了。

两天后，这个男人方才恢复过来能够谈话了，这时船长让他讲讲自己的故事。“我要尽力抓一个人，”弗兰肯斯坦说道，“这就是我为什么要到这么远的北方的冰面上来的原因。”“我们看见了你在追赶什么人。”船长说道，“他很大，比常人要大很多。我们在风暴的前夜看见他的雪橇就在你的前面。”“我很高兴你们都见到了那个庞然大物，”弗兰肯斯坦说道，“那也许能帮助你们相信我的故事。”

白天，船长在船上工作时，弗兰肯斯坦写起了他的故事；晚上他便把写的东西念给船长听。

下面就是弗兰肯斯坦的故事。

Victor Frankenstein's Story Begins 维克多的故事开始了

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My mother hoped to have a daughter after I was born，but for five years I was the only child. And then my mother found a sister for me. She was helping a family in which there were five children. They were very poor，and the children were thin and hungry. One of the children was a little girl，with golden hair and blue eyes. Her name was Elizabeth. My mother took the little girl into our family，and Elizabeth became the daughter that my mother had always wanted. As I grew older，my love for Elizabeth became stronger all the time.

Later my mother had two other sons，Ernest and William. A young woman called Justine came to live in the house to help my mother with the children. We loved her as much as she loved us.

The years passed happily，and we had everything that we needed. At school I met another very fine person. His name was Henry Clerval，and he was very clever. My family also liked him very much，so he was a welcome visitor to our house.

I studied very hard at school. I wanted to know the secrets of life，and，most of all，I wanted to know how to make living things. I read all the books that I could find. One day，something happened that added a new idea to the ideas that I already had. I was fifteen at the time，and we were on holiday in the mountains. There was a wild storm，and with it came the most frightening thunder and lightning that I had ever seen in my life. About twenty metres in front of our house was a great tree. Suddenly a huge fork of lightning hit the tree. After a few seconds，there was nothing left of it except a black piece of wood two metres high. The lightning had destroyed it.

I saw how strong electricity was. I began to read all the books that I could find about electricity and its terrible power.

Switzerland n. 瑞士（国名）。

Geneva n. 日内瓦，瑞士城市。

example n. 例子。

patient adj. showing patience. 有耐心的。

as... as 与……一样……。

secret n. sth. kept from others' knowing. 秘密；adj. 秘密的。

add v. 加。

frightening adj. causing fear. 吓人的。

thunder n. a very loud noise in the sky when there is a storm. 雷。

lightning n. 闪电。

fork n. 叉。

electricity n. 电。

2

我出生在瑞士的日内瓦城。我父母彼此相爱至深，而且我以他们的爱心为榜样。我懂得了去爱他人和富有耐心是世界上最重要的事情。

在生下我后，我母亲希望再生一个女儿，但在五年之中我都是唯一的孩子。后来我母亲给我找了一个妹妹。她那时在一个有五个孩子的家庭里帮忙。他们非常穷，孩子们都又瘦又饿。其中一个孩子是一个头发金黄、有一对蓝色眼睛的小女孩。她名叫伊丽莎白。我母亲把那个小女孩带到了我家，于是伊丽莎白便成了我母亲盼望已久的女儿。随着年龄的增长，我对伊丽莎白的爱与日俱增。

后来我母亲又生了两个儿子：欧内斯特和威廉。有个名叫贾斯汀的年轻女子来我家帮我母亲照看孩子们。我们像她爱我们一样地爱她。

岁月快乐地流逝着，我们拥有所需要的一切。在学校里我遇见了另外一个非常好的人，他的名字叫亨利·克勒沃，人非常聪明。我的家人也非常喜欢他，所以他是我们家受欢迎的客人。

我在学校学习很刻苦。我想要知道生命的奥秘，而且我最想知道的便是如何制造有生命的东西。我阅读了我能找到的一切书籍。有一天发生了一件事情，它给了我新的启发。我那时15岁，我们正在山中度假。那天有一场暴风雨，夹杂其间的是我平生见过的最为吓人的雷霆和闪电。在我们的房子前面约二十米处有一棵大树。突然间一个叉状闪电击中了大树。几秒钟之后，那棵大树便只剩下两米高的一块黑木头。闪电摧毁了它。

我看到了电的力量有多么大。我开始阅读我能找到的有关电及其可怕力量的一切书籍。

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'My children，I am very happy because you love each other，and because one day you will get married. Everyone in the family loves you，Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family，my dear？I can die happy if you will look after them when I have gone.'

My mother died，and we were very sad，because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us；her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother's death.

The time came for me to go to university. I did not want to leave my sad family，but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave，too，because the parents of my good friend Henry Clerval would not let him go to university with me. And so I had to go alone.

On my first day at the university I met my teacher，Professor Waldman，who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying: 'Some of you will become the great scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. That is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.'

After the professor's talk，I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was fifteen. I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. I wanted to use electricity to help people，and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things. I did not know then that my work would destroy me and the people that I loved.

I started work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.

The professor helped me very much，and other important scientists who were his friends helped me，too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day's holiday during the next two years. I did not go home，and my letters to my family were very short.

After two years I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was better than anything in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin？Is it possible to put life into dead things？To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university，I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day，month after month，I followed death. It was a dark and terrible time.

Then one day，the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life. I knew that I could put life into a body that was not alive.

I worked harder and harder now. I slept for only a short time each night，and I did not eat much food. I wrote to my family less often. But they loved me and did not stop writing to me. They said they understood how busy I was. They did not want me to stop work to write or to see them. They would wait until I had more time. They hoped to see me very soon.

The professors realized that I was doing very important work，and so they gave me my own laboratory. There was a small flat above the laboratory，where I lived，and sometimes I stayed inside the building for a week and did not go out.

Above the laboratory I built a very tall mast. It was 150 metres high，and higher than the tallest building in the city. The mast could catch lightning and could send the electricity down to my machine in the laboratory. I had never forgotten the lightning that had destroyed the tree. There had been so much power in the electricity of that lightning. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

I will say no more than that. The secret of my machine must die with me. I was a very clever scientist，but I did not realize then what a terrible mistake I was making.

die v. not live 死。

dying adj. 垂死的。

dearly adv. very much. 非常。

happy adj. glad. 高兴的。

unhappy adj. 不高兴的。

happiness n. 高兴。

university n. 大学。

go to university 上大学学习。

professor n. 教授。

intelligent adj. clever. 聪明的。

carefully adv. thinking of what one does，says，etc. 仔细地，认真地。

hospital n. place where people are nursed through their illness. 医院。

come to 使某人想到。

alive adj. not dead. 活着的。

laboratory n. the building where scientists work and study. 实验室，简写为lab。

flat n. 公寓套房。

power n. something strong that makes other things work. 力量。

mistake n. something not right. 错误。

make a mistake 犯错误。3

在17年的生命历程中我都很幸福。后来第一件悲伤的事发生了。我母亲病得很厉害，不久她便知道自己将不久于人世。就在她去世之前，她把伊丽莎白和我叫到她的房间。她抓住我们的手说道：“孩子们，你们彼此相爱并且将会结婚，我因此非常高兴。家里的每个人都很爱你，伊丽莎白。你愿意取代我在家中的位置吗，亲爱的？如果你在我走后能照顾他们，我将会走得很幸福。”

我母亲死了，我们都非常伤心，因为我们非常爱她。伊丽莎白很勇敢并帮着我们；她那甜美的微笑在母亲死后的那些不快的日子里给我们带来了一些快乐。

到了我该上大学的时候了。我不想离开我那悲伤的家，可我们都知道我应该去。离别也是很难的，因为我的好朋友克勒沃的父母不让他和我一起去上大学。这样我只能独自一人去了。

大学的第一天我遇到了我的老师沃得曼教授，他是世界上最伟大的科学家之一。他给我们所有开始大学生活的学生做了一次精彩的演讲。他在结束讲话时说：“你们中的一些人将成为明天的科学家。你们必须努力学习并且去揭示你们所能揭示的事物。这就是上帝为什么给了你们智慧——去帮助他人。”

教授演讲过后，我进行了非常认真的思考。我想起了我15岁时的那场暴风雨。我记得那次的闪电是如何摧毁了那棵树的。我想利用电去帮助人们，我还想去揭示生命的奥秘。我决心去从事这两项工作。我当时没有想到我的工作会毁了我还有我所爱的人们。

第二天我就开始了工作。我工作非常努力，我和沃得曼教授不久便意识到我可以通过学习成为一名出色的科学家。

教授帮了我很多的忙，那些是教授的朋友的、重要的科学家们也帮助过我。我对我的工作很感兴趣，在接下来的两年里我没有休过一天假。我没有回过家，给家里写的信也非常短。

两年后我发现了很多的事物并建造了一台比大学里的任何机器都好的科学机器。我的机器能帮助我回答最重要的问题。生命是如何开始的？可以把生命注入无生命的东西中去吗？要回答有关生命的这些问题我首先得了解死亡。我得从他们刚死、滚热的生命离开人体的那一刹那起进行观察。在医院里和大学里，我观察着垂死的人和已死的人。日复一日、月复一月，我都在跟踪死亡。那是黑暗和恐怖的日子。

后来有一天我得到了答案。我突然间确信自己懂得了生命的奥秘。我知道我能将生命注入一个无生命的身体中去。

现在我工作越来越努力。每天晚上我只睡很短的时间，吃的东西也很少。我给家里写的信更加少了。但是家里的人爱我，他们没有停止给我写信。他们说他们理解我有多忙。他们不想让我停止工作而去给他们写信或是去看望他们。他们愿意等到我有时间的时候再说。他们希望很快见到我。

教授们意识到我在从事一项重要的工作，因而给了我一间实验室。实验室的上面有一个小的套房，我就住在里面；有时候我一个星期都待在那座建筑物里不出去。

我在实验室的上方建起了一个很高的杆子。它有150米高，比全城最高的建筑物都要高。那个杆子能够“捕获”闪电并把电送到我实验室的机器上。我从未忘记摧毁那棵树的闪电。那次闪电中的电曾有那么大的力量。我相信我可以利用电给无生命的东西注以生命。

我不想再多说什么了。我的机器的秘密必须随我一起消亡。我是个很聪明的科学家，可我那时没有意识到我在犯多么可怕的错误。4n my laboratory I made a body. I bought or stole all the pieces of Ihuman body that I needed，and slowly and carefully，I put them all together.

I did not let anybody enter my laboratory or my flat while I was doing this awful work. I was afraid to tell anybody my terrible secret.

I had wanted to make a beautiful man，but the face of the creature was horrible. Its skin was thin and yellow，and its eyes were as yellow as its skin. Its long black hair and white teeth were almost beautiful，but the rest of the face was very ugly.

Its legs and arms were the right shape，but they were huge. I had to use big pieces because it was too difficult to join small pieces together. My creature was two and a half metres tall.

For a year I had worked to make this creature，but now it looked terrible and frightening. I almost decided to destroy it. But I could not. I had to know if I could put life into it.

I joined the body to the wires from my machine. More wires joined the machine to the mast. I was sure that my machine could use electricity from lightning to give life to the body. I watched and waited. Two days later I saw dark clouds in the sky，and I knew that a storm was coming. At about one o'clock in the morning the lightning came. My mast began to do its work immediately，and the electricity from the lightning travelled down the mast to my machine. Would the machine work？

At first nothing happened. But after a few minutes I saw the creature's body begin to move. Slowly，terribly，the body came alive. Its arms and legs began to move，and slowly it sat up.

The dead body had been an ugly thing，but alive，it was much more horrible. Suddenly I wanted to escape from it. I ran out of the laboratory，and locked the door. I was filled with fear at what I had done.

For hours I walked up and down in my flat. At last I lay down on my bed，and fell asleep. But my sleep was full of terrible dreams，and I woke up suddenly. The horrible thing that I had created was standing by my bed. Its yellow eyes were looking at me；its mouth opened and it made strange sounds at me. On its yellow face there was an awful smile. One of its huge hands reached towards me...

Before it could touch me，I jumped off the bed and ran downstairs into the garden. I stayed there all night，but I could not think clearly. I was afraid. And when morning came，I went out into the town and began to walk about.

I did not notice where I was walking，but soon I came to the station. A train from Geneva had just arrived，and the passengers were leaving the station. One of them ran towards me when he saw me. It was my dear friend Henry Clerval.

He was very pleased to see me. He took my hand and shook it warmly.

'My dear Victor！' he said. 'What a lucky chance that you are here at the station. Your father，and Elizabeth and the others，are very worried about you，because you have not visited them for a long time. They ask me to make sure that you are well. And I have very good news. My father has agreed to let me study at the university，so we shall be able to spend a lot of time together.'

I was very happy to hear this news，and for a moment I forgot my fears. I took Henry back to my flat and asked him to wait outside while I went in to look. I was afraid that the creature was still there. But it had disappeared. At that time I did not think of other people，and what the creature could do to them. I took Henry into the flat and cooked a meal for us. But Henry noticed how thin I was，and that I was laughing too much and could not sit still.

Suddenly he said: 'My dear Victor，what is the matter with you？Are you ill？Has something awful happened？'

'Don't ask me that，' I cried. I put my hands over my eyes. I thought I could see the horrible creature there in front of me. I pointed wildly across the room，and shouted: 'He can tell you. Save me！Save me！' I tried to fight the creature，but there was nothing there. Then I fainted and fell to the floor.

Poor Henry！I do not know what he thought. He called a doctor and they put me to bed. I was very ill for two months，and Henry stayed and looked after me. His loving care saved me from death.

I wanted to go home and see my family as soon as possible. When I was well enough，I packed my clothes and books. All my luggage was ready，and I was feeling very happy when the postman arrived with some letters. One of the letters ended my short time of happiness.

steal（stole，stolen） v. take somebody else's things secretly. 偷。

skin n. 皮肤。

huge adj. very，very big 巨大的。

creature n. a living animal or person. 生物。

wire n. a long thin piece of metal；electricity travels through wires. 电线。

immediately adv. at once. 马上。

asleep adv. 睡着了。

fall asleep 睡着。

suddenly adv. at once. 突然。

awful adj. terrible. 可怕的。

passenger n. 乘客。

lucky adj. having good luck. 幸运的。

too much 太多，过分。

wildly adv. too excitedly. 狂野地，过分激动地，发疯地。

save... from...把……从……处挽救出来。

pack v. put things into a bag，box，etc. 包装，整理行装。

luggage n. 行李。4

我在我的实验室中造了一个人体。我所需要的人体各部分均是我买来或偷来的，然后我缓慢而细心地把它们拼凑到了一起。

在干这项可怕的工作时，我没有让任何人进入我的实验室和我的住处。我不敢告诉任何人我那可怕的秘密。

我曾想造一个漂亮的男人，但这个家伙的脸非常可怕：皮肤又薄又黄，眼睛同皮肤一样黄。黑长的头发和白色的牙齿倒也漂亮，脸上的其余部分却很丑陋。

它的腿和胳膊的形状是对的，但它们太大了。因为拼接小块的人体太困难了，我只得用大块的去拼接。我创造的这个东西有2.5米高。

我曾为制造这个东西工作了一年时间，现在它却看上去恐怖吓人。我几乎要决定毁了它。但我做不到。我必须知道我是否能将生命植入其中。

我把那个身体同我机器上的那些电线连接起来。更多的电线再把机器和杆子连接起来。我确信我的机器可以用闪电给那个身体生命。我观察着、等待着。两天后我看到天上有了乌云，知道将有一场暴风雨来临。大约在凌晨1点钟闪电闪了一下。我的杆子立即开始工作，闪电通过杆子传到了我的机器上。机器会管用吗？

起先没有发生什么。但是几分钟过后我看见那个东西的躯体在动。那具躯体缓慢而怕人地变活了。他的胳膊和腿开始移动，而且他慢慢地坐了起来。

那个无生命的躯体本来就可怕，而现在变成活的就更加恐怖了。突然间我想逃开。我跑出实验室并且锁上了门。我对我所做的一切充满了恐惧。

有好几个小时我都在我的房间里走来走去。最后我躺倒在床上并睡着了。可是恶梦萦绕着我，我便猛然醒了过来。我所创造的那个可怕的东西正站在我的床边。他的黄色的眼睛正看着我。他的嘴张着并对我发出奇怪的声音。他的黄色的脸庞上露出可怕的笑容。他的一只大手伸向了我……

没等他碰到我，我便跳下床冲到了楼下的花园里。我整个晚上都待在那儿，只是思维已不清楚了。我很害怕。等到早上，我便走出花园到城里去并开始四处逛悠。

我没注意我在什么地方走，但不久便到了火车站。刚好从日内瓦来了一趟火车，乘客正走出车站。其中一位见到我后便朝我跑了过来。原来是我的好朋友亨利·克勒沃。

他见到我很高兴。他抓住我的手热情地握了起来。“我亲爱的维克多！”他说道，“你在车站这儿真是巧极了。你父亲、伊丽莎白还有其他人都非常为你担心，因为你很久没有探望他们了。他们让我来看看你的身体是否还好。另外我还有个好消息。我父亲已同意让我上大学学习，这样我们就能有好多时间待在一起了。”

我听了这个消息后很高兴，并且有一阵儿都忘记了我的恐惧感。我把亨利带回我的公寓并让他在外面等着以便我能进去看一看。我害怕那个家伙还在那儿。但是他已经不见了。那时我没有想到过其他人以及那个家伙会对他们怎么样。我把亨利领进屋里并给我们做了顿吃的。然而亨利注意到了我有多么瘦削，我还笑得太多，也不能安静地坐着。

他突然说道：“我亲爱的维克多，你怎么啦？你生病了吗？发生了什么可怕的事情了吗？”“别问我这个，”我喊道。我用手捂住眼睛。当时我想我能看见那个可怕的家伙正在我的面前。我发疯似地指向屋子，并且喊道：“他能告诉你。救救我！救救我！”我想去同那个家伙搏斗，但那儿什么也没有。然后我就晕过去，倒在了地板上。

可怜的亨利！我不知道他当时是怎么想的。他叫了个医生并且一起把我扶到了床上。我大病了两个月，亨利一直留下来照顾我。他那充满爱意的护理把我从死亡那儿救了回来。

我想尽快回家去见我的家人。在我恢复得足够强壮后，我便收拾起衣服和书籍。我的行李都已准备好了，但是正当我无比高兴时邮递员给我送来了几封信。其中的一封结束了我短暂的快乐时光。5he letter was from my father in Geneva，and this is what he Twrote:

My dear Victor，

I want you to know before you arrive home that an awful thing has happened. Your dear youngest brother，William，is dead. He was murdered. It happened last Thursday evening when Elizabeth and I and your two brothers，Ernest and William，went for a walk outside the city. William and Ernest were playing. William had hidden from Ernest，and Ernest asked Elizabeth and me to help find William. We all began to search for him，but we couldn' t find him. We searched all night. At five in the morning I found him. He was lying on the grass，white and still. I could see the marks of fingers on his neck—the murderer had strangled him.

Elizabeth had let him wear a gold chain of hers round his neck. On the chain was a very small picture of your mother. We all think that someone murdered William to steal the gold chain. Poor Elizabeth is terribly unhappy at William's death. She thinks he died because she let him wear the chain. Hurry home，my dear Victor. You are the only one who can help Elizabeth，and we all need you.

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