《新概念英语》第三册Lesson 24 A skeleton in the cupboard

Lesson 24 A skeleton in the cupboard

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

Who was Sebastian?

We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spend an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided to hang one of the tow suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a read skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'

New words and expressions

生词和短语 

skeleton[ˈskelɪtn] n.  骷髅

The human skeleton consists of 206 bones.

人的骨骼由206块骨头组成。

seemingly adv. 表面上地

respectable adj. 体面的，雅观的

conceal[kənˈsiːl] v. 隐藏，隐瞒

con 加强 + ceal 藏 → 隐藏

For a long time his death was concealed from her.

他的死瞒了很长时间都没告诉她。

vivid  adj. 生动的

dramatic  adj. 令人激动的，扣人心弦的

ruin  v.   毁坏

heroine [ˈheroʊɪn] n.  女主人公

hero 英雄 + ine 人，多指女人 → 女英雄

the heroines of the revolution

那场革命中的各位女英雄

fiction  n.  小说

varying  adj. 不同的

medicine  n.  医学

guestroom  n. （家庭中的）来客住房

unpack  vt. （从箱中）取出

stack  v. （整齐地）堆放，排放

underclothes  n. 内衣

drawer  n.  抽屉

petrify[ˈpetrɪfaɪ] v. 使惊呆

Prison petrifies me and I don't want to go there.

监狱太可怕了，我不想去那里。

dangle[ˈdæŋɡl] v. 悬挂

A single light bulb dangled from the ceiling.

天花板上孤零零地悬吊着一只灯泡。

sway  v.  摇摆

unsympathetic [ˌʌnˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk] adj. 不表同情的，无动于衷的

medical  adj. 医学的

参考译文

在小说中，我们经常读到一个表面上受人尊重的人物或家庭，却有着某种多年不为人所知的骇人听闻的秘密。英语中有一个生动的说法来形容这种情况。惊人的秘密称作“柜中骷髅”。在小说的某个戏剧性时刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出来，接着便是某人的声誉扫地。当读者到小说最后几页了解到书中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可爱的老妇人年轻时一连毒死了她的5个丈夫时，不禁会毛骨悚然。

这种事发生在小说中是无可非议的。尽管我们人人都有各种大小秘密。连最亲密的朋友都不愿让他们知道， 但我们当中极少有人有柜中骷髅。我所认识的唯一的在柜中藏骷嵝的人便是乔治.卡尔顿，他甚至引以为自豪。乔治年轻时学过医，然而，他后来没当上医生，却成了一位成功的侦探小说作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，过得很不愉快。这事我永远不会忘记。乔治把我领进客房，说这间很少使用。他让我打开行装后下楼吃饭。我将衬衫、内衣放进两个空抽屉里，然后我想把随身带来的两套西服中的一套挂到大衣柜里去。我打开柜门，站在柜门前一下惊呆了。一具骷髅悬挂在眼前，由于柜门突然打开，它也随之轻微摇晃起来，让我觉得它好像马上要跳出柜门朝我扑过来似的。我扔下西服冲下楼去告诉乔治。这是比“骇人听闻的秘密”更加惊人的东西，这是一具真正的骷髅啊！但乔治却无动于衷。“噢，是它呀！他笑着说道，俨然在谈论一位老朋友。“那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是学医的了。”

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