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新视野大学英语读写教程第三册unit1-b The Romantic Life of Secret Agent Alber

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Section B
The Romantic Life of Secret Agent Albert

Albert did not fit the description of any secret agent Charles had ever read about. Following him down the corridor of the gloomy French hotel where Albert had a room, Charles felt disappointed. It was a small room, on the sixth and top floor, and scarcely a setting for a romantic figure. Albert was, for one thing, fat. Very fat. And then there was his accent. Though he spoke French and German fairly well, he had never altogether lost the American accent he had brought to Paris twenty years ago.“You are disappointed,” Albert said over his shoulder. “You were told that I was a secret agent, a spy, dealing in secrets and danger. You wished to meet me because you are a writer, young and romantic. You imagined mysterious figures in the night,the crack of guns, clever disguises, secret exploits.”“Instead, you have spent an exceedingly dull evening at the opera with a fat man who, instead of having messages slipped into his hand by dark-eyed beauties, gets only an ordinary telephone call making an appointment in his room. You have been bored!” The fat man laughed to himself as he unlocked the door of his room and stood aside to let his frustrated guest enter.“Take cheer, my young friend,” Albert told him. “Presently you will see a paper of singular importance for which several men and women have risked their lives. Some day soon that paper may well affect the course of history. In that thought is drama, is there not?” As he spoke, Albert closed the door behind him. Then he switched on the light.

 

And as the light came on, Charles had his first thrill of the day. For across the room, a small gun in his hand, stood a man.“Max,” he said, “you gave me quite a start. I thought you were in Berlin. What are you doing in my room?”Max was slender, not tall, and with a face that suggested the look of a fox. Except for the gun, he did not look very

dangerous.“The report,” he said. “The report that is being brought to you tonight concerning some new missiles. I thought I would take it from you. It will be safer in my hands than in yours.”Albert moved to a chair and sat down heavily. “I swear I'm going to raise the devil with the management this time; I am angry,” he said. “This is the second time in a month that somebody has gotten into my room off that damn balcony!”Charles's eyes went to the single window of the room. It was an ordinary window; outside was utter blackness.“Balcony?” Max asked curiously, “No, I had a key. I did not know about the balcony. It might have simplified things had I known about it.”“It's not my balcony,” explained Albert angrily. “It belongs to the next apartment. You see,” he said, “this room used to be part of a large unit, and the next room used to be the living room. It had the balcony, which extends under my window now.

 

You can get onto it from the empty room next door, and somebody did, last month.”Max waved the gun with a commanding gesture. “Please sit down,” he said. “We have a wait of half an hour, I think.”“Thirty-one minutes,” Albert said, in a bad mood. “The appointment was for twelve-thirty. I wish I knew how you learned about the report, Max.”

 

The little spy smiled an evil smile. “And from our standpoint, we wish we knew how your people got the report. Anyhow, no harm has been done. I will get it back tonight. What is that? Who is at the door?”Charles jumped at the sudden knocking at the door. Albert just smiled, “That will be the police,” he said. “I told them to check on me to make sure everything was all right.”“What will you do now, Max?” Albert asked. “If I do not answer the door, they will enter anyway. The door is unlocked. And they will not hesitate to shoot.”Max's face was black with anger as he made a swift movement towards the window; with his hand behind him, he opened the window and put his leg out into the night. “Send them away!” he warned. “I will wait on the balcony.”The knocking at the door became louder and a voice was raised. “Mr. Albert! Mr. Albert!”Keeping his body twisted so that his gun still pointed at the fat man and his guest, Max grasped the window frame and heaved his other leg up and over the bottom of the window.

 

The door began to open. Swiftly Max pushed to free himself and drop to the balcony. And then as he dropped, he screamed once.The door opened and a waiter stood there with an oval tray, a bottle of liquor, and two glasses. “Here is the drink you ordered, sir.” He set the tray on the table, opened the bottle, and left the room.White-faced and shaking, Charles stared after him. “But … but … what about … the police?” he finally was able to say.“There never were any police.” Albert sighed. “Only Henry, whom I was expecting.”“But what about the man on the balcony…?” Charles began with a shiver.“No,” said Albert, “he won't return.”

New Words

 romantic a. 1.传奇性的,有浪漫色彩的 2.不切实际的,空想的
 agent n. 1.政府或其他组织的特工人员 2.代理人
 corridor n. 走廊,通道
 accent n. 1.口音,腔调 2.重音,强音
 writer n. 作家,作者
 mysterious a. 神秘的,难解的,不可思议的
 crack n. 1.爆炸声,劈啪声 2.裂缝,裂纹
v. 1.(使)劈啪作响,(使)发爆裂声 2.打开,砸开
 disguise n. 伪装,伪装物
vt. 1.伪装 2.掩盖,掩藏
 exploit n. 英勇的行为,冒险的行为
vt. 1.利用,开发 2.剥削
 exceedingly ad. 非常地,极度地
 opera n. 歌剧
 aside ad. 在边上,朝边上
 switch v. 转变,改变
n. 1.开关,电闸 2.转变,改变
▲thrill n. 兴奋,激动,紧张感
v. (使)非常兴奋,(使)非常激动
 slender a. 苗条的,纤细的
 missile n. 导弹,飞弹
 swear v. 1.发誓 2.诅咒,骂
 devil n. 魔鬼
 damn a. (表示愤怒、厌烦等)该死的,可恶的
int. (表示愤怒、厌烦等)该死,讨厌
 balcony n. 阳台
 utter a. 完全的,彻底的,十足的
vt. 发出(声音),说
 simplify vt. 使易懂,使易做,简化
 mood n. 心情,情绪
 evil a. 道德败坏的,邪恶的,罪恶的
 standpoint n. 立场,观点
 anyhow ad. 1.不管怎样,无论如何,至少 2.粗心大意地,随随便便地
 swift a. 快的,迅速的,敏捷的
 twist vt. 1.弯曲或压挤 2.曲解,歪曲
n. 变化,转折,改变
 grasp vt. 1.抓住 2.理解,领悟
 frame n. 1.画框,边框,框架 2.构架,骨架
vt. 1.在... ...上加框 2.表达,设计,构想出
 heave vt. 1.很费劲地抬起,举起,拽起 2.(用力)发出(叹息声)
n. 举起,升降
 oval a. 椭圆形的
n. 椭圆
 tray n. 盘,托盘,碟
 liquor n. 烈性酒
 sigh vi. 叹息,叹气
n. 叹息,叹息声
 shiver vi. 战栗,发抖
n. 战栗,发抖

 

Phrases and Expressions

 read about 借助阅读发现或查明
 for one thing (用以列举理由)首先;一则
 in the night 在夜晚,在半夜
 make an appointment 预约,约会
 switch on 接通(电源),开启
 come on (电灯、电力机器等)开,开动,运转
 raise the devil 非常生气,大声抱怨
 check on 检查,核实,调查
 answer the door 应声开门
 point (sth.) at 瞄准,对着
 stare after 目不转睛地追随(某人),以凝视的目光随着(某人)移动

 

Proper Names

 Albert 艾伯特
 Charles 查尔斯
 French 法国的;法国人,法语
 German 德国的;德国人,德语
 Paris 巴黎 (法国首都)
 Max 马克斯
 Berlin 柏林 (德国首都)
 Henry 亨利

    特工艾伯特的传奇生活
    艾伯特一点也不像查尔斯读过的书里描写的特工。 随着艾伯特穿过他所住的法国旅馆的昏暗走廊时,查尔斯很是失望。 艾伯特的房间很小,位于6楼,旅馆的顶层,不像是个传奇人物的住处。
    一来艾伯特很胖,非常胖;二来他带有口音。他的法语和德语都说得很好,但从来没有完全改掉他20年前初到巴黎时的美国口音。
    "你一定很失望," 艾伯特转过头来说道。"有人告诉你我是个特工,一个间谍,总是做秘密情报和危险的买卖。 你想见我是因为你是个作家,年轻、富于幻想。 你想像的是在黑夜中出现的神秘人物,枪声,巧妙的化装,秘密的使命。"
    "然而,你却在歌剧院里陪着个胖子打发了一个极度无聊的夜晚。根本没有什么黑眸美女偷偷将情报塞到他手里,他只是接了一个普通的电话,约在他住的地方见面。 你已经厌倦了。" 当胖子打开房门,站在一边让他沮丧的客人进屋时,他暗自笑了。
    "振作点,年轻人。" 艾伯特对他说。 "你很快就会见到一份特别重要的文件,那是几个人冒着生命危险换来的。 不久的某一天,它很可能会影响历史的进程。 这种想法够戏剧化吧,是不是?"艾伯特一边说,一边随手关上门。然后他打开了灯。
    灯光一亮,查尔斯就感到了当天的第一次惊悸: 屋子的另一边站着一个男人,手里握着一支小手枪。
    "马克斯," 艾伯特说,"你真吓了我一跳。我还以为你在柏林呢,你在我屋里干什么?"
    马克斯身材瘦小,个子不高,一张狐狸模样的脸。 除了那支手枪,他看上去并不令人感到危险。
    "那份报告,"他说, "今晚要交给你的那份报告,涉及到一些新型导弹。 我打算从你这儿把它拿走。 它在我手里比在你手里更安全。"
    艾伯特移向一张椅子,重重地坐了下去, "我发誓,这一次我一定要找管理部门大吵一场,真让人生气," 他说, "这是一个月内第二次有人从那该死的阳台进入我的房间了。"
    查尔斯将目光投向屋里惟一的窗户。 窗户很普通;窗外一片漆黑。
    "阳台?"马克斯好奇地问, "不,我有钥匙。 我不知道有阳台。否则的话,事情就更简单了。"
    "不是我的阳台," 艾伯特生气地解释说, "是隔壁房间的。 你瞧," 他说,"这间房原是大套房的一部分。隔壁原来是卧室, 那儿有个阳台,一直延伸到我的窗口下。 隔壁的房间是空的,可以从那儿到阳台上去。上个月就有人这么干过。"
    马克斯摆了摆手枪,做了一个命令的手势。" 请你坐下,"他说, "我想我们要等半个小时。"
    "31分钟," 艾伯特没好气地说。" 我们约好12点半。 马克斯,我倒想知道你们怎么知道那份报告的。"
    这名小个特务邪恶地笑了笑, "站在我们的立场,我们还想知道你们的人是怎么弄到那份报告的呢。 不过也没关系,今晚我就可以拿回来。 怎么回事?谁在门外?"
    查尔斯被突然的敲门声吓得跳了起来。 艾伯特只是笑了笑,"可能是警察,"他说, "我叫他们过来检查一下,以保万事大吉。"
    "你现在怎么办,马克斯?" 艾伯特问道, "即使我不应门,他们还是会进来。门没锁,而且他们会毫不犹豫地开枪。"
    马克斯气得脸都黑了,他迅速地移到窗口,一只手从身后打开了窗户,一只脚伸进了黑夜里。 "打发他们走,"他警告道,"我在阳台上等着。"
    敲门声越来越响,有人高声叫道, "艾伯特先生,艾伯特先生!"
    马克斯扭曲着身体,以便把枪仍旧对着胖子和他的客人,同时他抓住窗框,将另一只脚迈过窗口。
    门就要开了,马克斯急忙松手,跳向阳台。 就在跳落之际,他发出了一声尖叫。
    门开了,一名侍者站在门口,手里端着一只椭圆形的托盘,上面有一瓶酒和两个酒杯。" 先生,这是您要的酒。" 他把托盘放在桌上,打开酒瓶,走了。
    脸色惨白的查尔斯还在发抖,他盯着侍者离去的身影,半晌才说出话,"可…… 可是…… 警察呢?"
    "根本就没什么警察," 艾伯特叹息了一声,"只有亨利,我等的就是他。"
    "但是阳台上的那个人,他…… " 查尔斯开始哆嗦起来。
    "没事," 艾伯特说, "他不会回来了。"
 

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