新概念美音版第三冊 Lesson 22 By heart 熟記台詞

Lesson 22 By heart 熟記台詞
         
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。

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, In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.

    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. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.

    One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim. Read the letter to me'. And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter with he proceeded to read to the prisoner.

New words and expressions 生詞和短語

     run (ran, run)
v.   （戲劇，電影等）連演，連映

     lines
n.   （劇本中的）台詞
 
     part
n.   劇中的角色，台詞

     falter
v.   支吾，結巴說

     cast (cast, cast)
v.   連派……扮演角色

     role
n.   角色

     aristocrat
n.   貴族

     imprison
v.   關押

     Bastille
n.   巴士底獄

     gaoler
n.   監獄長，看守

     colleague
n.   同事

     curtain
n.   （舞台上的）幕布

     reveal
v.   使顯露

     cell
n.   單人監房，監號

     blank
adj. 空白的

     squint
v.   眯著（眼）看，瞄

     dim
adj. 昏暗

     sire
n.   （古用法）陛下

     proceed
v.   繼續進行

參考譯文

    有些劇目十分成功，以致連續上演好幾年。這樣一來，可憐的演員們可倒黴了。因為他們需要一夜連著一夜地重複同樣的台詞。人們以為，這些演員一定會把台詞背得爛熟，絕不會臨場結巴的，但情況卻並不總是這樣。
    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押了20年。在最後一幕中，獄卒手持一封信上場，然後將信交給獄中那位貴族。盡管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。
    一天晚上，獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑，看看他反複演出這麽多場之後，是否已將信的內容記熟了。大幕拉開，最後一幕戲開演，貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗後陰暗的牢房裏。這時獄卒上場，手裏拿著那封珍貴的信。獄卒走進牢房，將信交給貴族。但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全，而是一張白紙。獄卒熱切地觀察著，急於想了解他的同事是否記熟了台詞。貴族盯著紙看了幾秒鍾，然後，眼珠一轉，說道：“光線太暗，請給我讀一下這封信。”說完，他一下子把信遞給獄卒。獄卒發現自己連一個字也記不住，於是便說：“陛下，這兒光線的確太暗了，我得去眼鏡拿來。”他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下台。貴族感到非常好笑的是：一會兒工夫，獄卒重新登台，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信，然後為那囚犯念了起來。