A Tale of Two Cities—A Trail in London(1780)

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Tellson's Bank in the City of London was an old，dark，and ugly building.It smelt of dust and old papers，and the people who worked there all seemed old and dusty，too.Outside the building sat Jerry Cruncher，who carried messages for people in the bank.

One morning in March 1780，Jerry had to go to the Old Bailey to collect an important message from Mr Lorry.Trials at the Old Bailey were usually for very dangerous criminals，and the prisoner that morning was a young man of about twenty-five，well dressed and quite calm.

“What's he done” Jerry asked the doorman quietly.

“He's a spy!A French spy! ”the doorman told him.“He travels from England to France and tells the French King secret information about our English army.”

“What'll happen if he'sguity？ ” asked Jerry.

“Oh， he'll have to die， no question of that， ”replied the doormanenthusiastically.“They'll hang him.”

“What's his name?”

“Darnay， Charles Darnay.Notan English name， is it?”

While Jerry waited，helooked aroundat the crowd inside the Old Bailey and noticed a young lady of about twenty years， and her father， a gentleman with very white hair.The young lady seemed very sad when she looked at the prisoner，and held herself close to her father.

Then the trial began，and the first person who spokeagainstCharlesDarnaywascalledJohn Barsad.He was an honest man，he said，and proud to be an Englishman.Yes， he was， or had been， a friend of the prisoner's.And in the prisoner's pockets he had seen important plans and lists about the English armies.No，of course he had not put the lists there himself.And no， he was not a spy himself， he was not someone paid to make traps for innocent people.

Next the young lady spoke.She said that she had met the prisoner on the boat which had carried her and her father from France to England.“He was very good and kind to my father and to me， ”she said.

“Was he travelling alone on the ship?”

“No， he was with two French gentlemen.”

“Now， Miss Manette， did you see him show them any papers， or anything that looked like a list?”

“No， I didn't see anything like that.”

Questions，questions，questions!The trial went on， and finally， a small， red－h(huán)aired man spoke.He told the judge that he had seen Mr Darnay at a hotel in a town where there were many soldiers and ships.Then one of the lawyers，a man called Sydney Carton， wrote some words on a piece of paper， and gave it to Mr Stryver，the lawyer who was speaking for Mr Darnay.

“Are you quite sure that the prisoner is the man you saw？”Mr Stryver asked the red-haired man.

“Quite sure，” said the man.

“Have you ever seen anyone like the prisoner？ ”asked Mr Stryver.

“I'd always be able to recognize him.” The redhaired man was veryconfident.

“Then I must ask you to look at the gentleman over there，” said Mr Stryver，pointing toSydney Carton.“Don't you think that he is very like the prisoner?”

Everyone in the court could see that Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay were indeed very similar.

“Well then，” said Mr Stryver， “it is so easy to find a man like the prisoner that we can even find one in this room.So how can you be so sure that it was the prisoner you saw in that hotel?”

And the red－h(huán)aired man said not another word.

The lawyers talked and argued，and when at last the trialcame to an end，Jerry Cruncher had fallen asleep.

But Mr Lorry woke him up and gave him a piece of paper.“NOT GUILTY” were the words written on it，and Jerry hurried back to Tellson's Bank with the message.

Sydney Carton seemed to be a man who did not care about anyone or anything.He was Mr Stryver's assistant.In fact，he did most of the real work for Mr Stryver.Stryver was good at speaking at a trial，but he was not good at discovering important facts and details，especially when these details were hidden in a lot of papers.Every night Carton studied the many papers that lawyers have to read，and he wrote down the questions which Stryver should ask at the next day's trial.And every day Stryver asked these questions，and people thought how clever he was.

Outside the Old Bailey Mr Darnay，now a free man，met his friends:Dr Manette and his daughter Lucie， Mr Jarvis Lorry， Mr Stryver， and Mr Carton.

Dr Manette no longer looked like the man in the room above Defarge's wine-shop five years ago.His hair was white，but his eyes were bright and he stood straight and strong.Sometimes his face became dark and sad when he remembered the years in the Bastille prison；at these times only his daughter Lucie，whom he loved so much，could help him.

As they stood there talking，a strange expression came over Dr Manette's face.He was staring at Charles Darnay，but he did not seem to see him.For a few moments there was dislike，even fear in his eyes.

“My father，” said Lucie softly， putting her hand on his arm，“shall we go home now?”

“Yes，” he answered slowly.

Soon theydrove offin a coach，and then Mr Stryver and Mr Lorry walked away，leavingMr Darnay and Mr Cartonalone.

“It must be strange for you， ” said Carton， “to be a free man again，and to be standing here，talk-ing to a man who looks just like you.Let us go out and eat together.”

After they had eaten， Carton said softly， “How sad and worried Miss Manette was for you today!She's a very beautiful young woman，don't you think so?”

Darnay did not reply to what Carton had said，but he thanked him for his help at the trial.

“I don't want your thanks， ”replied Carton. “I have done nothing.And I don't think I like you.”

“Well，''Said Darnay， “You have no reason to like me.But I hope that you will allow me to pay the bill for both of us.”

“Of course.And as you are paying for me， I'll have another bottle of wine.”

After Darnay had left，Carton drank some more wine andlooked at himself in the mirror.He was angry because Darnay looked so much like him，but was so different.Carton knew that he was a clever lawyer， and that he was a good and honest man，but he had never been successful for himself.He drank too much，and his life was unhappy and friendless.His cleverness and his hard work in the law only made others， like Mr Stryver， successful and rich.He remembered Lucie Manette's worried face when she watched Darnay in court.

“If I changed places with Darnay， ” hewhispered to himself， “would those blue eyes of Miss Manette look at me，in the same way？ No，no，it's too late now.”

He drank another bottle of wine and fell asleep.

In a quiet street not far away was the house where Dr Manette and Lucie lived.They had one servant， Miss Pross， who had taken care of Lucie since she was a child.Miss Pross had red hair and a quick， sharp voice， and seemed at first sight a very alarming person.But everybody knew that she was in fact a warm-hearted and unselfish friend，who would do anything to guard her darling Lucie from trouble or danger.

Dr Manette was now well enough towork asa doctor， and he， Lucie， and Miss Prossled aquiet，comfortablelife.Mr Lorry，who had become a close family friend， came regularly to the house， and in the months after the trial，Mr Darnay and Mr Carton were also frequent visitors.This did not please Miss Pross at all，who always looked very cross when they came.

“Nobody is good enough for my darling Lucie， ”she told Mr Lorry one day， “and I don't like all these hundreds of visitors.”

Mr Lorry had a very high opinion of Miss Pross，but he wasn't brave enough to argue that two visitors were not“hundreds.” Nobodyargued withMiss Pross if they could avoid it.

巧筆妙記

Ⅰ.詞匯積累

1.guilty adj.有罪的；內(nèi)疚的

2.enthusiastically adv.熱情地

3.confident adj.自信的

4.look around環(huán)顧

5.point to指向

6.come to an end結(jié)束

7.drive off駛?cè)?/p>

8.leave sb alone不管某人；對(duì)某人聽(tīng)之任之

9.look at oneself in the mirror照鏡子

10.whisper to sb對(duì)某人耳語(yǔ)

11.in the same way同樣

12.work as擔(dān)任；充當(dāng)

13.lead a...life過(guò)……生活

14.argue with sb和某人爭(zhēng)論

Ⅱ.難句分析

1.Outside the building sat Jerry Cruncher，who carried messages for people in the bank.

翻譯：____________________________________

【點(diǎn)石成金】Outside the building sat Jerry Cruncher為全部倒裝，who引導(dǎo)定語(yǔ)從句，先行詞為Jerry Cruncher，在從句中作主語(yǔ)。

2.It is so easy to find a man like the prisoner that we can even find one in this room.很容易就能找到一個(gè)與罪犯相像的人，乃至在這間屋子里我們就能找出一個(gè)和罪犯長(zhǎng)得酷似的人。

【點(diǎn)石成金】句中含有It is+adj.+to do sth表示“做某事是……”，so...that...，引導(dǎo)結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)從句表示“如此……，以至于……”。

句式仿寫

對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)找一份適合的工作太難，以至于他不知道接下來(lái)該做什么。

It was ___________for him to ___________that he ___________.

3.Darnay did not reply to what Carton had said，but he thanked him for his help at the trial.達(dá)爾內(nèi)沒(méi)有回答卡爾頓所說(shuō)的話，但他感謝他在審判中的幫助。

【點(diǎn)石成金】句中reply to...回答……，what引導(dǎo)介詞賓語(yǔ)從句，在從句中作賓語(yǔ)，but連接并列句，thank sb for sth表示“因某事感謝某人”。

句式仿寫

為了對(duì)他所做的一切表示感激，我請(qǐng)他吃了一頓飯。

In order to thank _____________，I treated him to a meal.

譯文助讀

倫敦城里的臺(tái)爾森銀行是一座古老、灰暗而且丑陋的建筑。這里充斥著灰塵和廢紙的氣味，就連在里面工作的人似乎也都古舊和灰頭土臉的。負(fù)責(zé)為銀行里的人傳書(shū)送信的杰里·克拉徹坐在銀行的外面。

1780年3月的一天早晨，杰里要去舊巴勒從勞里先生那兒獲取一條重要信息。在舊巴勒的審判往往都是對(duì)那些非常危險(xiǎn)的犯人進(jìn)行的，而那天早上的罪犯是一個(gè)大約25歲左右的年輕人。他穿著體面，人也很沉著。

“他犯了什么罪？”杰里輕聲地問(wèn)看門人。

“他是一個(gè)間諜！一個(gè)法國(guó)間諜！”看門人告訴他?！八麖挠?guó)趕到法國(guó)，然后把英國(guó)軍隊(duì)的動(dòng)向秘報(bào)給了法國(guó)國(guó)王?！?/p>

“如果判他有罪的話他會(huì)受什么樣的懲罰？”杰里問(wèn)。

“哦，得判死刑，這是無(wú)疑的。”看門人情緒高昂地回答說(shuō)。“他們會(huì)絞死他的。”

“他叫什么名字？”

“代爾那，查爾斯·代爾那。不是一個(gè)英國(guó)名字，是吧？”

杰里一邊等著，一邊朝舊巴勒里的人群巡視。他注意到一位20歲左右的年輕女子和她的父親——一位白發(fā)蒼蒼的紳士。當(dāng)年輕女子看著罪犯時(shí)顯得很悲傷，并緊緊地?fù)ё×怂母赣H。

審判開(kāi)始了。第一個(gè)起訴查爾斯·代爾那的人名叫約翰·巴薩德。他自稱是一個(gè)誠(chéng)實(shí)的人，并以自己是英國(guó)人而自豪。他承認(rèn)自己是或曾經(jīng)是罪犯的一個(gè)朋友，而且他曾見(jiàn)過(guò)罪犯的衣袋里有一些關(guān)于英國(guó)軍隊(duì)的重要計(jì)劃和圖表。他否認(rèn)是他本人把圖表放進(jìn)去的，也否認(rèn)自己是間諜，他也不是受人收買而去陷害無(wú)辜的那種人。

接下來(lái)是那個(gè)年輕女子發(fā)言。她說(shuō)在她和父親從法國(guó)來(lái)英國(guó)的船上曾遇到過(guò)這個(gè)犯人。“他對(duì)我父親和我都很友善?！彼f(shuō)。

“他當(dāng)時(shí)是只身一人乘船旅行的嗎？”

“不，他和兩個(gè)法國(guó)人在一起。”

“那么，馬內(nèi)特小姐，你看到他給他們看了什么文件或任何類似表格一樣的東西嗎？”

“沒(méi)有，我沒(méi)有看見(jiàn)過(guò)任何這類的東西?！?/p>

問(wèn)題一個(gè)接著一個(gè)地提出來(lái)！審判繼續(xù)進(jìn)行著。最后，一位矮小，紅頭發(fā)的男人說(shuō)話了。他告訴法官說(shuō)他曾在一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)的一家旅館見(jiàn)到過(guò)代爾那先生，那兒有很多的士兵和船只。接下來(lái)一位名叫西得尼·卡登的律師在一張紙上寫了幾個(gè)字并把它遞給代爾那先生的辯護(hù)律師史太弗先生。

“你能肯定這個(gè)犯人就是你見(jiàn)過(guò)的那個(gè)人嗎？”史太弗先生問(wèn)那個(gè)紅頭發(fā)男人。

“非?？隙ā！彼f(shuō)。

“你曾見(jiàn)過(guò)和這個(gè)罪犯長(zhǎng)得相像的人嗎”史太弗先生問(wèn)。

“無(wú)論如何我都能把他認(rèn)出來(lái)的?！奔t頭發(fā)男人非常自信。

“那么我得請(qǐng)您看看那邊的那位先生，”史太弗先生指著西得尼·卡登說(shuō)?！澳徽J(rèn)為他長(zhǎng)得非常像這位犯人嗎？”

法庭上的每一個(gè)人都能看出西得尼·卡登和查爾斯·代爾那長(zhǎng)得的確很相像。

“那么說(shuō)，”史太弗先生說(shuō)道，“很容易就能找到一個(gè)與罪犯相像的人，乃至在這間屋子里我們就能找出一個(gè)和罪犯長(zhǎng)得酷似的人，那你又怎么能確信你在旅館里看到的就是罪犯呢？”

紅頭發(fā)男人再也說(shuō)不出話來(lái)了。

律師們開(kāi)始爭(zhēng)辯討論。當(dāng)審判最后結(jié)束時(shí)，杰里·克拉徹都已睡著了。

但是勞里先生叫醒他并且給了他一張紙條，上面寫著“無(wú)罪”的字樣，杰里便急急忙忙地帶著這條消息回了銀行。

西得尼·卡登似乎對(duì)任何人或任何事都不在乎。他是史太弗先生的助手，實(shí)際上，多數(shù)實(shí)際工作是他代勞的。史太弗先生在法庭上能言善辯，但卻不擅長(zhǎng)于發(fā)現(xiàn)重要的事實(shí)和細(xì)節(jié)，尤其是當(dāng)這些細(xì)節(jié)隱藏在一大堆文件中的時(shí)候。每天晚上卡登都要研讀那些律師必讀的文件，然后寫下史太弗在第二天的審判中所要問(wèn)的問(wèn)題。每天史太弗問(wèn)到這些問(wèn)題時(shí)，人們都會(huì)贊嘆他的機(jī)智。

在舊巴勒的外面，現(xiàn)在已是自由人的代爾那先生和他的朋友們?cè)谝黄穑河旭R內(nèi)特醫(yī)生和他的女兒路茜、賈維斯·勞里先生、史太弗先生和卡登先生。

馬內(nèi)特醫(yī)生看上去已不再是五年前在得法熱酒店樓上房間里的那個(gè)樣子了。他的頭發(fā)白了，但眼睛炯炯有神。他站姿筆直，顯得很矍鑠。有時(shí)當(dāng)他想起在巴士底獄的日子，臉上就會(huì)顯出陰沉和悲傷。這時(shí)只有他所鐘愛(ài)的女兒路茜能讓他快活起來(lái)。

在他們站著談話時(shí)，一種奇怪的表情掠過(guò)醫(yī)生的臉。他盯著查爾那·代爾那，但又似乎并沒(méi)有看他。有好一陣兒他的眼中都顯出反感甚至是恐懼的神情。

“爸爸，”路茜柔聲地說(shuō)著并把手放在了他的胳膊上?！拔覀兓丶液脝?？”

“好吧。”他慢慢地答道。

很快他們就坐上馬車走了。然后，史太弗先生和勞里先生也走開(kāi)了，剩下代爾那和卡登先生單獨(dú)在一起。

“你一定感到奇怪。”卡登說(shuō)?！澳阌肿杂闪耍艺驹谶@兒和一個(gè)長(zhǎng)得酷似你的人談話。我們一起出去吃一頓吧?！?/p>

飯后，卡登輕聲地說(shuō)，“瞧，今天馬內(nèi)特小姐為你多么傷心著急呀！她可是個(gè)漂亮的姑娘，你不這么認(rèn)為嗎？”

代爾那沒(méi)有回應(yīng)卡登的話，而是對(duì)他在法庭上的幫助表示感謝。

“我不要你的感謝?！笨ǖ钦f(shuō)?！拔覜](méi)做什么。我想我也并不喜歡你?！?/p>

“好吧，”代爾那說(shuō)。“你沒(méi)有理由要喜歡我，但是我希望你要允許我為我們兩個(gè)人付賬?！?/p>

“當(dāng)然。而且既然你要為我付賬，那么我就再來(lái)一瓶葡萄酒吧?！?/p>

代爾那走后，卡登又喝了些酒，并照了照鏡子。讓他惱火的是代爾那長(zhǎng)得和他如此相像，但是他們又如此不同?？ǖ敲靼鬃约菏且粋€(gè)精明的律師，又是一個(gè)誠(chéng)實(shí)的好人，但他自己卻從未成功過(guò)。他酗酒，生活不幸且沒(méi)有朋友。他在法律方面的聰明才智和辛勤工作僅僅使得他人，比如史太弗先生，名利雙收。路茜·馬內(nèi)特在法庭上看著代爾那時(shí)的焦急面容仍在他的腦海中。

“如果我和代爾那換個(gè)位置，”他悄聲對(duì)自己說(shuō)，“馬內(nèi)特小姐的那雙藍(lán)眼睛也會(huì)那樣看著我嗎？不，不，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)太晚了?！?/p>

他又喝了一瓶酒，然后就睡著了。

馬內(nèi)特醫(yī)生和路茜所住的房子就在不遠(yuǎn)處的一條寧?kù)o的街上。他們有一個(gè)仆人普羅斯小姐。路茜從小就是由她帶大的。普羅斯小姐有一頭紅發(fā)，說(shuō)話急促而尖利。第一眼看上去她會(huì)讓人感到害怕。但每個(gè)人都知道她實(shí)際上是個(gè)熱心而無(wú)私的朋友。她會(huì)不惜一切地保護(hù)她親愛(ài)的路茜免遭麻煩和危險(xiǎn)。

馬內(nèi)特醫(yī)生現(xiàn)在已恢復(fù)得很好，已經(jīng)可以勝任醫(yī)生的工作了。他、路茜和普羅斯小姐過(guò)著寧?kù)o而舒適的生活。勞里先生已成為這個(gè)家的親密朋友，經(jīng)常來(lái)這里作客。同時(shí)在那個(gè)審判會(huì)過(guò)后幾個(gè)月，代爾那先生和卡登先生也成了這里的常客，這讓普羅斯小姐一點(diǎn)兒都不高興。每次他們來(lái)時(shí)她都顯得很生氣。

“沒(méi)有人能配得上我親愛(ài)的路茜。”她有一天對(duì)勞里先生說(shuō)，“而且我也不喜歡這成百個(gè)的客人。”

勞里先生很看重普羅斯小姐，可他卻沒(méi)有足夠的勇氣去和她爭(zhēng)論說(shuō)兩個(gè)客人夠不上“成百個(gè)”。只要能避免就沒(méi)人愿意去和普羅斯小姐爭(zhēng)吵。