惊天事件AShockingAccident韦盖利译.pdfVIP

惊天事件 A Shocking Accident 韦盖利 译 Graham Greene 1 Jerome was called into his housemasters room in the break between the second and the third class on a Tuesday morning. He had no fear of trouble, for he was a warden - the name that the proprietor and headmaster of a rather expensive preparatory school had chosen to give to approved, reliable boys in the lower forms (from a warden one became a guardian and finally before leaving, it was hoped for Marlborough or Rugby, a crusader). The housemaster, Mr Wordsworth, sat behind his desk with an appearance of perplexity and apprehension. Jerome had the odd impression when he entered that he was a cause of fear. Sit down, Jerome, Mr Wordsworth said. All going well with the trigonometry? Yes, sir. Ive had a telephone call, Jerome. From your aunt. Im afraid I have bad news for you. Yes, sir? Your father has had an accident. Oh. Mr Wordsworth looked at him with some surprise. A serious accident. Yes, sir? Jerome worshipped his father: the verb is exact. As man re-creates God, so Jerome re-created his father - from a restless widowed author into a mysterious adventurer who travelled in far places - Nice, Beirut, Majorca, even the Canaries. The time had arrived about his eighth birthday when Jerome believed that his father either ran guns or was a member of the British Secret Service. Now it occurred to him that his father might have been wounded in a hail of machine-gun bullets. Mr Wordsworth played with the ruler on his desk. He seemed at a loss how to continue. He said, You know your father was in Naples? Yes, sir. Your aunt heard from the hospital today. Oh. Mr Wordsworth said with desperation, It was a stre