书名：The Phantom of the Opera 《歌剧院的幽灵》
作者：Jennifer Bassett 詹妮弗·巴塞特
简介：
你相信有鬼吗？当然不会相信。我们喜欢谈论鬼，喜欢讲述关于鬼的故事，但我们并非真的相信有鬼……是不是？
1880年，在巴黎歌剧院发生了一件不可思议的事情：一个舞蹈演员在黑暗的走廊里遇见了鬼。它穿越墙壁来到她的面前，它的脸上没有眼睛；一个舞台工人看见一个穿黑色晚礼服的男人，但他却有一个死人般的头颅，黄色的面孔，并且没有鼻子；人们听到另一个房间里有声音，而那个房间却是空的。
这就是歌剧院的幽灵……
一个名叫盖斯顿·勒罗克斯的法国人最早创作了这个关于歌剧院的幽灵的故事。他的书很受欢迎，1925年它被拍成一部美国无声电影，由著名演员朗·钱尼扮演幽灵。从那以后，已经出现了许多其他的电影和戏剧，以及最近由安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯创作的著名的英国音乐片。
本书作者詹妮弗·巴塞特是一位经验丰富的教师和作家。她生活和工作在英国西南部的德文郡。
Chapter 1 The dancers
“快！快！关门！是他！”安妮•索雷丽跑进化妆室，脸色苍白。
One of the girls ran and closed the door, and then they all turned to Annie Sorelli.
一个姑娘跑过去把门关上，然后她们都转向安妮•索雷丽。
“谁？在哪里？发生了什么事？”她们叫道。
'It's the ghost!’ Annie said. 'In the passage. I saw him. He came through the wall in front of me! And…and I saw his face!’
“有鬼！”安妮说，“在走廊上，我看到了他。他穿过墙壁来到我的面前。我还……还看到了他的脸！”
绝大多数姑娘都很害怕，但她们中的一个高个子的黑发姑娘却大笑起来。
'Pooh!' she said. 'Everybody says they see the Opera ghost, but there isn't really a ghost. You saw a shadow on the wall.' But she did not open the door, or look into the passage.
“呸！”她说，“每个人都说他们看到了这个歌剧院的幽灵，但是这里其实并没有鬼。你看见的只是墙上的影子。”但是她没有去把门打开，也没有到走廊上去看个究竟。
'Lots of people see him,' a second girl said.' Joseph Buquet saw him two days ago. Don't you remember? '
“许多人都看到过他，”又一个姑娘说，“约瑟夫•比凯两天前也看到过他，你们难道不记得了？”
Then all the girls began to talk at once.
随后所有的姑娘们立即开始谈论此事。
“约瑟夫说这幽灵是个高个子，他穿着黑色晚礼服。”
'He has the head of a dead man, with a yellow face and no nose…'
“他有一个死人般的头颅，黄色面孔，没有鼻子……”
'…And no eyes-only black holes!'
“……而且没有眼睛——只是黑洞！”
Then little Meg Giry spoke for the first time. 'Don't talk about him. He doesn't like it. My mother told me.'
接着娇小的梅格•吉丽第一次开口说话了：“不要谈论他。他不喜欢。我妈妈告诉我的。”
'Your mother? ' the girl with black hair said. 'What does your mother know about the ghost? '
“你妈妈？”黑头发姑娘问，“关于这幽灵的事儿，你妈妈都知道些什么？”
'She says that Joseph Buquet is a fool. The ghost doesn't like people talking about him, and one day Joseph Buquet is going to be sorry, very sorry.'
“她说约瑟夫•比凯是个傻瓜。这幽灵不喜欢人们谈论他，总有一天约瑟夫•比凯会后悔的，会非常后悔的。”
'But what does your mother know? Tell us, tell us!’ all the girls cried.
“但是你妈妈都知道些什么？告诉我们，告诉我们！”所有的姑娘都叫道。
'Oh dear!’ said Meg. 'But please don't say a word to any one. You know my mother is the doorkeeper for some of the boxes in the Opera House. Well, Box 5 is the ghost's box! He watches the operas from that box, and sometimes he leaves flowers for my mother!
“哦，亲爱的！”梅格说，“但是请不要跟任何人说一个字。你们知道我妈妈是歌剧院一些包厢的看门人。瞧！5号包厢就是这幽灵专用的！他用那个包厢看歌剧，并且有时候会留下一些鲜花给我妈妈！”
'The ghost has a box! And leaves flowers in it!’
“这幽灵还有包厢！而且在包厢里留下鲜花！”
'Oh, Meg, your mother's telling you stories! How can the ghost have a box? '
“哦，梅格，你妈妈在给你讲故事吧！幽灵怎么会有包厢呢？”
'It's true, it's true, I tell you!’ Meg said. 'Nobody buys tickets for Box 5, but the ghost always comes to it on opera nights.'
“这是真的，这是真的，我告诉你们！”梅格说，“没有人买5号包厢的票，但是这个幽灵却经常在演晚场歌剧时到包厢里来。”
'So somebody does come there? '
“一些人也会来那里吧？”
'Why, no! …The ghost comes, but there is nobody there.'
“为什么，不！……只有幽灵来，但是那里一个人也没有。”
The dancers looked at Meg. 'But how does your mother know? ' one of them asked.
舞蹈演员们看着梅格。“但是你妈妈是怎么知道的？”其中一个问道。
'There's no man in a black evening coat, with a yellow face. That's all wrong. My mother never sees the ghost in Box 5,but she hears him! He talks to her, but there is nobody there! And he doesn't like people talking about him!’
“这里根本没有穿黑色晚礼服、黄色面孔的男人。那都是瞎扯。我妈妈从来没有在5号包厢里看到过这个幽灵，但是她听到过！他跟她说话，然而里面却没有人！而且他不喜欢人们谈论他！”
But that evening the dancers could not stop talking about the Opera ghost. They talked before the opera, all through the opera, and after the opera. But they talked very quietly, and they looked behind them before they spoke.
但是那个晚上舞蹈演员们却不能停止谈论关于歌剧院的幽灵的话题。她们在歌剧开演前谈论着，在歌剧整个演出过程中谈论着，在歌剧演出结束后还谈论着。但是她们谈话的声音很小，而且她们在说话前总要先看看她们的身后的动静。
When the opera finished, the girls went back to their dressing-room. Suddenly, they heard somebody in the passage, and Madame Giry, Meg's mother, ran into the room. She was a fat, motherly woman, with a red, happy face. But tonight her face was white.
当歌剧演出结束的时候，姑娘们回到了她们的化妆室。突然，她们听到走廊上有人，原来是吉丽夫人，梅格的母亲，跑进了房间。她是一个肥胖的、慈母般的妇人，有一张微红肤色的、快乐的脸。但是今晚她的脸色却是苍白的。
'Oh girls,' she cried'. 'Joseph Buquet is dead! You know he walks a long way down, on the fourth floor under the stage. The other stage workers found his dead body there an hour ago -with a rope around his neck!’
“哦，姑娘们，”她叫道，“约瑟夫•比凯死了！要知道他是从高处掉下来，掉在舞台底下的第4层。其他的舞台杂工一个小时以前在那里发现了他的尸体——有一根绳子绕在他的脖子上！”
'It's the ghost!' cried Meg Giry. 'The ghost killed him!’
“是幽灵！”梅格•古丽叫道，“是那个幽灵杀死了他！”
【词组学习】
1.in front of
在…前面；当着…的面；面前
例：Don't be like that in front of people!
在人跟前别那样。
2.at once
立即；一起；同时
例：I'll call her at once.
我马上打电话给她。
