Lesson8 The Norwood Mystery (1)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ( 著)

Jeremy Page ( 改写)

“Life in London is not what it was,”said Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson. They were sitting at the breakfast table in their Baker Street rooms one morning in the summer of 1894. Holmes was smoking a cigarette and Watson was reading the newspaper.

“True, Holmes,” said the doctor. “For most people life is much better now.”

“But for me, Watson, life is not so interesting,” explained Holmes. “I loved to read the newspaper, hoping to find some news of an interesting crime[1] for me to investigate[2] or a dangerous criminal[3] for me to catch. Where are all those clever criminals these days?” He smiled sadly.

“Sometimes I don’t understand you, Holmes,” said Watson. “I like living a quiet life myself.”

Holmes did not reply, but opened his newspaper in a lazy way and started to read. Suddenly they heard a loud knock at the street door downstairs. They heard the knock again and again. Mrs. Hudson, the housekeeper, ran to open the door and a wild,excited young man fell into the hall. He pushed the poor housekeeper out of his way and ran up the stairs.

“Who are you, sir?” asked Watson. “And what do you want?”

The Norwood Mystery (1) Lesson 8The young man looked at Watson, then at Holmes, and started to explain.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Holmes, I’m sorry,” he said. “Please don’t be angry. I feel so afraid, Mr. Holmes.”

Holmes asked the young man to come into the room and told him to sit down.

“Have a cigarette,” he said, “and tell us who you are and why you have come here.”

The man took a cigarette from the box on the table, and Watson lit it for him. After some minutes he stopped shaking and spoke.

“My name is John McFarlane,” he began. Neither Holmes nor Watson knew the name.

“And?” asked Holmes.

“And,” replied McFarlane, starting to shake again, “I am in terrible trouble. You must help me, Mr. Holmes. The police want to arrest[4] me and send me to prison. And I have done nothing, Mr. Holmes, nothing.”

“Interesting,” said Holmes, “very interesting. Don’t you agree, Watson?”

Watson saw that his friend was excited by this mystery[5], and wanted to know more.

“Mr. McFarlane,” Holmes went on, “why do the police want to arrest you? What have you done?”

“Nothing. I told you, I’ve done nothing. But they think that I murdered[6] a man called Jonas Oldacre, a builder who lives—who lived—in South London, at Norwood.”

Holmes lit another cigarette. “I’m very sorry to hear this, Mr. McFarlane. Please tell us your story.”

McFarlane saw Watson’s newspaper on the breakfast table and opened it.

“It’s here,” he said, “in today’s newspaper. The story of the murder of Jonas Oldacre. I’ll read it to you. Terrible crime at Norwood: Murder of well-known builder.The police are sure that I am the man who killed him. They’ve followed me here from the station and are waiting to arrest me. This news will kill my poor old mother, Mr.Holmes, it will kill her.”

McFarlane was still shaking and smoking his cigarette. Watson looked at him in an interested way. McFarlane was a good-looking young man with bright blue eyes and long hair, but he looked very afraid. He was about twenty-seven years old and Watson could see that he came from a good family.

“If the police are following you,” said Holmes, “we must work quickly. Mr.McFarlane, please have another cigarette. Watson, could you take the newspaper and read us the story?”

Watson opened the newspaper and started to read.

Sherlock Holmes listened carefully, his eyes closed, as Watson read the story from the morning newspaper.

Murder of well-known builder

Late last night, or early this morning, a terrible crime took place at Norwood in South London. Mr. Jonas Oldacre has lived at Norwood and has worked there as a builder for many years. He is fifty-two years old, unmarried, and he lived in Deep Dene House on the Sydenham Road. The people of Norwood know Mr. Oldacre as an unusual man. He does not often leave his house, but his business has made him very rich. There is a small timber yard[7] behind his house and last night, at about midnight, a man who was out walking saw that some of the wood there was on fire. He immediately called the fire brigade[8], who arrived soon after. The wood was very dry and burned quickly, so it was impossible to put out the fire. The fire brigade were surprised when Mr. Oldacre did not come out of the house, and two of their officers went inside to look for him. But Mr. Oldacre was not in the house. In the bedroom the two men found an open safe[9], which was empty. There were papers on the floor and bloodstains[10] on the walls. The men also found a bloodstained walking stick in the room. This stick belongs to Mr. John McFarlane, who visited Mr. Oldacre at his home yesterday evening. The police are sure that they know the motive[11] for the crime and are looking for Mr.McFarlane. They will arrest him when they find him. At Norwood, police now say that Mr. Oldacre’s bedroom windows on the ground floor of the house were open. They have found some burnt remains, possibly of a body, in the fire in the timber yard. The police think that there has been a murder. They say that the criminal killed the builder in his bedroom, then pulled his dead body into the garden and burned it in the timber yard. Inspector[]12 Lestrade of Scotland Yard is the policeman who is investigating this most terrible crime.

(958 words)

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Draw a conclusion] What did Holmes mean when he asked where all those clever criminals were those days?

A. Holmes wanted to know more clever criminals.

B. Holmes wanted to investigate more difficult crimes.

C. Holmes must be joking.

2. [Give the reason] McFarlane wanted Holmes to help him because________ .

A. the police wanted to arrest him for the murder of Jonas Oldacre

B. he murdered Jonas Oldacre by accident

C. he set the fire to kill Jonas Oldacre

3. [Check the details] In fact, Mr. Oldacre was killed by________ .

A. the fire B. the criminal C. we have no idea

Ⅱ. Read for words

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) Mrs. Hudson, the housekeeper, ran to open the door and a wild, excited young man fell into the hall. (Para. 5)

A. nervous B. enthusiastic C. happy

(2) They have found some burnt remains, possibly of a body, in the fire in the timber yard. (Para. 27)

A. 灰烬 B. 剩余物 C. 木材

2. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined expressions.

(1) “Mr McFarlane,” Holmes went on, “why do the police want to arrest you?

What have you done?” (Para. 17)

A. continued B. wondered C. asked

(2) Late last night, or early this morning, a terrible crime took place at Norwood in South London. (Para. 27)

A. happened B. broken down C. took out

(3) At Norwood, police now say that Mr. Oldacre’s bedroom windows on the ground floor of the house were open. (Para. 27)

A. 地下室 B. 一层 C. 顶层

Ⅲ. Writing practice

1. Who was Mr. McFarlane and what was wrong with him?

2. Why did Mr. McFarlane turn to Holmes instead of others for help?

3. Do you think Mr. McFarlane was innocent or not? Why?

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