奇想英文书世界|美国少年的书单

这是一本写给成年人的书，很多大道理，只有做过孩子又在成年人游戏规则里打拼过的人回望过去才真的明白。那么读一下名句，体会一下又纯真又深邃的名作魅力。小王子的名句选读。It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to themOne only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men haveno more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore. If you want a friend, tame me. . If you love a flower which happens to be on a star, it is sweet at night to gaze at the sky. All the stars are a riot of flowers.It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.For to conceited men, all other men are admirers.Growing up is not the problem, forgetting is.

高居纽约时报畅销榜5年，连续140周排第一！2015年时代杂志推荐给未成年人的最优秀百部小说之一。硬心肠的我在飞机上看电影不顾形象眼泪涟涟。必须推荐。Wonder is a book by RJ Palacio centered around the story of a boy named August Pullman. August, or Auggie as everyone calls him, is ten years old。 He is ordinary in every way, enjoying ordinary things, talking like an ordinary kid. But he doesn’t look ordinary. He was born with distorted facial features that either scared or disgusted by people around him. Because of this, he can’t go to regular school and has been homeschooled by his mom. The story starts when he is about to join middle school, as he has to blend into society as a grown-up boy, and his mom has to go back to her own career. Aussie生来脸部变形，人人见了他都害怕，从小只在家里跟妈妈一起学习，现在就要去上中学了，他的家庭和他自己都非常紧张，故事就是从这里展开的。As expected, when he goes to school, he causes a stir. Kids and teachers alike stare at him, and one boy, Julian, goes so far to start leaving mean notes in his locker and to spread a nasty game where anyone who touches him has to wash their hands, otherwise they’ll end up looking like him. Auggie is very upset. But he is smart, and a tough boy, and he tries to make friends.一个有生理缺陷的男孩子在中学里受到了来自方方面面的好奇和惧怕不说，还被其他男孩子欺负。在这样的环境里你是躲起来，还是勇敢做你自己，小英雄Aussie有自己的办法。Thankfully, Auggie wins friendship from his new found friends Jack and Summer in school. And he gradually wins more respect from other kids as he has a big heart internally and they begin to see his personality, not just his looks. Luckily, he has his family to stand by him as always whenever he feels lost and sad.  They encourage him to be brave and stand tall, and Auggie does. 听上去，这是一个线索简单，有关突破自我的励志故事，但是，绝不仅仅如此。能够把我这么硬心肠的都弄哭了的一定另有原因。Aussie 经历的只是这本小说的主要线索。Wonder begins from Auggie's point of view, but soon switches to include the perspectives of his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. As a community, everybody lives in and has his or her own struggle that others probably cannot see from outside. We only see a fragment of a whole person. 这才是这篇小说感人置身的原因。每个人都有自己的挣扎，自己的故事，和自己看到的事实，那并非全部。所以由此，引出了这篇小说真正想说的。This book’s message is to always be kind. Kindness can help people get through so much. The kindness shown to Auggie, to his family, has helped him get through so much. Wonder emphasizes the fact that one small act of kindness can make a big difference in the lives of others, and that we always have the ability to choose kind. Very well said, this book teaches us what is empathy, compassion, friendship, and ultimately, what is kindness.

介绍一本主题深刻复杂的短篇小说，1962年诺贝尔文学奖获得者美国作家John Steinbeck的是这样说的，In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme（主题）. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love。。。。Try to understand each other.这是作者的写作思想，每一个人都值得理解。那么我们来看看小说是怎样来表达这些。今天介绍小说的是高中生Stella，这部小说是9年级时候的学校英文课指定阅读书。Set during the Great Depression（大萧条） in America, two men, George and Lennie, are in search of a job. Lennie suffers from some kind of mental disorder （精神错乱）and has a childlike disposition（孩童一样） which contrasts（对比） with his physical strength（身体强壮）. He likes soft things like bunnies（兔子）. Although George complains about having to take care of Lennie, he genuinely cares for his friend.Their dream is to own their own farm.They finally find a farm job in California, where they meet Curley, a jealous and violent man who declares that no man may set eyes on his wife. His wife, however, is flirtatious. This woman has no name in the novel, in fact, her only role was to portray 描画 the symbol of danger towards Lennie. Towards the end of novel, Lennie accidentally kills her and runs off.George understands that Lennie would suffer from a horrible torture 折磨 before his death by Curley and his men. Out of mercy出于仁慈, he kills his best friend Lennie by shooting him in the back of his head.Wow, what a sad and dramatic 戏剧化 ending 结局! The world is tough; people like Lennie would have an especially hard time with life. He would have a hard time finding a job, and  he also loses jobs quickly. He harms and angers people without meaning to. He kills a woman tragically and he has no place to escape 逃脱 his destiny命运. His life is a tragedy  even though he holds such a nice and simple dream in his heart. George cared greatly for Lennie, but he had to live with the terrible burden 沉重的负担of killing his best friend. There was no happy ending and George understood that there was no better choice, that things would not get better and he only spared Lennie from a worse fate. Even so, the fact that he killed Lennie by his own hand makes George feel very sad.

猫战士系列书适合10岁左右孩子性格特点。奇幻，想象，历险，友谊，忠诚，了解宠物猫世界以外的野生猫世界。 Warrior Cats is the series we will talk about today. Warrior Cats is actually multiple series in the same fictional fantasy （想象）world with slight connections to each other. The original series （原系列）is called “The Prophecies（预言） Begin” and introduces us to the main character Rusty, who is a pet cat. Then we meet the clans（族）, the wild cats who live in the forest and have their own way of life. He joins them and many adventures begin, starting with Rusty taking on a new “warrior” name. Warriors are the cats in the clans who fight against the other clans, hunt, and generally keep the other cats safe and healthy. This main character, Rusty, or Fireheart as he is later called when he receives his warrior name, shows up a few more times as well in the later series’. The Warrior Cats are a very imaginative group of books and teaches us the importance of friendship, loyalty忠诚, love, and adventure历险. Mainly though it is a children’s book series, enjoyable to read about and imagine wild cats having their own lifestyles 生活方式far away from humankind人类. This series contains 16 books, and you could start from any of them.

小说主题：守望纯真，拒绝成长，疏离于虚伪成年世界。“I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. ” “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” “Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.” Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.I

塞林格的小说是天才性的小说，开辟了一种新的小说语言和写法。今天讲讲语言，下次说主题很内容。Quote1: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Quote2: “In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. Sometimes I can think of very crumby stuff I wouldn’t mind doing if the opportunity came up. I can even see how it might be quite a lot of fun, in a crumby way. . . . The thing is, though, I don’t like the idea. It stinks, if you analyze it. Quote3: He started going into this nodding routine. You never saw anybody nod as much in your life as old Spencer did. You never knew if he was nodding a lot because he was thinking and all, or just because he was a nice old guy that didn’t know his ass from his elbow.Stream of consciousness: 意识流First Person Narrative 第一人称叙事Crap：廉价垃圾废物Cultivated taste：被培养的品味

几乎200年前的人工智能生物存在于一位19岁女性作家的科幻小说里。Frankenstein，科幻小说鼻祖，警示人类当下的科技爆炸的隐忧。文学的先锋性在此可见一斑。美国高中英文课的精读小说。In English class, we were required to read the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The novel was named for the main character of the book, Victor Frankenstein. He is a scientific genius （天才）who wanted to create life from nothing. Eventually he created a human like creature who is very tall, with a capacity to think and feel. However, he is very, very ugly.  In the book, he is referred to as “the creature” （生物）and has no name. Frankenstein is disgusted（厌恶） by the hideous nature of his creation and runs away, neglecting （忽视遗弃）the creature. 主人公Frankenstein是科学狂人，造了一个人，具有人的智慧和感情，但是外形巨大而丑陋，于是Frankenstein遗弃了他。后来怎么样呢？ The creature is feared by all that he meets because of his appearance（外表）. In the beginning, he was kind to the people around him and even saved a girl’s life, but he wasn’t accepted（不被接受）. He longs（渴望） for love, care, and a companion （伙伴）as any human would. He becomes angry and vengeful because Frankenstein brought him to life but left him alone in an unknown world. He kills Frankenstein’s younger brother. 来到这个世界的Creature，和人一样需要爱和关怀，但是他的外表让人害怕不被社会接受，我记得说里提到他希望Frankenstein能够给他制造一个女人作伴，而Frankenstein担心带来更多的恐慌最终并没有，于是the creature开始了对他的制造者和遗弃者Frankenstein的报复。The creature asks Victor to build him a mate（伴侣）. Eventually, Victor refuses too and the creature begins to kill more of his loved ones. Because of these continuous deaths, Frankenstein has no one left. He chases the creature all the way to Arctic, determined to kill the creature. In the end, they both die.唉，这个故事听下来，是不是集中了很多现代科幻的元素，野心勃勃的科技狂人，对于可能的灾难毫无责任和准备，具备甚至高于人类智力的人工智慧生物，孤独地不见于人类群体，最后冤冤相报，走向灭亡。Although it may seem like the creature is the monster, the novel shows that Victor may be the true monster（怪物）. Most of his actions stem from selfishness（自私） and self preservation（自我保护）. He refused to assume responsibility for the creature, immediately running away from it. His arrogance （傲慢）and ambition（野心） lead him to creating the creature, but that knowledge was dangerous; he tampered with something that should have been left alone. Stella这里试图分析Frankenstein这个人物，他的自私自负自大，如果没有道德和理性的束缚，他拥有的知识则是危险的，他所试图进入的领域是不应该去挑战的。人物分析是高中英文课上的常见要求In addition, in the beginning of the novel, he ignored （忽略）a professor’s criticisms（批评）, preferring a different professor that told him he was great. This demonstrates （表现出）a kind of immaturity （不成熟）due to his inability to take criticism. Victor’s flaws lead to him abandoning（抛弃） the monster, which resulted in the deaths of those he loved.

一首深邃的儿童诗，讲述给予索取与轮回。孩子喜欢，大人落泪。Silverstein最为著名的诗歌。中文译作爱心树，只能说是意译。不如翻译做给予树诗歌全文我就不上传了。分享几张插页。

给儿童的诗，配以儿童气质的插画。Hello,ximalaya, this is Lindsay from New York, Today we will talk about the book of poems by Shel Silverstein, titled Where The Sidewalk Ends, the other one is the Giving tree. 各位听友好。今天我们来说儿童诗。儿童充满好奇心和想象力，他们喜欢的东西，已经在现实生活里磨掉了棱角的成年人未见得明白。1930年出生的美国儿童诗大家Shel Silverstein 早在70年代已经成名，但至今畅销奉为经典。他的诗作不是通常想象里过于甜腻腻偏女性化的内容，男孩子和女孩子都非常喜欢。来看看官网上是怎么描述诗集Where the sidewalk ends: Come in…for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.他所描述的世界千奇百怪，男孩子变成电视，女孩子吃掉鲸鱼，影子可以洗掉，还能种植一个钻石花园，鞋子能飞，鳄鱼看牙医。。。匪夷所思的这些，正是孩子们的天马行空无拘无束。谢尔西尔斯坦是一个大胡子男人，他不仅创造了这些故事和文字，而且，书里的画作也大多出自他的手笔。他非常强调文字，插画，排版，甚至书大小纸质都要符合孩子符合他创造的诗的世界。出版商出书，这些他都要过目。This collection is filled with humorous poems as well as poems that require a bit more reflection （原意是反射，倒影，这里做严肃思考讲）.These poems became a part of my childhood. I would read them through every day and marvel（纳罕称奇，漫威电影也是这个词） at the words, and laugh at the funny poems. 让我们来听一下LIndsay喜欢的ENTER THIS DESERTED HOUSEBut please walk softly as you do. Frogs dwell （居住）here and crickets too. Ain’t no ceiling, only blueJays dwell here and sunbeams too. Floors are flowers-take a few. Ferns grow here and daisies too. Whoosh, swoosh - too-whit, too-woo, Bats dwell here and hoot owls too. Ha-ha-ha, hee-hee, hoo-hooo, Gnomes dwell here and goblins too. And my child, I thought you knewI dwell here… and so do you. Why do you like this one? I have always interpreted this poem as the house being the world. We live in this world and we must tread carefully to not disturb the beauty and nature that surrounds us. 这是一篇很美，描述自然是我们的家我们的房子。A second poem that I have also enjoyed reading is quite short, titled LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS. Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,Listen to the DON’TSListen to the SHOULDN’TSThe IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TSListen to the NEVER HAVESThen listen close to me-Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be. 这一篇用了很多语气的不可以，不能够，不应该，不可能，就好像父母经常批评孩子时候会用的词。This poem means, to me, that you should listen to the negatives（负面的事物） in life, but remember the positives（正面）. That way, when you listen to negatives you know how to improve it to be positive. That is very smart interpretation（解读）. 在规矩和禁戒里，看到可能，看到未知。今天我们说到这里。下次我们来讲SilverStein 更为出名的诗：The Giving Tree，爱心树。

Aesthetic 审美。语言是艺术，英文的语言美感要带着发现美的好奇心去感受和挖掘。学习语言应超越实用主义，带着理想主义。有了美的引领，才有努力的动力。阅读经典吧！实用了不起的盖茨比以及诗人惠特曼的草叶集作引子说明。“The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty of the world.”‘Anything can happen now that we’ve slid over this bridge,’ I thought; ‘anything at all….’ 从皇后区大桥看去，这座城市永远好像是初次看见一样，那样引人入胜，充满了世界上所有的神秘和瑰丽。一切都有可能发生，当我们从桥上驶过，我想，任何事。。。。“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”我们奋力前行，小舟逆水而上，不断地被浪潮推回到过去。-------------The Great Gatsby ----------------------I celebrate myselfAnd what I assume you shall assume For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul,I lean and loafe at my ease…. Observing a spear of summer grass. 6) A child said, what is the grass? Fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? …. I do not know what it is any more than he I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven. Or I guess it is the handkerchief of he Lord, A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped. Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may see and remard, and say Whose? ----------------------- The Leave of Grass -----------------------

适合7-12岁英文基础一般的孩子，就是看图画也很好玩的。Happy new year ximalaya! This is Lindsay from New York. It has been 17 days since we updated last time. Sorry, we were very busy with holiday season and winter break. Here comes 2019 and here we are with a new book to introduce, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Happy new year！This is 晴川。很久不见，大家是不是都准备了酷酷的新年计划，包括阅读计划呢？希望我们的节目能做点贡献。今天我们来说一本比较轻松愉快的书，中文翻译为小屁孩日记，Wimpy 这个词，本意是Weak and cowardly, 软弱胆小怕事的那种意思。Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney, is a series of short novels.They are supposed to represent a middle school boy’s diary, which he continually insists that it should be seen as a journal instead. In school, most girls have diaries, therefore, boys with diaries would be seen as sissy or girlish（女孩子气）. 原来是这样啊。女孩子更爱写日记，男孩子要是写了，就被看作是女孩子气，有压力，故而，明明是日记，他要给他另一个明目，journal，journal在英文里更有些报章期刊文章的严肃性。像女孩子这种标签可千万不能被贴上！The boy is called Greg Heffley, and the books also take a look into his home life and other connections. Because he is not a tall, muscular（肌肉感的）, or handsome boy, and is quite small in fact, he is afraid of being seen as wimpy or “sissy” which could ruin his social life. Throughout the books you can see that he cares very much about his popularity, even though we only see a few friends of his that suggest he really isn’t that popular. 成长中的孩子，对于是否在学校里popular 非常在意，popular直译就是流行，意思就是学校里那种受瞩目受欢迎的孩子。以此为笑点，这套系列书，一连出了13本，大受孩子们欢迎。I read this series when I stopped reading picture books and began reading longer novels. The storyline is centered around normal daily life, no fantasy（奇幻）, nor magic（魔法）, pure everyday boring（无聊） life. But this series has the power to make us laugh based on little things. There are no hard words nor complicated sentences, accompanied by drawings, and handwritten notes. All mimic（模仿） a boy’s doodles. 这本书是很适合低龄一点的小孩来读，好好笑，说的全是日常，没有什么深奥的，贴近生活。还有好多涂鸦的漫画，版面上也十分讨喜。It is a very funny series of books which has helped a lot of kids begin to read lengthier novels. It is a very light read and quite easy for me at least. Although I am a older now and can handle deeper novels, I still come to this collection once in a while, because it brought me only good memories, and it is pure, easy fun, which I use to relax and laugh. I highly recommend for younger readers and anybody who is looking for a short novel.

Did you know that J.K. Rowling is not her legal name? The name was created for marketing purposes. 想知道JKROwling名字的来历？巫师魔法的世界在实际上有何真实的渊源？JK Rowling哈利波特之后又有哪些新作满足粉丝？ Hellow, Ximalaya, this is LIndsay from New YOrk. THis time, I’d like to share with you my most precious reading subject, J.K Rowling and the magical world she creates. 大家好，今天我们来谈英国女作家JK Rowling和她凭一己之力创造的魔法世界。以哈利波特为首的英雄们和JK Rowling天马行空的想象力俘获了世界读者的心。这才真配得上是奇想书世界。J.K. Rowling is the most successful writer in the world! But did you know that J.K. Rowling is not her legal name? The name was created for marketing purposes. The J stands for Joanne,which is her first name, and a very typical female name. The editor was worried that a female writer’s fantasy book would not win boys’ attention, so they asked her to use her initials instead. Since she has no middle name, she used her grandmother’s first name Kathleen instead. That’s how the J.K. in the author’s name came in. Kathleen is not part of her legal name. Initial, 就是名字的首字母。有时候在国外签一些文件会要求你Initials，就是让你签名字的首字母缩写就可以了。刚才Lindsay讲到Harry Potter作者J.K.Rowling名字的来历，还是很感慨的，这么才华横溢的作者，最开始为了卖出作品赢得市场，还要玩点花招，把女性化的名字给藏起来。Now let’s see what she has created for readers? J.K. Rowling has created a whole world filled with amazing, beautiful creative things. This wizardly world is built around the hero Harry Potter, famous in every country. The wizard school Hogwarts seems just like any regular school but it is filled with totally different courses. It is just so fascinating! The Harry Potter series has 7 books. I have read them many many times, and watched the movies. But recently, there has been more to follow. Harry Potter有多受欢迎，我就不用多说了。这魔法师的世界虽然离日常生活那么遥远，J.K Rowling有本事让那个想象世界和今天生活里的青少年的感情发生沟通，好像那个魔法学校里发生的事情就仿佛是我们身边一个普通学校里的。多年前写完了这7本书，J.K。 Rowling系列又有新的动作。也是很受追捧的。来听听LIndsay的介绍There is a new movie series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find The,, which has had two movies already released, with J.K. Rowling as the screenwriter for both of them. I can’t wait to see the rest of the movie series, because The Fantastic Beasts movies are now one of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter Universe. Magic and magical beasts take a center stage in them, and all the special effects and beasts are so beautiful! 这部电影是JKrowling写的剧本，以神奇动物们为卖点，形象又萌又梦幻，虽然哈利波特本人不在电影里出现了，但是这个魔法世界遵循和构建的法则还是哈利波特世界的。每当影院里响起哈利波特的主题音乐，Fans都齐齐鼓掌，这场面也只有老牌的星战系列电影可以比拟。There is also a Broadway play called The Cursed Child. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard that the tickets are really hard to get. It is a live performance, and so you can only sell up to the theater occupancy. But there are so many fans that it’s nearly impossible to get tickets. I did hear that the script for the play was terrible, but the special effects and acting for the play was amazing. 至于百老汇舞台剧哈利波特被诅咒的孩子，那真是一票难求，故事是J.K.Rowling和其它人一起合写的，舞台剧的剧本不是她的。听说台词不是太好，但是特效极佳，FANS基础太强大，也是热剧。Lindsay， why do you love the wizardly world that J.K rowling created so much? It’s creative and magical, full of bravery and all sorts of imaginative things that seem to take me on an adventure I could only dream of. I went to see a Harry Potter exhibit a few weeks before, which I hoped could help expand my understanding and love for the Wizarding World. Lindsay这里说到的这个展览是一个以哈利波特的魔法世界为切入点，叙述真实历史上的魔法传奇。名字就叫做Harry Potter，a history of magic. 大英图书馆和英国巫师博物馆展现了很多古籍古物来佐证人类历史的发展变迁里是多么热爱魔法巫师和神奇动物们。I learned that the world is rooted deeply in mythology and all sorts of old religious beliefs. The legends surrounding so many magical myths were incorporated into the Harry Potter world. For example, potions is a class subject Harry takes in the novesl. Even this simple subject is surrounded by many mysteries, like old tales of witchcraft where somebody could brew you a mixture that would cure you of sickness, or certain ingredients rumoured to bring you fortune or fame. From all of these legends, old folklore, and myths, the Wizarding World blends into it seamlessly, until it is hard to tell what is fantasy and what is reality.

爱并非无所不能，但没有了爱，人也就成了行尸走肉。1984的主人公Winston是如何意志崩溃的？The main character, Winston Smith, is a seemingly normal member of society, but secretly, he is not happy with the way he has to live. He begins committing quiet acts of rebellion（反抗）. He buys a diary to write his thoughts down, he starts an affair（男女之间的关系） with a woman named Julia. Neither Writing down your own thoughts nor having an affair is allowed in Oceania. 主人公Winston是一个体制内的小人物，出于一个有灵性和智慧的人的本能，对于国家告知的有关历史与现实的信息，对于生活方式上的高度统一，彼此揭发造成的紧张，非常不满，但又只能选择默默忍受，以悄悄写日记和谈恋爱的方式表达他的反叛。就连这都是不被允许的His secret lover, Julia, is a young and attractive （吸引力）woman. Different than Winston who is more intelligent（智性上的）, Julia’s rebellion is shown in subtle （微妙的）ways through her love affair with Winston, as well as with the other men before him. She is a free spirited woman who chooses to live for her own fulfillment （满足）and happiness.Julia, 书中的女主人公，Winston的秘密情人，并不像Winston那样在理性层面追求真相，对社会该有的样子也没有主动的诉求，她年轻任性，有直接的本能，喜欢漂亮东西，不愿意被禁锢，她用她年轻的身体和欲望来反抗铁桶一样的社会。不被批准的爱与性，是具有破坏力的个人表达，在大西洋国是叛逆的一种，婚姻家庭，都必须被组织安排。Winston与Julia的秘密的恋爱是他们也许各具理由但同样需要的抗争。是压抑生活里的一点彼此安慰。Winston is afraid they will be arrested for having rebellious thoughts. However his hatred of the Party grows more and more intense. He wants to join the Brotherhood, a mysterious organization dedicated to rebellion. A man named O’Brien reaches out to him and recruits him and Julia for the rebellion. Eventually O’Brien is revealed to be a member of the Thought Police and a spy for the Party. Winston and Julia are arrested and separated. Winston想参加反抗组织，结果被诱骗和出卖，被THought Police发现了他和Julia秘密租住的房间，他偷偷写的日记和读的书。其实WInston并没有任何实质性的反抗活动，他仅仅是作出了个人私密表达，读书写日记爱一个人，这些再正常不过的事情, 在大西洋国被认为是Thought Crime，思想犯罪，他们便面临着逮捕和之后的思想改造。Winston is tortured（折磨） for months. The purpose of the torture is to re-educate Winston. 2+2 does not equal 5, as Any reasonable person would agree with. To the Party, it does not matter what is fact and what is not. Whatever the Party says is true, is the truth. O’Brien tortures Winston to try and get him to accept the Party’s word as truth. As the novel says, "Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once". 2+2=5是这本小说里的著名标志句子，对Winston的身体折磨是为了让他放弃自己的理性判断。双重思想，doublethink也是1984这本书里首创的词。书里浓墨重彩地详细描述了Winston逐渐放弃理性的过程，2+2等于几不再重要。读起来极为抑郁，但是极为真实。人都有自己的弱点。Winston也只是一个普通人。The torture is not just physical（身体上的）. It is also psychological（心理上的）. Winston finally cracks under the torture once he is forced to face his greatest fear: rats. Winston is terrified（极为害怕的）. He shouts out, "Do it to Julia!”. He has betrayed （背叛）her, his love, the strongest thing that made him an individual, and not a mindless（无想法的）, robotic （机器人）follower of the Party. By betraying Julia, he has betrayed himself as an individual（个人）.Thought Police在心理层面的折磨非常精准，他们深知Winston最怕什么，在面对老鼠的时候，Winston喊出来了去撕咬Julia吧, 他的意志崩溃了。我必须说当我读到“Do it to Julia”这一句的时候是非常悲哀的。爱，本是人类最为高贵的感情，我们总觉得它无所不能，在流行的艺术创作里，爱的神奇力量足以拯救世界，但1984里，面对THought Police ，Winston放弃了爱的忠诚，放弃了作为一个人的尊严与理性，他的精神垮了，他被大洋国驯服了。摧毁爱的是什么？深植内心的恐惧。This novel is very depressing （郁闷）because there is no way for anyone to have any form of individuality. The government is all powerful and has the capability to control the thoughts of its citizens. Ultimately,（最终） Winston breaks（崩溃）, and is brainwashed（洗脑）. There is no hope of success.

1984 by George Orwell is set in a dystopian country called “Oceania.” It is Orwell’s vision of the future. This book is a political work of fiction that shows how people can be easily controlled. Dystopian, 这个词在我们讲饥饿游戏这本书时讲过，反乌托邦。英文小说里有不少作品是构建在这种反乌托邦的思想之上的. 无论是过去还是现在，西方世界都非常警惕人的个人性Individually，或者是人性的被掌控， 大热的电影Divergent，异类叛逃 ，包括斯皮尔伯格的去年出的电影Ready Player One, 一级玩家，都可以归入此类。Now let’s go back to book 1984, when there was no technology as of today, how did this country “Oceania” control people? The country, Oceania, is controlled by the Party. The Party’s leader is a seemingly omniscient person called Big Brother. THe government has four major departments: The Ministries of Love, Peace, Truth, and Plenty. Although the names sound nice, their purposes are anything but. The Ministry of Love is responsible for Law and order. The main purpose of this branch of government is to enforce loyalty to Big Brother through fear, torture, and brainwashing. The building has no windows and is surrounded by wire, steel doors, hidden machine-gun nests, and guards. it is arguably the most powerful ministry, controlling the will of the population.    The Ministry of Truth is responsible for any necessary falsification of historical events. It is in charge of propaganda.  The "truth" is understood to be whatever the government says is true, even if the statements are false, like 2+2=5 . The ministry is named this way because it manufactures a "truth" to show a government approved version of an event.The third department called Ministry of Peace. It is named the exact opposite of what it does. It is in charge of maintaining a state of war. The meaning of peace has been equated with the meaning of war in the slogan  "War is Peace": Perpetual war is what keeps the "peace" in Oceania and the balance of power in the world.And then there is this Ministry of Plenty. It oversees distribution of food, supplies, and goods. The country Oceania actually is in the state of poverty, scarcity and financial shortage. It is easier to maintain control if people are impoverished rather than wealthy. In addition, Oceania needs to create weapons instead of everyday goods. With the help from Ministry of Truth, people believe they live in prosperity.  

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”This is a work of fiction. We read it under the teacher’s guidance. We discuss various themes thoroughly in class. This novel serves as a warning of the absence of individuality and the dangers of totalitarianism. It is important to be able to think for yourself. Although this novel has dark themes, even at a young age, the concepts were well accepted by all.Our family has talked about this book many times at dinner table. We shared our opinions and sometimes debated what an ideal society should be, and what we would do if we were Winston, the main character in the bookQuotes： “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” The best books... are those that tell you what you know alreadyWe shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.“If you loved someone, you loved him, and when you had nothing else to give, you still gave him love.” “In the face of pain there are no heroes.” “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change themConfession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter; only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you-that would be the real betrayal.“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. - Agatha ChristieHello, Ximalaya, this is Lindsay from New York. We will introduce Agatha Christie’s books again. It is so hard to pick another one from her numerous masterpieces. Finally we agree that a murder is announced should be the one. 选择这本A murder is announced，而不是其它大众更熟悉的比如尼罗河上的惨案，一是因为它的开头，报纸上登一则启示说好了某时某地会有谋杀然后就真的众目睽睽下神秘地发生了，吊足胃口，先声夺人；第二，作为一个女性作家，阿加莎创造的主角女侦探Miss Marple在探案小说类别里显得非常稀有且突出，我可以说这个人物是独创的填补空白的。阿加莎是一个女性主义者，feminist。这让我很觉得值得仔细跟大家说一下。Lindsay, can you briefly talk about the plot? At very beginning of this book, there is an announcement in the local newspaper reading: A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m. Friends please accept this, this only intimation.intimation意思是indirect suggestion，告诉你但又不特别直白的意思， this only intimation这个用法不大常见，多半见于报纸上，就不再另外发卡片邀请函给个人了，这个启示就是邀请，这个意思。Little Paddocks 是案发地址。Little Paddocks is the name of the place where Miss Letitia Blacklock lives with her niece(侄女）, nephew（侄子）, and housekeepers（收拾房子的）. Her neighbors from town gather at her house in confusion, wondering just what is happening. Then at 6:30, the lights go off and a masked man appears in the darkness. Two shots from a gun ring out. The lights come back on, there are two bullet holes in the wall by Ms. Blacklock, and her ear is bleeding. Everybody is terrified. They find the masked man on the floor. He’s dead, shot by the gun.. Is it suicide? Another murder? Who knows..? The police begin to investigate, and soon a string of murders begin.. 你以为闯入的蒙面陌生人是凶手？结果倒下死去的却是他。这本小说虽然一开始就是吊足胃口加上高潮，但是，那远不是结局。String of Murders, 系列谋杀，是的，不止一起谋杀在这个故事里。There was this thrill of suspense and urgency throughout the book because of the several murders that occur. Every red herring leads you on, and the real clues are there and obvious, but elusive. It was done in the classical Christie style and yet it’s still hard to decipher each clue.这本小说悬疑外有一种紧迫感，urgency，系列谋杀嘛，herring是一种鱼，red herring means False clue,错误的线索。人就好像上了钩，拿起书就放不下，特别想解开谜团，decipher就是解密。那么侦探Miss Marple，聪明破案的人马普尔小姐，又是怎么样一个人呢？Miss Marple is an elderly woman with a knack for reading people. From the way they act, she can deduce what they have done. Miss Marple is quite smart and intuitive（直觉的）. She seems like an elderly spinster （独身未婚）and grandma filled with knitting and teatime, but in reality she has a quick-moving mind filled with knowledge of human tendencies.Miss Marple可不是福尔摩斯那种聪明外显的侦探。她就是一个小镇上毫不起眼的老太太。Agatha Christie 自己曾经这样说过她的笔下人物马尔普小姐，If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. 马尔普小姐这样的才是真正的厉害角色，看上去毫无杀伤力，让你放下所有戒备，而她，却把你看了个透彻。L: Miss Marple doesn’t seem to have a job. Her role in the book is to help the police like a consultant（顾问）. However, she is the real brain to solve all the puzzles. Because she is very lovable, quirky, and comforting, town people like to share secrets or findings with her either casually or intentionally. They don’t think she is dangerous or smart enough to solve any mysteries involving them. They underestimate Miss Marple.

One little boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself And then there were None. 最畅销经典的密室杀人小说，来考验你的智商。看阿加莎如何密密织就连环杀人案，个个揭破人性的黑暗与不堪。我的最爱，吐血推荐。The plot itself is very interesting. Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated island （孤岛）, under different reasons. One by one, they are murdered. It soon becomes clear that one of these ten strangers are the murderer, adhering（秉承） to the nursery poem of ten little soldiers. 大家记得我们刚刚开始学英文的时候，有首英文歌教英文数数，1 到 10 怎么说，one little two little three little Indians，记得吧？这首儿歌有很多不同版本，广为流传，这首儿歌就是这篇小说的灵感来源，全篇小说里一再回放。我们请LIndsay 来读一下。Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were Nine. nine little soldier boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were Eight. Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven. Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six. Six little soldier boys playing with a hive（蜂窝）; a bumble bee stung one and then there were Five. Five little soldier boys going in for law; one got into Chancery and then there were Four. Four little soldier boys going out to sea; a red herring （一种鱼）swallowed one and then there were Three. Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were Two. Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun; one got frizzled up （烤干了）and then there was One. One little soldier boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself.. And then there were None . And then there were none， 正如这首儿童诗里说的，十个人一个接一个的死掉了，无人生还。The first death seems like suicide （自杀）, the second is also seems like a suicide. But two deaths is too much of a coincidence（巧合）, so the rest begin to investigate（调查）. They desperately（绝望地） want to resolve who the murderer is. But in the meantime, they seem realize that they would all face their own fate. Each person begins to lose hope. Gradually, each person is murdered in similar ways like the poem states, until there are only two people left. One gets shot and the last person, driven by guilt, conscience, and other feelings of almost insanity, hangs themself. In the epilogue, the true murderer is revealed.故事的展开背景是一个孤岛，封闭的环境，very typical setting for Agatha story。One by one, 一个接一个，悬疑神秘，欲罢不能，阿加莎能够制造出这么一种身边人死得不明不白的恐怖。谁都不想认命，既互相猜疑谁是凶手又互相依靠探寻罪犯，同时，又不得不宿命地等待他们的结局。 These strangers are all have normal jobs in their daily lives. However, they all have something in the past that they try to hide and suffer from. The mysterious murderer knows their past, their dark secret, which is revealed later that they all have murdered somebody. Each murder is not directed by their own hand, is not made by sticking swords into a person or shooting somebody. It is the way they act, the things they do, that kill another. 所有被害人身上都沾着别人的血，这是他们最深的秘密，他们逃出了法网，却没有逃出死于非命的命运。克里斯蒂的小说好得绝不仅仅是小说逻辑上的丝丝入扣，描写生动，最重要的是她对人性的洞察与拿捏，每个人都背负着罪孽，但每个人都似乎不得不如此选择，每个人都似乎是身边的普通人，但是每个人又都是暗藏的凶手和被害人，这种为命运挟裹不由自主，在这本小说里，可说是到了巅峰，极为精彩。 The plot itself is indeed quick and interesting as all of agatha Christie’s novels are. Each murder victims on the island were killed in order of guilt （负罪）and type of crime. The reason why i love this novel so much is because of how hidden the murderer is, of how simple and obvious the clues are and yet you can never notice it. This book is a perfect example of Agatha Christie’s storytelling method: subtle yet direct, playing on the nature of human conscience（良心）. Words can’t bring this masterpiece to justice.

“All around us are people, of all classes, of all nationalities, of all ages. For three days these people, these strangers to one another, are brought together. They sleep and eat under one roof, they cannot get away from each other. At the end of three days they part, they go their several ways, never, perhaps, to see each other again.” ― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient ExpressA luxurious （豪华）train stopped in a snowstorm（暴风雪）, a murder at midnight with some clues （线索） left, 13 passengers （乘客） with different backgrounds （背景） and personalities（个性） identified as suspects （嫌犯）, and one famous detective Hercules Poirot. Who is the murderer? 封闭式场景, 因暴雪而不再行驶的火车一节高级车厢里发生谋杀案，嫌犯只可能是车厢里的13个人中的一个。This is the classical Christie style! Yes, Detective Poirot has no other means （方式）to help him in the setting except for interviewing（面谈） the 13 suspectives with questions and more questions. He needs to find out whose answer has logical （逻辑）problems and when a passenger will reveal （吐出） something by accident （意外的，不小心的）to him. The challenge （难点）for him is that all suspects have solid Alibis. And they all seem innocent （无辜）yet all seem possible as murderers. Alibi 就是证明作案时间里不在现场的证据。交叉问话中，车上的每个人都有其它人供词说明自己作案时候不在现场，很头疼啊。 L: Plus, all 13 suspects are very interesting to study in the way Agatha Christie describes them. We, as the readers, seem to watching a show on the stage, where everyone is a good actor and everyone has a story. Yet, we know something is wrong there, and we know they have a mask covering them. Q: That’s exactly how I feel! I tried to digest （消化）every word among pages to find the bugs! It is an extremely interesting murder mystery that kept me reading late into the night.L: Well，the first success is that of using the clues left at the murder scene, and Detective Poirot figuring out the background of the victim, which provides him direction later on. Q: 探案小说的好处就是布局里放下的线索，考验智力啊。尤其克里斯蒂年代没有什么花哨手段，纯脑力逻辑，非常满足聪明人的阅读口味。L: It is such an interesting mystery, full of plot twists that I didn't see coming! I love it because no matter how many times I read it, I am still surprised every time. Each clue that Agatha Christie hides in the book fits perfectly together, every casual conversation between passengers are hints towards the end. Even the most experienced of readers may never be able to guess which clues create the solution to the murder mystery.

语言能力与综合能力，锦上添花与内里底子，突击考试与终生学习。找到自己的方法论。

她的作品销量仅次于圣经和莎士比亚。密室杀人，是她创造性开拓的悬疑小说题材。Lindsay 八岁时候由老师介绍开始阅读阿加莎的作品，读过十几部，有些要读好多遍。那我们今天先听听Lindsay来介绍作者，之后我们会陆续介绍她的作品。（东方快车谋杀案，尼罗河上的惨案，无人生还，这些你听说过吧）Agatha Christie is a famous murder （谋杀）mystery（神秘） author. Called the Queen of Mystery, each story is filled with plot （情节） twists（扭转）that I can never predict（预见）. She is the mastermind that created Hercules Poirot （菠萝探长）, a genius Belgian（比利时） detective（侦探）. She also created Miss. Marple（马普尔小姐）, an elderly spinster（独身女人）with a knack（天生的窍门） for reading people and figuring out crime. Agatha Christie has written many famous novels, such as Murder on the Orient Express（东方列车谋杀案）, And Then There Were None（无人生还）, and my personal favorite, Death on the Nile（尼罗河上的惨案）. These books were made into movies as well. Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries leave the reader speechless with the way the murder was committed and how the murderer got away with it. You can try to guess who the murderer is, or what happens, but most often you are wrong. Each plot twist and new revelation （泄露）of the murders leave me breathless. I can never put one of her books down because of how badly I want to find out what happens! I love her writing style and how she puts in clues that are so casual（随意的） you might not even notice. 是的，克里斯蒂的小说绝对欲罢不能，不仅情节构思精巧，而且写的用词简单但能栩栩如生，不刻意在气氛上堆砌恐惧感而是靠对人性的洞察来塑造故事和人物。是难得一见兼具趣味性与文学性的作家，是英语爱好者提高阅读能力非常好的选择。来听听我们下次的作品推介吧。