1、【导读】织工马南(Silas Marner)的作者是乔治艾略特，原名为玛丽安伊万斯。这个故事发生在18世纪末19世纪初的英国。数百年来，人们一直生活在村子里和小镇上。他们在庄园里或自己家中工作，很少远离他们的出生地。【文化节选】Chapter 7 Silas finds his “gold”But while Godfrey Cass was managing to forget his problems by the lovely Nancys side，his wife was walking with slow，uncertain steps along the snowcovered
2、road to Raveloe.She was carrying her sleeping child in her arms.For some time now she had planned to come to Raveloe on New Years Eve.She knew that her husband would be at the centre of a happy，smiling group of friends，and she had chosen this moment to appear in front of all his family and guests at
3、 the Red House dance.“I dont care if Godfrey is ashamed of me！”she thought bitterly.“I want people to know were married！”Sometimes she hated her husband, because he was still handsome，and had money，while she was no longer pretty，and very poor.She blamed him for her miserable life，but in her heart sh
4、e knew she should blame her drinking.It had become a habit with her to spend most of the money Godfrey gave her on gin.She had a bottle in her pocket now，which she had lifted to her lips several times during her journey.It was already seven oclock in the evening，and there was a freezing wind.Molly d
5、id not know she was very near Raveloe.Her legs were tired and the gin was beginning to make her feel sleepy.She thought she would rest for a while，and，still holding her child，she lay down on the snow.She did not notice that the ground was cold.In a few moments the child woke up，crying，“Mummy！” But t
6、he mother did not seem to hear.Suddenly，as the child fell gently out of its mothers arms on to the soft snow，it noticed a bright，dancing light on the white ground.Interested，the child stood up to see where the brightness came from，and followed the light to an open door，the door of Silas Marners cott
7、age.The little one toddled right in through the door and sat down by the bright fire.After a few minutes the child felt pleasantly warm, and fell asleep.But where was Silas while this was happening？In the evenings he sometimes used to open his door and look out.He had some idea that his money would
8、come back，or that someone would come with information about the thief.Tonight was New Years Eve，and the villagers had told him to stay awake until midnight，because it would bring him good luck if he saw the beginning of the new year.So tonight he was more restless than usual.He opened his door sever
9、al times during the evening，and stared out，but he saw and heard nothing in the silent，freezing night.The last time，as he was standing at the door，he had one of his fits，and stood there completely unconscious，holding the door open.第7章西拉斯找到了他的“金子”然而就在戈弗雷凯斯坐在可爱的南茜身边试图忘记一切烦恼的时候，他的妻子正在大雪覆盖的道路上艰难地向瑞福洛的方向跋
10、涉着。她的孩子睡在她的臂弯里。她已经计划好要在新年之夜到瑞福洛去，她知道她的丈夫一定正在被幸福欢笑的朋友们环绕着，她就是要选择这个时候出现在他的家人和朋友们面前，出现在红屋的舞会上。“我不在乎戈弗雷会以我为耻，”她苦涩地想，“我要让大家知道我们结婚了！”有时她恨她的丈夫，因为他仍然英俊而且富有，可她已经不再漂亮了，而且贫困。她为自己的不幸埋怨他，但在心底里她知道应该怨自己酗酒。她已经习惯于把戈弗雷给她的大部分钱用来买酒。现在她兜里就有一瓶酒，而且一路上她已经喝了几次。已经是晚上7点了，风冷得刺骨。莫丽不知道她已经离瑞福洛很近了。她的腿开始发沉，酒精也开始使她昏昏欲睡。她想应该歇一会儿，于是就抱
11、着孩子，躺到了雪地上。她没有注意地上是那么冷。一会儿孩子醒了，开始哭着喊妈妈。可妈妈好像没有听见。当孩子从妈妈的臂中滑落到松软的雪地上时，忽然看到白白的雪地上跳动着一点小小的亮光。出于好奇，孩子站起来想看看光是从哪儿来的。向着亮光，孩子走进了一扇开着的门，这是西拉斯马南的小草屋。小家伙蹒跚着直进门里走到明亮的炉火前坐下。没过几分钟，孩子暖和过来，甜甜地睡着了。但这时西拉斯在哪儿呢？他晚上有时会打开门看看外面，总觉得有一天他的金子会回来，或者什么人会给他带来关于贼的消息。今晚是新年夜，村里人告诉他今天午夜前不要睡觉，因为看着新的一年到来会给人带来好运。所以今晚他比平时更坐立不安。他几次打开门向外面看，可是在这个静静的寒冷的冬夜，他什么也看不见，什么也听不见。最后一次站到门口的时候，他又犯病了，站在那儿完全失去了知觉，门开着。知识积累 1ashamed adj.羞耻的；羞愧的2bitterly adv.痛苦地；愤恨地3toddle v蹒跚地走4restless adj.不安的文化链接乔治艾略特(18191880)是英国最伟大的小说家之一，她真名叫玛丽安伊万斯。她的主要作品包括织工马南、米德尔马奇和弗罗斯河上的磨坊。
