你有兄弟或姐妹吗?他们有时会给你的生活带来很多烦心事。要是他们比你年纪小的话,他们就总是会惹麻烦,要你来帮忙。 Do you have any brothers or sisters? They can sometimes make your life very difficult. If they are younger than you, then they are always getting into trouble and needing your help. 如果你知道了一个人的缺点,便会难以忘掉。俗话说:“一日为贼,终生为贼。”但真的是这样吗?一次错误会使一个人永远是一个坏人吗?人们就不能有所改变吗? And if you know something bad about a person, it is difficult to forget it. ’Once a thief, always a thief,’ people say. But is that true? Does one mistake make a person bad for ever? Can’t people change? 珍妮弗·沃尔顿是一名护士,她是个文静、细心而又通情达理的人,却有一个既不细心也不通情达理的弟弟,名叫理查德。他总是向人借钱,干任何工作都没有长性,并且和警方扯上了麻烦。珍妮弗对他非常担心。一天,当警察前来询问有关他的情况时,珍妮弗想到了糟糕的可能。 Jennifer Walton is a nurse. She is quiet and careful and sensible, but she has a young brother, Richard. Richard is not careful or sensible. He is always borrowing money, he never keeps a job for long, he’s been in trouble with the police. Jennifer worries about him a lot. And when one day the police come asking questions about him, Jennifer fears the worst.
Jennifer felt very sorry for Wendy. The girl’s hands were shaking, and she was trying not to cry. Jennifer went and sat next to her, and put her arm round her.
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“那么星期四晚上的生日聚会上警察将你带走后又发生了什么?”她轻声问道。
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So what happened after the party on Thursday night, when the police took you away?’ she asked quietly.
Oh, it was terrible!’ Wendy said. ’They took the ear-rings from me, of course, and they asked a lot of questions. I told them that the ear-rings were a present from Kelly, and I told them all about the police in Germany, but they didn’t believe me. They told me to go to the office on Friday, and not to say anything to anybody. And they wanted to talk to Richard.’
Wendy turned to Jennifer. ’What am I going to do?’ she asked. ’Why didn’t the police believe me? Haven’t the German police talked to them? And where’s Richard? I can’t find him.’ She began to cry quietly.
They all went into the sitting-room, and Wendy jumped up. She looked at the policemen and her face went white. Everybody began talking at once, and Richard put his arms round Wendy.
The tall policeman laughed and turned to Jennifer. ’My name is Edwards,’ he said. ’I’m sorry about Barrett’s visit to you last night, but we didn’t know about Richard and Wendy then. I talked to the Frankfurt police an hour ago. We already knew about the stolen jewellery in Germany, of course, and we were watching Kelly. But they didn’t tell us that they caught the German thieves last weekend, or about their little plan with Richard and Wendy. They wanted to keep it very secret. They were afraid that Kelly would hear about it. But we know now, and everything’s all right.’
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“但是凯利呢?”温迪喊道,“还有那几个鸡蛋盒子……?”
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But what about Kelly?’ cried Wendy. ’And the egg boxes...?’
Barrett smiled. ’You’ll have to find a new boss. Kelly is going to be in prison for a long time. We got him this morning. But it’s Richard’s story. He’s been very helpful to us. He can tell you all about it.’
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两名警察离去了,珍妮弗转向她的弟弟。他正搂着温迪坐在那里。此时温迪已是神采奕奕,一脸阳光。
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The two policemen left, and Jennifer turned to her young brother. He was sitting with his arm round Wendy, and her face was now bright and happy.
Richard laughed. ’When I looked in Kelly’s office last Wednesday, I found that letter about the "eggs". You remember, Wendy? Well, the German policeman told us to do nothing, but I wanted the British police to catch Kelly. Perhaps they were watching Kelly carefully, but I wanted to be sure. So early this morning I went to the police station and told them about the letter. They were not very friendly and they kept me in the police station. But they went to Kelly’s house at eleven o’clock. They found Kelly there and two other men, who were buying the stolen jewellery from Kelly. So they brought Kelly and the two other men into the police station...and the egg boxes, of course. Kelly was very angry, and told the police that Wendy and I were the thieves! I told Barrett and Edwards about the German policeman’s plan again and again, and in the end they telephoned Germany and talked to the inspector in Frankfurt. He explained everything. So here we are!’
Richard laughed again, happily. He put his hands in his pockets. ’And here’s twenty pounds for my big sister, and a little birthday present for my favourite girl.’
Jennifer looked at him. She suddenly felt very happy about her brother. ’ You can keep the money,’ she said. ’It’s not important. But I only gave it to you on Thursday night,’ she said. ’How...?’
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“我已经找到了一份新工作,”理查德说。“昨天开始上班的。这次我不会再为一个珠宝大盗做事了!”
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I’ve got a new job,’ said Richard. ’Started yesterday. And this time I’m not working for a jewellery thief!’
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温迪打开了礼物,这是她一天里第一次笑。“哦,看呐!”她说,“是对金耳环!真漂亮。”
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Wendy opened her present, and laughed for the first time that day. ’Oh look!’ she said. ’It’s some gold ear-rings! They’re lovely.’
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理查德也笑了。“只是对小耳环,温迪,但我可以向你保证——它们与法兰克福的鸡蛋盒子毫不相干。”
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Richard laughed too. ’They’re only small ear-rings, Wendy, but I can tell you this—they did not come from Frankfurt in an egg box!’