22 · 熟记台词
By Heart
读懂长句与段落衔接，分清事实、推断和观点，再连贯复述或说明。
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Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: "The light is dim. Read the letter to me". And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: "The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses." With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
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整篇课文
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: "The light is dim. Read the letter to me". And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: "The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses." With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
有些戏剧大获成功，能连续上演好几年。可从许多方面来说，这对演员未必是好事，因为他们不得不夜复一夜地重复同样的台词。按理说，他们早该把自己的台词背得滚瓜烂熟，绝不会再卡壳了，事实却并非总是如此。
有一次，一位著名演员在一部非常卖座的戏里，饰演一名被囚禁在巴士底狱二十年的贵族。每到最后一幕，狱卒都会拿着一封信上台，交给囚犯。虽然这位“贵族”每场演出都要念这封信，他却始终坚持，必须把信的全文写在纸上。
一天晚上，饰演狱卒的演员想跟同事开个玩笑，看看演过这么多场后，对方究竟有没有把信的内容背下来。最后一幕的幕布升起，只见那位贵族独自坐在幽暗的牢房里，面前是铁栏杆。这时，狱卒拿着那封重要的信出现了。他走进牢房，把信交给贵族，可这一次，纸上并没有像往常那样写好全文，而是一张白纸。狱卒满怀期待地看着同伴，急着想知道他到底记住台词没有。贵族盯着白纸看了几秒，随后眯起眼睛说：“光线太暗了，念给我听吧。”说完，立刻把纸递给狱卒。狱卒这才发现，自己也一个字都想不起来，便回答：“光线确实太暗了，阁下，我得去拿眼镜。”说着，他匆匆走下台去。没过多久，狱卒便拿着眼镜和那封平时用的信回来了，开始给囚犯念信，惹得“贵族”暗自发笑。
学完这一课
写一部戏的人物设定，区分饰演者和角色的过去。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第76—78页，2022年2月第3版。