江蘇 秦 虞

雨過(guò)天晴，瑪麗迫不及待地跑去花園，科林卻因此大怒，驕傲的瑪麗決定不再去看科林。 但科林又一次歇斯底里，瑪麗會(huì)如何應(yīng)對(duì)呢？

By the Monday, the rain had cleared and Mary couldn't wait to get outside. Nice as it was to talk to Colin, she had missed the secret garden. She had missed Dickon too.

“Right, I'm going to dig in my garden,” she decided after breakfast.

“Aren't you going to see Master Colin first?” Martha asked.

“No. I've got to grab the sunshine while it's out. I'll call in later.”

“But what if he needs you?”

“Later,” Mary repeated.

She ran as fast as the moor wind across the grounds, down the side of the Long Walk, past the kitchen gardens and through to the secret garden. Dickon was already there. “You beat me! ” she said.

“There's work to be done,” Dickon replied. He began to whistle a tune.

Together they dug and pruned （修剪樹枝） and cleared. Green shoots were coming out everywhere now.

Mary was especially pleased to see that the seeds she had planted were growing. The garden was coming alive. “It's grand, isn't it?” Mary said.

“It's nature. All nature's grand.”

Mary went back to the manor house in such a good mood. She couldn't wait to see Colin and tell him about her morning. “Martha! I'm starving! ” she announced.

“Sorry, Miss Mary, lunch is a bit late today,” Martha apologised. She looked hot and bothered.

“What's wrong?” Mary asked.

“It's Master Colin. He's working his way up to a right tantrum （耍脾氣）.”

Mary frowned and listened.

Sure enough,the sound of shouting and wailing （慟哭） could be heard along the corridor. “Why?What's upset him?”

Martha looked embarrassed. “It's because you didn't come when he asked for you, Miss Mary.”

“What? How silly! ” Mary felt a wave of anger sweep over her.

Mary strode into Colin's room. His face was crimson from screeching （尖叫）. “What's the matter with you?” she demanded.

Colin glared at her. “You didn't come to see me! ”

“How could I? I've been in the garden.”

“You come when I say! I am the master of this house. I am more important than some stupid garden and some stupid boy! ”

Mary's face turned to thunder. “I'll come to see you when I please,” she declared, “and if you ever speak to me like this again I shan't come at all! ”

She spent the rest of the day in the garden, working twice as hard as she had in the morning. She was still furious.

Dickon tried to calm her down and make her see things from Colin's point of view. “It's not much of a life for him in there. Especially as he has no mam and his dad's always away.”

Mary did not care one bit. “So I have no one either, but I don't cry like a baby all day! ”

She decided she wouldn't see Colin until she felt like it, which might be never.

◆◆◆

Never came sooner than Mary had thought. In the middle of the night, she was awoken by Martha shaking her arm. “Miss Mary, Miss Mary, come quick! ” she begged.

“What is it?” Mary asked. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“It's Master Colin. He's having hysterics! ”

“What are hysterics?”

“They're like a paddy only twenty times worse! Like that time when the gardener's lad stared at him. Oh, come quick, Miss Mary. The nurse thinks you're the only one who can get through to him.Even Mrs Medlock thinks so! He'll set off one of his fevers otherwise and it might kill him! ”

Now she was fully awake. Mary could hear Colin's screaming. It was different from before—higher and louder and more urgent. The sound set her teeth on edge. She put her hands over her ears,but it didn't stop the noise from getting through. “Oh, for goodness' sake! ” she snapped, tugging on her shawl and following Martha down the cold corridor.

The nurse looked at Mary with pure relief when she arrived. “Oh, Miss Mary! Can you please talk to him? He'll do himself harm if he keeps on like this.”

Mary felt herself growing angrier and angrier. How dare this boy make everyone do what he wanted? Who did he think he was?

She strode up to the screaming boy and stamped her foot. “Colin Craven! Shut up this minute! ”she shouted.

Colin flung himself over so his face was buried in the pillow. He continued to wail and began banging his stick-like arms and legs.

“Fine! Scream yourself to death for all I care! ” Mary fumed.

Behind her, someone gasped, but no one dared to try and stop her.

“You're just a spoilt brat! There's nothing wrong with you! Nothing! ”

“There is! I felt the lumps （腫塊）! I felt them! ”

“What lumps?”

“On my back. I'm going to be a hunchback! ”

“Where?” Mary asked. She climbed onto the bed and started prodding Colin's back.

“There! ” he said, and pointed to the back of his neck. “There are lumps all down there.”

Mary tutted out loud. “They're not lumps, you silly thing! That's just your backbone.Everybody's got that. Yours just feels lumpy because you're so thin! ”

She got off the bed and Colin turned round. “Is that... is that true?” he asked the nurse.

“Yes, Master Colin,” the nurse nodded, “It is. I'm sorry. I... I didn't know that's what was bothering you. I would have said...”

“Oh,” he sniffed. He ran his fingers along the top of his back. “So I'm just like everyone else?”“Yes,” the nurse agreed.

“And will I live?”

“I don't see why you shouldn't live to be as old as the hills,” she told him.

The look of relief on the boy's face was heartbreaking. “Oh,” he said.

“So can we all get some sleep now?” Mary asked. Colin looked at her. He blinked the rest of his tears away. “Will you... will you stay a bit longer, Mary?” He swallowed hard. “Please,” he added.

Mary agreed. Her temper had gone now. She saw that Colin had been really scared. “It's all right,” she said to Martha and the nurse and added, “Mrs Medlock, you go. I'll stay until he goes to sleep.”

The three of them shot her grateful looks and disappeared.

“Tell me about the garden,” Colin said. So Mary told him about the garden. About how it was turning from grey to green. About all the birds that felt it was a place so safe that they could build their nests there. About the buds beginning to show on the rose trees.

“I can see it,” Colin smiled, his voice sounding far away. “I can see it.”

Activity A Reading for comprehension

Ⅰ. Understanding the plot

Fill in the following blanks about the two explosions of Colin.

Ⅱ. Understanding the garden

Fill in the following blanks to show what Mary did in the garden and what changes she brought to the garden.

Activity B Reading for writing

Ⅰ. Useful expressions for creating a novel

1. sentences and expressions for describing facial expressions

His face was crimson from screeching. 他的臉因尖叫而漲得通紅。

Mary's face turned to thunder. 瑪麗的臉沉了下來(lái)。

The look of relief on the boy's face was heartbreaking. 男孩臉上松了一口氣的表情讓人心痛。

blink the rest of one's tears away 眨巴了一下眼睛，把其余的眼淚擠干凈

shoot her grateful looks 向她投去了感激的目光

look at sb with pure relief 松了一大口氣地看向某人

glare at 瞪著

frown 皺眉

2. expressions for describing anger

feel a wave of anger sweep over sb 感到胸中升起一股怒氣

set one's teeth on edge 氣得牙齒直打架

furious 狂怒的

fume 十分惱火

snap 怒氣沖沖地說(shuō)

3. expressions for describing behavior

stride up to the screaming boy and stamp her foot 大步走近那個(gè)尖叫的男孩并跺了跺腳

bang his stick-like arms and legs 敲打著他像棍子那么細(xì)的胳膊和雙腿

fling oneself over 猛地翻身

wail 慟哭

gasp (尤指驚訝或疼痛時(shí)的)倒抽氣

Ⅱ. Summary writing

Write a summary of Chapter 8 with about 60 words. Remember to leave out unnecessary details.