外刊毫无疑问是学英文的绝佳材料。但各种新闻层出不穷，五花八门的热点稍纵即逝，如果平时只看新闻（无论中文还是英文），整个人难免会变得越来越浮躁。

因此，阅读一些经典文学作品，和读者朋友们一起搭建一块安静的“小型避难所”。

长篇小说的篇幅往往比较长，基础不太好的同学不容易坚持，也很难享受到阅读的快感。于是我决定带大家从短小精悍的短篇小说读起。

第一部作品，我选择了毛姆先生的《患难之交》(A friend in Need)。毛姆是我最钟爱的作者之一，这也是一篇我很喜欢的小说，后劲很大，以至于在看完这篇小说后的好几年，我都经常想起它。

今天我就带大家一起读一读这篇小说。希望大家能找到一块完整的时间，安静地阅读下面这个故事。

A friend in need 

患难之交

By William Somerset Maugham

For thirty years now I have been studying my fellow-men. I do not know very much about them. I should certainly hesitate to engage a servant on his face, and yet I suppose it is on the face that for the most part we judge the persons we meet. We draw our conclusions from the shape of the jaw, the look in the eyes, the contour of the mouth. I wonder if we are more often right than wrong. 

study v. If you study something, you consider it or observe it carefully in order to be able to understand it fully. 研究；调查；仔细观察

engage sb v.to employ sb to do a particular jobfor the most part  雇佣，聘用

draw conclusions from sth  从...得出结论

for the most part used to say that something is generally true but not completely true 就绝大部分而言；基本上，大体上

contour [ˈkɑːntʊr] n.[C]the outer edges of sth; the outline of its shape or form 外形；轮廓

Why novels and plays are so often untrue to life is because their authors, perhaps of necessity, make their characters all of a piece. They cannot afford to make them self-contradictory, for then they become incomprehensible, and yet self-contradictory is what most of us are. We are a haphazard bundle of inconsistent qualities.

all of a piece 一致，协调；相符合

cannot afford to do sth 承担不起做某事

self-contradictory adj. containing ten ideas or statements that cannot both be true 自相矛盾的

incomprehensible [ɪnˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪbl] adj. impossible to understand 无法理解的；难懂的

haphazard [ˌhæpˈhæzəd] adj.with no particular order or plan; not organized well无秩序的；无计划的；组织混乱的

In books on logic they will tell you that it is absurd to say that yellow is tubular or gratitude heavier than air; but in that mixture of incongruities that makes up the self yellow may very well be a horse and cart and gratitude the middle of the week. I shrug my shoulders when people tell me that their first impressions of a person are always right. I think they must have small insight or great vanity. For my own part I find that the longer I know people the more they puzzled me: my oldest friends are just these of whom I can say that I don't know the first thing about them.

tubular[ˈtjuːbjʊlər] adj. shaped like a tube 管状的

incongruity [ˌɪn.kəŋˈgruː.əti] n. the fact that something is strange, unusual, or unsuitable in a particular situation 不和谐；不合适；不相称

incongruous adj.不合适的; 不相称的; 不协调的;

eg. Such traditional methods seem incongruous in our technical age. 此类传统方法似乎同我们今天的科技时代格格不入。

cart n.马车

shrug one's shoulders 耸耸肩

vanity[ˈvæn.ɪ.ti] n. [U] too much pride in your own appearance, abilities or achievements 自负；自大；虚荣；虚荣心：

for my / her / their part speaking for myself, etc. 就我(或她、他们等)而言

puzzle v.to make sb feel confused because they do not understand sth 迷惑；使困惑

These thoughts have occurred to me because I read in this morning's paper that Edward Hyde Burton had died at Kobe. He was a merchant and he had been in Japan for many years. I knew him very little, but he interested me because once he gave me a great surprise. If I had not heard the story from his own lips I should never have believed that he was capable of such an action. 

occur to sb to come into your mind 被想到；出现在头脑中

It was the more startling because both his appearance and his manner gave the impression of a very different man. He was a tiny little fellow, very slender, with white hair, a red face much wrinkled, and blue eyes. I suppose he was about sixty when I knew him. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and station. 

slender adj. thin in an attractive or elegant way 苗条的；纤细的

wrinkled[ˈrɪŋ.kl ̩d]  adj. having wrinkles 有皱纹的

in accordance with sth according to a rule, system etc 按照某事物

Though his offices were in Kobe Burton often came down to Yokohama. I happened on one occasion to be spending a few days there, waiting for a ship, and I was introduced to him at the British Club. We played bridge together. He played a good game and a generous one. He did not talk very much, either then or later when we were having drinks, but what he said was sensible. He had a quiet, dry humour. He seemed to be popular at the club and afterwards, when he had gone, they described him as one of the best. It happened that we were both staying at the Grand Hotel and next day he asked me to dine with him. I met his wife, fat, elderly and smiling, and his two daughters. It was evidently a united and loving family. 

dry hunour 冷幽默，十分微妙的幽默

It happened that...碰巧...

I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. There was something very pleasing in his mild blue eyes. His voice was gentle; you could not imagine that he could raise it in anger; his smile was kind. Here was a man who attracted you because you felt in him a real love for his fellows. He had charm. But there was nothing sentimental about him: he liked his game of cards and his cocktail, he could tell a good and spicy story, and in his youth he had been something of an athlete. He was a rich man and he had made every penny himself. I suppose one thing that made you like him was that he was so small and frail; he aroused your instincts of protection. You felt that he would not hurt a fly. 

sentimental [ˌsentɪˈmentəl]  adj.Someone or something that is sentimental feels or shows pity or love, sometimes to an extent that is considered exaggerated and foolish. 感伤的；多情的；多愁善感的

something of a 在某种程度上是

frail [freɪl] adj.physically weak and thin 瘦弱的

One afternoon I was sitting in the lounge of the Grand Hotel. From the windows you had an excellent view of the harbour with its crowded traffic. There were great liners; merchant ships of all nations, junks and boats sailing in and out. It was a busy scene and yet, I do not know why, restful to the spirit. 

lounge [laʊndʒ] n.a public room in a hotel, club, etc. for waiting or relaxing in 休息室

restful [ˈrestfəl]  adj.that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful 闲适宁静的；使人感到悠闲的

Burton came into the lounge presently and caught sight of me. He seated himself in the chair next to mine. 

presently adv. in a short time 马上，一会儿，不久，很快

catch sight of sb / sth to suddenly see someone or something that you have been looking for or have been hoping to see 忽然看到某人/某物

seat v.向…提供座位；(使)就座；坐；落座

seat oneself 某人坐下，某人落座

"What do you say to a little drink?" 

“我们来点小酒怎么样?

He clapped his hands for a boy and ordered two drinks. 

As the boy brought them a man passed along the street outside and seeing me waved his hand. "Do you know Turner?" said Burton as I nodded a greeting.

nod a greeting  点头问候 

"I've met him at the club. I'm told he's a remittance man." "Yes, I believe he is. We have a good many here."

remittance [rɪˈmɪtəns] n.[U]the act of sending money to sb in order to pay for sth 汇付；汇款

"He plays bridge well." 

"They generally do. There was a fellow here last year, a namesake of mine, who was the best bridge player I ever met. I suppose you never came across him in London. Lenny Burton he called himself." 

sb's namesake 同名的人

"No. I don't believe I remember the name." 

"He was quite a remarkable player. He seemed to have an instinct about the cards. It was uncanny. I used to play with him a lot. He was in Kobe for some time." 

uncanny adj. strange and difficult to explain 异常的；难以解释的 

Burton sipped his gin. 

sip v.to drink sth, taking a very small amount each time 小口喝；抿

"It's rather a funny story,", he said. "He wasn't a bad chap. I liked him. He was always well-dressed and he was handsome in a way, with curly hair and pink-and-white cheeks. Women thought a lot of him. There was no harm in him, you know, he was only wild. Of course he drank too much. Fellows like him always do. A bit of money used to come in for him once a quarter and he made a bit more by card-playing. He won a good deal of mine, I know that." 

think a lot of sb have a very good opinion of sb/sth 对…感兴趣；敬慕…；对…高度评价

Burton gave a kindly little chuckle. I knew from my own experience that he could lose money at bridge with a good grace. 

"I suppose that is why he came to me when he went broke, that and the fact that he was a namesake of mine. He came to see me in my office one day and asked me for a job. I was rather surprised. He told me that there was no more money coming from home and he wanted to work. I asked him how old he was. 

"Thirty five,' he said. '

"And what have you been doing before?' I asked him. '

"Well, nothing very much,' he said. "

I couldn't help laughing. 

'I'm afraid I can't do anything for you just now,' I said. 'Come back and see me in another thirty-five years, and I'll see what I can do.' 

"He didn't move. He went rather pale. He hesitated for a moment and then he told me that he had had bad luck at cards for some time. He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything he had. He couldn't pay his hotel bill and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn't get a job he'd have to commit suicide. "

credit n.[U] an arrangement that you make, with a shop / store for example, to pay later for sth you buy 赊购；赊欠

down and outwithout money, a home or a job, and living on the streets  穷愁潦倒；一无所有

give credit 允许赊购

I looked at him for a bit. I could see now that he was all to pieces. He'd been drinking more than usual and he looked fifty. '

"Well, isn't there anything you can do except play cards?' I asked him. "

'I can swim,' he said. 

"'Swim!' "I could hardly believe my ears; it seemed such a silly answer. "

'I swam for my university.' 

"'I was a pretty good swimmer myself when I was a young man,' I said. 

"Suddenly I had an idea. 

Pausing in his story, Burton turned to me. 

"Do you know Kobe?" he asked. 

"No," I said, "I passed through it once, but I only spent a night there." 

"Then you don't know the Shioya Club. When I was a young man I swam from there round the beacon and landed at the creek of Tarumi. It's over three miles and it's rather difficult on account of the currents round the beacon. Well, I told my young namesake about it and I said to him that if he'd do it I'd give him a job. "

on the account of sth  because of sb / sth 由于；因为：

current n.[C] the movement of water in the sea or a river; the movement of air in a particular direction 水流，潮流；气流：

I could see he was rather taken aback. '

be taken aback (by sb / sth)  to be shocked or surprised by sb / sth （被…）吓了一跳；大吃一惊；震惊

"You say you're a swimmer,' I said. '

"I'm not in very good condition,' he answered. 

"I didn't say anything. I shrugged my shoulders. He looked at me for a moment and then he nodded. '

"All right,' he said. 'When do you want me to do it?' 

"I looked at my watch. It was just after ten. 

"The swim shouldn't take you much over an hour and a quarter. I'll drive round to the creek at halfpast twelve and meet you. I'll take you back to the club to dress and then we'll have lunch together.' 

"'Done,' he said. 

"We shook hands. I wished him good luck and he left me. I had a lot of work to do that morning and I only just managed to get to the creek at half past twelve. I waited for him there, but in vain." 

"Did he get frightened at the last moment?" I asked. 

"'No, he didn't. He started swimming. But of course he'd ruined his health by drink. The currents round the beacon were more than he could manage.' We didn't get the body for about three days." 

I didn't say anything for a moment or two. I was a little shocked. Then I asked Burton a question. 

"When you offered him the job, did you know that he'd be drowned?" 

He gave a little mild chuckle and he looked at me with those kind blue eyes of his. He rubbed his chin with his hand. 

"Well, I hadn't got a vacancy in my office at the moment.

                                                                       - The End -

思考题：

1. 你认为这篇文章的结尾有什么样的特点，能说出它的风格和另外哪位作家比较接近吗？

2.你如何理解这篇小说的标题：A Friend in Need

3.文中的Edward Burton的“表象”是什么？“本性”是什么？