《亡灵岛》阅读材料

Dead Man’s Island

《亡灵岛》

阅读指引

Carol was a college girl. Her father’s death in a air crash changed her life. Later she came to a private

island where she found a shocking secret about the owner of the island

…

.

(

卡罗尔是一个女大学生。父亲在一次空难中的亡故改变了她的生活。后来，她来到一个私人小岛，在那里 她发

现了岛的主人一个惊天的秘密

…

)

请

同学们阅读小说《

《亡灵岛》，然后 在周五上课之前完成下列前置作业

一

.

Write out the relationship of the characters in the story.

（写出故事中的人物关系）

《亡灵岛》人物关系思维导图

Mr. Sanders

father and daughter

Carol Sanders

Mrs. Sanders

fan and pop singer

Mr. Duncan

Mrs. Duncan

James Duncan

（

real name

）

Tony

Jake Rosso

(stage name)

James. Ross

Greta Ross

(false name)

二

.

Complete the passage with key information according to the story.

（根据故事填一个关键信息词）

What secret did Carol find on the island?

At

the

end

of

the

story,

Carol

was

surprised

to

find

that

the

owner of the island was not James. Ross

but Jake Rosso who used

to be a famous pop star and her favourite 1

, as well. His

real name was James Duncan. One night, after he got drunk, he was

driving his car and killed a 2

of 15. In order to avoid (

逃避

)

the punishment of the law, he

faked (

伪造

)

a

3

crash. After

that, he

changed himself into a different person,

4

a

small island and lived there but he never forgot his 5

and

lived an

6

life.

1

Dead Man’s Island

《亡灵岛》

1

．

Coming to England

My name is Carol Sanders.

I live in England now but when I was younger

，

I lived in Hong Kong. My father was a businessman there and my mother

worked as a secretary. We lived in Hong Kong for seven years. I was happy at school, with lots of friends and we had a good

time. I liked pop music

—

the Rolling Stones

，

David Bowie and Jake Rosso were my favourites. Jake Rosso was my favourite

singer. He died in a car accident the year I left school, but I listened to his pop

records

(

唱片

) all the time. I had hundreds of

pictures and photos of him on my bedroom wall.

Then one day in winter when I was seventeen

，

things began to go wrong for me. My father went to Australia on business.

I loved him very much and didn't like him going away.

‘Come home quickly

，

’I always said to him

. He was in Australia for two weeks. Then, on the day of his journey home, a

plane from Sydney

crashed

(

坠毁

)into the sea just south of Hong Kong. Everybody on the plane died. I heard about the plane

crash on television. At first, I did not think about my father. Then I remembered he was flying back from Sydney on that day.

‘Oh

，

no

！

’I cried

. I telephoned the airport but they did not know the names of all the

passengers

(

乘客

) then.

‘Perhaps my father didn't get that plane

，

’I thought

.

‘ Oh

，

please

！

P lease

！

’

My mother was at work and I called her on the telephone. She came home quickly and we went to

the airport and waited for news. Later

，

we learned my father was on the plane.

‘It's not true

！

’I shouted

. But it was true, and I began to cry. I cried for weeks and weeks. I spent many days alone in my

room. I was lonely and sad and I wanted to die

，

too. I stopped going out with my friends. I didn't want to see other people. I

stopped

listening

to

Jake

Rosso's

records

and

took

his

pictures

off

my

bedroom

wall.

I

didn't

listen

to

music

or

watch

television. Nothing mattered any more. Then I stopped crying. I stopped feeling sad and began to feel angry.

‘Why did it happen to him

？

’I asked my mother

.

‘Why do the best people die

？

Jake Rosso. My father.

’

‘I… I don't know

, Carol

，

' my mother said. She was unhappy

，

too. At the time of the plane crash, I was a student at

college. I enjoyed the college work and life very much, but after my father's death I stopped doing my work at the college. I

began to go out with some new friends. They were different from my other friends

，

and my mother didn't like them.

‘

They're bad people, Carol, 'she told me.

‘They do dangerous things

.

’

‘They're exciting

，

’I said

.

‘And I like them

.

’

I knew she was angry but I didn't care. But then I learned my new friends took

drugs

(

毒品

) and I

began to take drugs

，

too. It was wrong and stupid

，

I know that now, but I was unhappy and angry. The police came to the

college to

arrest

(

逮捕

) some of the students. They didn't arrest

me, but

I had to leave the college. It was a bad time. My

mother was very unhappy with me.

‘What am I going to do with you

, Carol

？

’

she said.

‘I'm sorry

,

’

I told her.

‘We'll go back to England

，

'she said.

‘You can find a

college

(

大学

) there. Perhaps you can be happier in England.

’

‘All right

，

’I said

.

‘I want to fo

rget what's happened. I want to forget what I've done and begin a new life, be a new person.

’

A month later, we came back to England. We lived in London

，

in a hotel. It was strange

，

at first, with all the red buses and

everybody speaking English. It was the beginning of the summer

，

three months before college began in the autumn. London

2

was full of tourists. We looked at all the famous buildings

------Buckingham Palace

(

白金汉宫

)

，

the Tower of London. And

we went to restaurants and theatres in the evenings. It was interesting and exciting and I began to forget the bad times in Hong

Kong.

‘I'm pleased we came to London

,

’

I told my mother. But after a few weeks, she said,

‘You

need

to

find

a

college

,

Carol.

You

must

go

on

studying.

And

I

need

a

job.

’

That

evening

we

looked

in

the

newspapers.

‘What about this

？

’I said

. I showed my mother a job in the newspaper.

SECRETARY (

秘书

) for the summer months on a small private island in Scotland.

Live with the family in a big house. Interesting work and good pay

（工资）

. For the right

person, phone Greta Ross. Telephone number 071

…

‘Well

, that sounds interesting

，

'said my mother.

‘I'd like to work as a

secretary

on an island in Scotland. It's a beautiful country, Carol, and you can go to a college there

in the autumn.

’

‘And it's a place to live for the summe

r

，

’I said

.

‘Hotels are expensive

.

’

My mother telephoned Greta Ross.

‘Come and see me tomorrow

,

’Greta Ross told her

.

‘Come to Savoy Hotel at eleven o'clock

.

’

I went to Savoy Hotel with my mother. It was big and expensive

，

bigger than

our hotel

，

and in the centre of London.

‘Mum needs this job

，

’

I thought.

‘And a

private

(

私人的

) island in Scotland is a nice place to live. Perhaps I can forget what's happened if I go there.

’

‘Room twenty

-two

，

'said the woman at the hotel desk.

‘Go on up

. Mrs Ross will see you now.

’

Greta Ross was waiting for us. She was about thirty years old and very beautiful.

She wore an expensive red dress and her hair was very long and dark.

‘This is my daughter

，

Carol

，

'said my mother.

‘H

ello, Carol

，

'said Greta Ross.

‘H

ello

，

’I said

.

‘Carol is eighteen years old

，

'said my mother.

‘Can she come with me

，

if I get the job

？

Perhaps she can help in the house or in the garden. She likes gardening. She's

studying

farming

（农学）

at college.

’

‘Perha ps

,

’

said Greta Ross.

‘There's a small farm on the

island.

’

‘I'd like to work on the farm

，

’I said

. Greta Ross looked at my mother.

‘How long did you live in Hong Kong

，

Mrs. Sanders

？

’

‘Seven years

，

’answered my mother

.

‘My husband died in a plane crash last year

，

so we've come back to live in England.

’

‘W

here did you live before Hong Kong

？

’

‘We lived in India for three years

.

’

Then Greta Ross took my mother into a room and asked her more questions. I waited

outside.

‘Greta Ross is nice

，

’I thought

.

‘I hope my mother gets the job

.

’

Soon after

，

the door opened and my mother came out. She was smiling. Greta Ross

said

，

‘Please wait here for a minute

，

Mrs. Sanders. I want to make a phone call. 'she went back into the room

，

and closed the

door. I was sitting on a chair near the door

，

and I could just hear Greta Ross's voice speaking on the phone.

3

‘I think I've found someone

，

' she was saying.

‘She has a daughter

，

but the girl can work in the garden or on the farm… Don't worry

，

they've been away from England

for ten years… It'll be all right

，

I tell you… Don't worry

.

’

After a few minutes, Greta Ross put down the phone and came out

of the room.

‘You've got the job

，

'she told my mother. My mother was pleased.

‘Thank you

，

'she replied. I was plea sed

，

too

，

but now I was worried about that phone call. I didn't understand it.

2.

The Island

We went to Scotland the next day

，

first by plane

，

then by train. Greta Ross travelled with us. I looked out of the train

window and saw fields and villages and mountains.

‘Mum is right

，

’I thought

.

‘Sc

otland is a very beautiful place.

’

‘You're going to be my husband's secretary

,

’

Greta Ross told my mother He's a businessman but he never leaves the

island. He does all his work by telephone and letter and computer. He

invests

(

投资

) money in companies, all over the world.

’

‘Do many people live on the island

？

’I asked

.

‘Not many

，

'said Greta Ross.

‘You'll meet them soon

.

’

‘Greta Ross is young

，

’I thought

.

‘Is her husband young

，

too

？

How can a young man buy an island

？

Is he very rich

？

’

After the train, we went on Mr. Ross's boat, which took us out to the island. The boatman was a young man. He had dark

hair and was brown from the sun.

‘This is Tony

, said Greta Ross.

‘He works for Mr. Ross

.

’

‘Hi

，

'said

Tony.

Soon

we were

near

the

island.

I

could

see

the

beaches

and

the

cliffs

(

峭壁

). The

boat

slowed

down.

‘There are dangerous rocks around the island

，

’explained Tony

.

‘A lot of them are under the water and you can't see them

. I have to be careful. But the rocks keep other boats away and

that

pleases

(

使

…

高兴

) Mr. Ross.

’

‘Why

？

’I asked

. Tony looked at Greta Ross but she wasn't listening.

‘Mr. Ross doesn't like visitors to the island

，

'Tony said in a quiet voice. Then Greta Ross looked at us and Tony said no

more.

‘Why doesn't Mr. Ross like visitors

?

’

I thought.

‘Has he

something to hide

？

’

When we arrived on the island, my mother and I followed Greta up to the house. It was

very big and there were trees all around it. A woman was waiting inside the house.

‘This is Mrs. Duncan

, Tony's mother

，

'said Greta.

‘She's the

house keeper

(

管家

) and her husband is the gardener. Mrs. Duncan will take you up to your rooms. I'm going to

tell Mr. Ross you've arrived.

’

The housekeeper was a little woman with short hair. She went up the stairs

，

and my mother and

I went after her. My room was next to my mother's. I looked out of the window and saw the garden at the back of the house. A

man was working in the garden near some trees.

‘Is that Mr. Duncan

？

’I thought

. I looked between the trees and saw the sea.

‘It's a beautiful house and a beautif

ul island.

’

That evening we had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Duncan and Tony. We ate

in the big kitchen.

‘What happened to Mr. Ross's last secretary

?

’

asked my mother.

‘She's in hospital

，

'replied Mrs. Duncan.

‘She's going to be away all summer

.

’

‘Isn't Mr

s. Ross lonely here

？

’I said

.

‘No

，

'said

Mrs.

Duncan.

‘She

likes

painting

a

lot

.

She has

a

room

upstairs

and

goes

there

to

paint.

She's

very

good.

Sometimes she goes to different places on the island to paint pictures.

’

We finished eating our meal. Soon Greta Ross came

into the kitchen.

4

‘Mr. Ross wants to see you and your daughter now

，

Mrs. Sanders

，

'she said

‘

Follow me

，

please.

’

We followed her through the house and into a big room. This was Mr. Ross's office and he was sitting behind a desk. I

was surprised. He was a young man, about thirty. He had a

moustache

(

小胡子

)

，

short dark hair and he wore glasses. Mr. Ross

was speaking into the telephone.

‘Who does he look like

？

’I thought

.

‘Is it Tony Duncan

？

’

‘Mr. Ross is talking to a business friend in New York

，

'said Greta.

‘Please

sit down.

’

While we waited, I looked around the office. There were three telephones

，

a computer, and lots of

books and papers. There was another door and I could see a smaller room next to the office. There was a smaller desk and

another computer in there. Mr. Ross finished speaking on the phone

，

then looked care fully at my mother and me. For a few

seconds he didn't speak

，

and just watched us. Then he said,

‘

I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Sanders. I need some help with my work. My secretary is in hospital

，

and there's a lot of

work

to

do.

Sometimes

you

have

to

work

late

at

night

，

because

of

time

differences

in

New

York

and

Tokyo.

Is

that

all

right

？’

‘

Yes, that's all right

，’

said my mother.

‘

Can you use a computer

？’

‘

Yes.

’

‘

Good.

’

He looked at me.

‘

Is this your daughter

？’

‘

Yes, this is Carol

，’

said my mother.

‘

Hello,

’

I

said.

‘

Greta

says

you

like

gardening

(

园艺

< br>).

There's

a

big

garden

here

，

so

you

can

help

Mr

Duncan. And

there's a farm. Dan and Stella Parks live in the farmhouse and work on the farm. You can help them

，

too. We have some

animals, some sheep, a few cows and chickens. And there's a horse called Smoke. He's grey

，

like his name. Can you ride

？’

‘