英語美短篇小說
㈠ 英語短篇小說：Running For Governor by Mark Twain
馬克吐溫的這部小說Running For Governor發表於1870年紐約州長選舉之後，最初發表在文學雜志《銀河》(Galaxy)上。小說嘲諷美國競選的虛偽性，馬克·吐溫想像自己被提名為獨立候選人參加紐約州長選舉，卻遭到若干匿名攻擊者一連串捏造的人身攻擊。該小說在中國長期被收入中學語文教材。
馬克·吐溫的短篇小說《競選州長》講述了主人公“我”因為代表獨立黨與另外兩名其他黨派的候選人一起競選紐約州州長，而被誣陷成一個擁有如“偽證犯”、“小偷”、“拐屍犯”、“酒瘋子”、“賄賂犯”和“賄賂陪審員的人”等各種惡名的罪人的過程。“我”作為一個正人君子，原本以為相對於惡名昭著的兩位對手來說，自身最大的優勢就是“好名聲”，可對手施展種種卑鄙伎倆，不斷製造各種荒誕謠言，誹謗誣告“我”，最終導致莫名其妙地背負一身罪名的“我”被迫退出競選。小說抓住被收買的資產階級報刊專事造謠誹謗這一典型特徵，用誇張手法挖苦了資產階級的“民主選舉”。
作者介紹：
馬克·吐溫(Mark Twain)，美國幽默大師、小說家、著名演說家、傑出的作家、和著名記者，真實姓名是薩繆爾·蘭亨·克萊門。“馬克·吐溫”是他的筆名，原是密西西比河水手使用的表示在航道上所測水的深度的術語。
馬克·吐溫12歲團鎮時，父親去世，他只好停學，到工廠當小工。後來他又換了不少職業，曾做過密西西比河的領航員、礦工及新聞記者工作。檔或散漸漸地著手寫一些有趣的小品，開始了自己的寫作生涯。
馬克·吐溫一生寫了大量作品，題材涉及小說、劇本、散文、詩歌等各方面。從內容上說，他的作品批判了不合理現象或人性的丑惡之處，表達了這位當過排字工人和水手的作家強烈的行氏正義感和對普通人民的關心;從風格上說，專家們和一般讀者都認為，幽默和諷刺是他的寫作特點。
馬克·吐溫是美國批判現實主義文學的奠基人，他的主要作品已大多有中文譯本。他經歷了美國從初期資本主義到帝國主義的發展過程，其思想和創作也表現為從輕快調笑到辛辣諷刺再到悲觀厭世的發展階段，前期以辛辣的諷刺見長，到了後期語言更為暴露激烈。被譽為“美國文學史上的林肯”。他於1910年4月21日去世，享年七十五歲，安葬於紐約州艾瑪拉。
小說原文：
A few months ago I was nominated for Governor of the great state of New York, to run against Mr. John T. Smith and Mr. Blank J. Blank on an independent ticket. I somehow felt that I had one prominent advantage over these gentlemen, and that was--good character. It was easy to see by the newspapers that if ever they had known what it was to bear a good name, that time had gone by. It was plain that in these latter years they had become familiar with all manner of shameful crimes. But at the verymoment that I was exalting my advantage and joying in it in secret, there was a muddy undercurrent of discomfort "riling" the deeps of my happiness, and that was--the having to hear my name bandied about in familiar connection with those of such people. I grew more and more disturbed. Finally I wrote my grandmother about it. Her answer came quick and sharp. She said:
You have never done one single thing in all your life to be ashamed of--not one. Look at the newspapers--look at them and comprehend what sort of characters Messrs. Smith and Blank are, and then see if you are willing to lower yourself to their level and enter a public canvass with them.
It was my very thought! I did not sleep a single moment that night. But, after all, I could not recede.
I was fully committed, and must go on with the fight. As I was looking listlessly over the papers at breakfast I came across this paragraph, and I may truly say I never was so confounded before.
PERJURY.--Perhaps, now that Mr. Mark Twain is before the people as a candidate for Governor, he will condescend to explain how he came to be convicted of perjury by thirty-four witnesses in Wakawak, Cochin China, in 1863, the intent of which perjury being to rob a poor native widow and her helpless family of a meager plantain-patch, their only stay and support in their bereavement and desolation. Mr. Twain owes it to himself, as well as to the great people whose suffrages he asks, to clear thismatter up. Will he do it?
I thought I should burst with amazement! Such a cruel, heartless charge! I never had seen Cochin China! I never had heard of Wakawak! I didn't know a plantain-patch from a kangaroo! I did not know what to do. I was crazed and helpless. I let the day slip away without doing anything at all. The next morning the same paper had this--nothing more:
SIGNIFICANT.--Mr. Twain, it will be observed, is suggestively silent about the Cochin China perjury.
[Mem.--During the rest of the campaign this paper never referred to me in any other way than as "the infamous perjurer Twain."]
Next came the Gazette, with this:
WANTED TO KNOW.--Will the new candidate for Governor deign to explain to certain of his fellow-citizens (who are suffering to vote for him!) the little circumstance of his cabin-mates in Montana losing small valuables from time to time, until at last, these things having been invariably found on Mr. Twain's person or in his "trunk" (newspaper he rolled his traps in), they felt compelled to give him a friendly admonition for his own good, and so tarred and feathered him, and rode him on a rail; and then advised him to leave a permanent vacuum in the place he usually occupied in the camp. Will he do this?
Could anything be more deliberately malicious than that? For I never was in Montana in my life.
[After this, this journal customarily spoke of me as, "Twain, the Montana Thief."]
I got to picking up papers apprehensively--much as one would lift a desired blanket which he had some idea might have a rattlesnake under it. One day this met my eye:
THE LIE NAILED.--By the sworn affidavits of Michael O'Flanagan, Esq., of the Five Points, and Mr. Snub Rafferty and Mr. Catty Mulligan, of Water Street, it is established that Mr. Mark Twain's vile statement that the lamented grandfather of our noble standard- bearer, Blank J. Blank, was hanged for highway robbery, is a brutal and gratuitous LIE, without a shadow of foundation in fact. It is disheartening to virtuous men to see such shameful means resorted to to achieve political success as the attacking of the dead in their graves, and defiling their honored names with slander. When we think of the anguish this miserable falsehood must cause the innocent relatives and friends of the deceased, we are almost driven to incite an outraged and insulted public to summary and unlawful vengeance upon the tracer. But no! let us leave him to the agony of a lacerated conscience (though if passion should get the better of the public, and in its blind fury they should do the tracer bodily injury, it is but too obvious that no jury could convict and no court punish the perpetrators of the deed).
The ingenious closing sentence had the effect of moving me out of bed with despatch that night, and out at the back door also, while the "outraged and insulted public" surged in the front way, breaking furniture and windows in their righteous indignation as they came, and taking off such property as they could carry when they went. And yet I can lay my hand upon the Book and say that I never slandered Mr. Blank's grandfather. More: I had never even heard of him or mentioned him up to that day and date.
[I will state, in passing, that the journal above quoted from always referred to me afterward as "Twain, the Body-Snatcher."]
The next newspaper article that attracted my attention was the following:
A SWEET CANDIDATE.--Mr. Mark Twain, who was to make such a blighting speech at the mass-meeting of the Independents last night, didn't come to time! A telegram from his physician stated that he had been knocked down by a runaway team, and his leg broken in two places--sufferer lying in great agony, and so forth, and so forth, and a lot more bosh of the same sort. And the Independents tried hard to swallow the wretched subterfuge, and pretend that they did not know what was the real reason of the absence of the abandoned creature whom they denominate their standard-bearer. A certain man was seen to reel into Mr. Twain's hotel last night in a state of beastly intoxication. It is the imperative ty of the Independents to prove that this besotted brute was not Mark Twain himself. We have them at last! This is a case that admits of no shirking. The voice of the people demands in thunder tones, "WHO WAS THAT MAN?"
It was incredible, absolutely incredible, for a moment, that it was really my name that was coupled with this disgraceful suspicion. Three long years had passed over my head since I had tasted ale, beer, wine or liquor or any kind.
[It shows what effect the times were having on me when I say that I saw myself, confidently bbed "Mr. Delirium Tremens Twain" in the next issue of that journal without a pang--notwithstanding I knew that with monotonous fidelity the paper would go on calling me so to the very end.]
By this time anonymous letters were getting to be an important part of my mail matter. This form was common
How about that old woman you kiked of your premises which
was beging. POL. PRY.
And this:
There is things which you Have done which is unbeknowens to anybody
but me. You better trot out a few dots, to yours truly, or you'll
hear through the papers from
HANDY ANDY.
This is about the idea. I could continue them till the reader was surfeited, if desirable.
Shortly the principal Republican journal "convicted" me of wholesale bribery, and the leading Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me.
[In this way I acquired two additional names: "Twain the Filthy Corruptionist" and "Twain the Loathsome Embracer."]
By this time there had grown to be such a clamor for an "answer" to all the dreadful charges that were laid to me that the editors and leaders of my party said it would be political ruin for me to remain silent any longer. As if to make their appeal the more imperative, the following appeared in one of the papers the very next day:
BEHOLD THE MAN!--The independent candidate still maintains silence. Because he dare not speak. Every accusation against him has been amply proved, and they have been indorsed and reindorsed by his own eloquent silence, till at this day he stands forever convicted. Look upon your candidate, Independents! Look upon the Infamous Perjurer! the Montana Thief! the Body-Snatcher! Contemplate your incarnate Delirium Tremens! your Filthy Corruptionist! your Loathsome Embracer! Gaze upon him--ponder him well--and then say if you can give your honest votes to a creature who has earned this dismal array of titles by hishideous crimes, and dares not open his mouth in denial of any one of them!
There was no possible way of getting out of it, and so, in deep humiliation, I set about preparing to "answer" a mass of baseless charges and mean and wicked falsehoods. But I never finished the task, for the very next morning a paper came out with a new horror, a fresh malignity, and seriously charged me with burning a lunatic asylum with all its inmates, because it obstructed the view from my house. This threw me into a sort of panic. Then came the charge of poisoning my uncle to get his property, with an imperative demand that the grave should be opened. This drove me to the verge of distraction. On top of this I was accused of employing toothless and incompetent old relatives to prepare the food for the foundling' hospital when I warden. I was wavering--wavering. And at last, as a e and fitting climax to the shameless persecution that party rancor had inflicted upon me, nine little toddling children, of all shades of color and degrees of raggedness, were taught to rush onto the platform at a public meeting, and clasp me around the legs and call me PA!
I gave it up. I hauled down my colors and surrendered. I was not equal to the requirements of a Gubernatorial campaign in the state of New York, and so I sent in my withdrawal from the candidacy, and in bitterness of spirit signed it, "Truly yours, once a decent man, but now
"MARK TWAIN, LP., M.T., B.S., D.T., F.C., and L.E."
-THE END-
中文翻譯：
幾個月之前，我被提名為紐約州州長候選人，代表獨立黨與斯坦華脫·勒·伍福特先生和約翰·特·霍夫曼先生競選。我總覺得自己有超過這兩位先生的顯著的優點，那就是我的名聲好。從報上容易看出：如果說這兩位先生也曾知道愛護名聲的好處，那是以往的事。近幾年來，他們顯然已將各種無恥罪行視為家常便飯。當時，我雖然對自己的長處暗自慶幸，但是一想到我自己的名字得和這些人的名字混在一起到處傳播，總有一股不安的混濁潛流在我愉快心情的深處“翻攪”。我心裡越來越不安，最後我給祖母寫了封信，把這件事告訴她。她很快給我回了信，而且信寫得很嚴峻，她說：“你生平沒有做過一件對不起人的事——一件也沒有做過。你看看報紙吧——一看就會明白伍福特和霍夫曼先生是一種什麼樣子的人，然後再看你願不願意把自己降低到他們那樣的水平，跟他們一起競選。”
這也正是我的想法!那晚我一夜沒合眼。但我畢竟不能打退堂鼓。我已經完全卷進去了，只好戰斗下去。
當我一邊吃早飯，一邊無精打采地翻閱報紙時，看到這樣一段消息，說實在話，我以前還從來沒有這樣驚慌失措過：
“偽證罪——那就是1863年，在交趾支那的瓦卡瓦克，有34名證人證明馬克·吐溫先生犯有偽證罪，企圖侵佔一小塊香蕉種植地，那是當地一位窮寡婦和她那群孤兒靠著活命的唯一資源。現在馬克·吐溫先生既然在眾人面前出來競選州長，那麼他或許可以屈尊解釋一下如下事情的經過。吐溫先生不管是對自己或是對要求投票選舉他的偉大人民，都有責任澄清此事的真相。他願意這樣做嗎?”
我當時驚愕不已!竟有這樣一種殘酷無情的指控。我從來就沒有到過交趾支那!我從來沒聽說過什麼瓦卡瓦克!我也不知道什麼香蕉種植地，正如我不知道什麼是袋鼠一樣!我不知道要怎麼辦才好，我簡直要發瘋了，卻又毫無辦法。那一天我什麼事情也沒做，就讓日子白白溜過去了。第二天早晨，這家報紙再沒說別的什麼，只有這么一句話：
“意味深長——大家都會注意到：吐溫先生對交趾支那偽證案一事一直發人深省地保持緘默。”
〔備忘——在這場競選運動中，這家報紙以後但凡提到我時，必稱“臭名昭著的偽證犯吐溫”。〕
接著是《新聞報》，登了這樣一段話：
“需要查清——是否請新州長候選人向急於等著要投他票的同胞們解釋一下以下一件小事?那就是吐溫先生在蒙大那州野營時，與他住在同一帳篷的夥伴經常丟失小東西，後來這些東西一件不少地都從吐溫先生身上或“箱子”(即他卷藏雜物的報紙)里發現了。大家為他著想，不得不對他進行友好的告誡，在他身上塗滿柏油，粘上羽毛，叫他坐木杠①，把他攆出去，並勸告他讓出鋪位，從此別再回來。他願意解釋這件事嗎?”
難道還有比這種控告用心更加險惡的嗎?我這輩子根本就沒有到過蒙大那州呀。
〔此後，這家報紙照例叫我做“蒙大那的小偷吐溫”。〕
於是，我開始變得一拿起報紙就有些提心吊膽起來，正如同你想睡覺時拿起一床毯子，可總是不放心，生怕那裡面有條蛇似的。有一天，我看到這么一段消息：
“謊言已被揭穿!——根據五方位區的密凱爾·奧弗拉納根先生、華脫街的吉特·彭斯先生和約翰·艾倫先生三位的宣誓證書，現已證實：馬克·吐溫先生曾惡毒聲稱我們尊貴的領袖約翰·特·霍夫曼的祖父曾因攔路搶劫而被處絞刑一說，純屬粗暴無理之謊言，毫無事實根據。他毀謗亡人，以讕言玷污其美名，用這種下流手段來達到政治上的成功，使有道德之人甚為沮喪。當我們想到這一卑劣謊言必然會使死者無辜的親友蒙受極大悲痛時，幾乎要被迫煽動起被傷害和被侮辱的公眾，立即對誹謗者施以非法的報復。但是我們不這樣!還是讓他去因受良心譴責而感到痛苦吧。(不過，如果公眾義憤填膺，盲目胡來，對誹謗者進行人身傷害，很明顯，陪審員不可能對此事件的兇手們定罪，法庭也不可能對他們加以懲罰。)”
最後這句巧妙的話很起作用，當天晚上當“被傷害和被侮辱的公眾”從前進來時，嚇得我趕緊從床上爬起來，從後門溜走。他們義憤填膺，來時搗毀傢具和門窗，走時把能拿動的財物統統帶走。然而，我可以手按《聖經》起誓：我從沒誹謗過霍夫曼州長的祖父。而且直到那天為止，我從沒聽人說起過他，我自己也沒提到過他。
〔順便說一句，刊登上述新聞的那家報紙此後總是稱我為“拐屍犯吐溫”。〕
引起我注意的下一篇報上的文章是下面這段：
“好個候選人——馬克·吐溫先生原定於昨晚獨立黨民眾大會上作一次損傷對方的演說，卻未履行其義務。他的醫生打電報來稱他被幾匹狂奔的拉車的馬撞倒，腿部兩處負傷——卧床不起，痛苦難言等等，以及許多諸如此類的廢話。獨立黨的黨員們只好竭力聽信這一拙劣的托詞，假裝不知道他們提名為候選人的這個放盪不羈的傢伙未曾出席大會的真正原因。
有人見到，昨晚有一個人喝得酩酊大醉，搖搖晃晃地走進吐溫先生下榻的旅館。獨立黨人責無旁貸須證明那個醉鬼並非馬克·吐溫本人。這一下我們終於把他們抓住了。此事不容避而不答。人民以雷鳴般的呼聲詢問：‘那人是誰?’”
我的名字真的與這個丟臉的嫌疑聯在一起，這是不可思議的，絕對地不可思議。我已經有整整三年沒有喝過啤酒、葡萄酒或任何一種酒了。
〔這家報紙在下一期上大膽地稱我為“酒瘋子吐溫先生”，而且我知道，它會一直這樣稱呼下去，但我當時看了竟毫無痛苦，足見這種局勢對我有多大的影響。〕
那時我所收到的郵件中，匿名信佔了重要的部分。那些信一般是這樣寫的：
“被你從你寓所門口一腳踢開的那個要飯的老婆婆，現在怎麼樣了?”
好管閑事者
也有這樣寫的：
“你乾的一些事，除我之外沒人知道，你最好拿出幾塊錢來孝敬鄙人，不然，報上有你好看的。”
惹不起
大致就是這類內容。如果還想聽，我可以繼續引用下去，直到使讀者惡心。
不久，共和黨的主要報紙“宣判”我犯了大規模的賄賂罪，而民主黨最主要的報紙則把一樁大肆渲染敲詐案件硬“栽”在我頭上。
〔這樣，我又得到了兩個頭銜：“骯臟的賄賂犯吐溫”和“令人惡心的訛詐犯吐溫”。〕
這時候輿論嘩然，紛紛要我“答復”所有對我提出的那些可怕的指控。這就使得我們黨的報刊主編和領袖們都說，我如果再沉默不語，我的政治生命就要給毀了。好像要使他們的控訴更為迫切似的，就在第二天，一家報紙登了這樣一段話：
“明察此人!獨立黨這位候選人至今默不吭聲。因為他不敢說話。對他的每條控告都有證據，並且那種足以說明問題的沉默一再承認了他的罪狀，現在他永遠翻不了案了。獨立黨的黨員們，看看你們這位候選人吧!看看這位聲名狼藉的偽證犯!這位蒙大那的小偷!這位拐屍犯!好好看一看你們這個具體化的酒瘋子!你們這位骯臟的賄賂犯!你們這位令人惡心的訛詐犯!你們盯住他好好看一看，好好想一想——這個傢伙犯下了這么可怕的罪行，得了這么一連串倒霉的稱號，而且一條也不敢予以否認，看你們是否還願意把自己公正的選票投給他!”
我無法擺脫這種困境，只得深懷恥辱，准備著手“答復”那一大堆毫無根據的指控和卑鄙下流的謊言。但是我始終沒有完成這個任務，因為就在第二天，有一家報紙登出一個新的恐怖案件，再次對我進行惡意中傷，說因一家瘋人院妨礙我家的人看風景，我就將這座瘋人院燒掉，把院里的病人統統燒死了，這使我萬分驚慌。接著又是一個控告，說我為了吞占我叔父的財產而將他毒死，並且要求立即挖開墳墓驗屍。這使我幾乎陷入了精神錯亂的境地。在這些控告之上，還有人竟控告我在負責育嬰堂事務時僱用老掉了牙的、昏庸的親戚給育嬰堂做飯。我拿不定主意了——真的拿不定主意了。最後，黨派斗爭的積怨對我的無恥迫害達到了自然而然的高潮：有人教唆9個剛剛在學走路的包括各種不同膚色、穿著各種各樣的破爛衣服的小孩，沖到一次民眾大會的講台上來，緊緊抱住我的雙腿，叫我做爸爸!
我放棄了競選。我降下旗幟投降。我不夠競選紐約州州長運動所要求的條件，所以，我呈遞上退出候選人的聲明，並懷著痛苦的心情簽上我的名字：
“你忠實的朋友，過去是正派人，現在卻成了偽證犯、小偷、拐屍犯、酒瘋子、賄賂犯和訛詐犯的馬克·吐溫。”
(1870年)
①坐木杠;這是當時美國的一種私刑。把認為犯有罪行的人綁住，身上塗上柏油，粘上羽毛，讓他跨坐在一根木棍上，抬著他遊街示眾。——譯注
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㈡ 經典英文美文，短篇，100字左右
(1)
Life is full of confusing and disordering Particular time, a particular location, Do the arranged thing of ten million time in the brain, Step by step , the life is hard to avoid delicacy and stiffness No enthusiasm forever, No unexpected happening of surprising and pleasing So, only silently ask myself in mind Next happiness, when will come?
人生的紛紛擾擾，雜雜亂亂， 在一個特定的時間，特定的地點， 做腦海中安排了千萬遍的事， 一步一驟，人生難免精緻，卻也死板， 永遠沒有激情，沒有意料之外的驚喜。 於是，也只有在心裡默默地問： 下一班幸福，幾點開？
(2)
Dark light, just light each other. The responsibility that you and my shoulders take together, the such as one st covers up. Afraid only afraid the light is suddenly put out in theendless dark night and Countless loneliness
暗黃的燈光，僅僅也只能照射過彼此。 你、我肩上共同擔當的責任，猶如一片灰塵遮掩。 怕只怕燈絲的突然熄滅在這無盡的黑夜.數不盡的孤單 美文摘抄
(3)
Always insisting. Use iron scoop is too cold; Use porcelain scoop is too weak; A wood scoop, engraved veins safely, engraved sky』s wasteland and glebe』s old. Just as happiness born in the years, not insolent, the every act and move blooms quietly
一直堅持著。用鐵勺太冰冷；用瓷勺又太脆弱； 一隻只木勺，刻出了紋理安然，刻出了天荒地老。 一如歲月中隱忍著的幸福，不張狂，舉手投足間悄然綻放
(4)
Hope is always more expect, engrave a bone is a fat lot looked Clear can touch, just don t know where end is. Can not find to come to the road of hour, just because of eying foot too very carefully.
希望總是多過盼望，刻骨而又絡絡可見， 清晰可觸，只是不知道終結在哪兒。 找不到來時的路，只是因為太小心翼翼的注視腳下。
(5)
Then the wandering soul wild crane stands still the memory river Listen to whistle play tightly ring slowly, Water rises a ship to go medium long things of the past. Wait for a ship』s person Wait for one and other, But hesitate always should ascend which ship Missed Had to consign the hope to next time, Finally what to wait for until has no boats and ships to come and go, Sunset west .
再孤魂野鶴的佇立記憶河頭， 聽著哨子的緊奏慢響， 水漲船行中的悠悠往事。 等船的人兒， 等了一班又一班， 卻始終猶豫著該登哪一隻。 錯過的， 只好把希望寄託到了下一回， 終究等到的是沒有船隻的過往， 日落西頭 。
(6)
Six words really talk to solveeach round to return to bitterness. Heart of lotus opens, body side of genial breezes walks. Constantly, only one pond water. Ripple but have no language, guarded happiness of this pond. This is from cradle to the grave one a life time
六字真言解每一個輪回苦。 心頭荷花開，身畔暖風走。 不變的，只有那一池水。 盪漾而無語，守住了這一池的幸福。 這就是一生一世
(7)
Happiness is so much simple, on your center of palm, www.shusu.org a match a hand can grasp; Happiness is also very difficult, before your heel, A thousand mountains and rivers but blunder away because of Doing not turn a head
幸福好簡單，就在你手心上，一合手就能握住； 幸福又好難，就在你腳跟前， 千山萬水卻因沒有轉頭而錯失
(8)
Never believe, next will be better, Blunder away, never repair return of regret. Even met the god of shining in a dream, Never ask: "Next happiness, when will come?"
千萬不要相信，下一個會更好， 錯失了，就是補不回的遺憾。 即使在夢中，遇見了那熠熠的神明， 也永遠不要問：「下一班幸福，幾點開 ？"
不行可以追問，謝謝
㈢ 求1000字以內英語短篇小說！
《蒙娜麗莎》風波
On Tuesday August 11th, 1911, a young artist, Louis Beraud, arrived at the Louvre（盧浮宮） in Paris to complete a painting of the Salon Carre（卡雷沙龍，盧浮宮的畫廊名）. This was the room where the world 's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci（列奧那多·達·芬奇）, was on display. To his surprise there was an empty space where the painting should have been. At 11 o'clock the museum authorities realized that the painting had been stolen. The next day headlines all over the world announced the theft.
這一天是1911年8月11日，星期二，一位年輕的藝術家路易斯·貝勞德來到了巴黎盧浮宮的卡雷沙龍畫廊完成一幅油畫，在這條畫廊里陳列著世界上最著名的油畫——列奧納多·達·芬奇創作的《蒙娜麗莎》。令路易斯感到吃驚的是，本該掛著油畫的地方卻是空空盪盪的。中午11時博物館館方意識到這幅名畫已經被盜了。第二天全球各大報刊的頭條新聞都報道了《蒙娜麗莎》被盜的消息。
Actually the Leonardo had been gone for more than twenty-four hours before anyone noticed it was missing. The museum was always closed on Mondays for maintenance（維修）. Just before closing time on Sunday three men had entered the museum, where they had hidden themselves in a storeroom. The actual theft was quick and simple. Early the next morning Perrugia removed the painting from the wall while the others kept watch. Then they went out a back exit.
實際上，直到達·芬奇的這幅畫被盜24小時後才有人發現此事。每逢星期一盧浮宮都要閉館例行保養文物。就在星期天，有三個人進入了博物館並藏在貯藏室里。他們的盜竊行動迅速而簡單，第二天一大早，三個盜賊之一佩魯吉亞從牆上取下《蒙娜麗莎》，其餘兩個為他望風，然後他們從後門溜走逃得無影無蹤了。
Nothing was seen or heard of the painting for two years when Perrugia tried to sell it to a dealer for half a million lire（里拉）. Perrugia was arrested on December 13th. Perrugia claimed he had stolen it as an act of patriotism（愛國主義）, because, he said, the painting had been looted from the Italian nation by Napoleon（拿破崙）. Perrugia was imprisoned for seven months. It seemed that the crime of the century had been solved.
《蒙娜麗莎》在被盜後的兩年間一直杳無音迅，直到有一天佩魯吉亞想以50萬里拉賣給一個文物販子時，人們才重新見到它。佩魯吉亞於1913年12月13日被捕，他宣稱偷《蒙娜麗莎》之舉完全是出於愛國心。他說，盧浮宮的這幅畫是被拿破崙從義大利搶劫來的。佩魯吉亞為此被判了7個月的監禁，看來這個世紀奇案好像是解決了。
But had it? Perrugia was keen to claim all responsibility for the theft, and it was twenty years before the whole story came out. In fact Perrugia had been working for two master criminals, Valfierno and Chaudron, who went unpunished for their crime. They would offer to steal a famous painting from a gallery for a crooked（不誠實的） dealer or an unscrupulous（肆無忌憚的） private collector. They would then make a of the picture and, with the help of bribed gallery attendants（服務員）, would then tape the to the back of the original（原始的） painting. The dealer would then be taken to the gallery and would be invited to make a secret mark on the back of the painting. Of course the dealer would actually be marking the . Valfierno would later proce forged（偽造） newspaper cuttings announcing the theft of the original, and then proce the , complete with secret marking. If the dealer were to see the painting still in the gallery, he would be persuaded that it was a , and that he possessed the genuine（真正的） one.
果真如此嗎?佩魯吉亞試圖把這次盜竊案的全部責任都攬到自己身上。直到二十年後，整個事件的真相才大白於天下。事實上，佩魯吉亞一直在為兩個犯罪頭目瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍工作。在這個案件中，另兩個傢伙一直逍遙法外。瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍經常從陳列館偷竊名畫提供給奸詐的商人或肆無忌憚的私人收藏家。他們先製作名畫的贗品，然後向博物館的工作人員行賄，以便在博物館工作人員的協助下將偽造品粘在原作的背後，爾後他們再將文物販子帶到陳列室，並要他在要買的那幅畫的背面做上秘密的記號。當然，事實上文物販子只是在贗品的背面作記號。在此之後，瓦爾菲爾諾就偽造一些剪報宣稱原作被盜，然後拿出帶有秘密記號的贗品。如果買畫的販子看見畫仍然在展出，偷盜者將說服他相信展出的畫是贗品，而賣給他的才是真正的原作。
Chaudron then painted not one, but six copies of the Mona Lisa, using 400-year-old wood panels from antique Italian furniture. The forgeries（贗品） were carefully aged, so that the varnish（光澤） was cracked and dirty. Valfierno commissioned Perrugia to steal the original, and told him to hide it until Valfierno contacted him. Perrugia waited in vain in a tiny room in Paris with the painting, but heard nothing from his partners in crime. They had gone to New York, where the six copies were already in store. They had sent them there before the original was stolen. At that time it was quite common for artists to old masters, which would be sold quite honestly（合法的） as imitations（仿造品）, so there had been no problems with US Customs. Valfierno went on to sell all six copies for '300,OOO each. Valfierno told the story to a journalist in 1914, on condition that it would not be published until his death.
肖德龍不僅偽造了一幅，而是六幅《蒙娜麗莎》。他用400年前古義大利老傢具做油畫板，所有贗品均經過了細心的老化處理，以使油畫表面產生裂縫顯得不幹凈。瓦爾菲爾諾指派佩魯吉亞盜走《蒙娜麗莎》的真品並叫他躲藏起來直到與他取得聯系。佩魯吉亞一直帶者那幅畫首在巴黎的一間小屋裡，可是他卻一直未見同夥們的蹤跡。原來瓦爾菲爾諾和肖德龍早已跑到了紐約，那裡儲存著六幅《蒙娜麗莎》的贗品。他們在原作被盜前就已將贗品運到了美國。在那個時代，藝術家們復制已故大師的作品是司空見慣的事情，而且復製品還能夠合法地在市場上進行交易，因此復製品可以毫不費力地通過美國海關。在美國瓦爾菲爾諾以每幅300，000美元的價格陸續將這六幅《蒙娜麗莎》贗品出售。1914年瓦爾菲爾諾將事件真相透露給了一位記者，條件是只有等到他死後才能將此事公之於眾。
Does the story end there? Collectors have claimed that Perrugia returned a . It is also possible that Leonardo may have painted several versions of the Mona Lisa, or they might be copies made by Leonardo's pupils. There has been a lot of controversy and argument about a 450-year-old painting, but after all, maybe that's what she's smiling about.
事情就此了解了嗎?收藏專家們宣稱佩魯吉亞還回的《蒙娜麗莎》或許是贗品。或許當初達·芬奇創作了幾個不同版本的《蒙娜麗莎》；或許這些《蒙娜麗莎》皆為達·芬奇的學生們製作的復製品。因此迄今為止人們對於這幅有著450年左右歷史的名畫，仍有著諸多的爭議。也許，這就是蒙娜麗莎微笑的原因吧！
㈣ 1分鍾英語短文故事閱讀美文
隨著全球化與多元 文化 的發展，英語正躋身為一種國際語言被廣泛使用。本文是1分鍾英語短鉛判簡文 故事 ，希望對大家有幫助!
1分鍾英語短文故事：沖蔽春天Spring
Spring is a delightful season. The temperatures are moderate, and the blooming trees and flowers make the city bright with colors. This is the time when we can begin to wear lighter and more brightly colored clothes and go outdoors more often. Smaller children like to bring their kites out to the spacious square. Also I enjoy going back to the village on this holiday after being in the city for the winter months.
春天是個讓人欣喜的季節.氣溫適中,掛滿綠葉的樹和盛開的花朵給城市增添了明亮的色彩.在這個時節里,我們可以穿上輕便靚麗的衣服經常出門去了.小孩子們則喜歡在廣闊的天空中放風箏.在城裡呆了一個冬天之後,我也喜歡槐褲回到村子裡度假.
1分鍾英語短文故事：Sunday
It was Sunday and I didn't have to go to school. I finished my homework the day before. So I decided to help mother do housework. I washed some clothes after I got up. Then I went shopping with a basket. I bought some meat, eggs and some vegetables in the market. After I came back, I started to cook dinner for the whole family. In the evening, I sat at the table and began to write down on my notebook what I had done ring the day.
星期天
它是星期天，並且我沒有必須去學校。 我前一天完成了我的家庭作業。 如此我決定幫助做家事。 在我起來了之後，我洗了一些衣裳。 然後我帶著籃子去購物。 我在市場上買了一些肉、蛋和有些菜。 在我回來了之後，我開始為全家烹調晚餐。 在晚上，我在我的 筆記本 寫下什麼我白天做了什麼。
1分鍾英語短文故事：夏天：
Summer is the great season for all sports in the open air. It is the season for football which is often called the national sport because of its popularity. I usually watch television and read the newspaper reports about the football results of the little leagues. During the summer I like to go to the beach often because it is very close to my home. I usually go there ring the summer vacation to relax after many months in school in the city. I feel very comfortable with the familiar quiet life of the villagers.
夏天是 戶外運動 最好的季節.這是一個 橄欖球 的季節,橄欖球由於廣受歡迎被稱為全民運動.我常常看電視,看報紙,從報道中獲得小聯盟橄欖球賽的比賽結果.夏日裡,我喜歡經常去海灘,因為那裡離我家不遠.在城裡的學校呆了幾個月後,暑假我常常去那裡放鬆一下.此處有我很熟悉的村民們的寧靜生活,這讓我倍感舒適.
1分鍾英語短文故事：秋天：Autumn
For me the autumn or fall starts in September when school starts its new term. I usually do some shopping. The mild weather made it very nice to study outside under the trees in a small park close to my house. I like to look up the leaves changing colors from green to red and yellow, and then brown colors. The park also has many bright fall flowers; sometimes I see a small squirrel coming down from the tree to hunt for food on the ground. On the weekends, I sometimes like to fly my kite. Usually on the street corners you can see street peddlers selling warm baked sweet potatoes. This is a nice time of the year.
我覺得秋天是在9月份新學期開始的時候來臨.我常常要去買一些東西.宜人的天氣讓我感覺在離家不遠的小公園的樹下學習是件非常愜意的事.我喜歡抬起頭看蓍枝頭上的樹葉由綠變紅,變黃,然後再變褐.公園里還有許多鮮艷的秋花.有時我會見到小松鼠從樹上跳到地上覓食.在周末,我有時會去放風箏.在街頭的拐角處,常常會有街頭小販在賣烤紅薯.秋天是一年中的好時節.
1分鍾英語短文故事：冬天：Winter
Winter is very cold and windy in most parts of China. I usually look forward to the Spring Festival and the winter holiday when I can go to the south where the climate is warmer ring these holidays. Also, I look forward to seeing my grandparents and my friends. Winter is the time everyone is in a festive mood. In the city, I usually do a lot of reading at home in the winter because of eh cold weather outside.
中國大部分地區的冬天是即冷又有風的。我總是盼望著 春節 或寒假，到時候我就可以去南方了，當地的氣候在這時會暖和的多。我也盼望著去探望我的祖父母和我的朋友。冬天，每個人都懷著喜慶的心情。在城裡，冬天的時候我經常待在家裡盡情地看書，因為外面的天氣非常的冷。
㈤ 有什麼英語短篇小說推薦
1. 「A Good Man is Hard to Find,」 Flannery O』Connor
Few short stories have stuck with us as much as this one, which is probably O'Connor's most famous work — and with good reason. The Misfit is one of the most alarming serial killers we've ever met, all the more so for his politeness, and the story』s moral is so striking and terrifying that — whether you subscribe to the religious undertones or not — a reader is likely to finish and begin to reexamine their entire existence. Or at least we did, the first time we read it.
《好人難尋》這篇小說是奧康納最為著名的作品，很少有其他短篇小說能像這篇一樣給我們帶來震撼。無論你是否能明了宗教般的潛在含義，看完這篇小說讀者都會開始或是結束對存在的檢視。
2. 「The School,」 Donald Barthelme
This story is very short, but pretty much perfect in every way. Though Barthelme is known for his playful, post modern style, we admire him for his ability to shape a world so clearly from so few words, chosen expertly. Barthelme never over explains, never uses one syllable too many, but effortlessly leads the reader right where he wants her to be. It's funny, it's absurdist, it's sad, it's enormous even in its smallness. It may be this writer』s favorite story of all time. You should read it.
這篇小說很短，但是堪稱完美。巴塞爾姆的優秀就在於他能用精選的極少幾個文字就為我們敘述了一個世界。他很少過多地解釋，就把讀者帶到了他想要你去地方。
3. 「In The Penal Colony,」 Franz Kafka
Kafka called this one his「dirty story,」and thought it imperfect, but it's one of our favorites of his (though we also recommend 「The Hunger Artist」and「A Country Doctor」). It's so obviously a story about writing, in some ultimate way — a machine punishes its victims by writing on them over and over until their bodies give out — but its as if, while the body is the source of every problem in the tale, every weakness, it is also the only place where true knowledge can be translated.
卡夫卡稱自己的這篇小說是一個「很臟的故事」，認為並不完美，但是這個短篇確實我們的最愛之一。在小說中，我們可以體會到，身體是一切問題和弱點的根源，但身體也是唯一能轉化真知的地方。
4. 「Signs and Symbols,」Vladimir Nabokov
Another short one, we revere this story for its ability to turn every tiny detail into a portentous disaster, not to mention the fact that it's penned in Nabokov's effortlessly gorgeous, silvery prose. An old Jewish couple goes to visit their son in the mental hospital, only to be turned away because he has attempted to kill himself. And that's it, really. They go home and look though a photo album, eat some jam. The phonerings. But the whole thing is, perhaps, both a comment on the nature of insanity and the nature of the short story itself, with all its rules and strangeness and banality. And all its symbols, of course.
我們喜歡這篇小說的原因就在於，這個故事有能力把每個細微的細節瞬間變為一場災難，而Nabokov在寫這篇小說用的是輕松華麗水銀瀉地般的散文風格。
5. 「Gooseberries,」 Anton Chekhov
Chekhov's stories are indisputably among the greats, and this one, written rather late, is one of our favorites. Chekhov probes at both the frailty and the worth of humanity, not to mention the natureof life, both for the fortunate and the unfortunate. But like most of Chekhov's stories, there's no clear moral, there's no obvious takeaway. Some men sit around and discuss their thoughts, and we listen, mulling over the subtleties for ourselves.
契科夫的小說無疑是最偉大的作品之一，而這篇是我們的最愛。這篇小說像他的其他小說一樣，沒有清晰的道德標准，我們只是靜靜地看著幾個人圍坐著，討論他們的思想。
6. 「Sea Oak,」 George Saunders
「Sea Oak」 is Saunders's favorite of his own stories, we've heard, so because we find it so hard to choose among them, we've included it here on his own recommendation. Absurdist and satirical, and including at least one zombie shouting at her housemates to get laid, it's a weird one. But it's also concerned with placelessness, with family, with poverty, and like all of Saunders's stories, has a good, thumping heart under all that darkness and fun-poking.
這部小說是桑德斯最為喜愛的一步短篇，這也是我們聽說的。因為我們很難做出選擇，因此就把他自己的推介放在了這里。這部小說充滿了荒誕和諷刺，但是也關心家庭和貧窮等問題。像他的其他小說一樣，在黑暗和取笑中，也暗含著美好和快樂。
7. 「The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,」 Ursula K. LeGuin
LeGuin's parabolic tale, which won the Hugo Award for best short story in 1974, is a weird, spacious story about a city that seems to be a utopia — except for its one flaw, the single child that must always be kept in darkness and wretched misery so that the others may all live happily. Most of the citizens eventually accept this, but some do not, and silently leave the city, vanishing into the world around. Strange but pointed, Le Guin is a master of her genre.
勒古這部寓言般的短篇小說獲得過1974年的「雨果獎」，是關於一個類似烏托邦的城市的荒誕又宏大的故事。
8. 「The Veldt,」 Ray Bradbury
This tale, from one of the greatest science fiction writers in history, is deliciously wicked. Though it was written in 1950, this kind of story — of children driven mad by want, of technology turning on its masters — will never get old. Until technology actually turns on us, that is. Then we probably won't want to hear about it.
布萊伯利作為歷史上最富盛名的科幻小說家，這篇小說也是通過精心編寫的。
9. 「The Bear Came Over the Mountain,」 Alice Munro
The undisputed queen of the short story, Alice Munro』s work is stark and often heartbreakingly raw, and this story of memory loss and the aching tenderness of human interaction is no different. Fun fact: this story was adapted into the film 「Away from Her」, starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent.
門羅是毫無爭議的短篇小說女王，她的作品有一種朴實風格，常常帶著心跳般的粗獷，這篇關於喪失記憶以及人類互動中的痛苦和柔弱的小說也不例外。
10. 「The Nose,」 Nikolai Gogol
Gogol might be the oldest writer on this list, but he』s also one of the weirdest — in a good way. Nabokov once wrote, 「In Gogol…the absurd central character belongs to the absurd world around him but, pathetically and tragically, attempts to struggle out of it into the world of humans — and dies in despair.」 What else can an absurd noseless man do, after all?
果戈里應該是這個書單上最久遠的作家了，但是他也是最荒誕的小說家之一。納博科夫曾近這樣寫道：「在果戈里的作品中，荒誕的人物屬於他周圍荒誕的世界，但是卻可憐兮兮且悲慘地要逃離他的世界，最終死於絕望」。
㈥ 有哪些好看的短篇英文小說
世界三大短篇小說之王
莫泊桑、契訶夫和歐~亨利
莫泊桑（Maupassant1850～1893）19世紀後半期法國優秀的批判現實主義作家。年僅43年生命歷程竟創作了6部長篇小說和356多篇中短篇小說，莫泊桑短篇小說布局結構精巧合理。典型細節選用真實可信、敘事抒情的手法如行雲流水，充分體現了這種的文學傳統。莫泊桑的最出色的短篇代表作是《羊脂球》。《項鏈》、《我的叔叔於勒》；其作品在我國影響很大，近幾年來，一直被作為中學生必課的文學作品.
歐~亨利（1862～1910）善於描寫美國社會尤其是紐約百姓的生活。他的作品構思新穎，語言詼諧，結局常常出人意外；歐~亨利一生創作了270多個短篇小說和一部長篇小說，還有數量很少的詩歌他頗善情節設計，處處留下玄機，結局常常以出人意料出外而收場。讀後使人不禁使人豁然開朗，拍案叫絕,被稱為"歐~亨利式結尾".又因描寫了眾多的人物，富於生活情趣，被譽為「美國生活的幽默網路全書」.黑色幽默,「含淚水的微笑」。代表作有《愛的犧牲》、《警察與贊美詩》、《帶傢具出租的房間》、《麥琪的禮物》、《最後一片葉子》等.
契訶夫（1860-1904）他常以十九世界俄國社會中所常見的凡人小事為素材，用語言簡練、諷刺尖刻筆觸描寫小人物和知識分子兩類人的命運。代表作有《小職員之死》《變色龍》。《套中人》等。契河夫是19世紀末俄國偉大的劇作家和短篇小說家，俄國現實主義文學流派的傑出代表
其他的有:
茨威格短篇小說集
馬克.吐溫短篇小說集
竊賊(阿·康帕尼爾)
情書(岩井俊二)
永遠佔有(格雷厄姆·格林)
化石街(島田莊司)
棋逢對手(西瑞爾·哈爾)
首領(卡拉維洛夫)
熱愛生命(傑克·倫敦)
螞蟻 (博里斯·維昂)
蠢豬 (馬萊巴)
品酒 (羅·達爾)
打不碎的雞蛋 (馬萊巴)
勞駕，快點！(圖戈依)
品酒 (羅·達爾)
㈦ 美國短篇小說精粹50篇有哪五十篇
㈧ 有哪些英國短篇小說適合英語專業的學生閱讀
（《木馬贏家》）講述了一個家庭被金錢蒙蔽了雙眼，親情不再，人與人之間的關系被物質異化的故事。一向都是勞倫斯最擅長描繪的物質主義下人的異變的故事。勞倫斯的詞句不難，但是每個詞底下暗流涌動，生機勃勃，文風自成一派。作為初入門的勞倫斯研究者，我覺得開口評價這位英國文學大師，已經誠惶誠恐。勞倫斯的長篇小說如《查泰萊夫人的情人》，《兒子與情人》都膾炙人口，但是短篇小說也許在國內受眾不多。這篇"TheRocking-HorseWinner"是不可多得的佳作，值得一讀。
㈨ 推薦幾篇英文短篇童話故事
風和太陽(The Wind And The Sun)
One day the wind said to the sun, 「Look at that man walking along the road. I can get his cloak off more quickly than you can.」 (有一天風跟太陽說: 「看看那個沿著路上走的人.我可以比你快讓他把披風脫下來.)「We will see about that,」 said the sun. 「I will let you try first.」 (「我們等著看吧,」太陽說, 「我讓你先試.)So the wind tried to make the man take off his cloak. He blew and blew, but the man only pulled his cloak more closely around himself. (因此風嘗試讓那個人把披風脫下來.他用力地吹,可是那個人把披風拉得更緊.)「I give up,」 said the wind at last. 「I cannot get his cloak off.」 Then the sun tried. He shone as hard as he could. The man soon became hot and took off his cloak. (「我放棄了,」風最後說, 「我無法讓他把披風脫下來.」然後由太陽試試看.他盡可能地曬他.不久,那個人很熱就把披風脫下來了.)
2. Long ago in a small, faraway village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he hounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and firendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
很久以前的一個很遠的小村莊里，有一個以"千鏡屋"而著名的地方。一個樂觀的小狗聽說了這個地方並決定去參觀。當來到這個地方，他蹦蹦跳歡恰快的上了台階，來到房門口，他高高豎起耳朵，歡快地搖著尾巴，從門口往裡張望，他驚奇地看到有1000隻歡樂的小狗像他一樣快的搖尾巴。他燦爛地微笑著，回報他的是1000張熱情，友好的燦爛笑臉。離開時他心想："這是一個精彩的地主，我一定要經常來參觀。"
在這個村裡還有另一隻想參觀"千鏡屋"的小狗，他不及第一隻小狗樂觀，他慢吞吞地爬上台階，然後耷拉著腦袋往屋子裡看。一看到有1000隻小狗不友好地盯著他，他便開始沖他們狂吠，鏡中的1000隻小狗也沖著他狂吠，把他給嚇壞了，他在離開時心想："這是一個恐怖的地方，我再也不會來了。"
世界上所有的臉都是鏡子，在你所遇見的人的臉上你看到反射出來的是什麼?
3、An old cock and a foxIt is evening.An old cock is sitting in a tree.A fox comes to the tree and looks up at the cock."Hello,Mr Cock,I have good news for you,"says the fox."Oh"says thecock,"What good news for me?""All the animals are friends now."says the fox."Fine!"says the cock."I'm very glad to know that."Then he looks up、
"Look!A dog ia coming this way.""What?A dog?"says the fox."Well....well,I must go now.Goodbye,Mr Cock!""Wait,Mr Fox,Don't you like dogs?"Don't you like playing with the dog?Dogs are our friends now.""But,...but they may not know the news yet."Then he runs away."I see,I see,"says the cock.He smiles and goes to sleep
翻譯：一隻老公雞和一隻狐狸是夜。一隻老公雞呆在樹上。一隻狐狸走向大樹要拜訪公雞。"你好，公雞先生，我有一個關於你的好消息。"狐狸說。"噢，"公雞說，"是什麼關於我的好消息?""所有動物現在都是朋友了。"狐狸說。"好，"公雞說，"我聽到那非常高興!"然後他看到了。
"看，一隻狗正在往這邊來。""什麼?一隻狗?"狐狸問。"好的好的，現在我該走了，再見，公雞先生!""等等，狐狸先生，你難道不喜歡狗嗎?難道你不喜歡和狗玩么?狗現在是我們的朋友。""但是，但是它們現在可能還不知道。"然後他跑走了。"我知道了，我知道了，"公雞說。他微笑著然後去睡覺了。
4、The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
Once there were two mice. They were friends. One mouse lived in the country; the other mouse lived in the city. After many years the Country mouse saw the City mouse; he said, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." So the City mouse went. The City mouse said, "This food is not good, and your house is not good. Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have nice food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city."
The Country mouse went to the house of the City mouse. It was a very good house. Nice food was set ready for them to eat. But just as they began to eat they heard a great noise. The City mouse cried, " Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They ran away quickly and hid.
After some time they came out. When they came out, the Country mouse said, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and afraid."
【譯文】
城裡老鼠和鄉下老鼠
從前，有兩只老鼠，它們是好朋友。一隻老鼠居住在鄉村，另一隻住在城裡。很多年以後，鄉下老鼠碰到城裡老鼠，它說：「你一定要來我鄉下的家看看。」於是，城裡老鼠就去了。鄉下老鼠領著它到了一塊田地上它自己的家裡。它把所有最精美食物都找出來給城裡老鼠。城裡老鼠說：「這東西不好吃，你的家也不好，你為什麼住在田野的地洞里呢？你應該搬到城裡去住，你能住上用石頭造的漂亮房子，還會吃上美味佳餚，你應該到我城裡的家看看。」
鄉下老鼠就到城裡老鼠的家去。房子十分漂亮，好吃的東西也為他們擺好了。可是正當他們要開始吃的時候，聽見很大的一陣響聲，城裡的老鼠叫喊起來：「快跑！快跑！貓來了！」他們飛快地跑開躲藏起來。
過了一會兒，他們出來了。當他們出來時，鄉下老鼠說：「我不喜歡住在城裡，我喜歡住在田野我的洞里。因為這樣雖然貧窮但是快樂自在，比起雖然富有卻要過著提心吊膽的生活來說，要好些。」
㈩ 經典好看的英文小說推薦9本 經典好看的英文小說有哪些
1、《芒果街上的小屋》The House on Mango Street：一個在寫作中追求現實與熱愛的故事。作者桑德拉·希斯內羅絲以日記式的斷想、形諸真實的稚嫩少女文字，記錄了一個居住在拉美貧民社區芒果街上的女孩蛻變為女人的過程。生活的點點滴滴，一朵雲彩、一隻小狗、一次傷心、一次悸動將回憶如詩般鋪開。
2、《本傑明·巴頓奇事》The Curious Case of Benjamin Button：翻轉人生，是怎樣一種體驗？一個出生就80歲的「嬰兒」本傑明·巴頓，隨著時間流逝日漸年輕，不平凡的一生就此展開。作者菲茨傑拉德是20世紀最偉大的美國作家之一，他以奇妙的角度講述了本傑明的倒放人生，帶我們走近一個奇幻世界。
3、《哈利·波特》全集Harry Potter：《哈利·波特》和作者羅琳有多經典就不需要大貝多說了吧！這一魔幻文學系列小說寫於1997～2007年，講述了了失去雙親的年輕巫師哈利·波特在霍格沃茨魔法學校的學習生活和冒險故事。
4、《流浪地球》The Wandering Earth：太陽即將毀滅，人類不得不在地球上建造推進器，靠其動力使地球飛出太陽系，重新尋找適宜生存的家園，無論結果如何，人類的勇氣和堅毅，都被鐫刻在星空下。
5、《心靈奇旅》Soul：音樂老師喬·加德納意外失足跌落，重傷昏迷，瀕死之際來到了「生之來處」，在那裡，新生靈魂將被分配各種性格，然後通過傳送門降生地球。喬獲得的卻是一個憤世嫉俗的靈魂「22號」。一次陰差陽錯的經歷，喬與「22」命運相連，他們回到地球上一起體驗了一段奇妙的生命旅程。讀下去，你會在不經意間收獲驚喜與感動。
6、《月亮和六便士》The Moon and Sixpence：它以法國印象派畫家保羅·高更的生平為素材，描述了一個平凡的證券經紀人人思特里克蘭德，為了追求藝術絕棄了旁人看來優裕美滿的生活，奔赴塔希提島用畫筆譜寫出自己光輝燦爛的生命的故事。
7、《歸來記》The Return of Sherlock Holmes：這本書是阿瑟·柯南·道爾所著短篇小說集，應讀者強烈要求而寫成，共收錄了福爾摩斯所經歷的十三次探案。傳奇神探福爾摩斯起死回生，由《空屋》一案重返人間。《歸來記》中，歷劫歸來後的福爾摩斯和華生再度攜手合作，在神秘案件中抽絲剝繭，探得真相。
8、《傲慢與偏見》Pride and Prejudice：這本書講述了「傲慢先生和偏見小姐」的故事，它被譽為全世界最偉大的愛情小說之一。伊麗莎白在舞會上認識了達西，但是耳聞他為人傲慢，一直對他心生排斥。
9、《神秘島》The Mysterious Island：五個被困的北方人偶然用氣球逃脫，被風暴吹落在了荒島上。面對荒島上生存的困境，他們想要努力創造幸福的生活……在故事的最後，他們究竟能否離開這座神秘島，回到故鄉？