Chapter 7

Six months later¹, in April 1890, I found² him dead³ inbed. He was⁴ on his back in bed, so at first I thought⁵ he was asleep⁶. I talked to him, but he did⁷ not move. Then I saw⁸ that the skin⁹ on his face was blue, so I knew he was dead.

He did not usually sleep on his back. His enormous¹⁰ head was very heavy, so he usually sat¹¹ up in bed with his arms round his legs, and his head on his knees. He could¹² sleep well like this.

But he wanted to sleep on his back like you and me. Hetried to sleep on his back that night, but his heavy head came¹³ off¹⁴ the bed, and he broke¹⁵ his neck. He died¹⁶ very quickly.

Next day, the Chairman¹⁷ of the London Hospital, Mr Carr Gomm, wrote¹⁸ to the editor¹⁹ of The Times again.

 

The Times, April 16th, 1890

 

Dear Sir,

Three and a half years ago I wrote to you about a man called Joseph Merrick. This man was called‘The Elephant Man' because he aws born²⁰ with a very ugly body. Merrick was not ill, but he could not work, and he had²¹ no money.

The readers²² of The Times felt sorry for him, and they gave²³ me a lot of money for Merrick. Because of this money, we could giveMerrick a home in the Lon-don Hospital. It was his first good home, and for three and a half years he lived here happily²⁴. The doctors and nurses of the hospital helped him, and many important²⁵ people visited him. He read many books, he went to the the atre, and in the summer he stayed in the country for six weeks. Because of your readers’ money, we couldgive him a happy life²⁶.

Last night Joseph Merrick died quietly²⁷ in his bed. He was a man with a very ugly body, but he was a good, kind man, and he had a lot of friends. We liked to talk to him, and we are all very sorry because he is dead. A lot of people are going²⁸ to remember him for a longtime.

There is some money left, so I am going to give it to the hospital. Thank you, sir, for your help.

 

Yours faithfully²⁹

F. C. Carr Gomm

Chairman of The London

Hospital

过了六个月，也就是1890年4月，我发现他死在床上。他仰面朝天，开始我以为他睡着了，我朝他说话他不动，后来我见他脸上的皮肤发青，才知道他死了。

他通常不能躺着睡觉，因为他的脑袋又大又重，所以他常常坐在床上，用手抱着腿，把头放在膝盖上，这样他能睡得很好。

可是他也想像你我这样躺着睡觉。那天晚上他试着躺下来睡，结果他那个庞大的头跌下床，折断了脖子。他很快就死了。

第二天伦敦医院院长卡尔.戈蒙又给《泰晤士报》的编辑写了一封信：

 

摘自1890年4月16日的《泰晤士报》

 

亲爱的先生：

三年半以前我写信给你介绍了一个名叫约瑟夫.麦里克的男人，这个人被叫做“象人”，他天生有一个像大象一样的丑陋身躯。麦里克没有病，但他不能工作，也没有钱。

《泰晤士报》的读者们很同情他，给了他许多钱。有了这些钱，我们可以在伦敦医院里给他安个家，这是他的第一个家。三年半以来他一直生活得很幸福，医院里的医生和护士都帮助他，许多要人来拜访他。他读了许多书，去看过戏，在乡间避暑待了六个星期。有了读者们给的钱，我们把他的生活安排得很幸福。

昨天晚上约瑟夫.麦里克在床上静静死去。他是一个很丑的人，但是很好、很善良，他有许多朋友。我们都喜欢与他交谈，我们都很遗憾，他死了。许多人会永远记着他的。

现在还剩下一些钱，我准备把这些钱捐给医院。感谢你的帮助。

谨致

伦敦医院院长F.C.卡尔.戈蒙

1890年4月16日

1 later   

adv.过后，后来；adj.以后的，更后的，较晚的

参考例句：

• He didn't turn up until half an hour later.半小时后他才出现。
• This part of the hospital was built on later.医院的这个部分是后来增建的。

2 found   

v.建立，创立，创办；vbl.(find的过去分词)找到

参考例句：

• I found him at home.我发现他在家。
• The United Nations was found in 1945.联合国于1945年成立。

3 dead   

adj.死的；无生命的；死气沉沉的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• Mary threw away the dead flowers.玛丽把枯萎的花扔掉了。
• He was dead asleep.他完全睡着了。

4 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

5 thought   

n.想法，思想，思维，思潮，关心，挂念；v.vbl.think的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It was just a thought.这仅仅是一个想法。
• She thought he had a cold.她认为他感冒了。

6 asleep   

adj.睡熟了的，麻木的；adv.熟睡地

参考例句：

• The baby seems to be asleep.那婴孩好像是睡着了。
• My right foot is asleep.我的右脚麻木了。

7 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

8 saw   

vbl.看见(see的过去式)；n.锯；v.用锯子锯

参考例句：

• Would you like to saw a tree for me?你能为我锯棵树吗？
• The moment I saw you,I knew you were angry with me.我一看到你，就知道你在生我的气。

9 skin   

n.皮肤，皮；vt.剥皮，使愈合；vi.长皮，愈合；蜕皮

参考例句：

• You need a skin test.你需要做个皮肤测试。
• Your skin is very dry.你的肌肤非常干燥。

10 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。

11 sat   

v.（sit的过去式，过去分词）坐

参考例句：

• He sat on a chair.他坐在椅子上。
• The mother sat by the sick child all night long.妈妈整夜守在生病的孩子身旁。

12 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

13 came   

v.动词come的过去式

参考例句：

• I was surprised why he came here so early.他为什么那么早到这里，我很惊奇。
• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。

14 off   

adj.远的；休假的，空闲的；adv.走开，出发，隔断；prep.离开，脱落，在...之外

参考例句：

• You'd better cool off first.你最好先冷静下来。
• I need some time off.我需要一些时间休息。

15 broke   

v.(动词break的过去式)折断；打破

参考例句：

• He dropped his glass on the floor and broke it.他把玻璃杯掉到地板上打碎了。
• After a long silence, she broke into a laugh.她沉默了很久之后，忽然笑了起来。

16 died   

vbl.死亡，消逝v.死亡，枯萎( die的过去式和过去分词 )；死时处于（某种状态）或具有（某种身份）adj.死亡的，消逝的

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was utterly bereft when his wife died. 他的妻子去世时，他十分凄凉。

17 chairman   

n.主席，会长，议长；董事长

参考例句：

• The chairman asked us to vote on the plan.主席要我们对计划进行表决。
• He acted as chairman of the meeting.他担任大会主席。

18 wrote   

v.（write的过去式）写

参考例句：

• She wrote the music and he wrote the book.她作曲子，他写歌词。
• He wrote back that he was too busy to join us.他回信说他太忙不能参加我们的活动。

19 editor   

n.编者，编辑，主笔；v.编辑器

参考例句：

• He's the editor of the Riverdale paper.他是Riverdale报的编辑。
• He got a job as an editor of a newspaper.他在一家报社找到了一份编辑工作。

20 born   

v.动词bear的过去分词；adj.出生的，与生俱来的

参考例句：

• The baby can cry as soon as he is born.婴儿生下来就会哭。
• I feel as if I had been born again.我有一种再生之感。

21 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

22 readers   

n.读者（复数）；读者( reader的名词复数 )；初级读物；电子阅读器；审稿人

参考例句：

• The newspaper was mail-bombed by angry readers after the article was published. 文章发表后，这家报纸受到了愤怒读者的电邮轰炸。
• We had a huge postbag on the subject from our readers. 我们收到了读者关于这个问题的大量来函。

23 gave   

vbl.（give的过去式）给予，产生，发表

参考例句：

• He asked for money and I gave him some.他要钱，我给了他一些。
• I gave you a map so you wouldn't get lost. 我给你一张地图，这样你就不会迷路了。

24 happily   

adv.幸福地；愉快地

参考例句：

• From then on,the prince and princess lived happily.从那时起，王子与公主就幸福地生活在一起。
• Where we will live happily ever after.我们可以在那里直到永远。

25 important   

adj.重要的；重大的；严重的

参考例句：

• It's important to find out what he is doing.弄清他在干什么是重要的。
• This is a very important problem.这个问题很重要。

26 life   

n.生活；生命

参考例句：

• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。
• At last he knew the meaning of life.终于，他知道了生命的意义。

27 quietly   

adv.安静地，沉着地，稳地

参考例句：

• Winter has been come to quietly.冬天悄然地来了。
• You have to play quietly.你要安安静静地玩。

28 going   

n.去，离去，地面(或道路)的状况，工作情况；(复数形式）goings: 行为；adj.进行中的，流行的，现存的

参考例句：

• We're going to listen to a report this afternoon. 今天下午我们要去听报告。
• He hates leaving the office and going on holiday.他不愿离开办公室去度假。

29 faithfully   

adv.忠诚地，如实地，切实遵守地

参考例句：

• He has served the farm faithfully for 20 years.他为这个农场忠心耿耿地操劳了20年。
• They attended faithfully to their duties.他们忠于职守。