1、Unit 3A HangingA HANGINGGeorge Orwell1. It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains* We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot f

2、or drinking water< In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two.Detailed Reading2. One prisoner had been brought out of his cell. He was a Hindu, a puny wisp of

3、a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. Six tall Indian warders were guarding him and getting him ready for the gallows. Two of them stood by with rifles and fixed bayonets, while the others handcuffed him, passed a chain through his handcuffs and fixed it to their belts, and lashed his arm

4、s tightly to his sides. They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there. But he stood quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening

5、.3. Eight o'clock struck and a bugle call floated from the distant barracks* The superintendent of the jail, who was standing apart from the rest of us, moodily prodding the gravel with his stick, raised his head at the sound. For God's sake hurry up, Francis, " he said irritably* "

6、;The man ought to have been dead by this time. Aren't you ready yet?" 4. Francis, the head jailer, a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles, waved his black hand. "Yes sir, yes sir," he bubbled* A11 is satisfactorily prepared* The hangman is waiting. We shall proc

7、eed." 5. "Well, quick march, then. The prisoners can* t get their breakfast till this job s over.6. We set out for the gallows* Two warders marched on either side of the prisoner, with their rifles at the slope; two others marched close against him, gripping him by arm and shoulder, as tho

8、ugh at once pushing and supporting him. The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind*7. It was about forty yards to the gallows. I watched the bare brown back of the prisoner marching in front of me. He walked clumsily with his bound arms, but quite steadily* At each step his muscles sl

9、id neatly into place, the lock of hair on his seaIp danced up and down, his feet printed themselves on the wet gravel. And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path.8. It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized w

10、hat it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive. All the organs of his body were working b

11、owels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming 一一 all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nailswould still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the gray walls, and hi

12、s brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned reasoned even about puddles. He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone one mind less, one world less.a word from Francis the two w

13、arders, gripping the half led half pushed him to the gallows and helped the hangman climbed up and fixed the rope aroundprisoner's neck.10.We stood waiting, five yardsaway> The warders had formed a rough circle roundthehisgallows* And then, when the noose was fixed, the god. It was a high, re

14、iterated cry of "Ram! Ram!prisoner began crying out toRam! Ram!" not urgent and9. The gallows stood in a small yard> The hangman, a gray-haired convict in the white uniform of the prison, was waiting beside his machine* He greeted us with a servile crouch as we entered* At prisoner more

15、 closely than ever, him clumsily up the ladder* Then therhythmical, almost like thefearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, tolling of a bell.11. The hangman climbed down and stood ready, holding the lever. Minutes seemed to pass. The steady crying from the prisoner went on and on, "

16、;Ram! Ram! Ram!" never faltering for an instant* The superintendent, his head on his chest, was slowlypoking the ground with his stick： perhaps he was counting the cries, allowing the prisoner a fixed number fifty, perhaps, or a hundred* Everyone had changed color. The Indians had gone gray lik

17、e bad coffee, and one or two of the bayonets were wavering.12. Suddenly the superintendent made up his mind. Throwing up his head he made a swift motion with his stick. "Chalo!" he shouted almost fiercely.13. There was a clanking noise, and then dead silence* The prisoner had vanished, and

18、 the rope was twisting on itself. We went round the gallows to inspect the prisoner* s body.He was dangling with his toes pointing straight downward* Very slowly revolving, as dead as a stone.14. The superintendent reached out with his stick and poked the bare brown body： it oscillated slightly* &qu

19、ot;He's all right," said the superintendent* He backed out from under the gallows, and blew out a deep breath* The moody look had gone out of his face quite suddenly* He glanced at his wrist watch. "Eight minutes past eight. Well, that* s all for this morning, thank God. of theladling1

20、5. The warders unfixed bayonets and marched away. We walked out of the gallows yard, past the condemned cells with their waiting prisoners, into the big central yard prison. The convicts were already receiving their breakfast. They squatted in long rows, each man holding a tin pannikin, while two wa

21、rders with buckets march round out rice; it seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging* An enormous relief had come upon us now that the job was done. One felt an impulse to sing, to break into a run, to snigger. All at once everyone began chattering gaily.with a16. The Eurasian boy walki

22、ng beside me nodded toward the way we had come, knowing smile, "Do you know sir, our friend (he meant the dead man) when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his celL From fright. Kindly take one of my cigarettes, sir. Do you not admire my new silver case, sir? Clas

23、sy European style. 17. Several people laughed at what, nobody seemed certain*oah no! I have known cases where theall has the gallows and pull the prisoner* s legs to ensure "Wriggling about, eh? That* s bad, " said thetake him out. You will scarcely credit, sir, that18. Francis was walking

24、 by the superintendent, talking garrulously, "Well, sir, passed off with the utmost satisfactoriness> It was all finished - flick! Like that* It is not always so - doctor was obliged to go beneath decease* Most disagreeable. 19. superintendent* bars of his cage when we went to it took six wa

25、rders to dislodge him, three pulling at each leg."20. Ach, sir, it is worse when they become refractory! One man, I recall, cluitig 甜ghe21. I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing* Even superintendent grinned in a tolerant way. "You'd better all come and have a

26、drink," said quite genially* "I've got a bottle of whiskey in the car* We could do with it. " 22. We went through the big double gates of the prison into the his road. "Pulling at legs!" exclaimed a Burmese magistrate suddenly, and burst intoa loud chucklinge We all bega

27、n laughing again. At that moment Francis* anecdote seemed extraordinarily funny*We all had a drink together, native and European alike, quite amicably. The dead man was a hundred yards away.1. 那是發生在緬甸的事情。在一個很潮濕的雨季清晨，我們都在死囚牢房外面等著，一排小屋的門上加了雙根鐵條，就像小動物的籠子。每間牢房大約10英寸見方，里而只有一張木 板床和一個盛飲水的罐兒。有幾間里，棕色皮膚的人默默無聲

28、地蹲在里而一間的鐵條后而， 身上披著毯子。這些都是死囚，在一兩周以內將被處以絞刑。2. 有個囚犯從他的牢房里被帶了出來。他是個印度教徒，身材瘦小，弱不禁風，頭頂剃得光光的，雙眼水汪汪的，渾濁無神。六個高大的印度獄卒看著他，準備送他上絞刑架。其中兩 個手持上了刺刀的長槍，站在旁邊，其余幾個給他戴上手銬，從手銬中穿上一根鏈條系在 他們的皮帶上，再把他的手臂緊緊地捆在他身體的兩側。獄卒們團團站在他周圍，于都小心囚犯毫無反抗地站著，雙臂奩拉而,地緊握住他，似乎在撫摸他，時刻確信人就在那兒。然 地讓繩子捆著，似乎他并沒有注意將要發生的事情。3.聲。八點鐘的鐘聲響起，從遠處的軍營傳來一陣軍號地用手杖戳了戳

29、沙礫地而，隨著傳來的聲響抬起監獄長站在我們的外圍，悶悶不樂“天哪，快點兒，法朗西斯，”他焦4.法朗西斯是獄卒小隊一個胖胖的達羅毗荼邊眼鏡，揮了揮黑色人，身穿白色的斜紋布制服，還戴副金長，的乎。手等著呢。我們馬5.“行，聽好了，齊步走。等這活兒干完，囚犯們才可以吃早飯。頭來。地說道。“這家伙此刻早該死啦。你還沒有準備好嗎？6.我們向絞刑架走去。各有兩名獄卒走在死囚左右兩邊，擄著長槍；另外兩名緊靠著他，死死 地抓住他的于臂和肩膀，似推似扶著他。我們其余的人，像執法官一類的，跟在后而。7. 在離絞刑架大約40碼的地方，我眼望著那死囚光著膀子的棕顏色脊背，走在我的前而。 他雙臂被捆著，走起路來雖不靈活

30、，但穩穩的。身上的肌肉與邁出的步伐很協調，腦袋上的 那簇頭發上下跳躍，雙腳在潮濕的沙礫地而上留下腳印。有一次，盡管兩個肩膀被人緊握著, 他稍稍地向一旁邁出一小步，為了避開小道上的水坑。8. 真奇怪，在那一刻之前，我從來沒有意識到把一個活生生的、身體健康的人置于死地是怎么回事。等看到那死囚為了避開水坑向旁邊側一步的時候，我發現了將一個正當壯年的生 命 戛然結束的神秘，那是一種無以言表的錯誤。那個人不是生命垂危，他活著，像我們一樣活 著。他身體里的所有器官還在運作一一腸子在消化食品、皮膚在自我更新、指甲在生長、細胞 組織在形成一一全在一本正經地、愚蠢地忙碌著。他站在那塊活動踏板上的時候，指甲還在

31、長；當他從空中落下來的時候，他還有十分之一秒的時間活著。他的雙眼將看見黃顏色的沙我們當中有一個將死去一一少了一個頭腦，少了一個世界。礫地而和灰顏色的墻壁，他的頭腦仍然會記憶、預見和思考一一甚至會思考那個水坑。他和我 們是一起向前走的一群人，看見、聽見、感覺、理解同一個世界。然而，兩分鐘后，突然咔嗒一 聲，9.絞刑架豎立在一個小院子里。絞刑于是個滿頭花口頭發的囚犯，在那臺機器旁等候著。我們走進去時，他奴顏婢膝地向我們躬身致-句話，兩名獄卒靠得更近地抓住死囚，半拉半推地把他帶到服，思、0絞刑架，扶梯。然后，絞刑于也爬上去，將絞索套在死囚的脖子上。身穿監獄里白顏色的囚隨著法朗西斯的笨手笨腳地幫他爬上10. 我們在五碼開外的地方等著。獄卒們圍著絞刑架一圈站開。接著, 開始向他的神喊叫起來。聲音很高，反復地喊著“羅摩！羅摩！羅 摩！懼求救的祈禱或喊叫，倒是一聲接一聲，很有節奏感，像擊鐘的等絞索套好后，死囚聲音。11. 絞刑于爬了下來，站立著手握杠桿，準備就緒。好像又過了幾分鐘。死囚發出的那一聲 接 一聲呼喊還在繼續。“羅摩！羅摩！羅摩！ ”一刻兒都不停頓。監獄長的腦袋低垂在胸前，慢 慢地用手杖戳著地而，他也許正在數著喊叫的次數，允許讓死囚喊叫一個固定的次數大概五十 次，或者一百次。每個人的臉色都變了。那幾