Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

He was adored by rich and poor alike.

無論是富人還是窮人都對他祟拜備至。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old.

門多薩在14歲時參加一場拳擊賽后一舉成名。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England.

這引起當時英國拳壇名將理查德。漢弗萊斯的注意。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn.

他主動提出教授門多薩，而年少的門多薩一學就會。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him.

事實上，門多薩不久便名聲大振，致使漢弗萊斯與他反目為敵。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight.

兩個人爭吵不休，顯而易見，只有較量一番才能解決問題。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour.

于是兩人在斯蒂爾頓設下賽場，廝打了一個小時。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated.

公眾把大筆賭注下到了門多薩身上，但他卻輸了。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time.

后來，門多薩與漢弗萊斯再次在拳擊場上較量，門多薩又輸了一場。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England.

直到1790年他們第3次對壘，門多薩才終于擊敗漢弗萊斯，成了全英拳擊冠軍。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils.

同時，他建立了一所拳擊學校，辦得很成功，連拜倫勛爵也成了他的學生。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt.

經常債臺高筑。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten.

他在被一個叫杰克遜紳士的拳擊手擊敗后很快被遺忘。

Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza

He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.

他因無力還債而被捕入獄，最后于1836年在貧困中死去。

Lesson 22 By heart

Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end,

有些劇目十分成功，以致連續上演好幾年。

Lesson 22 By heart

In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.

這樣一來，可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因為他們需要一夜連著一夜地重復同樣的臺詞。

Lesson 22 By heart

One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.

人們以為，這些演員一定會把臺詞背得爛熟，絕不會臨場結巴的，

Lesson 22 By heart

Yet this is not always the case.

但情況卻并不總是這樣。

Lesson 22 By heart

A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years.

有一位名演員曾在一出極為成功的劇目中扮演一個貴族角色，這個貴族已在巴士底獄被關押了20年。

Lesson 22 By heart

In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.

在最后一幕中，獄卒手持一封信上場，然后將信交給獄中那位貴族。

Lesson 22 By heart

Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance,

盡管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。

Lesson 22 By heart

he always insisted that it should be written out in full.

但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。

Lesson 22 By heart

One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart.

一天晚上，獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑，看看他反復演出這么多場之后，是否已將信的內容記熟了。

Lesson 22 By heart

The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell.

大幕拉開，最后一幕戲開演，貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗后陰暗的牢房里。

Lesson 22 By heart

Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his bands.

這時獄卒上場，手里拿著那封珍貴的信。

Lesson 22 By heart

He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat.

獄卒走進牢房，將信交給貴族。

Lesson 22 By heart

But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual.

但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全，

Lesson 22 By heart

It was simply a blank sheet of paper.

而是一張白紙。

Lesson 22 By heart

The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines.

獄卒熱切地觀察著，急于想了解他的同事是否記熟了臺詞。

Lesson 22 By heart

The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.

貴族盯著紙看了幾秒鐘，