奇想英文书世界|美国少年的书单

适合7-12岁英文基础一般的孩子，就是看图画也很好玩的。

Happy new year ximalaya! This is Lindsay from New York. It has been 17 days since we updated last time. Sorry, we were very busy with holiday season and winter break. Here comes 2019 and here we are with a new book to introduce, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Happy new year！This is 晴川。很久不见，大家是不是都准备了酷酷的新年计划，包括阅读计划呢？希望我们的节目能做点贡献。今天我们来说一本比较轻松愉快的书，中文翻译为小屁孩日记，Wimpy 这个词，本意是Weak and cowardly, 软弱胆小怕事的那种意思。

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney, is a series of short novels.They are supposed to represent a middle school boy’s diary, which he continually insists that it should be seen as a journal instead. In school, most girls have diaries, therefore, boys with diaries would be seen as sissy or girlish（女孩子气）.

原来是这样啊。女孩子更爱写日记，男孩子要是写了，就被看作是女孩子气，有压力，故而，明明是日记，他要给他另一个明目，journal，journal在英文里更有些报章期刊文章的严肃性。像女孩子这种标签可千万不能被贴上！

The boy is called Greg Heffley, and the books also take a look into his home life and other connections. Because he is not a tall, muscular（肌肉感的）, or handsome boy, and is quite small in fact, he is afraid of being seen as wimpy or “sissy” which could ruin his social life. Throughout the books you can see that he cares very much about his popularity, even though we only see a few friends of his that suggest he really isn’t that popular.

成长中的孩子，对于是否在学校里popular 非常在意，popular直译就是流行，意思就是学校里那种受瞩目受欢迎的孩子。以此为笑点，这套系列书，一连出了13本，大受孩子们欢迎。

I read this series when I stopped reading picture books and began reading longer novels. The storyline is centered around normal daily life, no fantasy（奇幻）, nor magic（魔法）, pure everyday boring（无聊） life. But this series has the power to make us laugh based on little things. There are no hard words nor complicated sentences, accompanied by drawings, and handwritten notes. All mimic（模仿） a boy’s doodles.

这本书是很适合低龄一点的小孩来读，好好笑，说的全是日常，没有什么深奥的，贴近生活。还有好多涂鸦的漫画，版面上也十分讨喜。

It is a very funny series of books which has helped a lot of kids begin to read lengthier novels. It is a very light read and quite easy for me at least. Although I am a older now and can handle deeper novels, I still come to this collection once in a while, because it brought me only good memories, and it is pure, easy fun, which I use to relax and laugh. I highly recommend for younger readers and anybody who is looking for a short novel.

Did you know that J.K. Rowling is not her legal name? The name was created for marketing purposes. 想知道JKROwling名字的来历？巫师魔法的世界在实际上有何真实的渊源？JK Rowling哈利波特之后又有哪些新作满足粉丝？

Hellow, Ximalaya, this is LIndsay from New YOrk. THis time, I’d like to share with you my most precious reading subject, J.K Rowling and the magical world she creates.

大家好，今天我们来谈英国女作家JK Rowling和她凭一己之力创造的魔法世界。以哈利波特为首的英雄们和JK Rowling天马行空的想象力俘获了世界读者的心。这才真配得上是奇想书世界。

J.K. Rowling is the most successful writer in the world! But did you know that J.K. Rowling is not her legal name? The name was created for marketing purposes. The J stands for Joanne,which is her first name, and a very typical female name. The editor was worried that a female writer’s fantasy book would not win boys’ attention, so they asked her to use her initials instead. Since she has no middle name, she used her grandmother’s first name Kathleen instead. That’s how the J.K. in the author’s name came in. Kathleen is not part of her legal name.

Initial, 就是名字的首字母。有时候在国外签一些文件会要求你Initials，就是让你签名字的首字母缩写就可以了。刚才Lindsay讲到Harry Potter作者J.K.Rowling名字的来历，还是很感慨的，这么才华横溢的作者，最开始为了卖出作品赢得市场，还要玩点花招，把女性化的名字给藏起来。Now let’s see what she has created for readers?

J.K. Rowling has created a whole world filled with amazing, beautiful creative things. This wizardly world is built around the hero Harry Potter, famous in every country. The wizard school Hogwarts seems just like any regular school but it is filled with totally different courses. It is just so fascinating! The Harry Potter series has 7 books. I have read them many many times, and watched the movies. But recently, there has been more to follow.

Harry Potter有多受欢迎，我就不用多说了。这魔法师的世界虽然离日常生活那么遥远，J.K Rowling有本事让那个想象世界和今天生活里的青少年的感情发生沟通，好像那个魔法学校里发生的事情就仿佛是我们身边一个普通学校里的。多年前写完了这7本书，J.K。 Rowling系列又有新的动作。也是很受追捧的。来听听LIndsay的介绍

There is a new movie series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find The,, which has had two movies already released, with J.K. Rowling as the screenwriter for both of them. I can’t wait to see the rest of the movie series, because The Fantastic Beasts movies are now one of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter Universe. Magic and magical beasts take a center stage in them, and all the special effects and beasts are so beautiful!

这部电影是JKrowling写的剧本，以神奇动物们为卖点，形象又萌又梦幻，虽然哈利波特本人不在电影里出现了，但是这个魔法世界遵循和构建的法则还是哈利波特世界的。每当影院里响起哈利波特的主题音乐，Fans都齐齐鼓掌，这场面也只有老牌的星战系列电影可以比拟。

There is also a Broadway play called The Cursed Child. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard that the tickets are really hard to get. It is a live performance, and so you can only sell up to the theater occupancy. But there are so many fans that it’s nearly impossible to get tickets. I did hear that the script for the play was terrible, but the special effects and acting for the play was amazing.

至于百老汇舞台剧哈利波特被诅咒的孩子，那真是一票难求，故事是J.K.Rowling和其它人一起合写的，舞台剧的剧本不是她的。听说台词不是太好，但是特效极佳，FANS基础太强大，也是热剧。Lindsay， why do you love the wizardly world that J.K rowling created so much?

It’s creative and magical, full of bravery and all sorts of imaginative things that seem to take me on an adventure I could only dream of. I went to see a Harry Potter exhibit a few weeks before, which I hoped could help expand my understanding and love for the Wizarding World.

Lindsay这里说到的这个展览是一个以哈利波特的魔法世界为切入点，叙述真实历史上的魔法传奇。名字就叫做Harry Potter，a history of magic. 大英图书馆和英国巫师博物馆展现了很多古籍古物来佐证人类历史的发展变迁里是多么热爱魔法巫师和神奇动物们。

I learned that the world is rooted deeply in mythology and all sorts of old religious beliefs. The legends surrounding so many magical myths were incorporated into the Harry Potter world. For example, potions is a class subject Harry takes in the novesl. Even this simple subject is surrounded by many mysteries, like old tales of witchcraft where somebody could brew you a mixture that would cure you of sickness, or certain ingredients rumoured to bring you fortune or fame. From all of these legends, old folklore, and myths, the Wizarding World blends into it seamlessly, until it is hard to tell what is fantasy and what is reality.

爱并非无所不能，但没有了爱，人也就成了行尸走肉。1984的主人公Winston是如何意志崩溃的？

The main character, Winston Smith, is a seemingly normal member of society, but secretly, he is not happy with the way he has to live. He begins committing quiet acts of rebellion（反抗）. He buys a diary to write his thoughts down, he starts an affair（男女之间的关系） with a woman named Julia. Neither Writing down your own thoughts nor having an affair is allowed in Oceania.

主人公Winston是一个体制内的小人物，出于一个有灵性和智慧的人的本能，对于国家告知的有关历史与现实的信息，对于生活方式上的高度统一，彼此揭发造成的紧张，非常不满，但又只能选择默默忍受，以悄悄写日记和谈恋爱的方式表达他的反叛。就连这都是不被允许的

His secret lover, Julia, is a young and attractive （吸引力）woman. Different than Winston who is more intelligent（智性上的）, Julia’s rebellion is shown in subtle （微妙的）ways through her love affair with Winston, as well as with the other men before him. She is a free spirited woman who chooses to live for her own fulfillment （满足）and happiness.

Julia, 书中的女主人公，Winston的秘密情人，并不像Winston那样在理性层面追求真相，对社会该有的样子也没有主动的诉求，她年轻任性，有直接的本能，喜欢漂亮东西，不愿意被禁锢，她用她年轻的身体和欲望来反抗铁桶一样的社会。不被批准的爱与性，是具有破坏力的个人表达，在大西洋国是叛逆的一种，婚姻家庭，都必须被组织安排。Winston与Julia的秘密的恋爱是他们也许各具理由但同样需要的抗争。是压抑生活里的一点彼此安慰。

Winston is afraid they will be arrested for having rebellious thoughts. However his hatred of the Party grows more and more intense. He wants to join the Brotherhood, a mysterious organization dedicated to rebellion. A man named O’Brien reaches out to him and recruits him and Julia for the rebellion. Eventually O’Brien is revealed to be a member of the Thought Police and a spy for the Party. Winston and Julia are arrested and separated.

Winston想参加反抗组织，结果被诱骗和出卖，被THought Police发现了他和Julia秘密租住的房间，他偷偷写的日记和读的书。其实WInston并没有任何实质性的反抗活动，他仅仅是作出了个人私密表达，读书写日记爱一个人，这些再正常不过的事情, 在大西洋国被认为是Thought Crime，思想犯罪，他们便面临着逮捕和之后的思想改造。

Winston is tortured（折磨） for months. The purpose of the torture is to re-educate Winston. 2+2 does not equal 5, as Any reasonable person would agree with. To the Party, it does not matter what is fact and what is not. Whatever the Party says is true, is the truth. O’Brien tortures Winston to try and get him to accept the Party’s word as truth. As the novel says, "Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once".

2+2=5是这本小说里的著名标志句子，对Winston的身体折磨是为了让他放弃自己的理性判断。双重思想，doublethink也是1984这本书里首创的词。书里浓墨重彩地详细描述了Winston逐渐放弃理性的过程，2+2等于几不再重要。读起来极为抑郁，但是极为真实。人都有自己的弱点。Winston也只是一个普通人。

The torture is not just physical（身体上的）. It is also psychological（心理上的）. Winston finally cracks under the torture once he is forced to face his greatest fear: rats. Winston is terrified（极为害怕的）. He shouts out, "Do it to Julia!”. He has betrayed （背叛）her, his love, the strongest thing that made him an individual, and not a mindless（无想法的）, robotic （机器人）follower of the Party. By betraying Julia, he has betrayed himself as an individual（个人）.

Thought Police在心理层面的折磨非常精准，他们深知Winston最怕什么，在面对老鼠的时候，Winston喊出来了去撕咬Julia吧, 他的意志崩溃了。我必须说当我读到“Do it to Julia”这一句的时候是非常悲哀的。爱，本是人类最为高贵的感情，我们总觉得它无所不能，在流行的艺术创作里，爱的神奇力量足以拯救世界，但1984里，面对THought Police ，Winston放弃了爱的忠诚，放弃了作为一个人的尊严与理性，他的精神垮了，他被大洋国驯服了。摧毁爱的是什么？深植内心的恐惧。

This novel is very depressing （郁闷）because there is no way for anyone to have any form of individuality. The government is all powerful and has the capability to control the thoughts of its citizens. Ultimately,（最终） Winston breaks（崩溃）, and is brainwashed（洗脑）. There is no hope of success.

1984 by George Orwell is set in a dystopian country called “Oceania.” It is Orwell’s vision of the future. This book is a political work of fiction that shows how people can be easily controlled.

Dystopian, 这个词在我们讲饥饿游戏这本书时讲过，反乌托邦。英文小说里有不少作品是构建在这种反乌托邦的思想之上的. 无论是过去还是现在，西方世界都非常警惕人的个人性Individually，或者是人性的被掌控， 大热的电影Divergent，异类叛逃 ，包括斯皮尔伯格的去年出的电影Ready Player One, 一级玩家，都可以归入此类。Now let’s go back to book 1984, when there was no technology as of today, how did this country “Oceania” control people?

The country, Oceania, is controlled by the Party. The Party’s leader is a seemingly omniscient person called Big Brother. THe government has four major departments: The Ministries of Love, Peace, Truth, and Plenty.

Although the names sound nice, their purposes are anything but.

The Ministry of Love is responsible for Law and order. The main purpose of this branch of government is to enforce loyalty to Big Brother through fear, torture, and brainwashing. The building has no windows and is surrounded by wire, steel doors, hidden machine-gun nests, and guards. it is arguably the most powerful ministry, controlling the will of the population.  

The Ministry of Truth is responsible for any necessary falsification of historical events. It is in charge of propaganda.  The "truth" is understood to be whatever the government says is true, even if the statements are false, like 2+2=5 . The ministry is named this way because it manufactures a "truth" to show a government approved version of an event.

The third department called Ministry of Peace. It is named the exact opposite of what it does. It is in charge of maintaining a state of war. The meaning of peace has been equated with the meaning of war in the slogan  "War is Peace": Perpetual war is what keeps the "peace" in Oceania and the balance of power in the world.

And then there is this Ministry of Plenty. It oversees distribution of food, supplies, and goods. The country Oceania actually is in the state of poverty, scarcity and financial shortage. It is easier to maintain control if people are impoverished rather than wealthy. In addition, Oceania needs to create weapons instead of everyday goods. With the help from Ministry of Truth, people believe they live in prosperity.  

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

This is a work of fiction. We read it under the teacher’s guidance. We discuss various themes thoroughly in class. This novel serves as a warning of the absence of individuality and the dangers of totalitarianism. It is important to be able to think for yourself. Although this novel has dark themes, even at a young age, the concepts were well accepted by all.

Our family has talked about this book many times at dinner table. We shared our opinions and sometimes debated what an ideal society should be, and what we would do if we were Winston, the main character in the book

Quotes： 

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

The best books... are those that tell you what you know already

We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.

Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.

“If you loved someone, you loved him, and when you had nothing else to give, you still gave him love.”

“In the face of pain there are no heroes.”

“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.

The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.

Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.

We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them

Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter; only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you-that would be the real betrayal.

“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. - Agatha Christie

Hello, Ximalaya, this is Lindsay from New York. We will introduce Agatha Christie’s books again. It is so hard to pick another one from her numerous masterpieces. Finally we agree that a murder is announced should be the one.

选择这本A murder is announced，而不是其它大众更熟悉的比如尼罗河上的惨案，一是因为它的开头，报纸上登一则启示说好了某时某地会有谋杀然后就真的众目睽睽下神秘地发生了，吊足胃口，先声夺人；第二，作为一个女性作家，阿加莎创造的主角女侦探Miss Marple在探案小说类别里显得非常稀有且突出，我可以说这个人物是独创的填补空白的。阿加莎是一个女性主义者，feminist。这让我很觉得值得仔细跟大家说一下。Lindsay, can you briefly talk about the plot?

At very beginning of this book, there is an announcement in the local newspaper reading: A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m. Friends please accept this, this only intimation.

intimation意思是indirect suggestion，告诉你但又不特别直白的意思， this only intimation这个用法不大常见，多半见于报纸上，就不再另外发卡片邀请函给个人了，这个启示就是邀请，这个意思。Little Paddocks 是案发地址。

Little Paddocks is the name of the place where Miss Letitia Blacklock lives with her niece(侄女）, nephew（侄子）, and housekeepers（收拾房子的）. Her neighbors from town gather at her house in confusion, wondering just what is happening. Then at 6:30, the lights go off and a masked man appears in the darkness. Two shots from a gun ring out. The lights come back on, there are two bullet holes in the wall by Ms. Blacklock, and her ear is bleeding. Everybody is terrified. They find the masked man on the floor. He’s dead, shot by the gun.. Is it suicide? Another murder? Who knows..? The police begin to investigate, and soon a string of murders begin..

你以为闯入的蒙面陌生人是凶手？结果倒下死去的却是他。这本小说虽然一开始就是吊足胃口加上高潮，但是，那远不是结局。String of Murders, 系列谋杀，是的，不止一起谋杀在这个故事里。

There was this thrill of suspense and urgency throughout the book because of the several murders that occur. Every red herring leads you on, and the real clues are there and obvious, but elusive. It was done in the classical Christie style and yet it’s still hard to decipher each clue.

这本小说悬疑外有一种紧迫感，urgency，系列谋杀嘛，herring是一种鱼，red herring means False clue,错误的线索。人就好像上了钩，拿起书就放不下，特别想解开谜团，decipher就是解密。那么侦探Miss Marple，聪明破案的人马普尔小姐，又是怎么样一个人呢？

Miss Marple is an elderly woman with a knack for reading people. From the way they act, she can deduce what they have done. Miss Marple is quite smart and intuitive（直觉的）. She seems like an elderly spinster （独身未婚）and grandma filled with knitting and teatime, but in reality she has a quick-moving mind filled with knowledge of human tendencies.

Miss Marple可不是福尔摩斯那种聪明外显的侦探。她就是一个小镇上毫不起眼的老太太。Agatha Christie 自己曾经这样说过她的笔下人物马尔普小姐，If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. 马尔普小姐这样的才是真正的厉害角色，看上去毫无杀伤力，让你放下所有戒备，而她，却把你看了个透彻。

L: Miss Marple doesn’t seem to have a job. Her role in the book is to help the police like a consultant（顾问）. However, she is the real brain to solve all the puzzles. Because she is very lovable, quirky, and comforting, town people like to share secrets or findings with her either casually or intentionally. They don’t think she is dangerous or smart enough to solve any mysteries involving them. They underestimate Miss Marple.

One little boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself And then there were None. 最畅销经典的密室杀人小说，来考验你的智商。看阿加莎如何密密织就连环杀人案，个个揭破人性的黑暗与不堪。我的最爱，吐血推荐。

The plot itself is very interesting. Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated island （孤岛）, under different reasons. One by one, they are murdered. It soon becomes clear that one of these ten strangers are the murderer, adhering（秉承） to the nursery poem of ten little soldiers.

大家记得我们刚刚开始学英文的时候，有首英文歌教英文数数，1 到 10 怎么说，one little two little three little Indians，记得吧？这首儿歌有很多不同版本，广为流传，这首儿歌就是这篇小说的灵感来源，全篇小说里一再回放。我们请LIndsay 来读一下。

Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were Nine. 

nine little soldier boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were Eight. 

Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven. 

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six. 

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive（蜂窝）; a bumble bee stung one and then there were Five. 

Five little soldier boys going in for law; one got into Chancery and then there were Four. 

Four little soldier boys going out to sea; a red herring （一种鱼）swallowed one and then there were Three. 

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were Two. 

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun; one got frizzled up （烤干了）and then there was One. 

One little soldier boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself.. And then there were None .

And then there were none， 正如这首儿童诗里说的，十个人一个接一个的死掉了，无人生还。

The first death seems like suicide （自杀）, the second is also seems like a suicide. But two deaths is too much of a coincidence（巧合）, so the rest begin to investigate（调查）. They desperately（绝望地） want to resolve who the murderer is. But in the meantime, they seem realize that they would all face their own fate. Each person begins to lose hope. Gradually, each person is murdered in similar ways like the poem states, until there are only two people left. One gets shot and the last person, driven by guilt, conscience, and other feelings of almost insanity, hangs themself. In the epilogue, the true murderer is revealed.

故事的展开背景是一个孤岛，封闭的环境，very typical setting for Agatha story。One by one, 一个接一个，悬疑神秘，欲罢不能，阿加莎能够制造出这么一种身边人死得不明不白的恐怖。谁都不想认命，既互相猜疑谁是凶手又互相依靠探寻罪犯，同时，又不得不宿命地等待他们的结局。

These strangers are all have normal jobs in their daily lives. However, they all have something in the past that they try to hide and suffer from. The mysterious murderer knows their past, their dark secret, which is revealed later that they all have murdered somebody. Each murder is not directed by their own hand, is not made by sticking swords into a person or shooting somebody. It is the way they act, the things they do, that kill another.

所有被害人身上都沾着别人的血，这是他们最深的秘密，他们逃出了法网，却没有逃出死于非命的命运。克里斯蒂的小说好得绝不仅仅是小说逻辑上的丝丝入扣，描写生动，最重要的是她对人性的洞察与拿捏，每个人都背负着罪孽，但每个人都似乎不得不如此选择，每个人都似乎是身边的普通人，但是每个人又都是暗藏的凶手和被害人，这种为命运挟裹不由自主，在这本小说里，可说是到了巅峰，极为精彩。

The plot itself is indeed quick and interesting as all of agatha Christie’s novels are. Each murder victims on the island were killed in order of guilt （负罪）and type of crime. The reason why i love this novel so much is because of how hidden the murderer is, of how simple and obvious the clues are and yet you can never notice it. This book is a perfect example of Agatha Christie’s storytelling method: subtle yet direct, playing on the nature of human conscience（良心）. Words can’t bring this masterpiece to justice.

“All around us are people, of all classes, of all nationalities, of all ages. For three days these people, these strangers to one another, are brought together. They sleep and eat under one roof, they cannot get away from each other. At the end of three days they part, they go their several ways, never, perhaps, to see each other again.” 

― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

A luxurious （豪华）train stopped in a snowstorm（暴风雪）, a murder at midnight with some clues （线索） left, 13 passengers （乘客） with different backgrounds （背景） and personalities（个性） identified as suspects （嫌犯）, and one famous detective Hercules Poirot. Who is the murderer?

封闭式场景, 因暴雪而不再行驶的火车一节高级车厢里发生谋杀案，嫌犯只可能是车厢里的13个人中的一个。This is the classical Christie style!

Yes, Detective Poirot has no other means （方式）to help him in the setting except for interviewing（面谈） the 13 suspectives with questions and more questions. He needs to find out whose answer has logical （逻辑）problems and when a passenger will reveal （吐出） something by accident （意外的，不小心的）to him. The challenge （难点）for him is that all suspects have solid Alibis. And they all seem innocent （无辜）yet all seem possible as murderers.

Alibi 就是证明作案时间里不在现场的证据。交叉问话中，车上的每个人都有其它人供词说明自己作案时候不在现场，很头疼啊。

L: Plus, all 13 suspects are very interesting to study in the way Agatha Christie describes them. We, as the readers, seem to watching a show on the stage, where everyone is a good actor and everyone has a story. Yet, we know something is wrong there, and we know they have a mask covering them.

Q: That’s exactly how I feel! I tried to digest （消化）every word among pages to find the bugs! It is an extremely interesting murder mystery that kept me reading late into the night.

L: Well，the first success is that of using the clues left at the murder scene, and Detective Poirot figuring out the background of the victim, which provides him direction later on.

Q: 探案小说的好处就是布局里放下的线索，考验智力啊。尤其克里斯蒂年代没有什么花哨手段，纯脑力逻辑，非常满足聪明人的阅读口味。

L: It is such an interesting mystery, full of plot twists that I didn't see coming! I love it because no matter how many times I read it, I am still surprised every time. Each clue that Agatha Christie hides in the book fits perfectly together, every casual conversation between passengers are hints towards the end. Even the most experienced of readers may never be able to guess which clues create the solution to the murder mystery.

语言能力与综合能力，锦上添花与内里底子，突击考试与终生学习。找到自己的方法论。

她的作品销量仅次于圣经和莎士比亚。密室杀人，是她创造性开拓的悬疑小说题材。Lindsay 八岁时候由老师介绍开始阅读阿加莎的作品，读过十几部，有些要读好多遍。那我们今天先听听Lindsay来介绍作者，之后我们会陆续介绍她的作品。（东方快车谋杀案，尼罗河上的惨案，无人生还，这些你听说过吧）

Agatha Christie is a famous murder （谋杀）mystery（神秘） author. Called the Queen of Mystery, each story is filled with plot （情节） twists（扭转）that I can never predict（预见）. She is the mastermind that created Hercules Poirot （菠萝探长）, a genius Belgian（比利时） detective（侦探）. She also created Miss. Marple（马普尔小姐）, an elderly spinster（独身女人）with a knack（天生的窍门） for reading people and figuring out crime. Agatha Christie has written many famous novels, such as Murder on the Orient Express（东方列车谋杀案）, And Then There Were None（无人生还）, and my personal favorite, Death on the Nile（尼罗河上的惨案）. These books were made into movies as well. Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries leave the reader speechless with the way the murder was committed and how the murderer got away with it. You can try to guess who the murderer is, or what happens, but most often you are wrong. Each plot twist and new revelation （泄露）of the murders leave me breathless. I can never put one of her books down because of how badly I want to find out what happens! I love her writing style and how she puts in clues that are so casual（随意的） you might not even notice.

是的，克里斯蒂的小说绝对欲罢不能，不仅情节构思精巧，而且写的用词简单但能栩栩如生，不刻意在气氛上堆砌恐惧感而是靠对人性的洞察来塑造故事和人物。是难得一见兼具趣味性与文学性的作家，是英语爱好者提高阅读能力非常好的选择。来听听我们下次的作品推介吧。