1分钟英语新闻

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père. Highly recommended. Apart from 'The Three Musketeers', this is probably Alexandre Dumas' most famous work and one of the greatest novels in Western literature: a novel every literate and educated person should read at least once in their lives. In this story, Edmond Dantes is an innocent man who was caught in the intrigues of Napoleon's escape from Elba and his 100 days of power until Waterloo. A sailor entrusted with a sealed letter of highest importance by his dying captain, Dantes delivers it into the hands of the evil prosecutor Villefort who, for reasons unkown to him, immediately sends him without trial or appeal to spend the rest of his days at the Chateau D'Iffe: a dark and isolated island prison presumed to be inescapable. With the help of Abbot Faria, a dying prisoner who knows the secret of a great hidden treasure on the small islet of Monte Cristo, Dantes escapes and prepares to unleash his revenge on those who did him wrong. For years he spends his time meticulously preparing his vengeful scheme against the treacherous friends and characters who left him to rot in prison for years and years. He refines his arts of disguise, alchemy, and manipulation to content himself with the ruin of his enemies. Unlike the adventure themes in his works such as 'The Three Musketeers', this story is a deep character study on being the victim of utmost injustice and how cruel revenge is sweet after all: how a wronged man is entitled to become the agent of divine retribution when God and mortal laws have abandoned his cause. The various themes, complex plot, profound character development, and rich prose makes this long work undoubtedly one of the greatest works of literature ever written: Dumas was without question a literary genius. This is a great story for people of all ages and should not be ignored by anyone who has a profound love of literature. I think this is Dumas greatest work far surpassing 'Queen Margo' 'The Three Musketeers' or 'The Corsican Brothers.' As translator Robin Buss points out in his introduction, many of those who haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo assume it is a children's adventure story, complete with daring prison escape culminating in a simple tale of revenge. There is very little for children in this very adult tale, however. Instead, the rich plot combines intrigue, betrayal, theft, drugs, adultery, presumed infanticide, torture, suicide, poisoning, murder, lesbianism, and unconventional revenge. Although the plot is roughly linear beginning with Edmond Dantès' return to Marseille, prenuptial celebration, and false imprisonment and ending with his somewhat qualified triumphant departure from Marseille and France, Dumas uses the technique of interspersing lengthy anecdotes throughout. The story of Cardinal Spada's treasure, the origins of the Roman bandit Luigi Vampa (the least germane to the novel), Bertuccio's tale of his vendetta, and the account of the betrayal and death of Ali Pasha are few of the more significant stories-within-the-novel. While Dumas devotes an entire chapter to bandit Luigi Vampa's background, he cleverly makes only a few references to what will remain the plot's chief mystery-how the youthful, intelligent, and naive sailor Edmond Dantès transforms himself into the worldly, jaded, mysterious Renaissance man and Eastern philosopher, the count of Monte Cristo, presumably sustained by his own advice of "wait" and "hope." This novel is not a simple tale of simple revenge. The count does not kill his enemies; he brilliantly uses their vices and weaknesses against them. Caderousse's basic greed is turned against him, while Danglars loses the only thing that has any meaning for him. Fernand is deprived of the one thing that he had that he had never earned-his honour. In the process, he loses the source of his initial transgression, making his fate that much more poignant. The plot against Villefort is so complicated that even Monte Cristo loses control of it, resulting in doubt foreign to his nature and remorse that he will not outlive. This long but generally fast-paced is set primarily in Marseille, Rome, and Paris. It begins with Dantès' arrival in Marseille aboard the commercial vessel Pharaon and ends with his departure from Marseille aboard his private yacht, accompanied by the young, beautiful Greek princess Haydée. What gives The Count of Monte Cristo its life, however, are the times in which it is set-the Revolution, the Napoleonic era, the First and Second Restoration, and the Revolution of 1830. Life-and-death politics motivates many of the characters and keeps the plot moving. Dumas also uses real people in minor roles, such as Countess G- (Byron's mistress) and the Roman hotelier Signor Pastrini, which adds to the novel's sense of historical veracity. The most troubling aspect of The Count of Monte Cristo is Edmond Dantès himself. His claim to represent a higher justice seems to justify actions and inactions that are as morally reprehensible as those that sent him to prison, for example, his account of how he acquired Ali and his loyalty. Had he not discovered young Morrel's love for Valentine Villefort, she too might have become an innocent victim. As it is, there are at least two other innocents who die, although one clearly would not have been an innocent for long based on his behaviour in the novel. One wonders of Dantès' two father figures, his own flower-loving father and fellow prisoner Abbé Faria, would have approved of the count. The translation appears to be good, with a few slips into contemporary English idioms that sound out of place. In his introduction, Buss states that the later Danglars and Fernand have become unrecognizable and that Fernand in particular has been transformed "from the brave and honest Spaniard with a sharp sense of honour . . . to the Parisian aristocrat whose life seems to have been dedicated to a series of betrayals." There is never anything honest or honourable about Fernand; his very betrayal of Edmond is merely the first we know of in his lifelong pattern. What seems extreme and somewhat unrealistic about Fernand is his transformation from an uneducated Catalan fisherman into a "Parisian aristocrat," hobnobbing with statesmen, the wealthy, and the noteworthy of society. This, however, is the result of the milieu that the novel inhabits. During these post-Revolution, post-Napoleonic years, Fernand could rise socially through his military and political accomplishments just as Danglars does through his financial acumen. Danglars is careful to note that the difference between them is that Fernand insists upon his title, while Danglars is openly indifferent to and dismissive of his; his viewpoint is the more aristocratic. Countess G- is quick to point out that there is no old family name of Monte Cristo and that the count, like many other contemporaries, has purchased his title. It serves mainly to obscure his identity, nationality, and background and to add to the aura of mystery his persona and Eastern knowledge create. What is most telling is that his entrée into Parisian society is based primarily on his great wealth, not his name. Dumas reinforces this point with Andrea Cavalcanti, another mystery man of unknown name and reputed fortune. I have read The Man in the Iron Mask and The Three Musketeers series, both of which surprised me with their dark aspects (the character and fate of Lady de Winter, for example) and which little resembled the adventure stories distilled from them for children and for film. When I overheard a college student who was reading The Count of Monte Cristo on the bus tell a friend that she couldn't put it down, I was inspired to read it. I couldn't put it down, either, with its nearly seamless plot, dark protagonist, human villains, turbulent historical setting, and larger-than-life sense of mystery. At 1,078 pages, it's imposing, but don't cheat yourself by settling for an abridged version. You'll want to pick up every nuance. O(∩_∩)O哈哈~

BBC news with David Harper

David Harper为您播报BBC新闻

South Africa has announced a tenfold increase in the number of troops to be deployed in response to widespread violence sparked by the jailing of the former President Jacob Zuma.

南非宣布将部署的军队数量增加十倍，这是对前总统雅各布·祖玛被监禁引发的广泛暴力的回应。

Up to 25000 soldiers are to be sent on the streets of KwaZulu-Nataland Gauteng provinces.

多达25000名士兵将被派往夸祖鲁－纳塔兰省豪登省的街道。

The leader of South Africa Zulu said 6 days of looting had brought shame on the entire country.

南非领导人祖鲁表示，持续6天的抢劫给整个国家带来了耻辱。

The authorities in Ethiopia's Amhara

埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉当局

region said they will go on the offensive against forces from neighboring Tigray,

该地区表示，他们将向邻国蒂格雷的军队发起进攻，

potentially opening up a new phase in8 months of civil war.

可能会开启长达8个月的内战的新阶段。

Troops have been rallied to counter the Tigrayans who are advancing on Amhara-held territory.

军队已经集结起来对抗向阿姆哈拉占领地区挺进的蒂格雷人。

The European Union has announced ambitious plans to cut carbon emissions to net zero by the year 2050.

欧盟已经宣布到2050年削减碳排放至零的雄心勃勃的计划。

They include ending the sale of new petrol cars by 2035 and imposing new taxes on shipping and aviation fuel.

其中包括到2035年停止销售新的汽油汽车，并对航运和航空燃料征收新税。

People from both sides of the political divide have criticized the British.

政治分歧双方的人都在批评英国。

government's plans to stop prosecutions of all crimes committed in Northern,Ireland before 1998's peace agreement.

政府计划停止起诉在北方犯下的所有罪行，1998年和平协议前的爱尔兰。

Victim groups said a blanket amnesty covering all soldiers and paramilitary groups is too generous.

The US government has demanded the immediate release of people detained during the protest which swept Cuba on Sunday.

受害者团体说，对所有士兵和准军事组织的大赦太慷慨了。美国政府要求立即释放周日席卷古巴的抗议活动中被拘留的人。

Local activists said at least 65 have been detained in the capital Havana and many others elsewhere.

当地活动人士说，至少有65人参加了。

The World Health Organization has warned of potentially catastrophic.

在首都哈瓦那和其他地方被拘留。

consequences in the Middle East from a surge of CoVID infections ahead of the Muslim celebration of Eid al Adha next week.

世界卫生组织已经发出了潜在的灾难性警告穆斯林将于下周庆祝古尔邦节（Eid al Adha)。

The rising cases is being driven by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccination rates.

德尔塔病毒变种的传播和疫苗接种率低是导致病例增加的原因。

The US Justice Department has criticized the FBl investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the former doctor of the national gymnastics team, Larry Nassar.

美国司法部批评了联邦调查局对前国家体操队医生拉里·纳萨尔（Larry Nassar)性虐待指控的调查。

Reports say that FBI had failed to respond to the allegations with the seriousness and urgency required. The FBI has acknowledged shortcomings.

有报道称，联邦调查局未能对这些指控做出回应，需要严肃性和紧迫性。联邦调查局承认存在缺陷。

去Chinadaily搜一篇，找一篇不是很长的。

The United States has made an urgent plea for an unprecedented global effort to fight the Ebola outbreak that's originated in West Africa. The Secretary of State John Kerry said the disease was a global crisis demanding a global response. Ali Mcbull reports from Washington.President Obama is now trying to reassure a nervous American public that fighting Ebola is, in his words, not just a public health issue, but a national security priority.But the death in Texas of 42-year-old Thomas Eric Duncan has for many raised questions about just how effectively health officials here can isolate the virus. A new screening regime including taking the temperature of visitors has been announced at five American airports that together receive over 90% of those arriving from the Ebola-affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia where Mr. Duncan arrived from in mid September. 美国迫切请求全球作出前所未有的努力，应对源于西非的埃博拉疫情。国务卿约翰·克里表示，该疾病是全球危机，需要全球作出回应。Ali Mcbull在华盛顿报道。奥巴马总统试图安抚紧张的美国公众，用他的话说，应对埃博拉病毒不只是公共健康问题，而且是全国安全要务。但是得克萨斯州42岁的邓肯(Thomas Eric Duncan)的死亡导致许多人质疑卫生官员能否有效隔离该病毒。美国五个机场宣布了新的扫描制度，包括测量旅客的体温。这五个机场接收了来自几内亚，塞拉利昂和利比亚这三个埃博拉感染国家超过90%的旅客。9月中旬，邓肯就是从这里回到美国的。