学前说明

Mary Queen of Scots 苏格兰玛丽女王 —— 300词汇量，适用小学初一

我们从阅读这篇小说开始，小学和初一同学可能会有一些生词和新的语法，初二以后的同学可以当做消遣来阅读，培养自己的英语阅读速度和语感。

我会在文末带孩子们学习一些语法和短语难点，帮助大家学习和巩固单词和语法知识。

阅读原文

Elizabeth didn't give me her army. She put me in prison. You know this, James—it is the story of your life, not mine. I was twentyfive years old when I came to England, and I am fortyfive now. Twenty years in English prisons.

Moray told lies about me. Mary and Bothwell killed Darnley, he said. Mary slept with Riccio and Bothwell and killed her husband. But it's not true! They're all lies, James— wicked lies! They only said these things because I am a woman, and a Catholic, and they don't want a Catholic queen in Scotland, they want a Protestant king.

A king like you, James. Why, James my son, don't you help me? Why are you friendly with Elizabeth, my enemy? You don't want me back in Scotland, do you? You believe these lies, don't you? You talk to Moray and his friends, every day. But they lied about me, James. Moray and his friends killed Riccio Then killed your father, too. They stole my husband Bothwell, stole my son…

Stole my son's love…

I am sorry, James. Forgive me. Sometimes I get very angry. It is difficult not to be angry, when you are in prison for twenty years.

Elizabeth didn't know what to do. Sometimes she believed Moray, sometimes she didn't. She was afraid to kill me, because I was a Queen. She was afraid to let me go free, bcause I have friends in England. The English Catholics want me to be Queen of England, not her. And she is a woman with no husband and no son, so she hates me, too.

Sometimes the English Catholics write to me and ask me for help, and sometimes I write to them. Sometimes Elizabeth's men find these letters. The English Protestants want to kill me because of these letters. 'You are a wicked woman! 'they say: ' You killed your husband, Darnley, and now you want to kill our Queen Elizabeth. You're going to die! '

'I did not kill my husband, 'I said. 'And when l came to England, I did not want to kill your Queen. I asked her for help—I wanted to go back to Scotand! But, my lords, she put me in prison for twenty years! Twenty years, my lords! I want to be free—don't you understand that? when men write to me and try to help me, then yes, sometimes I write back! Why not? Is that wicked, do you think? '

They didn't listen. Of course not. They want to kill me. And so they wrote to Queen Elizabeth. And now I sit here, in Fotheringhay Castle, and wait for her to answer. I do not want to die, James my son, but I do not want to live all my life in an English prison. I am old, and tired of life. Think well of me, James, my son, and…

翻译

伊丽莎白没有给我她的军队。她把我关进了监狱。你知道这些的，詹姆斯——它是有关你生活的故事，不是我的。我来到英格兰时才25岁，而现在我已经45岁了，在英格兰的监狱里呆了20年。

有关我的情况马里撒了谎。玛丽和博思韦尔杀死了达恩利，他说。玛丽和里奇奥、博思韦尔同床共眠，还杀死了她的丈夫。但这不是真的！他们全在说谎，詹姆斯——恶意的谎言！他们只提这些事是因为我是个女人，是个天主教教徒，而且在苏格兰，他们不想要一个天主教教徒的女王，他们想要一个新教教徒的国王。

一个像你这样的国王，詹姆斯。为什么不帮助我呢？詹姆斯，我的儿子，为什么你还和伊丽莎白，我的仇敌友好相处呢？你不想让我回到苏格兰，是吗？你相信这些谎言，不是吗？你每天和马里以及他的朋友们说话。可是他们编造了关于我的谎言，詹姆斯。马里和他的朋友杀死了里奇奥，然后又杀死了你的父亲。他们偷走了我的丈夫博思韦尔，偷走了我的儿子。……

偷走了我儿子的爱……

我很抱歉，詹姆斯。原谅我。有时候我很愤怒。当你在监狱呆了20年之久，不生气是很难的。

伊丽莎白不知道该怎样做。她有时相信马里，有时候不。她不敢杀我，因为我是个女王。她不敢让我获得自由是因为我在英格兰有朋友。英格兰天主教教徒想让我成为英格兰女王，而不是她。再说她是个没有丈夫没有儿子的女人，因此她也恨我。

有时英格兰的天主教教徒们给我写信询问我是否需要帮助，有时我也写信给他们。有时伊丽莎白的人发现了这些书信。英格兰的新教教徒们想杀我就是因为这些书信。“你是个不道德的女人！”他们说：“你杀死了自己的丈夫，达恩利，而现在你又想杀我们的女王伊丽莎白。你死期将至了。”

“我没有杀害我丈夫，”我说，“而且当我来到英格兰时，我并没有想杀害你们的女王。我来请求她的帮助——我想回到苏格兰！但是，我的勋爵们，她把我关进了监狱整整20年！ 20年啊！我的勋爵们！我要自由——难道你们不理解吗？人们给我写信试图想帮助我，的确是的，有时我也回信！为什么不呢？你们认为那很不道德吗？”

他们不听。当然不听了。他们想杀我。因此他们给伊丽莎白女王写信。现在我坐在这里，在福瑟临黑城堡里，等待她的答复。我不想死，詹姆斯我的儿子，但是我也不想一辈子呆在英格兰监狱里。我老了，对生活也厌倦了。多想一想我吧，詹姆斯，我的儿子，并且……