Lesson 19

Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay’s cat.
绑匪很少对动物感兴趣，但他们最近对埃莉诺·拉姆齐夫人的猫产生了相当大的兴趣
Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years.
埃莉诺·拉姆齐夫人是一位非常富有的老妇人，多年来一直和她的猫拉斯图斯住在一起。
Rastus leads an orderly life.
拉斯图斯过着一种有序的生活。
He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o’clock.
他通常在傍晚散步，并且总是在七点前回家。
One evening, however, he failed to arrive.
然而，有一天晚上，他没有出现。
Mrs. Ramsay got very worried.
拉姆齐夫人变得非常担心。
She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.
她到处寻找他，但没能找到他。
Three days after Rastus’ disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter.
在拉斯图斯失踪三天后，拉姆齐夫人收到了一封匿名信。
The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of £1,000.
作者声称Rastus目前很安全，如果拉姆齐夫人支付1000英镑赎金，它将被立即归还。
Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door.
拉姆齐夫人被指示把钱放在一个纸板箱里，并把它留在她的门外。
At first, she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again—the letter had made that quite clear—she changed her mind.
起初，她决定去报警，但由于担心再也见不到拉斯图斯了——信中已经把那点讲得相当清楚了——她改变了主意。
She withdrew £1,000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper’s instructions.
她从银行取了1,000英镑，并按照绑匪的指示做了。
The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word.
第二天早晨，盒子不见了，但拉姆齐夫人确信绑匪会遵守诺言。
Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o’clock that evening.
果不其然，拉斯图斯在那天晚上七点钟准时到达了。
He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk.
他看起来身体很好，虽然他相当口渴，因为他喝了半瓶牛奶。
The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done.
当拉姆齐夫人告诉警察她的所作所为时，他们大为震惊。
She explained that Rastus was very dear to her.
她解释说，拉斯特斯对她来说是非常亲爱的。
Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one
考虑到她支付的金额，他在多重意义上都是代价高昂的