印度之旅Passage to India
書林
Forster， E. M. 著
110
Chandrapore is a very ordinary city. Only the Marabar Caves are extraordinary， and they are more than thirty kilometres away. The houses where the Indians live are mean and muddy by the Ganges. The very wood seems made of mud， the inhabitants of mud moving. Inland， where the Europeans live， Chandrapore is a city of gardens. There is the river， a long hospital， and a railway station-near which the better-class Indians live-and then the gardens. The Civil Station is on a rise. This is where the English live， in bungalows， along roads that cross at right angles. The station is sensibly planned， with a red-brick club at the top of the rise. The Civil Station shares nothing with the city below， except the sky.
‘Can you explain my extraordinary behaviour？' she asked. ‘No，' he said. 'Why make such a charge if you were going to withdraw it?' ‘Why indeed.' She was so confused. 'My echo has gone. You see， I have been unwell ever since that visit to the caves， and p.ossibly before it.' The remark interested him rather; it was what he had suspected himself. ‘What kind of illness?' he inquired. She touched her head at the side， then shook it. ‘Can you remember when you first felt unwell?' ‘When I came to tea with you.' ‘A somewhat unlucky party. Aziz and old Godbole were both ill after it， too.' ‘l was not ill. It is all mixed up with my private affairs. I enjoyed the singing…but just about then， a sort of sadness began…no， nothing as solid as sadness： I was sort of half-conscious. I was certainly in that state when I saw the caves.' ‘l was watching you carefully through your evidence this morning，' Fielding said. He was liking Miss Quested better now， because he thought she was being honest. ‘It seemed to me your feeling of being half-conscious as you put it， disappeared suddenly.' She nodded， then asked， 'What does Aziz say ofme?' ‘He_he has not been capable of thought in his misery.Naturally， he's very bittter，' said Fielding， a little awkward. Aziz had not only been bitter， he had been downright insulting. It had hurt his pride： that people had thought he would find attractive a woman who was so plain. Fielding did not altogether like this in his friend： this confusion ofgoodness with beauty， as if be- cause Miss Quested was not beautiful， she must be bad. ‘There are four possibilities，' said Fielding. 'If Aziz is not bad-and I don't think he is; and you are not bad-and I don't think you are， and if you were not so ill that you saw things that were not there; then there is a fourth possibility： was it somebody else?' ‘The guide.' ‘Exactly， the guide. I often think so. Unluckily， Aziz hit him on the face， and he was frightened and disappeared.' ‘Perhaps it was the guide，' she said quietly; the question had lost interest for her suddenly. And at that moment Hamidullah joined them. He did not seem pleased to see the two of them together. Like everyone else in Chandrapore he could make nothing of Miss Quested's conduct. What is more， he had overheard her last remark about the guide. 'Hullo， my dear Fielding，' he said. ’So I find you at last. Can you come out to the Nawab's at once?' ‘At once?' ‘I hope to leave in a moment; don't let me interrupt，' said Adela. Hamidullah took no notice of her. ‘Miss Quested has been explaining a little about her conduct this morning.' ‘The fact is I realised before it was too late that I had made a mistake， and fortunately I was able to say so. That is all my strange conduct amounts to.' ‘All it amounts to， indeed，' Hamidullah replied， shaking with anger， but keeping himself in hand. 'I see you drag my best friend into the dirt， damage his health， and ruin lus career，in a way you cannot possibly imagine. You don't understand our society， or religion. And then suddenly you get up in court， and say： "Oh no， Mr McBryde， after all I am not quite sure. You may as well let him go." ……
East meets West in A Passage to india. Or does it？ Why should Miss Quested accuse Dr Aziz of assaulting her on an outing to the Marabar Caves? How can Dr Aziz defend him- self against such an unfair charge? Will the trail cause a bloody battle between the Indians lined up behind Dr Aziz and the British community solidly behind Miss Quested? A Passage to India has been adapted by Dr Colin Swatridge and includes a comprehensive Golssary and Notes. Macmillan's Stories to Remember series introduces new readers to famous stories whose quality and entertainment value have stood the test of time. The books are abridged and simplified， but as much as possible of the author's original style and the storyline has been retained. They are suitable for non-native speakers of English from lower intermediate level upwards， as well as providing an easy introduction to the great storytellers for young native speakers. The series is divided into Junior and Senior tiltes; the former are rather shorter and set in a larger typeface. For a full list of titles， see inside.
