第四章 秘密花园

徐奚潇

在象征著幸运的知更鸟的引领下，玛丽无意间发现了打开秘密花园的钥匙和进入的通道。当她满心欢喜地走进花园时，迎接她的是一派生机盎然，还是满目衰败和凋零呢？

1. beady /bidi/ adj. 小圆珠般而亮晶晶的;机警的

2. fumble /fmbl/ v. 胡乱摸找（某物）

3. gallop /ɡlp/ v. （马等）飞奔;疾驰

4. tread /tred/ v. 行走;踩

5. thorny /θni/ adj. 有刺的;棘手的

6. muffle /mfl/ v. 压低 （声音）;使听不清

7. prod /prd/ v. 戳;杵;捅

8. vegetation /ved？廾ten/ n. （统称）植物

9. sprinkle /sprkl/ v. 洒;撒

The next morning Mary was already buttoning up her coat when Martha arrived. “Youre an early bird！” Martha said.

“Well， I do like birds！” Mary grinned.

“Its nice to see you so cheerful， Miss，” Martha told her. “Have a nice time.”

Mary felt the key deep in her coat pocket. “I will，” she said.

A few minutes later she was staring at the ivycovered wall. If only she could find the door. She had spent all yesterday looking for it but had given up when it became too dark to see anything.

What she needed was the robin to bring her luck.

Sure enough she soon heard his cheery call and there he was， staring down at her with those black， beady eyes.

“Robin，” she said， her voice soft， “yesterday you showed me the key. Can you show me the door today？”

What happened next was pure magic. A strong gust of wind lifted the ivy， parting it like a curtain. The gust blew only for a second but long enough for Mary to see a doorknob. Beneath the doorknob was a metal square with a hole in it.

She fumbled for the key， her heart beating faster than a galloping horse. Nearby， the robin continued to sing as she put the key in the keyhole and turned. Taking a deep breath， Mary pushed the door open and stepped inside.

She found herself surrounded by four high walls. They made her feel she was in her own private kingdom. Slowly she began to walk， treading softly on the overgrown pathways.

Rose trees had taken over the garden. They had climbed over urns， arbours and other trees， spreading thorny tendrils across to each other， as if holding hands. The branches were all either grey or brown. Mary wasnt sure if they were dead or alive.

Onwards she explored. Everything was so still. The grass and moss beneath her feet muffled her footsteps. She kept her eyes to the ground. It must have been a beautiful place once but now everything was overgrown.

Picking up a sharp stick， Mary began prodding in the earth. She was amazed to find tiny green shoots beneath the dead vegetation. Could they be spring flowers like those Ben Weatherstaff had shown her？ She began to dig away until the shoots were showing.

“There！ You can breathe now！” she whispered.

For the rest of that week Mary tended the garden. It was such a peaceful place. There was nothing within its walls to make her feel angry or cross or unwanted. There was only a calm feeling that made her feel she was wrapped in a warm blanket. If only she could do more！ The sticks she used to clear the ground kept breaking. She wished she had tools like a proper gardener. She also wished she knew more about gardening.

“Martha？” she asked the girl one lunchtime. “Do you know where I can get a small spade to dig with？”

“Well， theres a shop in Thwaite that sells things like that. Why？”

“I...” Mary hesitated. She couldnt tell Martha about the secret garden. “I... Ive found a patch of ground in one of the gardens. I thought it would be nice to dig in it.”

“Oh， thats a lovely idea. You could plant some seeds， too.”

“Seeds？”

“Aye， seeds. You sprinkle them in the ground and flowers grow.”

Marys eyes lit up. Flowers growing again in the secret garden！ Imagine！

“Our Dickon could get them for you.”

“Could he？ That would be wonderful！”

Activity A   Reading for comprehension

Ⅰ. Understanding the main idea

Write a summary of Chapter Four with about 60 words. Remember to leave out unnecessary details.

Ⅱ. Understanding the structures

Please fill in the blanks according to the text. （Every big blank carries two small blanks. The left one indicates Marys feelings， and the right one indicates her personalities.）

Marys magic discovery of the secret garden

Ⅲ. Understanding the details

1. In your opinion， why did the author describe Marys discovery as “pure magic”？

2. Why did Mary undergo a change of feelings after she entered the secret garden？

Activity B   Reading for writing

Ⅰ. Useful expressions for creating a novel

1. expressions for describing appearance

black， beady eyes  乌黑发亮的眼睛

2. expressions for describing feelings

her heart beats faster than a galloping horse  她的心跳得比驰骋的骏马还快

feel she was in her own private kingdom  她感觉置身于自己的王国之中

feel angry or cross or unwanted  感到生氣、易怒和多余

3. expressions for describing behaviour/environment

fumble for the key  摸索着钥匙

take a deep breath  深吸一口气

tread softly on the overgrown pathways  轻轻地在杂草丛生的小径上走着

muffle her footsteps  壓低了她的脚步声

4. expressions for describing scenery

A strong gust of wind lifted the ivy.  一阵狂风掀开了藤蔓。

Rose trees take over the garden.  花园里满是玫瑰花丛。

spread thorny tendrils across to each other  带刺的卷须连成一片

green shoots beneath the dead vegetation  枯死植被下窜出来的绿色新芽

5. others

cheery call 欢脱的鸣叫

Ⅱ. Writing technique

Contrast （对照）

Definition： Contrast is a rhetorical device through which writers identify differences between two subjects， places， persons， things， or ideas. To put it simply， it is a type of opposition between two objects， highlighted to emphasize their differences.

Example： “It was the best of times， it was the worst of times， it was the age of wisdom， it was the age of foolishness， it was the epoch of belief， it was the epoch of incredulity， it was the season of Light， it was the season of Darkness， it was the spring of hope， it was the winter of despair， we had everything before us， we had nothing before us， we were all going direct to Heaven， we were all going direct the other way...” （Excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities）

Try to locate and analyse the sentences involving contrast in the chapter.

Ⅲ. Brainstorming

If you were Martha， and you were going to write a letter to your brother Dickon. Please compose the letter with about 100 words.

My dear Dickon，

Your loving sister，

Martha