Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: There are two different meanings of justice, what is the distinction between
them?
Vocabulary:
justice n. 正义，公正；司法
court n. 法院
law n. 法律
innocence n. 无辜
undertake v. 承担，着手做
arduous adj. 艰苦的，艰难的
abstract adj. 抽象的
concept n. 概念，观念
mete out 给予，处置
interference n. 干涉
accord n. 一致
premises n. 房屋
convert v. 转变，改变
disused adj. 不再用的，废弃的
fireplace n. 壁炉
muffle v. 捂住，厌抑
chip v. 砍，削，凿
blacken v. 不变黑
emerge v. (从某处)出现
Passage:
The word justice is usually associated with courts of law. We might say that justice
has been done when a man's innocence or guilt has been proved beyond doubt. Justice
is part of the complex machinery of the law. Those who seek it undertake an arduous
journey and can never be sure that they will find it. Judges, however wise or eminent,
are human and can make mistakes.
“正义”这个词常常是同法庭连在一起的。当某人被证据确凿地证明无罪或有罪的
时候，我们也许会说正义得到了伸张。正义是复杂的法律机器的组成部分。那些
寻求正义的人走的是一条崎岖的道路，从来没有把握他们最终将找到正义。法官
无论如何聪明与有名，毕竟也是人，也会出差错的。
There are rare instances when justice almost ceases to be an abstract concept. Reward
or punishment are meted out quite independent of human interference. At such times,
justice acts like a living force. When we use a phrase like ‘it serves him right’, we are,
in part, admitting that a certain set of circumstances has enabled justice to act of its
own accord.
在个别情况下，正义不再是一种抽象概念。奖惩的实施是不受人的意志支配的。
在这种时候，正义像一种有生命的力量行使其职能。当我们说“他罪有应得”这句
话的时候，我们部分地承认了某种特定的环境使得正义自动地起了作用。
Notes:
1 beyond doubt，确凿无疑。
2 however wise or eminent ，不管他们是多么精明、多么杰出。
However 为连接副词，作“不管……如何”解，所引导的让步状语从句中经常可以
省略某些词，此处省略了they are。
3 quite independent of human interference，完全不受人的干预。 be independent of，
不受。
4 it serves him right，他罪有应得。
5 in part ，部分地，在某种程度上。
6 of its own accord， 自愿地， 自动地。
When a thief was caught on the premises of a large jewellery store one morning, the
shop assistants must have found it impossible to resist the temptation to say ‘it serves
him right’. The shop was an old converted house with many large, disused fireplaces
and tall, narrow chimneys. Towards midday, a girl heard a muffled cry coming from
behind one of the walls. As the cry was repeated several times, she ran to tell the
manager who promptly rang up the fire brigade. The cry had certainly come from one
of the chimneys, but as there were so many of them, the fire fighters could not be
certain which one it was. They located the right chimney by tapping at the walls and
listening for the man's cries. After chipping through a wall which was eighteen inches
thick, they found that a man had been trapped in the chimney. As it was extremely
narrow, the man was unable to move, but the fire fighters were eventually able to free
him by cutting a huge hole in the wall. The sorry-looking, blackened figure that
emerged, admitted at once that he had tried to break into the shop during the night but
had got stuck in the chimney. He had been there for nearly ten hours. Justice had been
done even before the man was handed over to the police.
一天上午，当一个小偷在一家大型珠宝店里被人抓住的时候，店员一定会忍不住
说：“他罪有应得。”那是一座老式的、经过改造的房子，店里有许多废置不用的
大壁炉和又高又窄的烟囱。快到中午的时候，一个女售货员听见从一堵墙里传出
一种闷声闷气的叫声。由于这种喊叫声重复了几次，她跑去报告了经理，经理当
即给消防队挂了电话。喊叫声肯定是从烟囱里传出来的，然而，因为烟囱太多，
消防队员无法确定到底是哪一个。他们通过叩击烟囱倾听那人的喊叫声而确定了
传出声音的那个烟囱。他们凿透了 18 英寸厚的墙壁，发现有个人卡在了烟囱里。
由于烟囱太窄，那人无法动弹。消防队员在墙上挖了个大洞，才终于把他解救出
来。那个看起来满脸沮丧、浑身漆黑的家伙从烟囱里一出来，就承认头天夜里他
企图到店里行窃，但让烟囱卡住了。他已经在烟囱里被困了将近 10 个小时。甚
至在那人还没被送交给警察之前，正义就已得到了伸张。
Notes:
7 impossible to resist the temptation to say…，情不自禁地说……。
35.2【阅读理解】Justice was done
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 What is the word justice usually associated with? (Courts of law.)
2 When has justice been done? (When a man's innocence or guilt has been proved
beyond doubt.)
3 Will people who seek justice always find it? (No, they won't.)
4 Why can judges make mistakes? (Because they are human.)
5 Does justice sometimes act like a living force? (Yes, it does.)
6 Did the shop assistants probably think ‘it served him right’ ? (Yes, they probably
did.)
7 Was the shop a new one? (No, it wasn't.)
8 What was it? (It was an old converted house.)
9 Did it have a lot of disused fireplaces and tall, narrow chimneys? (Yes, it did.)
10 A girl heard a muffled cry. Where was it coming from? (Behind one of the walls.)
11 Who did she tell? (The manager.)
12 And who did he ring? (The fire brigade.)
13 How did the firemen locate the right chimney? (By tapping at the walls and
listening for the man's cries/shouts.)
14 How thick was the wall that they chipped through? (Eighteen inches.)
15 They found that a man had been trapped. Where? (In the chimney.)
16 How did the fire fighters eventually manage to free the man? (By cutting a huge
hole in the wall.)
17 Did the man admit that he had tried to break into the shop during the night? (Yes,
he did.)
18 Where had he got stuck? (In the chimney.)
19 And how long had he been there? (For nearly ten hours.)
20 Had justice been done? (Yes, it had.)
35.3【拓展写作】Justice was done
Step 3: Composition
In not more than 250 words write an imaginary account of the thief's experiences up
to the time he was freed by fire fighters. Expand the ideas given below into a plan and
provide a suitable title. Your composition should be in three or four paragraphs.
Ideas: Planning the theft---kept close watch on shop---noticed chimneys---one night
climbed on to roof ---chimney seemed wide ---went down---stuck---climbed up again
---went down another chimney ---again got stuck ---could neither climb up nor down
---shouted for help ---everything dark and silent---frightened---shouted next
morning---freed by firefighters.
Key to composition
A burglary that went wrong
There is a large jewellery store in the town that I have often wanted to rob. A few
weeks ago I started planning the theft and kept a close watch on the shop. I noticed
when people went in and out, when they started and finished work, and so on. And I
noticed the chimneys, too.
One night I climbed onto the roof of the store and looked for a way in. One of the
chimneys seemed wide enough for me to get in, so I started climbing down. Very
soon, however, I got stuck and had to climb out again. I didn't give up. I looked
around, found another chimney that looked quite wide at the top and climbed down
that one. Again I got stuck.
This time, however, I was really stuck. I could climb neither up nor down. At first
I struggled to try to free myself, but I couldn't get out. Then I started to get scared and
started sweating. I tried to calm myself by quietly counting and thinking of pleasant
things. But nothing worked and finally I started shouting for help. Nothing happened,
everything was dark and silent, and I got more and more frightened.
I think I went to sleep because I suddenly realized that light was shining down the
chimney. I shouted and shouted. Eventually I heard tapping and was finally freed by
fire fighters who had smashed a hole in the chimney.
课外练习：
1 In what circumstances may justice take effect outside the courts of law?
(a) When a judge has proved neither eminent nor wise.
(b) When it has not been possible to prove a man's guilt beyond any doubt. a
(c) When justice has been done without the interference of a human agent.
(d) When, for example, a man is caught and handed over to the police.
2 Why did the manager ring up the fire brigade?
(a) He thought that one of the chimneys was on fire.
(b) He expected them to be of most help in the circumstances.
(c) He had not realized there was a criminal on the premises.
(d) He thought whoever was stuck might be a member of the fire brigade.
3 The fire fighters ascertained which chimney the man was in by .
(a) deciding which of the many cries came from the right chimney
(b) listening for the man's response to their taps on the walls
(c) chipping through a wall which was eighteen inches thick
(d) cutting a huge hole in the wall
4 wise or eminent, judges are human and can make mistakes.
(a) Whether
(b) Either
(c) How much
(d) No matter how
5 In our use of a phrase like ‘it serves him right’ , in part, admitting …
(a) is
(b) it is
(c) we are
(d) and in
6 The staff must have found it impossible to say ‘it serves him right’.
(a) they were not tempted
(b) for them not to be tempted
(c) to be tempted
(d) not to be tempted
7 several times, she ran to tell the manager.
(a) Repeating the cry
(b) While the cry was repeated
(c) The cry being repeated
(d) Having repeated the cry
8- admitted that to break into the shop during the night, he had got stuck in
the chimney.
(a) although he had tried
(b) while he has tried
(c) in trying
(d) it was he who had tried
9 She the cry several times, so she ran...
(a) heard
(b) listened to
(c) listened for*
(d) earmarked
10 They located the chimney by tapping ...
(a) on the right
(b) well
(c) right away
(d) correctly
11 The blackened figure that emerged was sight.
(a) an ugly
(b) a sorry
(c) an apologetic
(d) a poor
12 The sorry-looking blackened figure that , admitted at once ….
(a) came to light
(b) came up
(c) went out
(d) got out
答案：1c 2b 3b 4d 5c 6d 7c 8c 9a 10d 11b 12d