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理查德是位畅销小说家,全美国都是他的书迷,连纽约市市长都是他的粉丝。他刚刚用主人公斯托姆的死结束了一个畅销小说系列,正苦于没有新的灵感时,在纽约市警察局当探长的凯特突然找上门来——最近的两宗案件里,凶手用的手法竟然和理查德书里的一模一样!
美国人确实很喜欢探案推理剧,而且总能找到新的切入点,让推理迷看得津津有味。《灵书妙探》原本只是ABC在两个电视季之间推出的过渡品。谁料这部没有奇人异士、也不哗众取宠的轻松短剧只靠演员的过硬演技和风趣睿智的对白便引起人们的关注,ABC甚至决定出版实体小说为9月底开播的第二季造势——不知道理查德和凯特这对搭档在新的一季里又会擦出怎样的火花呢?
模仿杀人犯的出现让理查德非常感兴趣,他主动提出协助警方进行调查,凯特看不惯他的轻浮举止……
Kate: Why are you here? You don’t care about the victims, so you aren’t here for justice. You don’t care that the guy’s aping[模仿] your books, so you aren’t here ’cause you’re outraged[使愤慨]. So what is it, Rick? Are you here to annoy me?
Richard: I’m here for the story.
Kate: The story?
Richard: Why those people? Why those murders?
Kate: Sometimes there is no story. Sometimes the guy is just a psychopath[精神病患].
Richard: (laughs) There’s always a story, always a chain of events makes everything make sense. Take you, for example. Under normal circumstances, you should not be here. Most smart, good-looking women become lawyers, not cops. And yet, here you are. Why?
Kate: I don’t know, Rick. You’re the novelist. You tell me.
Richard: Well, you’re not bridge and tunnel.
No trace of the boroughs[区] when you talk, that means Manhattan, that means money. You went to college, probably a pretty good one. You had options. Yeah, you had lots of options – better options, more socially acceptable options – and you still chose this. That tells me something
happened. Not to you. No, you’re wounded, but you’re not that wounded. No, it was somebody you cared about. It was someone you loved. And you probably could’ve lived with that, but the person responsible was never caught. And that, Detective Beckett, is why you’re here.
Kate: …Cute trick. Don’t think you know me.
Richard: The point is, there’s always a story. You, you just have to find it.
凯特:你为什么要来?你并不在乎受害者,所以你不是来伸张正义的。你不介意凶手模仿你的书作案,所以你也不是来兴师问罪的。那么到底是为了什么,里克?你是来惹我生气的吗?
理查德:我来这里是为了故事。
凯特:故事?
理查德:为什么偏偏是那几个人?为什么要犯下这样的凶案?
凯特:有时候根本就没什么故事。有时候凶手就是一个疯子。
理查德:(笑)案子背后总有故事,总会有一连串事情让案件变得有因可循。以你为例吧——在一般情况下,你不应该在这里工作。大多数聪明的美女都会去当律师,而不是警察,但你还是来了这里。为什么呢?
凯特:我不知道,里克。你是小说家,你来说说看。
理查德:哦,你不是什么乡巴佬,说话不带其他区的口音,也就是说你来自曼哈顿——那就意味着你家境不错。你念过大学,多半是一所很不错的学校。你的职业选择很多。没错,你有很多选择——比如更好的职业,更能被社会接受的职业,但你还是选了这一行。这就说明发生了一些事情。不是发生在你身上。不,你确实受到伤害,但不是那么严重。不,受伤的是你在乎的人,是你深爱的人。你可能一直生活在这件事的阴影之下,而罪魁祸首却一直逍遥法外。贝卡特探长,这就是你在这里工作的原因。
凯特:……这把戏真有趣。但别以为你很了解我。
理查德:我要说的是,案件背后总有故事,你……你只需要把它找出来。
口语锦囊
“bridge and tunnel”是美国俚语,意思是“住在郊外的人,乡巴佬,无知的人,思想狭隘者”。这个词组源自纽约,原本指的是那些住在纽约外围郊区的人——他们必须过桥或者穿行隧道才能到达曼哈顿。
疑凶出现了,案件草草收场,理查德对此耿耿于怀,和两个作家朋友玩纸牌时也心不在焉……
Patterson: Castle, I’m kinda glad that you killed off Storm. Less competition.
Cannell: Ah, bet’s to you, Ricky. (Richard is
absent-minded.) Castle? Castle!
Richard: Hmm?
Cannell: Bet’s to you.
Richard: Oh, sorry.
Patterson: I know that look: story trouble.
Cannell: You know, you never should’ve killed off Storm. That was a big mistake. I…I would’ve retired him. Or cripple[使残废] him. I mean, the man was money.
Patterson: You don’t see me puttin’ a bullet through Alex Cross’ head.
Cannell: Yeah, my boy Shane Scully’s gonna be fueling my private jet long after people have all
forgotten about Storm.
Richard: Ah, you know what? Just for that, I am gonna call.
Patterson: So what’s the problem, Ricky? Maybe we can help.
Richard: I’m working on this thing. It starts with a famous author. Some psycho[精神病患] starts staging murders like the way he does in his books.
Cannell: (laughs) That’s pretty self-aggrandizing[夸大], isn’t it?
Patterson: This is Castle we’re talking about.
Richard: So, the crime scenes are clean. Doesn’t leave any fingerprints. Doesn’t leave any DNA. But the psycho writes the author a fan letter with his prints all over it. Well, that leads the cops[(非正式)警察] to his apartment, where they find enough evidence to convict[证明有罪] him.
Cannell: And then?
Richard: That’s it.
Patterson: That’s IT?!
Richard: Yeah. They arrest him.
Patterson: That’s terrible! No wonder you’re blocked.
Cannell: And here’s another thing. The guy doesn’t leave his prints at the scene of the crime, but he sends a letter with his prints on it? You lost me there. And what about a twist?
Patterson: Where’s the twist?
Cannell: Yeah!
Richard: Yeah, right. Like...like, maybe somebody set this kid up.
Patterson: That’s what your story needs. The character who thinks the kid’s innocent, keeps digging until he finds the truth.
Richard: (comes up with an idea) Oh, I have just the guy.
帕特森:卡斯尔,我其实挺乐见你灭了斯托姆。少了一个竞争对手。
坎内尔:噢,到你了,里奇。(理查德心不在焉。)卡斯尔?卡斯尔!
理查德:唔?
坎内尔:到你了。
理查德:哦,对不起。
帕特森:我知道那表情是什么意思——没灵感了。
坎内尔:你瞧,你真不该干掉斯托姆。那是极大的错误。如果是我的话……我会让他退休,或者把他写残废。我的意思是,那家伙可是摇钱树啊。
帕特森:你肯定不会看见我用子弹打穿亚历克斯·克罗斯的脑袋。
坎内尔:是啊,等多年以后人们都把斯托姆忘得一干二净了,我的宝贝沙恩·斯卡利还在继续替我的私人飞机缴油费呢。
理查德:喔,告诉你吧,就为了这句话,我跟了。
帕特森:你到底遇到什么麻烦,里奇?也许我们能帮上忙。
理查德:我在构思这样一个故事。故事一开头讲的是一位有名的作家,一个疯子用他书里的手法在现实中杀人。
坎内尔:(笑)那也太自大了,不是吗?
帕特森:谁让我们谈论的是卡斯尔呢。
理查德:现场完全没有留下蛛丝马迹——没留下任何指纹,也没留下任何DNA。但这个变态杀手给作家写了一封布满自己指纹的崇拜信。警察由此顺藤摸瓜找到他的公寓,在那里找到了足以给他定罪的证据。
坎内尔:然后呢?
理查德:就这样。
帕特森:就这样?!
理查德:是啊,他们把他抓了。
帕特森:这故事真糟糕,难怪你大脑短路了。
坎内尔:还有一件事。凶手在犯罪现场没有留下指纹,却寄了一封有自己指纹的信?这可把我弄糊涂了。而且转折点呢?
帕特森:转折点在哪里?
坎内尔:是啊!
理查德:是的,没错。就好像……或许有人设计陷害这孩子。
帕特森:这就是你的故事需要的东西——主角相信这个孩子是无辜的,他继续调查,直到找出真相。
理查德:(灵机一动)哦,我有合适的人选了。
口语锦囊
在英语里,纸牌游戏有一套标准术语,名称叫法、牌的组合、不同的动作都有各自对应的说法。这个选段中出现的“bet”和“call”都不是我们平时常用的意思,分别指的是“下注”和“跟注”。例如一轮下注开始了,你可以选择跟注、加注(raise)、看牌(check)或者弃牌(fold),然后对下一个玩家说:“到你了。”(Bet’s to you.)喜欢打扑克的同学不妨将这方面的术语收集起来,然后约上三五同好一起用英语玩牌,这也是一种很有趣的学习法哦!
不断的合作让凯特越来越看重理查德的推理。她在新案件中遇到瓶颈了,只好上理查德家求助……
Richard: Something wrong?
Kate: I can’t find it.
Richard: Find what?
Kate: The answer.
Richard: It was Sam. Everything fits. It’s a good ending.
Kate: Yeah, but without proof[证据], it’s just a theory. And that family, those kids – they need more than just a theory. They need to know. I need to know.
Richard: Well, you have an ending. You want the rest, you need to work backwards, you need to finish the story. You have an ending. You have your killer. You just have to put it all together with the facts at hand.
Kate: The facts?
Richard: Fact: they had two small children.
Kate: So?
Richard: Based on police statements, they didn’t have a babysitter. With him at work, she would’ve had to have been with the kids the day she disappeared.
Kate: But Sam said that she left later that night.
Richard: Which the doorman was never able to corroborate[确证].
Kate: So if she was there and she never left, then…
Richard: Then she was murdered in the apartment.
Kate: Yeah.
Richard: Another fact: he lived in Manhattan.
Kate: And like most people in the city, he didn’t own a car.
Richard: So, what is a good husband to do living in Manhattan with his wife’s body? He can’t leave it in the apartment. He can’t walk out the lobby[大厅] with it. So the only question is…
Kate: How did he get the body to the storage unit?
Richard: He…he could…no. You know what helps?
Kate: Yeah?
Richard: Sometimes when I’m trying to figure out how a character of mine does something, I will walk the crime scene. The point is, you want to get into a killer’s head, go to where the killer was, and see what problems he had to face. Field trip[实地考察]?
理查德:出什么事了?
凯特:我找不到。
理查德:找不到什么?
凯特:答案。
理查德:是山姆干的。全部案情都吻合,大团圆结局。
凯特:是的,但没有证据,这只是一种推测。可那个家庭,那两个孩子——他们所需要的
不止是推测。他们要知道真相,我也需要。
理查德:那么,你已经知道结局了,如果要搞明白剩下的部分,你就得回头去调查,把整个故事补充完整。你知道结局,也知道谁是凶手。你只需要把手头的事实和这个结局串起来。
凯特:事实?
理查德:事实是——他们有两个小孩。
凯特:所以呢?
理查德:根据警方提供的口供,他们并没有请保姆。既然他要上班,她失踪那天应该和孩子们在一起。
凯特:不过山姆说她那天晚些时候出门了。
理查德:但看门人一直未能证实这一点。
凯特:那么,如果她在家,一直没有离开的话……
理查德:那么她就是在公寓里被杀的。
凯特:没错。
理查德:还有一点——他住在曼哈顿。
凯特:而且和城里大多数人一样,他没有私家车。
理查德:那么,一个住在曼哈顿的模范丈夫会如何处理妻子的尸体呢?他不能把尸体留在公寓里,也不能带着尸体穿过大厅。那么唯一的问题就是……
凯特:他是怎样把尸体运到贮藏库的?
理查德:他……可以……不行。你知道怎样做才有所帮助吗?
凯特:怎样?
理查德:有时候,当我在构思自己的角色会怎么做时,我会去犯罪现场走走。关键在于,如果想了解凶手的想法,你应该去凶手去过的地方,了解他必须面对的问题。去实地考察吗?
口语锦囊
逻辑推理是探案刑侦类题材中必不可少的关键环节。本段对话环环相扣,思路清晰连贯,从和缓开始,渐渐紧凑,最后突然停顿——这样的语言节奏变化很好地体现了作品的幽默诙谐。多听几遍,反复跟读,注意掌握两人之间的互动,模仿熟练后和搭档表演出来吧。
凯特透过前男友威尔的关系和一名黑帮的污点证人会面,岂料消息泄露,威尔和证人遇袭受伤……
Richard: You want to talk?
Kate: There’s nothing to talk about. I’m the one who pushed for it, and I’m the one who got Will involved.
Richard: There’s no way you could have known this was gonna happen.
Kate: Are you sure about that? Because their
vehicle was attacked leaving our meet.
Richard: So?
Kate: So we were followed. Someone who knew about the investigation[调查] found out about the meet. We led them to Moran. So yeah, I should’ve known. And if I were a better cop, I would’ve.
Richard: You think this is your fault? Yeah, you pushed for it, not because it’s your job, but because you care. Most people come up against a wall, they give up. Not you. You don’t let go, you don’t back down. That’s what makes you extraordinary.
理查德:想聊一聊吗?
凯特:没什么可谈的。是我硬要见面的,也是我把威尔拖下水的。
理查德:你不可能预料到会发生这种事。
凯特:你确定吗?因为他们的车子是在和我们见了面,离开的时候遇袭的。
理查德:那又怎样?
凯特:那就是说,我们被人跟踪了。有人知道了这次调查,发现我们要碰头。我们让他们找到了莫兰。所以,没错,我本该料到会这样。如果我是一名更称职的警察,我就应该想到这一点。
理查德:你认为这是你的错吗?没错,是你极力要求会面,但这不是出于工作需要,而是出于你的责任感。碰壁受挫的时候,大多数人都会知难而退,但你不会。你从不轻言放弃,也不会妥协退缩。这就是你与众不同的地方。
口语锦囊
我们经常会用到“push for sth.”这个词组,意思是“急切要求,力求得到”,例如:
People living near the airport are pushing for new restrictions on night flights. (住在机场附近的人强烈要求订立限制夜航班机的新规则。)
“back down”经常与“over”或“on”搭配,表示“放弃论点(要求),让步”,例如:
I saw that she was right, so I had to back down. (我发现她才是对的,只好放弃了自己的主张。)
美国人确实很喜欢探案推理剧,而且总能找到新的切入点,让推理迷看得津津有味。《灵书妙探》原本只是ABC在两个电视季之间推出的过渡品。谁料这部没有奇人异士、也不哗众取宠的轻松短剧只靠演员的过硬演技和风趣睿智的对白便引起人们的关注,ABC甚至决定出版实体小说为9月底开播的第二季造势——不知道理查德和凯特这对搭档在新的一季里又会擦出怎样的火花呢?
模仿杀人犯的出现让理查德非常感兴趣,他主动提出协助警方进行调查,凯特看不惯他的轻浮举止……
Kate: Why are you here? You don’t care about the victims, so you aren’t here for justice. You don’t care that the guy’s aping[模仿] your books, so you aren’t here ’cause you’re outraged[使愤慨]. So what is it, Rick? Are you here to annoy me?
Richard: I’m here for the story.
Kate: The story?
Richard: Why those people? Why those murders?
Kate: Sometimes there is no story. Sometimes the guy is just a psychopath[精神病患].
Richard: (laughs) There’s always a story, always a chain of events makes everything make sense. Take you, for example. Under normal circumstances, you should not be here. Most smart, good-looking women become lawyers, not cops. And yet, here you are. Why?
Kate: I don’t know, Rick. You’re the novelist. You tell me.
Richard: Well, you’re not bridge and tunnel.
No trace of the boroughs[区] when you talk, that means Manhattan, that means money. You went to college, probably a pretty good one. You had options. Yeah, you had lots of options – better options, more socially acceptable options – and you still chose this. That tells me something
happened. Not to you. No, you’re wounded, but you’re not that wounded. No, it was somebody you cared about. It was someone you loved. And you probably could’ve lived with that, but the person responsible was never caught. And that, Detective Beckett, is why you’re here.
Kate: …Cute trick. Don’t think you know me.
Richard: The point is, there’s always a story. You, you just have to find it.
凯特:你为什么要来?你并不在乎受害者,所以你不是来伸张正义的。你不介意凶手模仿你的书作案,所以你也不是来兴师问罪的。那么到底是为了什么,里克?你是来惹我生气的吗?
理查德:我来这里是为了故事。
凯特:故事?
理查德:为什么偏偏是那几个人?为什么要犯下这样的凶案?
凯特:有时候根本就没什么故事。有时候凶手就是一个疯子。
理查德:(笑)案子背后总有故事,总会有一连串事情让案件变得有因可循。以你为例吧——在一般情况下,你不应该在这里工作。大多数聪明的美女都会去当律师,而不是警察,但你还是来了这里。为什么呢?
凯特:我不知道,里克。你是小说家,你来说说看。
理查德:哦,你不是什么乡巴佬,说话不带其他区的口音,也就是说你来自曼哈顿——那就意味着你家境不错。你念过大学,多半是一所很不错的学校。你的职业选择很多。没错,你有很多选择——比如更好的职业,更能被社会接受的职业,但你还是选了这一行。这就说明发生了一些事情。不是发生在你身上。不,你确实受到伤害,但不是那么严重。不,受伤的是你在乎的人,是你深爱的人。你可能一直生活在这件事的阴影之下,而罪魁祸首却一直逍遥法外。贝卡特探长,这就是你在这里工作的原因。
凯特:……这把戏真有趣。但别以为你很了解我。
理查德:我要说的是,案件背后总有故事,你……你只需要把它找出来。
口语锦囊
“bridge and tunnel”是美国俚语,意思是“住在郊外的人,乡巴佬,无知的人,思想狭隘者”。这个词组源自纽约,原本指的是那些住在纽约外围郊区的人——他们必须过桥或者穿行隧道才能到达曼哈顿。
疑凶出现了,案件草草收场,理查德对此耿耿于怀,和两个作家朋友玩纸牌时也心不在焉……
Patterson: Castle, I’m kinda glad that you killed off Storm. Less competition.
Cannell: Ah, bet’s to you, Ricky. (Richard is
absent-minded.) Castle? Castle!
Richard: Hmm?
Cannell: Bet’s to you.
Richard: Oh, sorry.
Patterson: I know that look: story trouble.
Cannell: You know, you never should’ve killed off Storm. That was a big mistake. I…I would’ve retired him. Or cripple[使残废] him. I mean, the man was money.
Patterson: You don’t see me puttin’ a bullet through Alex Cross’ head.
Cannell: Yeah, my boy Shane Scully’s gonna be fueling my private jet long after people have all
forgotten about Storm.
Richard: Ah, you know what? Just for that, I am gonna call.
Patterson: So what’s the problem, Ricky? Maybe we can help.
Richard: I’m working on this thing. It starts with a famous author. Some psycho[精神病患] starts staging murders like the way he does in his books.
Cannell: (laughs) That’s pretty self-aggrandizing[夸大], isn’t it?
Patterson: This is Castle we’re talking about.
Richard: So, the crime scenes are clean. Doesn’t leave any fingerprints. Doesn’t leave any DNA. But the psycho writes the author a fan letter with his prints all over it. Well, that leads the cops[(非正式)警察] to his apartment, where they find enough evidence to convict[证明有罪] him.
Cannell: And then?
Richard: That’s it.
Patterson: That’s IT?!
Richard: Yeah. They arrest him.
Patterson: That’s terrible! No wonder you’re blocked.
Cannell: And here’s another thing. The guy doesn’t leave his prints at the scene of the crime, but he sends a letter with his prints on it? You lost me there. And what about a twist?
Patterson: Where’s the twist?
Cannell: Yeah!
Richard: Yeah, right. Like...like, maybe somebody set this kid up.
Patterson: That’s what your story needs. The character who thinks the kid’s innocent, keeps digging until he finds the truth.
Richard: (comes up with an idea) Oh, I have just the guy.
帕特森:卡斯尔,我其实挺乐见你灭了斯托姆。少了一个竞争对手。
坎内尔:噢,到你了,里奇。(理查德心不在焉。)卡斯尔?卡斯尔!
理查德:唔?
坎内尔:到你了。
理查德:哦,对不起。
帕特森:我知道那表情是什么意思——没灵感了。
坎内尔:你瞧,你真不该干掉斯托姆。那是极大的错误。如果是我的话……我会让他退休,或者把他写残废。我的意思是,那家伙可是摇钱树啊。
帕特森:你肯定不会看见我用子弹打穿亚历克斯·克罗斯的脑袋。
坎内尔:是啊,等多年以后人们都把斯托姆忘得一干二净了,我的宝贝沙恩·斯卡利还在继续替我的私人飞机缴油费呢。
理查德:喔,告诉你吧,就为了这句话,我跟了。
帕特森:你到底遇到什么麻烦,里奇?也许我们能帮上忙。
理查德:我在构思这样一个故事。故事一开头讲的是一位有名的作家,一个疯子用他书里的手法在现实中杀人。
坎内尔:(笑)那也太自大了,不是吗?
帕特森:谁让我们谈论的是卡斯尔呢。
理查德:现场完全没有留下蛛丝马迹——没留下任何指纹,也没留下任何DNA。但这个变态杀手给作家写了一封布满自己指纹的崇拜信。警察由此顺藤摸瓜找到他的公寓,在那里找到了足以给他定罪的证据。
坎内尔:然后呢?
理查德:就这样。
帕特森:就这样?!
理查德:是啊,他们把他抓了。
帕特森:这故事真糟糕,难怪你大脑短路了。
坎内尔:还有一件事。凶手在犯罪现场没有留下指纹,却寄了一封有自己指纹的信?这可把我弄糊涂了。而且转折点呢?
帕特森:转折点在哪里?
坎内尔:是啊!
理查德:是的,没错。就好像……或许有人设计陷害这孩子。
帕特森:这就是你的故事需要的东西——主角相信这个孩子是无辜的,他继续调查,直到找出真相。
理查德:(灵机一动)哦,我有合适的人选了。
口语锦囊
在英语里,纸牌游戏有一套标准术语,名称叫法、牌的组合、不同的动作都有各自对应的说法。这个选段中出现的“bet”和“call”都不是我们平时常用的意思,分别指的是“下注”和“跟注”。例如一轮下注开始了,你可以选择跟注、加注(raise)、看牌(check)或者弃牌(fold),然后对下一个玩家说:“到你了。”(Bet’s to you.)喜欢打扑克的同学不妨将这方面的术语收集起来,然后约上三五同好一起用英语玩牌,这也是一种很有趣的学习法哦!
不断的合作让凯特越来越看重理查德的推理。她在新案件中遇到瓶颈了,只好上理查德家求助……
Richard: Something wrong?
Kate: I can’t find it.
Richard: Find what?
Kate: The answer.
Richard: It was Sam. Everything fits. It’s a good ending.
Kate: Yeah, but without proof[证据], it’s just a theory. And that family, those kids – they need more than just a theory. They need to know. I need to know.
Richard: Well, you have an ending. You want the rest, you need to work backwards, you need to finish the story. You have an ending. You have your killer. You just have to put it all together with the facts at hand.
Kate: The facts?
Richard: Fact: they had two small children.
Kate: So?
Richard: Based on police statements, they didn’t have a babysitter. With him at work, she would’ve had to have been with the kids the day she disappeared.
Kate: But Sam said that she left later that night.
Richard: Which the doorman was never able to corroborate[确证].
Kate: So if she was there and she never left, then…
Richard: Then she was murdered in the apartment.
Kate: Yeah.
Richard: Another fact: he lived in Manhattan.
Kate: And like most people in the city, he didn’t own a car.
Richard: So, what is a good husband to do living in Manhattan with his wife’s body? He can’t leave it in the apartment. He can’t walk out the lobby[大厅] with it. So the only question is…
Kate: How did he get the body to the storage unit?
Richard: He…he could…no. You know what helps?
Kate: Yeah?
Richard: Sometimes when I’m trying to figure out how a character of mine does something, I will walk the crime scene. The point is, you want to get into a killer’s head, go to where the killer was, and see what problems he had to face. Field trip[实地考察]?
理查德:出什么事了?
凯特:我找不到。
理查德:找不到什么?
凯特:答案。
理查德:是山姆干的。全部案情都吻合,大团圆结局。
凯特:是的,但没有证据,这只是一种推测。可那个家庭,那两个孩子——他们所需要的
不止是推测。他们要知道真相,我也需要。
理查德:那么,你已经知道结局了,如果要搞明白剩下的部分,你就得回头去调查,把整个故事补充完整。你知道结局,也知道谁是凶手。你只需要把手头的事实和这个结局串起来。
凯特:事实?
理查德:事实是——他们有两个小孩。
凯特:所以呢?
理查德:根据警方提供的口供,他们并没有请保姆。既然他要上班,她失踪那天应该和孩子们在一起。
凯特:不过山姆说她那天晚些时候出门了。
理查德:但看门人一直未能证实这一点。
凯特:那么,如果她在家,一直没有离开的话……
理查德:那么她就是在公寓里被杀的。
凯特:没错。
理查德:还有一点——他住在曼哈顿。
凯特:而且和城里大多数人一样,他没有私家车。
理查德:那么,一个住在曼哈顿的模范丈夫会如何处理妻子的尸体呢?他不能把尸体留在公寓里,也不能带着尸体穿过大厅。那么唯一的问题就是……
凯特:他是怎样把尸体运到贮藏库的?
理查德:他……可以……不行。你知道怎样做才有所帮助吗?
凯特:怎样?
理查德:有时候,当我在构思自己的角色会怎么做时,我会去犯罪现场走走。关键在于,如果想了解凶手的想法,你应该去凶手去过的地方,了解他必须面对的问题。去实地考察吗?
口语锦囊
逻辑推理是探案刑侦类题材中必不可少的关键环节。本段对话环环相扣,思路清晰连贯,从和缓开始,渐渐紧凑,最后突然停顿——这样的语言节奏变化很好地体现了作品的幽默诙谐。多听几遍,反复跟读,注意掌握两人之间的互动,模仿熟练后和搭档表演出来吧。
凯特透过前男友威尔的关系和一名黑帮的污点证人会面,岂料消息泄露,威尔和证人遇袭受伤……
Richard: You want to talk?
Kate: There’s nothing to talk about. I’m the one who pushed for it, and I’m the one who got Will involved.
Richard: There’s no way you could have known this was gonna happen.
Kate: Are you sure about that? Because their
vehicle was attacked leaving our meet.
Richard: So?
Kate: So we were followed. Someone who knew about the investigation[调查] found out about the meet. We led them to Moran. So yeah, I should’ve known. And if I were a better cop, I would’ve.
Richard: You think this is your fault? Yeah, you pushed for it, not because it’s your job, but because you care. Most people come up against a wall, they give up. Not you. You don’t let go, you don’t back down. That’s what makes you extraordinary.
理查德:想聊一聊吗?
凯特:没什么可谈的。是我硬要见面的,也是我把威尔拖下水的。
理查德:你不可能预料到会发生这种事。
凯特:你确定吗?因为他们的车子是在和我们见了面,离开的时候遇袭的。
理查德:那又怎样?
凯特:那就是说,我们被人跟踪了。有人知道了这次调查,发现我们要碰头。我们让他们找到了莫兰。所以,没错,我本该料到会这样。如果我是一名更称职的警察,我就应该想到这一点。
理查德:你认为这是你的错吗?没错,是你极力要求会面,但这不是出于工作需要,而是出于你的责任感。碰壁受挫的时候,大多数人都会知难而退,但你不会。你从不轻言放弃,也不会妥协退缩。这就是你与众不同的地方。
口语锦囊
我们经常会用到“push for sth.”这个词组,意思是“急切要求,力求得到”,例如:
People living near the airport are pushing for new restrictions on night flights. (住在机场附近的人强烈要求订立限制夜航班机的新规则。)
“back down”经常与“over”或“on”搭配,表示“放弃论点(要求),让步”,例如:
I saw that she was right, so I had to back down. (我发现她才是对的,只好放弃了自己的主张。)