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英国作家安东尼·霍洛维茨（Anthony Horowitz）是小特务故事的头号名家。他的这一系列作品，以少年英雄亚历克斯·赖德（Alex Rider）为主人公。和邦德一样，赖德也是英国军情六处（MI6）的在编间谍，只不过年纪小得多。他转战古巴、意大利和法国，与形形色色的特务组织和黑帮团伙展开一场场生死恶战。这一系列曾为霍洛维茨赢得了2003年的“红房子”（Red House）童书奖。《中华读书报》当时曾有专文报道。赖德系列的前五本书已卖出了200多万册。第六部《天使方舟》（Ark Angel）刚刚于上月上市。英国《出版新闻》杂志的童书编辑格雷厄姆·马克斯（Graham Marks）认为，霍洛维茨的小特务系列，对打破《哈利·波特》的霸权地位功不可没。“霍洛维茨是突破者之一，并真真切切地在市场上大获成功。”马克斯说，“当传言他要把笔下的小主人公写死的时候，引起一片哗然，家长们不断打来电话，诉说自己的孩子为此如何抓狂。”
Alex Rider is giving it up. Being a teenage secret agent is just too dangerous. He wants his old life back. As he lies in the hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound, he contemplates the end of his career with MI6, the British secret service. But then he saves the life of Paul Drevin, son of multibillionaire Nikolei Drevin, and once again he is pulled into service. This time his mission involves eco-terrorists, rockets to space, maniacal killers, and a less-than-idyllic1 tropical island. The action-filled plot develops quickly and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The over-the-top characters, with their exaggerated quirks2 and personalities, work well in this James Bond-like novel. Detailed background, technical, and political information, essential for any spy story, is uncomplicated and easy for most readers to understand. Though there are some references to previous missions, this title can certainly stand alone.
亚历克斯·赖德要放弃。作为一名少年间谍真是太危险了。他想过原来的生活。当他由于枪伤躺在医院的病床上时，他沉思着，自己在英国军情六处从事的事业是否应该结束了。但是，当他救了亿万富翁尼克雷·德恩温的儿子保罗·德恩温后，他又重新卷入到间谍活动中。这一次，他的任务涉及到生化恐怖分子、太空火箭、疯狂杀手和一个略带田园情调的热带岛屿。本书故事情节复杂多变，引人入胜。书中主要人物个性鲜明，在这部有邦德风格的小说中可谓得天独厚。详尽的背景描写、高科技以及政治情报，这些向来都是间谍小说不可或缺的元素，在本书中并不复杂，大多数读者都能读懂。尽管本书中涉及到前几本书中的任务，却依然可以自成一家。
Excerpt 节选
he nurse was twenty-three years old, blonde, and nervous. This was only her second week at St. Dominic’s, one of London’s most exclusive private hospitals. Rock stars and television celebrities came here, she had been told. There were also VIPs from abroad. VIPs here meant very important patients. Even famous people get sick, and the ones who wanted to recover in five-star comfort chose St. Dominic’s. The surgeons and therapists were world-class. The hospital food was so good that some patients had been known to pretend they were ill so that they could enjoy it for a while longer. That evening, the nurse was making her way down a wide, brightly lit corridor, carrying a tray of medicines. She was wearing a freshly laundered3 white dress. Her name—Diana Meacher —was printed on a badge pinned to her uniform. Several of the junior doctors had already placed bets on which of them would persuade her to go out with them first.
She stopped in front of an open door. Room nine.
“Hello,”she said£”I’m Diana Meacher.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting you too,” the boy in room nine replied.
Alex Rider was sitting up in bed, reading a French textbook that he should have been studying at school. He was wearing pajamas4 that had fallen open at the neck and the nurse could just make out the bandages crisscrossing5his chest. He was a very handsome boy, she thought. He had fair hair and serious brown eyes that looked as though they had seen too much. She knew that he was only fourteen, but he looked older. Pain had done that to him. Nurse Meacher had read his medical file and understood what he had been through.
In truth, he should have been dead. Alex Rider had been hit by a bullet fired from a 22 rifle from a distance of almost 250 feet. The sniper had been aiming for his heart—and if the bullet had found its target, Alex would have had no chance of surviving. But nothing is certain—not even murder. A tiny movement had saved his life. As he had come out of MI6’s headquarters on Liverpool Street, he had stepped off the sidewalk, his right foot carrying his body down toward the level of the road. It was at that exact moment that the bullet had hit him, and instead of powering into his heart, it had entered his body half an inch higher, ricocheting6 off a rib and exiting horizontally under his left arm.
这个护士今年23岁，金发碧眼，有点怯生生的。这是她在伦敦的一所最高级私人医院——圣多米尼克医院——工作的第二个星期。她听说摇滚歌星和电视明星都来这家医院看病，还有国外的一些重要人物也来。这里的重要人物就是指重要的病人。名人也会生病，那些想在五星级环境中康复的人都会选择圣多米尼克医院。医院里的医生和治疗专家都是世界一流的。医院的膳食也相当好，因此有些人会装病延长住院的时间，借此来享受这里提供的美食。那天晚上，这个护士走在一条宽敞、灯火通明的走廊上，托盘里放着各种药品。她穿着一条刚刚洗过的白裙子。她的名字——戴安娜·米彻——印在胸牌上,而胸牌则别在制服上。有几位年轻医生私下里打赌，看看他们中谁能最先跟她约会。
她站在一扇开着的门前面。那是9号病房。
“你好，”她说，“我是戴安娜·米彻。”
“我也盼着能认识你，”9号病房里的男孩说。
亚历克斯·赖德坐在床上，正在看一本本应在学校学习的法语教科书。他穿着睡衣，脖子前面敞开着，所以护士能看到他胸前交叉的绷带。她想，他可是一位英俊少年。他有一头金发和深邃的棕色眼睛，那双眼睛写满沧桑。她知道他只有14岁，但看起来要成熟一些。伤痛让他变得成熟。护士米彻看过他的病历，知道他受过什么伤。
事实上，他本应当已经没命了。亚历克斯·赖德被子弹击中过，是从250英尺外的一支22毫米口径的来复枪射出的一发子弹。本来狙击手瞄准的是他的心脏——如果没有射偏的话，亚历克斯就没有幸存的机会了。但人算不如天算——即使谋杀也不例外。小小的一点偏差挽救了他的生命。当他走出位于利物浦大街的军情六处总部，走出人行道，迈出右脚时，身体就向地面倒了下去。就在那时，他被子弹击中。子弹没有击中他的心脏,而是击中了心脏上方半英寸处，弹在一根肋骨上，然后从左腋下方平行地射了出去。
Alex Rider is giving it up. Being a teenage secret agent is just too dangerous. He wants his old life back. As he lies in the hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound, he contemplates the end of his career with MI6, the British secret service. But then he saves the life of Paul Drevin, son of multibillionaire Nikolei Drevin, and once again he is pulled into service. This time his mission involves eco-terrorists, rockets to space, maniacal killers, and a less-than-idyllic1 tropical island. The action-filled plot develops quickly and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The over-the-top characters, with their exaggerated quirks2 and personalities, work well in this James Bond-like novel. Detailed background, technical, and political information, essential for any spy story, is uncomplicated and easy for most readers to understand. Though there are some references to previous missions, this title can certainly stand alone.
亚历克斯·赖德要放弃。作为一名少年间谍真是太危险了。他想过原来的生活。当他由于枪伤躺在医院的病床上时，他沉思着，自己在英国军情六处从事的事业是否应该结束了。但是，当他救了亿万富翁尼克雷·德恩温的儿子保罗·德恩温后，他又重新卷入到间谍活动中。这一次，他的任务涉及到生化恐怖分子、太空火箭、疯狂杀手和一个略带田园情调的热带岛屿。本书故事情节复杂多变，引人入胜。书中主要人物个性鲜明，在这部有邦德风格的小说中可谓得天独厚。详尽的背景描写、高科技以及政治情报，这些向来都是间谍小说不可或缺的元素，在本书中并不复杂，大多数读者都能读懂。尽管本书中涉及到前几本书中的任务，却依然可以自成一家。
Excerpt 节选
he nurse was twenty-three years old, blonde, and nervous. This was only her second week at St. Dominic’s, one of London’s most exclusive private hospitals. Rock stars and television celebrities came here, she had been told. There were also VIPs from abroad. VIPs here meant very important patients. Even famous people get sick, and the ones who wanted to recover in five-star comfort chose St. Dominic’s. The surgeons and therapists were world-class. The hospital food was so good that some patients had been known to pretend they were ill so that they could enjoy it for a while longer. That evening, the nurse was making her way down a wide, brightly lit corridor, carrying a tray of medicines. She was wearing a freshly laundered3 white dress. Her name—Diana Meacher —was printed on a badge pinned to her uniform. Several of the junior doctors had already placed bets on which of them would persuade her to go out with them first.
She stopped in front of an open door. Room nine.
“Hello,”she said£”I’m Diana Meacher.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting you too,” the boy in room nine replied.
Alex Rider was sitting up in bed, reading a French textbook that he should have been studying at school. He was wearing pajamas4 that had fallen open at the neck and the nurse could just make out the bandages crisscrossing5his chest. He was a very handsome boy, she thought. He had fair hair and serious brown eyes that looked as though they had seen too much. She knew that he was only fourteen, but he looked older. Pain had done that to him. Nurse Meacher had read his medical file and understood what he had been through.
In truth, he should have been dead. Alex Rider had been hit by a bullet fired from a 22 rifle from a distance of almost 250 feet. The sniper had been aiming for his heart—and if the bullet had found its target, Alex would have had no chance of surviving. But nothing is certain—not even murder. A tiny movement had saved his life. As he had come out of MI6’s headquarters on Liverpool Street, he had stepped off the sidewalk, his right foot carrying his body down toward the level of the road. It was at that exact moment that the bullet had hit him, and instead of powering into his heart, it had entered his body half an inch higher, ricocheting6 off a rib and exiting horizontally under his left arm.
这个护士今年23岁，金发碧眼，有点怯生生的。这是她在伦敦的一所最高级私人医院——圣多米尼克医院——工作的第二个星期。她听说摇滚歌星和电视明星都来这家医院看病，还有国外的一些重要人物也来。这里的重要人物就是指重要的病人。名人也会生病，那些想在五星级环境中康复的人都会选择圣多米尼克医院。医院里的医生和治疗专家都是世界一流的。医院的膳食也相当好，因此有些人会装病延长住院的时间，借此来享受这里提供的美食。那天晚上，这个护士走在一条宽敞、灯火通明的走廊上，托盘里放着各种药品。她穿着一条刚刚洗过的白裙子。她的名字——戴安娜·米彻——印在胸牌上,而胸牌则别在制服上。有几位年轻医生私下里打赌，看看他们中谁能最先跟她约会。
她站在一扇开着的门前面。那是9号病房。
“你好，”她说，“我是戴安娜·米彻。”
“我也盼着能认识你，”9号病房里的男孩说。
亚历克斯·赖德坐在床上，正在看一本本应在学校学习的法语教科书。他穿着睡衣，脖子前面敞开着，所以护士能看到他胸前交叉的绷带。她想，他可是一位英俊少年。他有一头金发和深邃的棕色眼睛，那双眼睛写满沧桑。她知道他只有14岁，但看起来要成熟一些。伤痛让他变得成熟。护士米彻看过他的病历，知道他受过什么伤。
事实上，他本应当已经没命了。亚历克斯·赖德被子弹击中过，是从250英尺外的一支22毫米口径的来复枪射出的一发子弹。本来狙击手瞄准的是他的心脏——如果没有射偏的话，亚历克斯就没有幸存的机会了。但人算不如天算——即使谋杀也不例外。小小的一点偏差挽救了他的生命。当他走出位于利物浦大街的军情六处总部，走出人行道，迈出右脚时，身体就向地面倒了下去。就在那时，他被子弹击中。子弹没有击中他的心脏,而是击中了心脏上方半英寸处，弹在一根肋骨上，然后从左腋下方平行地射了出去。