1、Bedtime reading5000 words The Red And The BlackBook OneCHAPTER 1 A Small TownThe small town of Verrieres might be the prettiest in the French province of Franche-Comete. There are white houses on the side of the hill and the river Doubs flows through the town walls.When you first come to town, you h
2、ear an extremely noisy machine with many hammers. This machine makes many nails every minute. If you ask a local person,they will say, “Ah! That belongs to the mayor.“The mayor always looks like he is on important business, but he seems to have noimagination at all. This man appears to only think ab
3、out money. This is the mayor, Mr. de RenahThe mayor owns a beautiful house up the street. Next to the house is a nice garden with nice walls. To have nice walls is a way to show your neighbors you should be respected, and Mr. de Renal got some of his walls by buying land. One piece of land belonged
4、to old Sorel. This business was difficult, because Sorel was a tough peasant.Now Sorel is called Mr. Sorel, because this sale made him very rich. Many peoplein Verrieres didnt like this deal, and Public Opinion is very important in a small town like Verrieres. This makes life very hard; Public Opini
5、on is almost like despotism in these small towns.CHAPTER 2 A MayorLuckily for Mr. de Renals popularity as a mayor, the public square needed a newwall. Mr. de Renal needed three trips to Paris to raise enough money because a powerful minister said he would always oppose a wall for the square in Verri
6、eres. The new wall is now very large, regardless of any ministers.The Mayors plans are final. When an old army surgeon said that the trees were being cut too much, the Mayor replied, “T like shade, and 1 will have the trees cut for shade. They have no other use, and they dont bring in any money.“Bri
7、nging in money“ : this is a very important phrase, for money always solves any argument in Verrieres.One morning, Mr. de Renal was walking with his wife. Mrs. de Renal, a beautiful woman of thirty, was watching her three boys, Mr. de Renal was talking angrily about a man from Paris, Mr. Appert, who
8、two days ago visited both the prison andthe poor house.“How can this man harm you?“ asked his wife. “You ore very honest with the poor.“Mr. de Renal replied, “He will blame people for some-thing, and the liberals will write in the newspaper about it. Ill never forgive the priest for invitinghim,“CHA
9、PTER 3 Care of the PoorThe priest of Verrieres was Father Chelan. He was eighty years old, but still very strong. He had the right to visit the prison and poor house. Mr. Appert hadcome with a letter from Marquis de La Mole, a noble and a rich landowner. Still,he was very worried. “Im old and well l
10、oved here,“ he thought, “They wouldnt dare replace me. “ The Father decided to take Mr. Appert where he wished to go.Two days later, Mr. de Renal and the master of die poor house, Mr. Valenod, cameto speak with the priest. The priest defended himself, saying, “Ive lived here for fifty-six years. Eve
11、ry day I marry young people whose grandparents I marriedyears ago. Verrieres is my family.“ The Mayor and Mr. Valenod were still angry, though.“All right, then,“ said Father Ch6lan. “Remove me from office. My land brings memoney. 1 will survive. I am not afraid.“At this time, the Mayors three sons w
12、ere becoming difficult. Mr. de Renal had an idea. “Ive decided to hire young Sorel to tutor the children. Hes almost a priest and knows Latin. I thought perhaps he was a liberal, but Father Chelan says hes a good young man.“This will make me look good,“ he continued. “Mr. Valenod has two very nice n
13、ew horses, but he doesnt have a tutor for his children. We must keep up our socialclass.“This idea left Mrs. de Renal deep in thought- She was always considered beautiful but simple, Many people had tried to marry her, including Mr. Valenod.Others thought her silly, but she was happy in her simple l
14、ife. She thought mostly of her children, and she thought her husband was a polite man. Others didtoo when he wasnt speaking of money and Mr. de Renal was considered the finest man in Verrieres.CHAPTER 4 Father and SonMr. de Renal went the next morning to Old Sorel. Old Mr. Sorel was very surprised b
15、y the Mayors offer. When Sorel replied, he recited all the words of respect he knew while he tried to think. Why would an important person want totake his good-for-nothing son into his home?The mayor had a thought. If Sorel was not excited, Mr. Valenod must have had thesame idea and made the same of
16、fer! Sorel would not agree right then, however. Hesaid he had to talk with his son.Sorel walked to the mill and called lo his son. Julien did not answer. Sorel didnot like his son; he was not strong !ike his brothers. And why was he always reading? Sorel found Julien sitting with a book in his hands
17、. One hit from the father sent the book flying; the second struck Julien right in the face. Julien saw his favorite book in the river, ruined.Sorels rough hands seized Julien, and the boy feared a beating. “Answer me without lying,“ the old peasant said.CHAPTER 5 Striking a Bargain“How do you know M
18、rs. de Renal? When did you speak to her?“ Old Sorel shouted, “Ive never spoken to her,“ replied Julien. “Ive only seen her at church.“Theres something happening, still,“ the old peasant said. “But now Ill be ridof you, YouVe going to be Mr. de Rfcnals tutor.“I dont want to be a servant. Who will I h
19、ave my meals with?“Sorel didnt want to miss this chance to be rid of Julien, but Julien would not eat with the servants. Hed rather run away and join the army. His goals were very high, and being like a servant would end it.When Sorel spoke to Mr. de Renal again, the subject of meals was settled; Ju
20、lienwould eat with Mr. and Mrs. de Renal. Sorel had an idea to get more money, though.“Weve had a better offer.“Fear of losing his new tutor made the mayor agree to a higher pay for Julien. Having won this small battle, Sorel said, “Ill send my son up to the house,“ and left.On his way to the house,
21、 Julien thought again about join-ing the church. In his youth he admired Napoleon, but after he saw liberals jailed he began thinking about becoming a priest. He had learned the entire Bible in Latin with FatherChelan. Julien felt that joining the church would offer him many opportunities. Napoleon
22、becajne famous building a great army, but in this time the church had more power. Now Julien was afraid to become a soldier.Mis. de Renal was also afraid. She loved her boys dearly, and she wanted no tutor to he mean to them.CHAPTER 6 BoredomMrs. de Renal walked out into her garden and saw a boy wit
23、h fair skin standing there. He had not rung the hell.She gently said, “What have you come for, dear?“ Julien was so impressed by her beauty that he forgoteverything. Finally he replied, “Ive come to tutor here.“This surprised Mrs. de Renal, and she said, “You know Latin, sir?“Someone so well-dressed
24、 had called him sir! “Yes, madam,“ he said shyly.She became frightened, “Youll be kind to them, wont you? You wont beat them?“She was so gentle that Juliens voice became even softer.“Never fear, madam, I promise to be kind.“As he grew less shy, Julien decided he would kiss Mrs. de Renals hand. This
25、actmight be useful later, he thought. He swore, “Ill never beat your children,“ and he took her hand and kissed it.Before she could react, her husband entered the room.Mr. de Renal did not see anything, and he quickly gave the tutor instructions before the children could see him. “Now, sir everyone
26、in this house will call you sir you must dress properly. We will go to the tailor before the servants or children see you.“When they returned Julien had a new black suit. Julien thought Mrs. de Renal looked angry, and with his excitement about the new clothes and home he decided to go to his room fo
27、r a short time.Mrs. de Renal never told her husband what had happened. This was unusual for her; Mrs* de Renal rarely hid any-thing.When Julien returned he met his new students and decided to show them what he could do. He gave a copy of the Bible to the oldest child, Adolphe, “Open it to any phrase
28、. Read it and I will recite the rest in Latin until you stop me.“ The boy read one word and Julicn began reciting as if he was speaking simple French.Mr. de Renal was so proud! He had made an excellent decision.Even the servants had come out to listen, so Julien continued. He gave the Bibleto the yo
29、ungest child, Stanislas Xavier, and performed again. Mr. de Renals pride was made complete when Mr. Valenod and Mr. Charcot de Maugiron, the district leader, walked in. By evening the whole town knew of his ability. This show made even Mr. de Renal respect Julien. No one knew that Julien admired Nap
30、oleon,CHAPTER 7 ChoicesThe children loved Julien, but he thought of other things. He was a good tutor, but he felt only hatred towards the high society he joined. At one dinner, Mr. Valenod was speaking about honesty. How people respected this man who doubled his fortune while running the poor house
31、! Julien had to escape to the garden to hide his true feelings; “Ah! What monsters!“ he thought.While Julien still thought Mrs. de Renal was beautiful, now he hated her becauseof her beauty. He rarely spoke to her, and he regretted that first day when he kissed her hand. Elisa, Mrs. de Renals maid,
32、had immediately fallen in love with the young tutor. Mrs. de Renal wondered why he spoke with her so much. She soon learned that Julien had so few clothes that needed Elisas help to keep them clean and repaired.Mrs. de Renal began to pity him for what he lacked. This might seem foolish, butwhile Mrs
33、. de Renal was sensitive, she had no experience of life. Until Julien arrived, she had hardly noticed anyone but her children. Their lives were her life. The men in her life seemed only concerned with money and their social position. She saw that Julien was different, and little by little she became
34、 attracted to him.Once, she thought about how poor he was and she wept. Julien saw this and asked what was wrong.“Call the children, Julien,“ she replied, “and well go for a walk.“ She took his arm closely. “I want you to take some money, but please dont tell my husband.“Julien stopped walking and b
35、ecame very angry, “I am not rich, but I am not lowly. I will not hide from Mr. de Renal anything concerning money,“To apologize, she took Julien and the boys to the book-store in town, even though the owner was known to be a liberal. She purchased books for the childrenthat she knew Julien wanted. J
36、ulien was only thinking about the number of books in the store. He didnt think once about Mrs. de Renal, only about how he could read some of those books!He began planning a way to get Mr. de Rgnal to buy some. He thought of a plan that would bring him the books, and at the same time convinced Mr. d
37、e Renal thathe, too, feared what the liberals might say. This small battle was won easily, as were many others.How he hated these rich people! What monsters and what fools! He always privately disagreed with them, but many times he didnt understand their political beliefs.Mrs. de Renal, however, tho
38、ught more and more of Julien.CHAPTER 8 EventsMrs. de Rgnals happiness lessened when she thought of her maid, Elisa. The girlhad inherited some money and confessed to Father Chelan that she wanted to marryJulien. The priest was delighted for his friend Julien, and was surprised when the tutor refused
39、.“Be careful,“ the priest said, “of what you desire. I see strong ambition in you. Seeking fortune is not horrible for common people, but as a member of the church it is a path to Hell.“For the first time in his life, Julien knew someone cared for him. Yet Julien was angry with himself. “Father Chel
40、an thinks I wouldnt make a good“ priest. Hes the one with whom l must be dishonest, but I failed, he thought.Mrs. de Renal noticed Elisas new fortune did not make her happier, and she asked her maid why. At last Elisa talked to her about marriage. For the next fewdays, Mrs. de Renal felt ill; she th
41、ought always of Julien and Elisas happy newlife. She even hated Elisa.She soon saw that Elisa was more troubled than before. Elisa confessed that Julien had refused her. Mrs. de Renal immediately felt better, but she wanted totry to convince Julien herself.The next day she spent an hour trying to co
42、nvince Julien. He refused again and again, and Mrs. de Renals heart filled with happiness. She suddenly felt ill again. When recovered in her room she asked herself at last: Could I be in love with Julien?When spring came the family went to the countryside. Mrs. de Renals happiness only increased, a
43、nd she began changing her dresses three times a day. She spoke with Julien every day, although always on harmless topics. Soon she brought her cousin, Mrs. Derville, to the house.Julien felt happy as well. He was away from the public and when Mr. de Renal wasaway he could read his books without fear
44、. Napoleon said things about women, andJulien now thought the same things boys of his age had thought long before.One evening Julien was talking with the two young women in the garden, and he accidentally touched the back of Mrs. de Renals hand. She moved it away. Julien decided it was his duty to t
45、ouch the hand again and hold it. This idea of duty took away all the pleasure from his heart.CHAPTER 9 An Evening in the CountryThe next day when he saw Mrs. de Renal he looked at her as if she were an enemy he was going to have to fight. This very different look alarmed Mrs. de Renal greatly. When
46、he saw her later he thought of glory and decided he must hold her hand that evening.That night was dark, which would make his job easier. When they sat in the garden, he was full of fear. Every minute was like an hour, until the clock struck ten oclock. At last he grasped her hand. She pulled back i
47、mmediately, and surprising himself, he reached and held onto it. She tried to pull back onceagain, but he held tightly. Her hand stayed in his.Happiness filled him not that he was in love, but that his fear was over! His voice was loud and even. Mrs. de Renals voice, however, showed so much feeling
48、that her friend Mrs. Derville thought she was ill, Mrs. Derville said that they should go inside. Julien sensed the danger; “if she goes in-side now I will be back in the same terrible situation“, he thought. Ive held this hand for too short a time for this to be a victory.When Mrs. Derville repeale
49、d her suggestion, Julien squeezed the hand he held firmly, Mrs. de Renal had started to get up, but sat down again. She said, “I dofeel a little ill, but the fresh air is helping.“ These words settled Juliens worries.When he woke the next day, he had no thoughts of Mrs. de Renal. He only thought that he had done his duty, his heroic duty. He decided to spend the morning reading about the deeds of his hero, Napoleon. He did not even see the children,Julien came downstairs, but instead of a romantic look from Mrs. de Ren
