The Diamond as big as the Ritz（6657）
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1.
Hades was the home of a family called Unger. Ungers had been living in Hades for a hundred years. And so their name was respected in this small town beside the Mississippi river. At the time of this story, Mr. Unger owned a large business. His son, John T. Unger, was sixteen years old. Mr. and Mrs. Unger were both very proud of john and wanted him to have the best possible education.
‘You’ll have to go to New York or Boston, son,’ Mr. Unger said. ‘The schools in the East are the best in the country.’
‘And the most expensive, too,’ Mrs. Unger said.粗大
John’s parents discusd the question and cho St. Midas’s School in Boston.
‘It’s the most expensive boys’ school in the world,’ Mr. Unger said proudly. ‘But I can afford it. At St. Midas’s, son, you’ll meet the best young men in the United States. It’s the right school for John T. Unger.’
The day came when John had to leave home. His mother bought him a dozen new suits and three electric fans. Mr. Unger provided plenty of money. In the evening, they took john to the railway station.
‘Don’t forget, son, that you’re an Unger from Hades,’ his father said. ‘And nothing will harm you.’
John was happy at St. Midas’s School for two years. The fathers of all the boys were very rich. In the holidays, John accepted invitations and visited veral families. He liked his new friends and was a popular guest in their homes.
During the cond year, a new pupil came to John’s class. This boy’s name was Percy Washington, and his family was clearly very rich indeed. Percy wore the most expensive
llkthe internshipsuits in the school. He was usually very quiet and ldom mixed with the others. John T. Unger was the only real friend he had. But Percy never said anything, even to John, about his home and family. John loved meting people, and so he gladly accepted Percy’s invitation. The two boys planned a summer holiday at Percy’s home ‘in the West’.
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In the train, Percy began to talk about his family. ‘My father,’ he said, ‘is certainly the richest man in the world.’ John’s reply was simple and polite. He just said, ‘Oh.’
2013陕西高考英语‘Certainly the richest,’ Percy repeated. drilldown
‘I have been reading Facts About Money,’ John said then. ‘One man in America earns five million dollars a year. Three others earn four million dollars, and …’
‘They are small businessmen,’ Percy interrupted. ‘My father has a hundred million dollars a year. If he wanted it, he would have two hundred million. But it’s a cret, of cour.’
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‘He’s very rich,’ John said politely. ‘I’m glad. I like very rich people. I stayed with the Murphys last April. Vivian Murphy has a bag of small diamonds.’
‘I love diamonds, too,’ Percy said. ‘I don’t talk about them at school. But I ud to save them instead of stamps.’
‘Mrs. Murphy’s diamonds are as big as nuts.’
‘Nuts?’ Percy said. He bent forward and spoke quietly. ‘My father has a diamond that’s bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.’
John had never visited the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, but he guesd its size.
2.
Percy and John got off the train at the village of Fish, in Montana. It was ven o’clock in the evening and almost dark. A Negro, with a small carriage, was waiting for them at the station. They traveled for half an hour, and then the Negro shouted ahead. Bright electric lights shone at them from a short distance.
‘We leave the carriage here,’ Percy said.
A moment later, John saw the shape of a big motor-car. It was the largest car he had en in his life. The metal of its body was as bright as silver. Its wheels shone with bright green and yellow figures. John did not dare to guess whether they were glass or diamonds. Other Negroes welcomed the boys, but John could not understand their language. It emed to be a very old kind of Negro English.
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‘My father won’t allow us to drive this car to the station.’ Percy said. ‘It’s another of his crets!’
The inside of the car was all silk and gold cloth. The buttons on the ats were real diamonds.
‘It’s beautiful,’ John said, ‘I’ve never en such a car as this.’
Percy laughed. ‘It’s just an old station-car,’ he said. ‘We’ll be home in ninety minutes. Perhaps I ought to tell you something.’
‘What?’
‘You’ve never en a home like mine before.’
时尚潮流英文
3.
The car was traveling between two high mountains, and the ground was rough. There were rocks on both sides and ahead.
Percy said, ‘We’re climbing a narrow valley. An ordinary car couldn’t run over the rocks.’
The car stopped when it had reached the top of the valley. Other Negroes appeared and welcome the boys. Steel ropes hung down from the mountain on one side. The ropes were fixed around the wheels of the car. ‘Hey-yah!’ one of the Negroes shouted, and the car was lifted off the ground. It ro up and up, a thousand feet, beside a tall, straight cliff. Near the top, the car swung gently around a rock. They began to go down, and then landed softly on smooth earth. By the light of the moon, John saw a wide valley of field and forest. A moment later, the car was rushing along a smooth, wide road.glaze
