Mistborn(adapted excerpt) 迷霧之子(節選)

薛海燕

Step 1? ?感知·閱讀導航

話題導入

本文選自美國作家布蘭登·桑德森的Mistborn（《迷霧之子》），這是一套當代奇幻小說，設定人可以通過 “熔金術”來獲得不同的能力。千年前，善惡雙方決戰，邪惡擊潰善良， 建立“最后帝國”， 世界隨之變遷，天空不間斷地下著灰燼，所有植物都轉為褐黃，入夜之后，濃霧四起，籠罩大地。Vin和Kelsier集團成員們殺死了不死的御主大帝，成功解放被殘暴統治千年的國度，但Vin無意中在升華之井釋放了被囚禁已久的邪惡存在，迷霧開始隨機殺人、地震不斷、火山噴發，世界崩塌。本文主人公Spook是Kelsier集團中的錫眼，是Clubs的侄子，以前總是說著難懂的街頭方言， 因此不被重用。出于恐懼，他逃離了城市。在Clubs 死后，出于自責，他通過燃燒錫獲得了極其敏銳的感官，一改之前的怯懦，他決心投身至抗擊邪惡的斗爭中。

奇幻小說是一種文學形式，奇幻一詞由英文的“fantasy”翻譯而來。奇幻小說與科幻小說的不同之處在于其背景通常較偏向非百分之百理性或是不可預測的世界結構，特點是大膽的想象和探索。布蘭登·桑德森曾獲得Romantic Times奇幻史詩大獎，并連續入選2006年和2007年美國科奇幻界地位最高的約翰·W. 坎貝爾最佳新人獎。

本文為小說節選，共693字，建議用時12分鐘。

閱讀目標

1. 理解Spook對Clubs之死的自責的心理;

2. 理解Spook燃燒錫引起的生理及心理變化;

3. 理解文中關于Vin的描寫對刻畫Spook人物形象的作用;

4. 體會奇幻小說的寫作特點，欣賞文中的修辭性語言。

詞匯掃障

1. permanently adv. something that is permanent or lasts forever 永久地;永恒地

2. strengthen v. to become stronger; to make sb/sth stronger 加強;增強;鞏固

3. reaction n. what you do， say or think as a result of sth that has happened 反應;回應

4. figure v. to think or decide that sth will happen or is true 認為;認定

5. discomfort n. a feeling of slight pain or of being physically uncomfortable 輕微的病痛;不舒服;不適

Stars blazed （猛烈地燃燒） in the sky above Spook like a million tiny suns. They shone through the mists， which had-during the last year-become thinner and weaker. At first， he had thought the world itself was changing. Then he had realized that it was just his feeling. Somehow， by burning tin in his body for so long， he had permanently strengthened his senses to a point far beyond what other Allomancers could attain.

The burned tin had begun as a reaction to Clubs's death. Spook still felt terrible about the way he'd escaped， leaving his uncle to die. Du-ring those first few weeks， Spook had burned his metals as almost a self-punishment-he'd wanted to feel everything around him， take it all in， even though it was painful， or perhaps because it was painful.

But then he'd started to change and that had worried him. But， the crew always talked about how hard Vin pushed herself. She rarely slept， using pewter （白镴） to keep herself awake and alert（警覺的）. Spook didn't know how that worked-he was no Mistborn， and could only burn one metal-but he figured that if burning his one metal could give him an advantage， he'd better take it， because they were going to need every advantage they could get.

The starlight was like daylight to him. Du？鄄ring the actual day， he had to wear a cloth tied across his eyes to protect them， and even then going outside was sometimes blinding. His skin had become so sensitive that each little stone in the ground felt like a knife jabbing （戳） him through the bottom of his feet. The cold spring air seemed freezing， and he wore a thick cloak （斗篷）.

However， he had concluded that these discomforts were small prices to pay for the opportunity to become whatever it was he had become. As he moved down the street， he could hear people turning over and over in their beds， even through their walls. He could sense a footstep from yards away. He could see on a dark night as no other human ever had.

Perhaps he'd find a way to become useful to the others. Always before， he'd been the least important member of the crew-the dismissible boy who served as a handy man or kept watch while the others made plans. He didn't feel annoyed with them for that-they'd been right to give him such simple duties. Because of his street dialect（方言）， he'd been difficult to understand， and while all the other members of the crew had been carefully picked， Spook had joined through the back door since he was Clubs's nephew.

Spook sighed， sticking his hands in his trouser pockets as he walked down the too-bright street. He could feel each and every thread of the cloth.

Dangerous things were happening， he knew that： the way the mists lasted longer during the day， the way the ground shook as if it were a sleeping man， periodically suffering a terrible dream. Spook worried he wouldn't be of much help in the critical days to come. A little over a year before， his uncle had died after Spook fled the city. Spook had run out of fear， but also out of a knowledge of his lack of power. He wouldn't have been able to help during the campaign.

He didn't want to be in that position again. He wanted to be able to help， somehow. He wouldn't run into the woods， hiding while the world ended around him. He was sent to gather as much information as he could about the citizen and his government there， and so Spook intended to do his best. If that meant pushing his body beyond what was safe， so be it.

He approached a large crossing. He looked both ways down the intersecting（交叉的）streets-the view clear as day to his eyes. I may not be Mistborn， and I may not be emperor， he thought. But I'm something. Something new. Something people would be proud of.

Step 1? ?實踐·文本解讀

目標呈現

I. Grasp the main content.

What is the passage mainly about？

A. Spook was suffering from the burning of tin.

B. Vin was strict with Spook and urged him to revenge.

C. The mists became worse and a disaster was on the way.

D. The burning of tin strengthened Spook’s senses and he became brave.

II. Understand the structure.

Complete the outline according to the passage.

Ⅲ. Deep reading

1. What caused the psychological changes in Spook？

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2. How did Spook feel about Clubs's death？ Find out the supporting details， please.

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3. Why did Spook think of Vin when the changes worried him？

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4. What can we learn about from the underlined sentence “If that meant pushing his body beyond what was safe， so be it.”？

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5. Spook later played an important role in the restoration of the world in the story. Could you conclude the theme of the excerpt with one popular ancient Chinese expression？ Please translate it into English as well.

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Step 3 運用·讀寫整合

We can learn from the excerpt that Spook felt quite guilty about his uncle Clubs's death. He believed his escape from the city led to his death indirectly. If your were Spook and had a chance to talk to Clubs again， what would you say to Clubs about your feelings and changes？ Please write a passage with the words below.

reaction， punish， strengthen， figure， discomfort

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Step 4 提升·素養建構

Understand descriptive and figurative language.

Descriptive language responds to our senses： taste， touch， smell， sight and hearing.

Figurative language contains figures of speech such as simile （明喻），? metaphor （暗喻）， personification （擬人）， antithesis （對照）， metonymy （借代）， etc.

Descriptive and figurative language helps make words come to life for readers. Please find out the descriptive and figurative language in this excerpt and find out what kinds of figure of speech they are.