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欧亨利精致的婚姻科学The Exact Science of Matrimony byO.Henry1H•Our storytoday iscalled TheExactScienceofMatrimony.2•It waswritten byO.Henry.3•Here isBarbara Kleinwith thestory.4•Jeff Peters and Andy Tucker couldnever betrusted.5•One day,the twomen decidedto opena marriagebusiness tomakesome quickand easymoney.6•The firstthing theydid wasto writean advertisementto bepublishedin newspapers.7•Their advertisementread like this:8H•A charming widow,beautiful andhome-loving,would like toremarry.9•She isonly thirty-two yearsold.10•She hasthree thousand dollars incash andowns valuablepropertyin thecountry.•Jeff feltsorry forher.103•He said he wouldbe gladto lether givethe two thousand dollarstoMister Wilkinson,so thatshe could be happy.104•But he saidhehad totalk to his partnerabout it.105•Jeff returnedtohishotel anddiscussed itwith Andy.106n1•I wasexpecting somethinglikethis/Andy said.107H•You canttrust awoman tostick withyou in any planthatinvolves heremotions.108•Jeff saidit wasa sadthing tothink that they werethe causeof thebreakingof awomans heart.Andy agreedwith him.109n•ril tellyou whatI amwilling todo,said Andy.110•“Jeff,you havealways beena manof asoft andgenerous heartin•Perhaps I have beentoo hardand worldlyand suspicious.112•For once,I willmeet youhalf-way.113Go to Missus Trotter.•Tell herto takethe twothousand dollarsout of the bankand giveitto thisWilkinson fellowand behappy.115•Jeff shookAndys handfor along time.116•Then hewent backto Missus Trotter.117•She criedas hardfor joyas shehad donefor sorrow.118•Two dayslater,Jeff and Andy preparedto leavetown.119•Wouldnt youliketo go meetMissus Trotteronce beforeweleave Jeff asked Andy.120•Shed liketo expressher thanksto you.”1211•Why,I guessnot/Andy said.122n•I thinkwe shouldhurry andcatch thetrain.123•Jeff wasputting allthe moneythey hadreceived in a belthe tiedaroundhis body.124•Then Andytook alarge amountof money out ofhis pocketandasked Jeffto putit togetherwith theother money.12511•Whats thisJeffasked.1•Its Missus Trotters twothousand dollars/said Andy.127n•How doyou come to haveit Jeffasked.128H11•Missus Trottergave itto me,Andy answered.129n•Ihavebeen callingon herthree nightsa weekfor morethan1a month/130•Then youare WilliamWilkinson Jeffasked.131n1•I was/Andy said.•She wouldlike apoor manwith aloving heart12•No objectionto anolder manor toone whois notgood-looking.13•But heneeds to be faithfuland true,can take care ofproperty andinvestmoney withgood judgment.14•Give address,with detailsabout yourself.15•Signed:Lonely,care ofPetersandTucker,agents,Cairo,Illinois.16•When theyfinished writingthe ad,17n•Jeff Peterssaid toAndyTucker:So far,so good.And nowwherezHis thelady18•Andy gaveJeff anunhappy look.What doesa marriageadvertisementhave todo witha ladyhe asked.19•Now listen,Jeff answered.20H•You knowmy rule,Andy.21In allillegal activities,we mustobey thelaw,in everydetail.•Something offeredfor salemust exist.It mustbe seen.23•You mustbe ableto produceit24•That ishow Ihave keptout oftrouble withthe police.25•Now,for thisbusiness towork,we mustbe ableto producea1charming widow,with orwithout thebeauty,as advertised/26•Well,said Andy,after thinkingit over,it mightbe better,if theUnitedStates PostOffice shoulddecide toinvestigate ourmarriageagency.27•But wherecan youhope tofind a widow whowould wasteherntime ona marriageproposal thathas nomarriage init28•Jeff saidthat heknew justsuch awoman.29n1•An oldfriend ofmine,Zeke Trotter/he said,used towork inatent show.30•He madehis wifeawidowby drinkingtoo muchof thewrongkind of alcohol.31•I usedto stopat theirhouse often.I thinkwe canget herto workwithus.”•Missus ZekeTrotter livedinasmall townnot faraway.33•Jeff Peterswent outto see her.34•She wasnot beautifuland notso young.35•But sheseemed allright toJeff.36,f•Is this an honestdeal youare puttingon,Mister Peterssheasked whenhe toldher whathe wanted.37•Missus Trotter,said Jeff,38H•three thousandmen willseek tomarry youto getyour moneyandproperty.39•What arethey preparedto givein exchange40•Nothing!Nothing butthe bonesofalazy,dishonest,good-for-nothing fortune-seeker.41•We willteach themsomething.42•This willbe agreat moralcampaign.43•Does thatsatisfy you1It does,Mister Peters/she said.45n•But whatwill myduties be46•Do Ihave topersonally rejectthese threethousandgood-for-nothings youspeak of471•Or canI throwthem outin bunches,48•Jeff explainedthat her job wouldbe easy.49•She wouldlive ina quiethotel andhave nowork todo.50•He andAndy wouldtakecareof allletters andthe businessendof theplot.51•But hewarned herthat someof the men mightcome to see herin person.52•Then,she wouldhave tomeet themface-to-face andreject them.53•She wouldbe paidtwenty-five dollarsa weekand hotelcosts.541•Give mefive minutesto getready/Missus Trottersaid.55HThen youcan startpaying me.”•So Jefftook herto thecity andput herinahotel farenough fromJeff and Andysplace tocause nosuspicion.57•Jeff PetersandAndyTucker werenow readyto catcha fewfish onthehook.58•They placedtheir advertisementin newspapersacross thecountry.59•They puttwothousanddollars ina bankin Missus Trotters name.60•They gaveher thebank bookto showif anyonequestioned thehonestyof theirmarriage agency.61•They weresure thatMissus Trottercouldbetrusted andthat itwassafe toleave themoney inher name.62•Their adin thenewspapers starteda floodof letters-more thanonehundred a day.63•Jeff andAndy workedtwelve hoursadayanswering them.64•Most ofthe menwrote thatthey hadlost theirjobs.The worldmisunderstood them.•But theywere fullof love and othergood qualities.67•Jeff andAndy answeredevery letterwith highpraise forthewriter.68•They askedthe mento senda photographand moredetails.69•And theytold them to includetwo dollarsto coverthe costofgiving thesecond letterto thecharmingwidow.70•Almost allthe mensent inthe twodollars requested.71•It seemed tobean easybusiness.72•Still,Andy andJeff oftenspoke aboutthe troubleof cuttingopenenvelopes andtaking themoneyout.73•A fewofthemen came inperson.74•Jeff andAndy sentthemtoMissusTrotterand shedid therest.75•Soon,Jeff andAndy werereceiving abouttwo hundreddollars aday.76•One day,a federalpostal inspectorcame by.•But Jeffsatisfied himthattheywere notbreaking thelaw.78•After aboutthree months,JeffandAndy hadcollected morethanfive thousanddollars,and theydecided itwas timeto stop.79•Some peoplewere beginningto questiontheir honesty.80•And,MissusTrotterseemedtohave growntired ofherjob.81•Too manymen hadcometoseeherand shedid notlike that.82•Jeff wenttoMissusTrotters hotelto payher whatshe wasowed,and tosay goodbye.83•He alsowanted herto repaythe twothousanddollarsthat wasputinto herbank account.84•When Jeffwalked intothe roomshe wascrying,like achild whodidnot wanttogoto school.851•Now,now/hesaid.86•Whats itall about87•Somebody hurtyou11Are yougetting homesicknNo,Mister Peters,she said.90•Ill tellyou.91•You werealways agood friendof myhusband Zeke.92•Mister Peters,I amin love.93•I justloveaman sohard Icant bearnot toget him.94f,,•He sjust thekind Fvealways hadin mind.95•Then takehim,said Jeff.96H•Does hefeel thesame wayabout you97•He does,MissusTrotteranswered.98H•But thereisaproblem.99•He isone ofthemenwho havebeen comingtoseemeinanswerto youradvertisement.100•And hewill notmarry meunless Igive himthe twothousanddollars.1011•His nameis WilliamWilkinson/。