Chapter 12 An unexpected guest第12章 不速之客

Mary Shelley

One day in summer,a lady on the horseback rode up to the house and knocked on the door.She had dark hair and was very beautiful.The family were all very pleased to see her.I soon learned that her name was Sophie.

She could not speak the family's language,and each evening Felix taught her some words.This was a very great help to me,because I was able to learn the meaning of many words that I had not been able to understand before.Felix taught Sophie from books about what had happened in the world in the past.So I learned about the Greeks and Romans,and about Chris,and about the first white men in America and the sad story of the Indians.I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.

I learned other things too.I learned that people think it is very important to have money and to come from a good family.I learned of the love between mother and father and child.And I realized that I had no family.The more I learned,the more I thought,and the more unhappy I became.

Soon I discovered who Sophie was.The two families had met in France after Sophie and her father arrived there from Turkey,their own country.Sophie's father was put in prison by the French,but Felix and his father helped him to escape and leave France.When the French discovered this,Felix and his family lost all their lands and money,and they had to leave France for ever.Now I knew why they were so sad,and why they were poor.

But that was not all.Sophie and Felix loved each other,and Sophie's father had promised that they could marry.Then,when Sophie's father learned that Felix had lost all his money,he broke his promise.But Sophie loved Felix very much,so she took some money and escaped from her father to search for Felix.

I had learned to love these good people and I could not wait another day to introduce myself.I decided to speak first to the father,because he was blind and would not be frightened by my terrible face and body.

Reading Check

1.Who do you dislike in this chapter?Why?

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2.What would happen in the next chapter?

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