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1、大学英语精读：第六册 UNIT 4As a black boy growing up in America in the early 00s, Richard Wright knew well the meaning of racial prejudice. He was not allowed to play in a park or borrow books from a library. While working as an office boy in a bank, though, he found a way into the library and discovered the
2、power of the written word. In the following story, Richard Wright tells us how his thirst for books grew with each passing day and what changes took place in him as he did more and more reading.THE LIBRARY CARDRichard WrightOne morning I arrived early at work and went into the bank lobby where the N
3、egro porter was mopping. I stood at a counter and picked up the Memphis Commercial Appeal and began my free reading of the press. I came finally to the editorial page and saw an article dealing with one H. L. Mencken. I knew by hearsay that he was the editor of the American Mercury, but aside from t
4、hat I knew nothing about him. The article was a furious denunciation of Mencken, concluding with one, hot, short sentence: Mencken is a fool.I wondered what on earth this Mencken had done to call down upon him the scorn of the South. The only people I had ever heard enounced in the South were Negroe
5、s, and this man was not a Negro. Then what ideas did Mencken hold that made a newspaper like the Commercial Appeal castigate him publicly? Undoubtedly he must be advocating ideas that the South did not like.Now, how could I find out about this Mencken? There was a huge library near the riverfront, b
6、ut I knew that Negroes were not allowed to patronize its shelves any more than they were the parks and playgrounds of the city. I had gone into the library several times to get books for the white men on the job. Which of them would now help me to get books?I weighed the personalities of the men on
7、the job. There was Don, a Jew; but I distrusted him. His position was not much better than mine and I knew that he was uneasy and insecure; he had always treated me in an offhand, bantering way that barely concealed his contempt. I was afraid to ask him to help me to get books; his frantic desire to
8、 demonstrate a racial solidarity with the whites against Negroes might make him betray me.Then how about the boss? No, he was a Baptist and I had the suspicion that he would not be quite able to comprehend why a black boy would want to read Mencken. There were other white men on the job whose attitu
9、des showed clearly that they were Kluxers or sympathizers, and they were out of the question.There remained only one man whose attitude did not fit into an anti-Negro category, for I had heard the white men refer to him as Pope lover. He was an Irish Catholic and was hated by the white Southerners.
10、I knew that he read books, because I had got him volumes from the library several times. Since he, too, was an object of hatred, I felt that he might refuse me but would hardly betray me. I hesitated, weighing and balancing the imponderable realities.One morning I paused before the Catholic fellows
11、desk.I want to ask you a favor, I whispered to him.What is it?I want to read. I cant get books from the library. I wonder if youd let me use your card?He looked at me suspiciously.My card is full most of the time, he said.I see, I said and waited, posing my question silently.Youre not trying to get
12、me into trouble, are you, boy? he asked, staring at me.Oh, no, sir.What book do you want?A book by H. L. Mencken.Which one?I dont know. Has he written more than one?He has written several.I didnt know that.What makes you want to read Mencken?Oh, I just saw his name in the newspaper, I said.Its good
13、of you to want to read, he said. But you ought to read the right things.I said nothing. Would he want to supervise my reading?Let me think, he said. Ill figure out something.I turned from him and he called me back. He stared at me quizzically.Richard, dont mention his to the other white men, he said
14、.I understand, I said. I wont say a word.A few days later he called me to him.Ive got a card in my wifes name, he said. Heres mine.Thank you, sir.Do you think you can manage it?Ill manage fine, I said.If they suspect you, youll get in trouble, he said.Ill write the same kind of notes to the library
15、that you wrote when you sent me for books, I told him. Ill sign your name.He laughed.Go ahead. Let me see what you get, he said.That afternoon I addressed myself to forging a note. Now, what were the name of books written by H. L. Mencken? I did not know any of them. I finally wrote what I thought w
16、ould be a foolproof note: Dear Madam: Will you please let this nigger boy I used the word nigger to make the librarian feel that I could not possibly be the author of the note have some books by H.L. Mecken? I forged the white mans name.I entered the library as I had always done when on errands for whites, but I felt that
