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1、THE NECKLACEMathilde Loisel was one of those poor girls， pretty，charming and romantic，who，in spite of their romantic dreams，are married to a mediocrityHer husband was a clerk in the Ministry of EducationOne evening her husband came home with an air of triumph“I have something nice for you，”he said，g
2、iving her a large envelopeShe tore open the envelope，which contained the following printed card：“The Minister of Education and Madame Georges Ramponneau have the honour to request the company of Monsieur and Madame Loisel at the office of the Ministry on Monday evening，January 18th”She did not seem
3、delightedOn the contrary，she flung the invitation card on the table，and said spitefully：“Whats that to me？”“Why，my dear，I thought youd be pleasedYou like a dance，dont you？You hardly ever go out，and this is really a good chance for youI had no end of trouble to get itEvery one wants it，you knowAll th
4、e officials will be there，but only a few clerks are invited”She looked at him ruefully and exclaimed：“What do you expect me to wear at a party like that？”It never occurred to him that she had no pretty dresses nor jewelsHe replied hesitatingly：“Why，the dress you wear when you go to the theatre looks
5、 very nice to me”She burst into tearsWhy did she marry such a dull，stupid fellow？Only because she was born into a poor familyOh，cruel trick of destiny！“Whats the matter？”he asked anxiously“Nothing，”she answered with an effort“Its only that I havent a suitable dress，and so I cant go to the ballGive t
6、his card to a friend of yours whose wife has a better wardrobe than I”It was a heart-breaking confession“Come，Mathilde，my dearest，”the distressed husband said，“how much do you think it would cost to have a proper dress，something rather simple which would be useful for other occasions after- wards？”S
7、he thought for a moment，busy with her calculationsHow much could she ask without shocking the thrifty husband and provoking a flat refusal？“Im not sure， but I think I could manage with four hundred francs”“Four hundred!夸张”The husband turned a little paleShe had named the exact sum he had saved to bu
8、y a gun to enjoy shooting on the plain of Nanterre next summer with a few friendsBut he replied： “All rightYou shall have four hundred francsMind you get a really nice dress”* * *The day of the ball drew nearAlthough Madame Loisel had got her coveted dress， she seemed far from pleased“What is the ma
9、tter？”her husband asked“You look out of sorts these days”“Its quite annoying to think that I havent a single piece of jewellery to wearI might as well stay at home as cut a miserable figure at the party，”she answered“How about wearing natural flowers，then？”her husband suggested“They are now quite in
10、 fashionFor ten francs you can get two or three splendid roses”“Where did you get such a silly idea？”she replied“Cant you see how miserable Id look among rich women？”“Well then，”her husband said“Why dont you go and ask your friend，Madame Forestier，to lend you some jewels？She is a good friend of your
11、s，and has a lot of jewellery，hasnt she？”“Yes，of course，”she exclaimed in delight“Why didnt I think of it？”The next day she called on Madame Forestier and explained her troubleMadame Forestier went to her wardrobe，took out a large jewel case，and placed it open in front of her friend“Take what you wan
12、t，my dear，”she saidMadame Loisel first saw some bracelets，then a pearl necklace，then a Venetian gold cross set with jewels，an exquisite piece of magnificent workmanshipShe tried them on，one after another，before the mirror，uncertain which to choose“Have you any more？”she asked“Oh，yes，look for yoursel
13、fI dont know what you would like best”Suddenly Madame Loisel discovered a black satin case，in which lay a superb diamond neck-laceHer heart beat fastWith trembling hands， she took it out，fastened it round her neck，and stood gazing at herself in the mirror，lost in admirationShe asked fearfully：“Would
14、 you lend me this？I dont think I need anything else”“Why，yes，certainly”Madame Loisel threw her arms round her friends neck， kissed her，and hurried out，lest her friend should change her mind* * *The night of the ball came at lastMadame Loisel was a brilliant successShe looked more beautiful than any
15、other woman presentTriumphantly，full of grace and joy，she danced admirably，aware of the rapt eyes of the companyAll the men inquired her name，wanted to be introduced，asked her for waltzesShe attracted the attention of even the minister him- selfShe felt as if she were in a beautiful dream，intoxicate
16、d with happinessOh，how long she had been yearning for such a moment！ It was about four in the morning before she could tear herself away from the ballHer husband had been dozing since midnight in a little deserted drawing room with three other gentlemen whose wives were enjoying the danceHe threw round her shoulders her cloak for everyday wear，which looked strangely incongruous with
