And Then There Were None （无人生还）

Reading Programme: 侦探悬疑一直是小说和电影的热门题材，这期我们来看看侦探小说家阿加莎 克里斯蒂的作品：无人生还。 A: Hello, everyone, this is Robert. You&`&re listening to the special weekly program by English Broadcasting Station of CQMU. B: This is Rain. By the short but interesting talk, we hope to attract your attention to something you probably ignored in the daily life, or something you haven&`&t heard of as well. Before today&`&s program, Robert, imagine one day you received a letter from unknown inviting you to an island for holiday, what would you do? In addition, there was a thick wad of bills sent in the envelope as well. A: An invitation letter from unknown with a huge amount of money? That’s weird… Well, I guess I would act the same way as I were stuffed a package of bills in the street. I mean, I would never accept the invitation and then called the police. B: I knew it! But in the fiction which we are going to talk about, there were eight people who received the same letter. And for some reason, all eight of them finally decided to accept the invitation to the island. A: That&`&s kind of strange even from the beginning... B: Yes, and it&`&s going be more and more odd as the story going on… Music 2: The Game is On 02:20 down B: It was late when the guests arrived at the small island, and they were surprised to find there were others receiving the same invitation. They chatted with each other and walked into the villa, which was also the only building on the whole island. Welcomed by a steward and a maid, guests were offered an abundant dinner. Even till then, the host had not shown up. A: What is more confusing is that through the talk with the two servants, those guests found out they were hired no more than two weeks ago. What&`&s more, the only way for the servants to get the host&`&s instructions is letters, too. That means no one on the island knew the host&`&s voice, let alone the host&`&s appearance. B: By the way, they found a poem written on a big square of parchment in each other’s bedroom, which was widely spread: “-- Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine. -- Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were eight… A: -- One little Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.” Meanwhile, some little china figures were found on the round table in the canteen. The guests counted and there were exactly ten of them. It reminded them of the poem about Indian boys they just read. Music 3: Targets 01:00 down B: As time flew away, the weather was going worse. "It seems a storm is around the corner", one said. Staring at the dark clouds in the sky, all the guests frowned with anxiety, for it&`&s impossible to go back to the land by water once the storm approached. Right at that moment, a voice suddenly sounded in the spacious hall. A: "Ladies and gentlemen! Silence, please! You are charged with the following indictments: Edward George Armstrong, that you did upon the 14th day of March, 1925, cause the death of Louisa Mary Clees. Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor…" B: On hearing the accusation, there was a moment&`&s petrified silence and then a resounding crash! Someone dropped the coffee tray! At the same moment, from somewhere there came a scream and the sound of a thud. Everyone carried on and it was clear that they were invited here not for fun. And they probably had some relations to the crimes as the mysterious voice said. A: When the guests calmed down, they found out the source of the sound—it’s a gramophone in the next room. But who placed it there? Who turned on the gramophone? The guests gathered, but got no result. Not before long, one man choked so badly that he died while he drank the wine. B: “-- Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine.” It seemed the poems of Indian boy in everyone’s bedroom were placed not for fun, either, because one of the china figures on the canteen table was lost. The figures turned from 10 to 9. A: The following made them convinced—the guests died off the same way as it said in the poem and one china figure would disappear once one person died… Music 4: Woman on the Slab 01:24 down A: So, what happened on the island on earth? What were the causes of their deaths? Accidents or murders? B: What’s the end of this story? If there was a crime, who committed it? A: Want to know more about the story? Just read And Then There Were None by English writer Agatha Christie! Even if you have not heard this name, you must know Arthur Conan Doyle who is well-known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. While Agatha Christie, the writer of the fiction we just talked about, enjoys the same fame as Conan Doyle in the detective fiction domain. It has been sold more than 100 million copies since the book And Then There Were None came out in 1939. B: And if you are familiar with Agatha Christie and her fictions, this book-- And Then There Were None is quite different from the others of her pieces. It is a detective fiction while there isn’t a detective to uncover the truth. Or rather, the whole book is merely a stage, we are watching criminals playing magic tricks which no one can see through. A: Exactly. But it doesn’t mean we are unable to know the truth in the end. Ms. Christie showed the truth “in the story”, as long as you read till the end. B: Also, if you are interested in this story but prefer watching to reading, you may watch the film. This book has been adapted for films for many times. You can choose one you like. A: It’s nearly the end of today’s program. This is CQMU English Broadcasting Station, see you next time ~ 主播：张君仪 李维汉 文编：张君仪 李维汉 导播：易小茜