《远离尘嚣》.doc

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Gabriel Oak falls in love
Gabriel Oak was a sensible man of good character， who had been brought up by his father el thought that twopence did not seem worth bothering about, so he stepped forward. ‘Here，’he said，handing the coins to the gatekeeper，‘let the young woman pass. ’
The girl in the red jacket looked carelessly down at Gabriel，and told her man to drive on，without even thanking the farmer. Gabriel and the gatekeeper watched the cart move away. ‘That's a lovely young woman，’said the gatekeeper.
‘But she has her faults，’answered Gabriel.
‘True，farmer. ’
‘And the greatest of them is what it always is with women. ’
‘Wanting to win the argument every time？Oh，you're right. ’
‘No，her great fault is that she's vain. ’
A few days later，at nearly midnight on the longest night of the year，Gabriel Oak could be heard playing his flute on Nor-combe Hill. The sky was so clear and the stars so visible that the earth could almost be seen turning. In that cold，hard air the sweet notes of the flute rang out. The music came from a little hut on wheels，standing in the corner of a field. Shep－herds'huts like this are used as a shelter during the winter and spring，when shepherds have to stay out all night in the fields，looking after very young lambs.
Gabriel's two hundred and fifty sheep were not yet paid for He knew that，in order to make a success of the farming business，he had to make sure they produced a large number of healthy lambs. So he was determined to spend as many nights as necessary in the fields，to save his lambs from dying of cold or hunger.
The hut was warm and quite comfortable inside. There was a stove，and some bread and beer on a shelf. On each side of the hut was a round hole like a window，which could be closed with a piece of wood. These air－holes were usually kept open when the stove was burning， because too much smoke in a small，airless hut could kill the shepherd.
From time to time the sound of the flute stopped， and Gabr