L36-1：A chance in a million
We are less credulous than we used to be. In the nineteenth century, a novelist would bring his story to a conclusion by presenting his readers with a series of coincidences -- most of them wildly improbable. Readers happily accepted the fact that an obscure maidservant was really the hero's mother. A long-lost brother, who was presumed dead, was really alive all the time and wickedly plotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And so on. Modern readers would find such naive solution totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life, circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but a nineteenth century novelist would find incredible.
When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found a brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman commented on the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother.
credulous /ˈkredʒələs/ 轻信的，易受骗的
improbable /ɪmˈprɑːbəbl/ 不大可能的
conclusion /kənˈkluːʒn/ 结论;推论;结束;结果;结尾; bring...to a conclusion 使。。。结束
present /prɪˈzent/ (以某种方式)展现，显示，表现;
obscure /əbˈskjʊr/ 不起眼的，模糊的;无名的;鲜为人知的;
maidservant /ˈmeɪdsɜːrvənt/ 女仆、女佣
hero /ˈhɪroʊ/ (故事、小说、电影等的)男主人公
presume /prɪˈzuːm/ 假定,推定;设定;
wickedly 心眼坏地，居心叵测地 wicked /ˈwɪkɪd/ 邪恶的，恶毒的;缺德的
plot /plɑːt/ 密谋，布局，暗中策划
downfall /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ 倒台、垮台、衰落、衰败
bring about 造成、导致
naive /naɪˈiːv/ 天真的
solution /səˈluːʃn/ 解决办法;处理手段;答案;谜底
conspire /kənˈspaɪər/ 似乎共同导致(不良后果)，共谋;密谋;阴谋
incredible /ɪnˈkredəbl/ 难以置信的
tour /tʊr/ 旅行;旅游;游览;参观;观光;巡回比赛(或演出等);
comment /ˈkɑːment/ 议论;评论;
resemblance /rɪˈzembləns/ n. 相似
4月的第一天，艰难的开头继续考验着我。今天是一年一度全网纪念哥哥的一天，有些淡淡的忧伤。
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