2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材9_高考复习指南

2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材9

Lost and Found The weekend was over, and Begbie had returned to town, restless, and strangely unhappy. There was within him a curious sense of something lost. He unpacked his suitcase listlessly, compared its contents with the catalogue of his weekend needs. Everything was there, from hairbrush to dinner coat -- yet that sense of something left behind still oppressed him. A second time he went over the list and compared it with his possessions, to find that nothing was missing; then on a sudden moment there flashed across his mind a full realization of what the lost object was.

"That's it!" he said with a sigh of relief, "I'll write at once to my hostess and ask her to return it." Action followed the resolution, and, seating himself at his desk, Begbie wrote: My Dear Mrs. Shelton, Upon my return from the never-to-be-forgotten series of golden hours at Sea Cliff, after the habit of the departing guest, I have left at least one of my possessions behind me. It is of value perhaps to nobody but myself, but poor as it is, I cannot very well do without it. It is my heart. If by some good chance you have found it, and it is of no use to you, will you be good enough to return to me? Or, if by some good fortune you find it worth retaining, will you please tell me so, that I may know it is in your custody and is not lying somewhere cold and neglected? It is the only one I have, and it has never passed out of my keeping before.Harrison Begbie The following morning, Begbie received a letter postmarked Sea Cliff, and addressed in the familiar handwriting of his hostess. Excitedly he tore it open and found the following: My dear Mr. Begbie, What careless creatures you men are!