it was in the middle of winter and i was staying after school to rehearse for a dance production i was in. when it had ended, i asked for my mum to come and pick me up but she was at her bridge club. my friends offered me lifts home but i said i would walk, being in the active mood. i walked outside and it was already really dark. i looked at my watch and the time was 7:30.
i walked for about 20 minutes until i came to the alleyway that lead to my house. this alleyway is known to be quite dangerous. many people have been mugged down in broad daylight, including me. anyway, i started walking down the alleyway, and luckily the street lamps were still on. as i was about a quarter of the way down it, i had a sudden urge to look behind me, being kinda paranoid about things. when i looked behind, i thought i saw the figure of a man. he looked strangely familiar. his
1 showed a top hat, a coat which fanned out at the top and bottom and he appeared rather tall. i looked closer and fear swept over me as i saw what looked like a long knife in his hand. i turned around and started walking faster, being careful not to run as he might chase after. it wasn't long before i had another urge to turn around, and when i did, he wasn't there.
breathed a sigh of relief and caught my breath a bit. feeling like i must have imagined it through
2, i turned back around. i couldn't help myself, i screamed
3 as the same figure was in front of me, only a lot, lot closer. i could clearly see the details of his clothes, the knife, and then history caught up with me. the figure i saw was the deathly figure of the
4 5 the ripper. i didn't know what to do then. jack the ripper died a long time ago, didn't he? i turned on my heel and started to run but my body didn't move. someone was
6 on to my arm, i slowly turned my head and a
7 face
8 me. his eyes were grey and bloodshot with huge black bags
9 them. his skin looked as if it was burnt and sore, and his teeth were yellow, but there were cracks in them with a red stain.
i screamed again and tried to get my arm free but the man had pushed me on to the ground. he kneeled down over me and moved the knife close to my stomach. i screamed in pain as the knife cut the surface layer of my skin. i couldn't lie there and let him kill me, so i bit the hand which was over my mouth and
10 away from him. i ran back in the direction of my house but i forgot about my school bag which i had dropped while trying to get away. i then fell and
11 my head against the pavement. as everything went black, a tear came from my eye as i saw his boots stop near my side. i smiled a bit as i would not have to feel the pain as he mutilated my body.
to my surprise, i woke up in my bed the next morning. i thought i was dreaming and that i would have to go through that boring school day again, but as i sat up, a sharp pain cut through my stomach. i lifted up my top and saw a knife shaped wound. my mum came in my room, and saw i was awake. she asked if i was ok now and i asked her what had happened. she showed me a newspaper article about a guy who had been going around dressed as jack the ripper and
12 girls. he claimed to be jack's grandson. i asked if that was the guy who did the same thing to me, and why he didn't kill me. she said that someone had seen me fall and ran to help me, the person had also said that he had seen a man run away as he approached.
i asked if we could send a card to the man to thank him but my mum said that there was no need as he was in the sitting room. i got out of bed and went downstairs to thank him. when i got there, the guy looked like he was really tall. my dad was in there talking to me and he told me the story of how the guy was feeling when he saw the ripper guy run away. i went to shake the mans hand, and froze in fear, when the man smiled, his teeth were yellow, and they had cracks stained with something red...
那是隆冬的一天，放学后我仍然留在学校，因为要参加舞蹈演出的一次排练。排练结束后，我打电话给母亲问她是否来接我回家，但是她说她正在桥牌俱乐部玩牌。朋友们说可以载我回家，但我刚排完舞，心情特别好，想自己走走，所以就没坐同学的车。我走出学校，天已经完全黑了，看了眼手表，现在是七点半钟。
走了将近二十分钟，前面是一条小巷，通往我家。大家都知道这条小巷非常危险。这里即便是大白天也会有抢劫发生，很多人都遭遇过了，其中也包括我在内。但是我还是沿着这条路走下去了，不过很幸运此时路灯亮着。走了将近四分之一的距离，总是感觉在身后有什么东西在跟着我，所以我忍不住想回头看个究竟。我向后望去，看见了仿佛是一个人影，而且看起来是那么的熟悉。他看上去身材高大，戴着一顶尖尖的帽子，身上的大衣从领口到下摆像一个扇面一样伸展开来。我定睛观看，随即发现他手里好像拿着一把长长的匕首，当时我被吓得魂飞魄散。我转过身，大踏步地向前走，但是恐怕他会追我所以不敢跑起来。不久，我又想回头看，但是当我再回过头去的时候，他已经不在那了。
我如释重负，长出了一口气，也许那是我的幻觉。我转回身来，哇!那个影子正在我的前面，而且比刚才近了很多，我不由自主地惊声尖叫起来。他的衣服还有手中的匕首都清楚地出现在我面前，刹那间往事浮现在我脑海里。这不就是那个臭名昭著的凶手杰克死时的样子吗？我手足无措了，凶手杰克不是死了很久了吗？我想撒腿就跑但是身子却动不了。有人抓住了我的胳膊，我缓缓地转过头来，那张可怕的脸吓得我魂不附体。灰色的眼睛充满了血丝，下方垂着两个巨大的眼袋，乌黑的一片。看上去像是被烧焦了的皮肤，又像是溃烂了的样子，以及满嘴的黄牙，裂开了，布满了红色的斑点。
我再一次歇斯底里般的狂叫，试图把胳膊抽回来，但是被他一把按倒在地。他用膝盖抵着我，匕首伸向我的胃部。我的皮肤被割开了，我痛苦的嘶叫着。我不能够躺在那任他宰割，我在他捂着我嘴的手上猛咬了一口，然后挣扎着跑开了。我朝着我家的方向跑去，我的书包在我挣扎的时候掉在了地上，但是我忘记了。后来我摔倒了，头撞倒了人行道上。当看到他的双脚站在我旁边时，我绝望了，一滴眼泪顺着脸颊流下来。我露出了些许的微笑，我再也不用忍受他对我身体的蹂躏了。
令我惊讶的是，第二天早上我醒来时发现在我的床上。我想我是做了个梦，于是我回想着在学校那无聊的一天（我又得象平时那样上那没劲透顶的学了）。我坐起来，但是感到了钻心的疼痛。我揭开绷带，看见一道明显的伤口。母亲进来了，见我醒了，便问我是否感觉好了一些。我问她都发生了什么事情，母亲给我看报纸上的一篇报道，讲一个人自称是凶手杰克的孙子，故意打扮得像是杰克并杀害年轻的女孩。我问母亲对我下毒手的是不是那个人呢？那么为什么他不杀了我呢?母亲说有人见我摔倒在那便过去帮助我，这个人还说他看见有个人在他过去的时候逃跑了。
我问母亲是否我们应该寄一张贺卡给这个人表示感谢呢，母亲说不必了，因为他此时正在客厅里。于是我下了床，下楼去向他表示谢意。我到了客厅，那个人看上去可真高。父亲和我讲了事情的经过，告诉了我这个人眼看着凶手逃走。我赶忙过去握他的手，刹那间我毛骨悚然——当他向我微笑的时候，我看见他满嘴的黄牙，都已裂开了，布满了红色的斑点……
收听单词发音 
