Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
    有些戏剧太过成功，乃至连续上演好多年，经久不衰。由此，对于那些可怜的演员们来说，要整晚整晚地重复背诵是及其不幸的事情。
    PS：for years on end, 经久不衰。
    PS++：In many years, 在许多方面

    One would except them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.
    人们总是期盼他们熟记他们各自的台词，从不出错，但事实往往不是如此的。
    PS：Yet this is not always the case，但事实往往不是如此的。常用句。

    A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for the twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.
    某部成功戏剧的一名名演员在某次演出中扮演了一个在巴士底狱被关押了20年的贵族。在最后一幕中，监狱长手持一封信件上台，将其交给那位贵族。
    PS：be in the role of，扮演…的角色。

    Even though the noble was excepted to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should written out in full.
    尽管这位贵族每次都得念那封信，但他还是坚持要把信的所有内容都写在纸上。
    PS: insist that + 宾语从句，常用虚拟语气，(should) + do.
    PS++: out of full，写满。

    One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell.
    某晚，监狱长决定与他的同事搞个怪，确认经历了这么多场演出，他是否把信的内容背下来了。最后一幕的大幕徐徐升起，仅有贵族独坐在铁窗后昏暗的牢房里。
    PS：play a joke on sb，拿某人开玩笑。
    PS++：curtain goes up，大幕拉起

    Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands, He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper.
    就在这是，监狱长那些那封宝贵的信进场。他进入监狱，将信交给贵族。但是这封信没有像往常一样写满内容，而是一张白纸。
    PS：present，在场，出现，交给。

    The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: ‘The light is dim. Read the letter to me.’
    监狱长热切地看着，急于想看到贵族是否熟记了台词。贵族看了几秒空白的信纸，然后眯上眼，说到：“灯光太暗了，你给我读读吧”。

    And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied:”The light is indeed dim, sire. I must get my glasses.”
    然后他一下子把信递给监狱长。但监狱长也一个字也不记得，就答道：“灯光的确很暗，先生。我得找找眼睛先”。
    PS：sire, 古时对贵族的称呼，现仅用于戏剧中。

    With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat’s amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.
    于是，他立刻跑下台去。令贵族感到非常好笑的是，监狱长一会功夫就回来了，拿着他的眼镜和那封写满的信，然后为囚犯念了起来。
    PS：Much to one’s amusement, 令某人感到非常好笑的是。