At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

　　It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction.

　　4.At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined.

　　在小说的某个戏剧性时刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出来，接着便是某人的声誉扫地。

　　语言点:英语中的被动语态在译成汉语时必须作出适当的调整，译为主动语态更符合汉语的逻辑和表达习惯，a reputation is ruined不可直译为“一个声誉被毁了”，而是“声誉扫地”。

　　5.The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

　　当读者到小说最后几页了解到书中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可爱的老妇人年轻时一连毒死了她的 5个丈夫时，不禁会毛骨悚然。

　　语言点:句子结构分析:这是一个超长的复合句，主句为The reader's hair stands on end,when引导时间状语从句，其中又有一个由that引导的宾语从句，宾语从句中含有由who引导的定语从句，修饰lady。此外，a dear old lady作heroine的同位语，in her youth是插入语。

　　6.It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction.

　　这种事发生在小说中是无可非议的。

　　语言点:句子结构分析:it充当形式主语，真正的主语是动词不定式短语to occur in fiction。此句可以还原为:To occur in fiction is all very well for such things.但还原后的句子头重脚轻，故使用it作形式主语，而将句子的真正主语移到后面。