THE BLACK CAT

New words:
1. intelligent /in'telidʒənt/ : thông minh
2. enemy /'enimi/ : kẻ thù
3. pain /pein/: nỗi đau
4. except /ik'sept/: ngoại trừ
5. realize /'riəlaiz/: thực hiện
6. plaster /'plɑ:stə[r]/: thạch cao
7. crowd /kraʊd/: đám đông
8. pressed /ˈprɛst/: bị đè, ép
9. immediately /i'mi:diətli/: ngay lập tức
10. explain /ik'splein/: giải thích
11. fear /fiə[r]/: nỗi sợ
12. murder /'mɜ:də[r]/: giết người
13. pressing /presiŋ/: cấp bách
14. cellar /'selə[r]/: hầm chứa
15. axe /æks/: cái rìu
16. servant /'sɜ:vənt/: đầy tớ
17. tool /tu:l/: dụng cụ
18. bury /'beri/: chôn cất
19. underneath /,ʌndə'ni:θ/: dưới


The Black Cat' is told from the perspective of a narrator who, in his own words, does
not expect the reader to believe him. When the narrator returns to the ashes later, he
sees the figure of a cat on the only surviving wall. The narrator sees a cat remarkably
similar to Pluto, except that on his chest is a white patch. The cat's eye socket heals,
but Pluto and the narrator no longer have a good relationship. Instead of feeling
remorseful, the narrator just feels irritated at the cat's behavior. Eventually, the
narrator is driven so mad that he tries to kill the cat with an axe. The narrator hangs
the cat 'in cold blood' from a tree. In retaliation, the narrator cuts out one of the cat's
eyes. At first, the narrator likes the cat, but soon he can't stand the cat at all, especially
after he notices that one of its eyes is missing. The noise of him knocking causes the
cat, which had accidentally become sealed inside the wall, to howl, alerting the police
to the presence of the narrator's wife. The narrator's wife jokes that the cat might be a
witch in disguise, given its unusual intelligence.