7 A disappearing act

Chapter 7 A disappearing act The next day, the manager sat in his office with Madame G. "We must get this phantom! Little Pico is gone. Carlotta's left us. The opera house is falling apart.

第七章消失的一幕第二天，经理和G夫人坐在办公室里。 “我们必须抓住这个幽灵！”小皮科不见了。 卡洛塔离开我们了。歌剧院快要垮了。

"All is not lost. Don't forget we have Christine," said Madame G. The manager scratched his chin. "You're right. There's something magical about her... Draw up a contract. Carlotta's part is hers!" That afternoon, posters went up all around Paris advertising the new star of the show.

“并不是一切都完了。别忘了我们还有克丽斯廷。”G夫人说。 经理挠了挠下巴。 “你是对的。她身上有种魔力…… 起草一份合同。卡洛塔的角色是她的！”那天下午，巴黎到处张贴海报，为这次演出的新明星做广告。

Before the show, Christine nervously paced her dressing room. It was one thing to do a single performance at the last minute, but quite another to be the leading lady forever. What if they hate me?

演出前，克里斯汀紧张地在更衣室里踱来踱去。 在最后一分钟只演一场戏是一回事，而永远当女主角又是另一回事。 如果他们讨厌我怎么办？

But Christine was a born star. By the end of the show, she felt as if she had played the part all her life. The show was almost over when the orchestra abruptly stopped playing. The chorus stopped singing and the dancers stopped dancing. The audience shifted uncomfortably in their seats. What's going on?

但克里斯汀是个天生的明星。 演出结束时，她觉得自己好像演了一辈子这个角色。 演出快结束时，管弦乐队突然停止了演奏。 合唱队停止了歌唱，跳舞的人也停止了跳舞。 观众在座位上不安地动来动去。 这是怎么呢？

Even the temperature seemed to drop. The only person who didn't stop was Christine. She continued to sing. With a crackle, the lights flashed and the stage went dark. Christine let out a scream that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

就连气温似乎也下降了。 唯一没有停下来的人是克里斯汀。 她继续唱歌。啪的一声，灯光闪烁，舞台一片漆黑。 克里斯汀发出一声尖叫，使每个人都感到脊背发冷。

The lights flared back on, lighting the stage. A trapdoor was open and Christine had vanished. "Christine!" shouted the Count, from his seat in the front row. Is this part of the show? Where did she go? "The phantom must have taken her," he yelled, "through that trapdoor. Follow me!" The manager and Madame G jumped up from their seats and ran after the Count.

灯光重新亮了起来，照亮了舞台。 一扇活板门开了，克里斯汀不见了。 “克丽斯廷！”伯爵从前排的座位上喊道。 这是节目的一部分吗？她去哪儿了？ “一定是幽灵把她带进了那个活板门，”他喊道。 跟我来!”经理和G夫人从座位上跳起来，向伯爵跑去。