《达芬奇密码》其书：自2003年出版以来，其印数已超过500万册。上架第一周便登上《纽约时报》、《华尔街杂志》、《出版家周报》、《旧金山年鉴》等畅销书榜的首位。如今，此书仍是全美的畅销书，并被翻译成30多种语言，在各国流行。同时，该书的版权也被电影公司购得，不久将被搬上银幕。《达芬奇密码》其作者：丹•布朗是美国当今最著名的畅销书作家之一，现居新英格兰。他毕业于菲利普•埃克塞特学院(Philips Exeter Academy），在全职写作前一直担任该学院的英语老师。
丹•布朗的父亲是一名曾获得总统荣誉奖的数学教授，母亲是一名职业宗教音乐家，因此，他从小就生活在科学和宗教相冲突的荒唐哲学中。丹•布朗的妻子既是一名艺术历史学家，也是一名油画家，她不仅和丈夫一起合作研究，还一直陪伴着他完成频繁的研究之旅。《达芬奇密码》正是夫妻俩一起到巴黎，在罗浮宫完成的。丹•布朗另著有《数字堡垒》(Digital Fortress）、《天使和恶魔》(Angels & Demons)以及《瞒天过海》(Deception Point)。

故事梗概：
故事从卢浮宫博物馆的馆长索尼埃之死开始。这位学者在生命的最后几分钟里，把自己全身的衣服剥去，四肢伸展开来，做成-个达芬奇名画《维特鲁威人》（Vitruvian）的姿势，用手蘸自己的鲜血在腹部画了一个五角星，还在身旁写下几行谜样的数字和文字。正在法国巴黎出差的哈佛大学符号学专家罗伯特•兰登被邀请协助破案。兰登与法国的密码破译专家索菲•奈芙，在对一大堆怪异的密码进行整理的过程当中，发现一连串的线索就隐藏在达芬奇的艺术作品当中。这些线索，大家都清楚可见，然而却被画家巧妙地隐藏起来。同时，兰登还发现，这位馆长是峋山隐修会的成员——这是一个在我们的现实中真实存在的秘密组织，其成员包括艾撒克•牛顿爵士、波提切利、维克多•雨果与达芬奇。兰登感觉到他们是在找寻一个石破天惊的历史秘密，而这个秘密数世纪以来就证明了既能给人启迪却又极具危险性。在追寻秘密的过程中，兰登与奈芙还得跟一位始终不露面的幕后操纵者斗智斗勇。

Renowned 1)curator Jacques Saunière 2)staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery. He 3)lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a 4)Caravaggio. Grabbing the 5)gilded frame, the seventy-three-year-old man 6)heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the 7)canvas. As he anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, 8)barricading the entrance to the 9)suite. The 10)parquet floor shook. Far off, an alarm began to ring. The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, 11)taking stock. I am still alive. He crawled out from under the canvas and scanned the 12)cavernous space for someplace to hide. A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move." On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous 13)silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His 14)irises were pink with dark red 15)pupils. The 16)albino drew a pistol from his coat and aimed the long silencer through the bars, directly at the curator. "You should not have run." His accent was not easy to place. "Now tell me where it is." "I told you already," the curator 17)stammered, kneeling defenseless on the floor of the gallery. "I have no idea what you are talking about!" "You are lying." The man stared at him, perfectly 18)immobile except for the 19)glint in his ghostly eyes. "You and your 20)brethren possess something that is not yours." The curator felt a surge of 21)adrenalin. How could he possibly know this? "Tonight the rightful guardians will be restored. Tell me where it is hidden, and you will live." The man leveled his gun at the curator's head. "Is it a secret you will die for?" Saunière could not breathe. The man tilted his head and closed one eye, peering down the 22)barrel of his gun. Saunière held up his hands in defense. "Wait," he said slowly. "I will tell you what you need to know." The curator spoke his next words carefully. The lie he told was one he had rehearsed many times...each time praying he would never have to use it. When the curator had finished speaking, his 23)assailant smiled smugly. "Yes. This is exactly what the others told me." Saunière 24)recoiled. The others? "I found them, too," the huge man 25)taunted. "All three of them. They confirmed what you have just said." It cannot be! The curator's true identity, along with the identities of his three 26)sènèchaux, was almost as sacred as the ancient secret they protected. Saunière now realized his sénéchaux, following strict procedure, had told the same lie before their own deaths. It was part of the 27)protocol. The attacker aimed his gun again. "When you are gone, I will be the only one who knows the truth." The truth. In an instant, the curator grasped the true horror of the situation. If I die, the truth will be lost forever. Instinctively, he tried to 28)scramble for cover.

The silencer 29)spat, and the curator felt a 30)searing heat as the bullet lodged in his stomach. He fell forward...struggling against the pain. Slowly, Saunière rolled over and stared back through the bars at his attacker. The man was now taking dead aim at Saunière's head. Saunière closed his eyes, his thoughts a swirling 31)tempest of fear and regret. The click of an empty 32)chamber echoed through the 33)corridor. The curator's eyes flew open. The man glanced down at his weapon, looking almost amused. He reached for a second clip, but then seemed to reconsider, 34)smirking calmly at Saunière's gut. "My work here is done." The curator looked down and saw the bullet hole in his white linen shirt. It was framed by a small circle of blood a few inches below his 35)breastbone. My stomach. Almost cruelly, the bullet had missed his heart. As a 36)veteran of La Guerre d'Algeie, the curator had witnessed this horribly 37)drawn out death before. For fifteen minutes, he would survive as his stomach acids 38)seeped into his 39)chest cavity, slowly poisoning him from within. "Pain is good, 40)monsieur," the man said. Then he was gone. Alone now, Jacques Saunière turned his gaze again to the iron gate. He was trapped, and the doors could not be reopened for at least twenty minutes. By the time anyone got to him, he would be dead. Even so, the fear that now gripped him was a fear far greater than that of his own death. I must pass on the secret. Staggering to his feet, he thought of the generations who had come before...of the mission with which they had all been 41)entrusted. An unbroken chain of knowledge. Suddenly, now, despite all the 42)precautions...Jacques Saunière was the only remaining link, the sole guardian of one of the most powerful secrets ever kept. Shivering, he pulled himself to his feet. I must find some way... He was trapped inside the Grand Gallery, and there existed only one person on earth to whom he could pass the torch. Saunière gazed up at the walls of his 43)opulent prison. A collection of the world's most famous paintings seemed to smile down on him like old friends. 44)Wincing in pain, he 45)summoned all of his 46)faculties and strength. The desperate task before him, he knew, would require every remaining second of his life.

在卢浮宫的艺术大画廊内，德高望重的博物馆馆长雅克•索尼埃跌跌撞撞地走过拱形的走廊，扑向他所见到的离他最近的一幅画——一幅卡拉瓦乔的画作。这位七十三岁的老人猛地抓住镀金的画框，用力把它拉向自己。画终于从墙上被扯了下来，索尼埃向后摔作一团，被盖在帆布油画的下面。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
果然不出馆长所料，附近的一扇铁门轰然落下，封住了通往画廊的入口。嵌木拼花地板震颤着。远处响起了警报声。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　馆长在地上躺了片刻，喘着粗气，四下看了看。“我还活着。”他从画底下爬了出来，在这洞穴般幽暗的地方四处觑视着，想找个藏身的地方。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
一个阴森森的声音从不远处传来：“不许动！”
馆长双手撑着地，跪在那里，呆若木鸡，好半天才转过头去。在紧闭着的门外，仅十五英尺远的地方，袭击者高大的身影正透过门上的铁栏杆盯着里面。他身板宽大，个子很高，面无血色，一头稀疏的白发。他眼睛虹膜呈粉红色，瞳孔为暗红色，看去是个白化病人。他从外套中拔出手枪，在铁栏间瞄准了馆长。“你本不应该跑。”听不出他是哪里口音。“这回该告诉我那东西在哪里了吧？”　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
“我已跟你说过—我，我不明白你在说什么！”馆长无助地跪在画廊的地上，结结巴巴地说道。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 “你在撒谎。”那人死勾勾地盯着他，身子一动也不动，只有那幽灵般的眼睛不停地闪着光。“你和你的弟兄们占有了不属于你们的东西。”　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　馆长猛地一惊。“他怎么会知道这些。”　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 “今夜它将物归原主。要想活命，就乖乖地告诉我那东西藏在哪里。”那人把枪对准了馆长的头。“你想为了这个秘密而送命吗？”

索尼埃吓得连气都不敢喘。那人歪着头，闭上一只眼睛，目光沿着枪管望下去。索尼埃终于举起手告饶了。“等一等。”他慢吞吞地说：“我告诉你这一切。”接下去的话馆长讲得非常谨慎。这是他事先操练了许多遍的谎言，每次都祈祷着永远不要用上这套谎言。

馆长说完后，袭击他的那人得意地笑了。“不错。跟其他人讲的一模一样。”
“其他人？”馆长心猛地一缩。 “我也找到了他们，三个都找到了，”那大个子嘲笑道，“他们证实了你刚才所讲的话。”
“这不可能！”馆长和他的三个主事的真实身份就如同他们所保护的那个古老的秘密一样神圣。索尼埃现在知道他的同伴都严格遵循程序，在死前都说了同样的谎言。这是一个约定。



那攻击者再次举枪瞄准。“你完蛋后，我就是唯一知道秘密的人。”
“秘密。”馆长立即意识到了真正可怕的情形:“如果我死了，真情将永远无人知晓。”他本能地想抓些东西盖住自己。

枪响了，馆长感到钻心地灼热，因为子弹停在他的肚腹之中。他扑倒在地，痛苦地挣扎着，接着缓缓地翻过身，透过栅栏盯着攻击者。那人瞄准了索尼埃的头，这一枪会让他立即毙命。索尼埃闭上眼睛，脑子一片混乱，极度恐惧和懊悔。空弹膛的咔嚓声在长廊里回响。馆长猛地睁开了眼睛。那人扫了一眼自己的武器，几乎被逗乐了。他伸手去取另一只弹夹，但似乎想了想后，又对着索尼埃的肚子得意地冷笑道：“反正这家伙也活不成了。”　馆长向下望去，他看到自己白色亚麻衬衫上的枪眼。枪眼在胸骨下方几英寸的地方，四周都是血。“我的肚子！”够残酷的，子弹没打中他的心脏。作为一名阿尔及利亚战争的老兵，馆长以前目睹过这种可怕的被延缓的死亡。他还能活十五分钟，因为胃酸正渗入他的胸腔，他将因体内中毒而死。 “疼痛对人有好处，先生。”那人道。然后他离开了。现在只有雅克?索尼埃一个人了。他转过头再次盯着铁门。他被困在里面了，至少二十分钟内门是无法再打开的。等到有人来到他身旁时，他早就没命了。然而，现在令他更恐惧的倒不是死。 “我必须把这个秘密传下去。” 他摇摇晃晃地站起来，他想到了他们的先辈们，想到了他们被委托的重任。 “一个环环相扣的守秘者链条。” 尽管有一切的预防措施……雅克?索尼埃现在突然成了仅存的一环，成了唯一的守护者，守护着那些多年来保守住的最重大的秘密中的一个。他颤栗着，站了起来。 “我必须想出办法来……” 他被困在艺术大画廊里，在这个世界只有一个人可以接过他传递的火炬。索尼埃凝望着这豪华大牢的墙壁，一组世界名画像好朋友似的朝他微笑着。他在痛苦地抽搐，但他还是竭力地凝聚所有剩余的力气。他知道眼前这令他孤注一掷的任务，需要他抓住余下生命的每一秒钟。

1)      curator [kjuE5reitE] n. 馆长，监护人
2) stagger [5stA^E] v. 摇摇晃晃，蹒跚
3) lunge [lQndV] v. 突进，跃进
4) Caravaggio 卡拉瓦乔（1571—1610），意大利早期的巴洛克画家
5) gilded [5^ildid] a. 镀金的
6) heave [hi:v] v. 举起
7) canvas [5kAnvEs] n. 帆布
8) barricade [7bAri5keid] v. 设路障
9) suite [swi:t] n. 套房
10) parquet floor 嵌花地板
11) take stock 仔细检查
12) cavernous [5kAvEnEs] a. 似巨穴的
13) silhouette [7silu:5et] n. 侧影，轮廓
14) iris [5aiEris] n. 虹膜
15) pupil [5pju:pl] n. 瞳孔
16) albino [Al5bi:nEu] n. 白化病者
17) stammer [5stAmE] v. 结结巴巴地说
18) immobile [i5mEubail] n. 稳定
19) glint [^lint] n. 闪烁
20) brethren [5breTrEn] n. 兄弟们，同胞
21) adrenalin [E5drenElin] n. 肾上腺素
22) barrel [5bArEl] n. 枪膛
23) assailant [E5seilEnt] n. 攻击者
24) recoil [ri5kCil] v. 畏缩，退却
25) taunt [tC:nt] v. 嘲弄，奚落
26) sénéchaux 法语词，意为“（古代法国的）司法总管”
27) protocol [5prEutEkCl] n. 草案，协议
28) scramble for 争夺

   29) spit [spit] v. 发射
30) searing heat 灼热
31) tempest [5tempist] n. 骚乱，动乱
32) chamber [5tFeimbE] n. 枪膛
33) corridor [5kCridC:] n. 走廊
34) smirk [smE:k] v. 得意地笑
35) breastbone [5brestbEun] n. 胸骨
36) veteran [5vetErEn] n. 老兵
37) draw out 拉长
38) seep [si:p] v. 渗出
39) chest cavity 胸腔
40) monsieur [mE5sjE:] n. 先生，绅士
41) entrust [in5trQst] v. 委托
42) precaution [pri5kC:FEn] n. 警惕，防范
43) opulent [5CpjulEnt] a. 富裕的，丰富的
44) wince [wins] v. 退缩
45) summon [5sQmEn] v. 振作，鼓起
46) faculty [5fAkElti] n. 能力，本领