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CAB - Costa's Audio Book end of the year feature 
Alexandre Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo"
Plot outline by Auguste Maquet

Early 19th-century Europe, France.
Dantès the protagonist, a young sailor, is cruelly betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned.
Finally breaking free, he uses a hard-earned treasure to accelerate his plans for vengeance.
Re-entering Paris, he dazzles society with wealth and charm.
Weaving subtle schemes, he tests the morals of those around him.
New allies and rivals emerge, shaping the path of his journey.

Volume III Chapter 51-52
00:30 51 Maximilian meets Valentine, who feels unloved and trapped in an arranged marriage. They vow not to give up hope, but Monte Cristo’s arrival forces Valentine to leave.
30:25 52 Monte Cristo reminds Madame de Villefort of their past meeting in Italy, discusses poisons and antidotes, and offers her a deadly potion disguised as medicine, subtly fueling her dangerous curiosity.

Main Characters
Edmond Dantès / Count of Monte Cristo – Orchestrates the central schemes of justice and revenge, observing and manipulating events in Paris.
Gérard de Villefort – Ambitious royal prosecutor whose household intrigues and past actions against Dantès drive the main conflict in this volume.
Valentine de Villefort – Villefort’s virtuous daughter, central to the household subplot and the target of scheming characters.
Heloïse de Villefort – Villefort’s ruthless second wife, scheming to advance her own family’s interests and create tension in the household.
Noirtier de Villefort – Paralyzed father whose intellect and eye-based communication continue to influence decisions within the Villefort household.
Maximilien Morrel – Loyal suitor to Valentine, representing virtue and directly involved in protecting her and supporting the emotional core of the subplot.
Albert de Morcerf – Present in Paris, socially prominent, manipulated by Monte Cristo, and part of key social observations and schemes.
Bertuccio – Monte Cristo’s agent, whose knowledge of Villefort’s hidden crimes and investigative work enables parts of the revenge plot.

Costa's Wordbook
Pyramus and Thisbe - (in Greek legend) two lovers of Babylon: Pyramus, wrongly supposing Thisbe to be dead, killed himself and she, encountering him in his death throes, did the same, inspiration to shakespeare’s romeo and juliet
Pilaster n a rectangular column, especially one projecting from a wall (pill Last ter)
Geranium n a herbaceous plant or small shrub of a genus that comprises the cranesbills and their relatives. Geraniums bear a long, narrow fruit that is said to be shaped like the bill of a crane 天竺葵
(ger Rain nium)
Variegated adj exhibiting different colours, especially as irregular patches or streaks; (of a plant or foliage) having or consisting of leaves that are edged or patterned in a second colour, especially white as well as green (Vary uh gated)
Horticulture n the art or practice of garden cultivation and management (Hor ty culture)
Lucern n another term for alfalfa, a leguminous plant with clover-like leaves and bluish flowers, native to south-western Asia and widely grown for fodder 苜蓿 (lu Cern)
Preferment n promotion or appointment to a position or office (pre Fer ment)
Salutary adj (especially with reference to something unwelcome or unpleasant) producing good effects, beneficial; arch. Health-giving (Sal lu tree)

Toxicology n the branch of science concerned with the nature, effects, and detection of poisons 毒理學 (toxic Col logy)
Paroquet n any of numerous small slender long-tailed parrots (Paro ket)
Cochin-China n historical term for Southern Vietnam, particularly the region including the Mekong Delta 交趾支那 (Cok chin china)
Fête - fr, festival
Arbor n a shady garden alcove with the sides and roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a framework (Ar ber)
Corpus Christi - latin, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a liturgical solemnity celebrating the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; the feast is observed by the Catholic Church, in addition to certain Western Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches 基督聖體聖血節
Perugino - Pietro Perugino, an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous pupil.
Aqua Tofana - ita, a legendary slow-acting poison, likely arsenic-based, that gained notoriety in 17th-century Italy, purportedly made and sold by Giulia Tofana to help women poison their husbands.
Molière, Beaumarchais - influential French playwrights of different eras, both known for their comedic and satirical works, but Molière is celebrated for his classic satires of the 17th century like Tartuffe, while Beaumarchais is known for the 18th century Figaro plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Beaumarchais was also a successful diplomat, inventor, and businessman, who played a crucial role in the American Revolution, whereas Molière focused on a career in theatre as an actor, director, and playwright.
Mithridates - Mithradates VI Eupator was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and ruthless ruler who sought to dominate Asia Minor and the Black Sea region, waging several hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful wars (the Mithridatic Wars) to break Roman dominion over Asia and the Hellenic world. He has been called the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus. He cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses; this practice, now called mithridatism, is named after him. After his death, he became known as Mithridates the Great.
Rex Ponticus - latin, King of Ponticus
Scamp n a person, especially a child, who is mischievous in a likeable or amusing way
Urchin n a young child who is poorly or raggedly dressed; imp
Cornelius Nepos - latin, a Roman biographer, known for writing De Viris Illustribus (“On Famous Men”), a collection of brief lives of notable Greeks and Romans. His work often emphasized virtue, moral judgment, and examples of conduct: who was noble, who was corrupt, and how power and character interacted.
Efficacious adj (of something inanimate or abstract) successful in producing a desired or intended result effective (ef fic Kay xious)
Counterfeit v resemble closely
Neapolitan n a native or inhabitant of Naples; adj relating to Naples (nea Poli ten)
Brucine n a poisonous alkaloid found with strychnine especially in nux vomica (Brew seen)
Angostura n an aromatic bitter bark from certain South American trees, used as a flavouring, and formerly as a tonic and to reduce fever (Ang gost steer ra)
Philtre n a drink supposed to arouse love and desire for a particular person in the drinker; a love potion (filter)
Harun al-Rashid - was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age. His epithet al-Rashid translates to "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided"
Vizier n a high official in some Muslim countries, especially in Turkey under Ottoman rule (fis Seer)
Desrues - Antoine-François Desrues (1744–1777) a French poisoner and swindler. He was a grocer in Paris who murdered a noblewoman, Mme. de la Motte, by poisoning her in order to steal her property and assume her identity. He was eventually caught, tried, and executed — a case that horrified the public and became one of France’s most notorious early-modern poison scandals.
Borgias- ita, Especially Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, Renaissance figures with an infamous reputation for poisoning enemies, part history, part legend
Medici - Italian Renaissance dynasty, particularly Catherine de’ Medici, queen of France, long rumored (often unfairly) to have used poison to maintain political power
Asmodeus - a powerful demon, primarily known as the king of demons from the Book of Tobit and other Jewish and Christian legends (as Moe deus)
Montyon - Montyon Prize, a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon, since 18th C
Renées - René the Florentine, Catherine de’ Medici’s personal perfumer and alchemist, who supposedly concocted poisons and cosmetics for the court.
Ruggieri - an astrologer and occultist attached to Catherine’s court, involved in magical and chemical experiments
Baron de Trenck - (1726–1794) a Prussian soldier, adventurer, and author, famous for his daring imprisonments and escapes
Magendie, Flourens - French physiologists, colleagues and rivalries, known for their scientific experimentation
Abscess n a swollen area within body tissue, containing an accumulation of pus; ulcer (Ab cis)
Pylorus n the opening from the stomach into the duodenum 幽門 (pie Lor rus)
Strychnine n a bitter and highly poisonous compound obtained from nux vomica and related plants. An alkaloid, it has occasionally been used as a stimulant 番木鱉鹼 (Strik neen)
Strychnos colubrina - latin, a plant species, a poisonous tree related to Strychnos nux-vomica, produces strychnine
Jean Jacques Rousseau - a Genevan philosopher, philosophe, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.
Mandarin n a powerful official or senior bureaucrat, especially one perceived as reactionary and secretive
Syncope n medical term for a temporary, rapid loss of consciousness and muscle control = fainting or passing out. It occurs due to a sudden, temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain. The loss of consciousness is typically short-lived, followed by a spontaneous complete recovery 暈厥 (Syn co pee)
Anti-spasmodic adj (chiefly of a drug) used to relieve spasm of involuntary muscle; n antispasmodic drug解痙藥

Coming Features
The Lottery (Horror), Metamorphosis (Absurd)

Complete Features
Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

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2021: 0 太太陪同旁聽 全配樂 無剪接 附旁述 總結 文字大綱 不定時播出 
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2024: 2.2 初階電容咪 Audacity, ChatGPT注解+插畫 分秒顯示 一小時内容 

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