【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER TWO（6）

 “Amsterdam  is  MAD”,  “Barcelona  INSANE”,  “Dublin  ROCKS. 

Sick as DOG this morning.“ As a travel writer, he was no Bruce Chatwin, but still she would 

slip  the  postcards  in  the  pocket  of  a  heavy  coat  on  long  soulful  walks  on  Ilkley  Moor, 

searching for some hidden meaning in “VENICE COMPLETELY FLOODED!!!!“.

Who‘s this  Dexter  then?‘ her mother asked, peering at the back of the postcards.“Your 

boyfriend, is he?‘ Then, with a concerned look: “Have you ever thought about working for 

the Gas Board?‘ Emma got a job pulling pints¹ in  the local pub, and time passed, and she felt 

her brain begin to soften² like something forgotten at the back of the fridge.

Then  Gary  Nutkin  had  phoned,  the  skinny  Trotskyist  who  had  directed  her  in  a  stark, 

uncompromising production of Brecht‘s  Fears and Miseries³ of the Third Reich  back in ‘86, 

then  kissed  her  for  three  stark,  uncompromising  hours  at  the  last-night  party.  Shortly 

afterwards  he  had  taken  her  to  a  Peter  Greenaway  double-bill,  waiting  until  four  hours  in 

before reaching across and absent-mindedly placing his hand on her left breast as if adjusting 

a  dimmer  switch.  They  made  Brechtian  love  that  evening  in  a  stale  single  bed  beneath  a 

poster for The Battle of Algiers, Gary taking care throughout to ensure that he was in no way 

objectifying her. Then nothing, not a word, until that late-night phone-call in May, and the 

hesitant words, softly spoken: “How would you like to join my theatre co-operative?‘”

1 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

3 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》