【有神英语文学名著】CHAPTER TWO（8）

Dexter didn‘t like to think of himself as vain, but there were definitely times when he wished 

there was someone on hand to take his photograph.

They  kissed  again,  and  he  wondered  vaguely  if  there  was  some  moral  or  ethical 

dimension to this situation. Of course the time to worry about the pros¹ and cons² of sleeping 

with a student would have been after the College party, while Tove was perching unsteadily 

on the edge of his bed and unzipping her knee-length boots. Even then, in the muddle³ of red 

wine  and  desire  he  had  found  himself  wondering  what  Emma  Morley  would  say.  Even  as 

Tove twirled her tongue in his ear, he had conducted his defence: she‘s nineteen, an adult, 

and  anyway  I‘m  not  a  real  teacher.  Besides,  Emma  was  a  long  way  away  at  this  moment, 

changing the world from a mini-bus on the ring road of a provincial⁴ town, and what was all 

this to do with Emma anyway? Tove‘s knee-length boots sagged⁵ in the corner of the room 

now, in the hostel⁶ where overnight visitors were strictly⁷ forbidden.

He shifted his body to a cooler patch of terracotta, peering out of the window to try to 

gauge⁸ the time from the small square of vivid blue sky. The rhythm of Tove‘s breathing was 

changing as she slipped into sleep, but he had an important appointment to keep. He dropped 

the last two inches of cigarette into a wine glass, and stretched for his wristwatch, which lay 

on an unread copy of Primo Levi‘s If This is a Man.

1 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

5 sagged   

下垂的

参考例句：

• The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
• He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。

6 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

7 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

8 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。