【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER TWO（9）

 And  how  is  Rome?  How  is  La  Dolce  Vita?  (look  it  up).  I  imagine  you  right  now  at  a  café  table, 

drinking one of those ‘cappuccinos’ we hear so much about, and wolf-whistling at everything. You’re 

probably wearing sunglasses to read this. Well take them off, you look ridiculous. Did you get the 

books I sent you? Primo Levi is a fine Italian writer. It’s to remind you that life isn’t all gelati  and 

espadrilles. Life can’t always be like the opening of Betty Blue. And how is teaching? Please promise 

me you’re not sleeping with your students. That would just be so . . . disappointing.

Must go now. Bottom of page looms¹, and in the other room I can hear the thrilling murmur² of our 

audience as they throw chairs at each other. I finish this job in two weeks THANK GOD, then Gary 

Nutkin, our director, wants me to devise a show for infantschools about Apartheid. With PUPPETS 

for fuck’s sake. Six months in a Transit³ on the M6 with a Desmond Tutu marionette⁴ on my lap. I might 

give  that  one  a  miss.  Besides,  I’ve  written  this  two-woman  play  about  Virginia  Woolf  and  Emily 

Dickinson called ‘Two Lives’ (either that or ‘Two Depressed⁵ Lesbians’). Maybe I’ll put that on in a 

pub-theatre  somewhere.  Once  I’d  explained  to  Candy  who  Virginia  Woolf  was,  she  said  that  she 

really, really wanted to play her, but only if she can take her top off, so that’s the casting sorted. I’ll 

be Emily Dickinson, and keep my top on. I’ll reserve you tickets.

1 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

5 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。