【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER THREE(5)

 And there‘s nothing else you can do? You can‘t temp, or live with your parents orsomething?‘

I need to be in London, I need flexible hours . . .‘ 

Why, what‘s your stroke?‘ 

My what?‘

Your stroke. Everyone who works here has a stroke. Waiter-stroke-artist, waiter-strokeactor. Paddy the bartender claims to be a model, but frankly¹ I‘m doubtful.‘

Weeeeeell,‘ said Ian, in what she took to be a Northern accent, ‗I suppose I‘d have to saythat I‘m a comedian²!‘ Grinning, he splayed his hands either side of his face and gave them anend-of-pier waggle.

 ‗Right. Well, we all like to laugh. What, like a stand-up or something?‘ 

‗Stand-up mainly. What about you?‘ 

Me?‘ 

Your stroke? What else do you do?‘ 

She thought about saying ‗playwright‘ but even after three months the humiliation³ ofbeing Emily Dickinson to an empty room still burned bright. She might as well say‗astronaut‘ as ‗playwright‘, there was as much truth in it. ‗Oh, I do this—‘ She peeled an old burrito from its carapace⁴ of hardened cheese. ‗This is what I do.‘ 

‗And do you like it?‘

‗Like it? I love it! I mean I‘m not made of wood.‘ She wiped the day-old ketchup⁵ onto aused napkin and headed for the door. ‗Now, let me show you the toilets. Brace⁶ yourself . . .‘

****

Since I started this letter I’ve drank(drunken? dronk?) two more beers and so am ready to say this

now. Here goes. Em, we’ve known each other five or six years now, but two years properly, as, you

know, ‘friends’, which isn’t that long but I think I know a bit about you and I think I know what your

problem is. And be aware that I have a lowish 2. 2 in

Anthropology⁷, so I know what I’m talking about.

If you don’t want to know my theory, stop reading now.

 

Good. Here it is. I think you’re scared of being happy, Emma. I think you think that the natural

way of things is for your life to be grim and grey and dourand to hate your job, hate where you live,

not to have success or money or God forbid a boyfriend (and a quick discersion here – that whole

self-deprecating thing about being unattractive is getting pretty boring I can tell you). 

1 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

4 carapace   

n.（蟹或龟的）甲壳

参考例句：

• The tortoise pulled its head into his carapace.乌龟把头缩进它的壳里。
• He tickled gently at its glossy carapace,but the stubborn beetle would not budge.他轻轻地搔着甲虫光滑的壳，但这只固执的甲虫就是不动。

5 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

6 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

7 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。