【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER FOUR（7）

 So,  Ian,  can  we  get  two,  no,  three  of  the  ―Remember  the  Alamo‖  margaritas.  Two  or three? Em, are you joining us?‘

Dexter, I told you. I‘m working.‘

Okay, in that case,  do you know what? We‘ll leave it then. Just the bill, please, um . . .‘ Ian left and Dexter beckoned¹ to Emma and in a low voice said, ‗Hey, look, is there any way I can, you know . . .‘

What?‘

Give you the money for the drinks.‘

Emma stared blankly. I don‘t understand.‘

What I mean is, is there any way I can, you know, tip you?‘

Tip me?‘

Exactly. Tip you.‘

Why?‘

No reason, Em,‘ said Dex. I just really, really want to tip you,‘ and Emma felt another small portion of her soul fall away.

On Primrose² Hill, Dexter slept in the evening sun, shirt unbuttoned, hands beneath his head, a half-empty bottle of grocer‘s white wine warming by his side as he slipped from the hangover of the afternoon into drunkenness again. The parched³ yellow grass of the hill was  crowded with  young  professional  people,  many  straight  from  their  offices,  talking  and  laughing  as three different stereos competed with each other, and Dexter lay in the  centre of it all and dreamt about television.

The  idea  of  being  a  professional  photographer  had  been  abandoned  without  much  of  a fight.  He  knew  that  he  was  a  decent  amateur,  probably  always  would  be,  but  to  become exceptional, a Cartier-Bresson, a Capa or a Brandt, would require toil⁴, rejection⁵ and struggle,and he wasn‘t sure if struggle  suited him. Television, on the other hand, television wanted him  right  now.  Why  hadn‘t  he  thought  of  it  before?  Growing  up  there  had  always  been  a television  in  the  home,  but  there  was  something  a  little  unwholesome  about  watching  the thing.  Now,  in  the  last  nine  months  it  had  suddenly  come  to  dominate  his  life.  He  was  a convert,  and  with  the  passion  of  the  new  recruit  he  found  himself  getting  quite  emotional about the medium, as if he had finally found a spiritual home.

And no, it didn‘t have the arty gleam of photography or the credibility of reporting from a war zone, but TV mattered, TV was the future. 

 

1 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 primrose   

n.樱草，最佳部分，

参考例句：

• She is in the primrose of her life.她正处在她一生的最盛期。
• The primrose is set off by its nest of green.一窝绿叶衬托着一朵樱草花。

3 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

4 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。