【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER FOUR（9）

 Never  mind,  it  suited  him,  as  did  the  preponderance  of  young  women  like Naomi:  hard,  ambitious,  metropolitan.  In  rare  moments  of  self-doubt,  Dexter  had  once worried  that  a  lack  of  intellect  might  hold  him  back  in  life,  but  here  was  a  job  where confidence, energy, perhaps even a certain arrogance¹ were what mattered, all qualities that lay  within  his  grasp.  Yes,  you  had  to  be  smart,  but  not  Emma-smart.  Just  politic,  shrewd, ambitious.

He loved his new flat in nearby Belsize Park, all dark wood and gunmetal, and he loved London,  spread  out  vast  and  hazy  before  him  on  this  St  Swithin‘s  Day,  and  he  wanted  to share  all  this  excitement  with  Emma,  introduce  her  to  new  possibilities,  new  experiences, new  social  circles;  to  make  her  life  more  like  his  own.  Who  knows,  perhaps  Naomi  and Emma might even become friends.

Soothed² by these thoughts, and on the verge³ of sleep, he was woken by a shadow across his face. He opened one eye, squinting⁴ up.

Hello, beautiful.‘

Emma kicked him sharply in the hip⁵.

Ow!‘

Don‘t you ever, ever do that again!‘

Do what?‘

You know what! Like I‘m in a zoo, you poking⁶ me with a stick, laughing—‘

I wasn‘t laughing at you!‘

I watched you, sat straddling your girlfriend, chuckling⁷ away—‘

She isn‘t my girlfriend, and we were laughing at the menu—‘

You were laughing at where I work.‘

So? You do!‘

Yes, because I  work  there. I‘m laughing in the face of adversity, you‘re just laughing in my face!‘

Em, I would never, ever—‘

That‘s what it feels like.‘

Well I apologise.‘

Good.‘ She folded her legs beneath her and sat next to him. Now do your shirt up and pass me the bottle.‘

And she really isn‘t my girlfriend.‘ He fastened three low shirt buttons, waiting for her to take the bait. When she didn‘t, he prodded⁸ again. ‗We‘re just sleeping together every now and then, that‘s all.‘

As the possibility of a relationship had faded, Emma had endeavoured to harden herself to Dexter‘s  indifference  and  these  days  a  remark  like  this  caused  no  more  pain  than,  say,  a tennis  ball  thrown  sharply  at  the  back  of  her  head.  These  days  she  barely  even  flinched.

1 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

2 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 squinting   

斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• "More company," he said, squinting in the sun. "那边来人了，"他在阳光中眨巴着眼睛说。
• Squinting against the morning sun, Faulcon examined the boy carefully. 对着早晨的太阳斜起眼睛，富尔康仔细地打量着那个年轻人。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

7 chuckling   

轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时，我能听见他的轻声发笑。
• He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

8 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》