【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER FOUR（16）

Rattling¹ on like a . . . mad old cow. I‘m sorry, I‘m tired, bad day, and I‘m sorry for being so . . . boring.‘

You‘re not that boring.‘

I am, Dex. God, I swear, I bore myself.‘

Well you don‘t bore me.‘ He took her hand in his. You could never bore me. You‘re one in a million, Em.‘

I‘m not even one in three.‘

He kicked her foot with his. Em?‘

What?‘

Just take it, will you? Just shut up and take it.‘

They regarded each other for a moment. He lay down once  more, and after a moment she followed  and  jumped  a  little  when  she  found  out  that  he  had  slid  his  arm  beneath  her shoulders. There was a self-conscious moment of mutual² discomfort³ before she turned onto her side and curled towards him. Tightening⁴ his arm  around her, he spoke⁵ into the top of her head.

You know what I can‘t understand? You have all these people telling you all the time how  great  you  are,  smart  and  funny  and  talented  and  all  that,  I  mean  endlessly,  I‘ve  been telling you for years. So why don‘t you believe it? Why do you think people say that stuff, Em? Do you think it‘s a conspiracy⁶, people secretly ganging up to be nice about you?‘

She pressed her head against his shoulder to make him stop or else she felt she might cry. You‘re nice. But I should go.‘

No, stay a bit longer. We‘ll get another bottle.‘ 

 

Isn‘t Naomi waiting for you somewhere? Her little mouth crammed⁷ full of drugs like a little druggy hamster.‘ She puffed⁸ out her cheeks and Dexter laughed, and she began to feel a little better.

They stayed there for a while, then walked down to the off-licence and back up the hill to see the sun set over the city, drinking wine and eating nothing but a large bag of expensive crisps. Strange animal cries could be heard from Regents Park Zoo, and  finally they were the last people on the hill.

I should get home,‘ she said, standing⁹ woozily.

You could stay at mine if you wanted.‘

She thought of the journey home, the Northern Line, the top deck of the N38 bus, then the long perilous¹⁰ walk to the flat that smelt¹¹ unaccountably of fried onions. When she finally got home  the  central  heating  would  probably  be  on  and  Tilly  Killick  would  be  there  with  her dressing-gown hanging open, clinging to the radiators¹² like a gecko and eating pesto out of the jar.  There  would  be  teeth  marks  in  the  Irish  Cheddar  and  thirty something  on  TV,  and  she didn‘t want to go.

 

1 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

8 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

11 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

12 radiators   

n.（暖气设备的）散热器( radiator的名词复数 )；汽车引擎的冷却器，散热器

参考例句：

• You can preset the radiators to come on when you need them to. 你可以预先调好暖气，使它在你需要的时候启动。
• Stars are radiators of vast power. 恒星是强大的发光体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》