1-13

 

13.

Late at night, after lights-out, some of us would sneak¹ out, go roaming up and down the corridors.

A strict violation² of the rules, but I was lonely and homesick, probably anxious and depressed³, andI couldn’t abide⁴ being locked into my dormitory.

There was one particular teacher who, whenever he caught me, would give me a tremendousclout, always with a copy of the New English Bible. The hardback version. It is indeed, I alwaysthought, a very hard back. Getting hit with it made me feel bad about myself, bad about theteacher, and bad about the Bible. Nevertheless, the next night I’d go right back to flouting⁶ therules.

If I wasn’t roaming the corridors, I was roaming the school grounds, usually with my bestmate, Henners. Like me, Henners was officially a Henry, but I always called him Henners, and hecalled me Haz.

Skinny, with no muscles, and hair that stood up in permanent surrender, Henners was all heart.

Whenever he smiled, people melted. (He was the only boy who mentioned Mummy to me aftershe disappeared.) But that winning smile, that tender nature, made you forget that Henners couldbe quite naughty.

A huge “pick your own” farm lay beyond the school grounds, on the other side of a low fence,and one day Henners and I hopped⁷ over, landing face-first in carrot furrows⁸. Row after row.

Nearby were some fat, juicy strawberries. We went along, stuffing our mouths, popping up nowand then like meerkats to make sure the coast was clear. Whenever I bite into a strawberry I’mthere again, in those furrows, with lovely Henners.

Days later we went back. This time, after we’d eaten our fill and hopped over the fence, weheard our names.

We were heading along a cart track in the direction of the tennis courts and slowly we turned.

Coming straight for us was one of the teachers.

You there! Stop!

Hello, sir.

What are you two doing?

Nothing, sir.

You’ve been to the farm.

No!

Open your hands.

We did. Busted⁹. Crimson¹⁰ palms. He reacted as if it were blood.

I can’t remember what punishment we received. Another clout⁵ with the New English Bible?

Detention¹¹? (Often called det.) A trip to Mr. Gerald’s office? Whatever it was, I know I didn’tmind. There was no torture Ludgrove could dish out that surpassed what was going on inside me.

 

1 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 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。

4 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

5 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

6 flouting   

v.藐视，轻视( flout的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• By selling alcohol to minors,the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯罪法。 来自口语例句
• By selling alcohol to minor, the shop is deliberately flouting the law. 向未成年人出售烈性酒，是商店故意犯法。 来自互联网

7 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

8 furrows   

n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上，我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句

9 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

10 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。