1-14

 

14.

Mr. Marston, while patrolling the dining room, often carried a little bell. It reminded me of the bellon the front desk of a hotel. Ding, have you a room? He’d ring the bell whenever he wanted to geta group of boys’ attention. The sound was constant. And utterly¹ pointless.

Abandoned children don’t care about a bell.

Frequently Mr. Marston would feel the need to make an announcement during meals. He’dbegin speaking and no one would listen, or even lower their voice, so he’d ring his bell.

Ding.

A hundred boys would keep on talking, laughing.

He’d ring it harder.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Each time the bell failed to bring silence, Mr. Marston’s face would grow a shade redder.

Fellas! Will you LISTEN?

No, was the simple answer. We would not. It wasn’t disrespect, however; it was simpleacoustics. We couldn’t hear him. The hall was too cavernous, and we were too absorbed in ourconversations.

He didn’t accept this. He seemed suspicious, as if our disregard of his bell was part of somegreater coordinated² plot. I don’t know about the others, but I was part of no plot. Also, I wasn’tdisregarding him. Quite the contrary: I couldn’t take my eyes off the man. I often asked myselfwhat an outsider might say if they could witness this spectacle, a hundred boys chatting awaywhile a grown man stood before them frantically³ and uselessly abusing a tiny brass⁴ bell.

Adding to this general sense of bedlam⁵ was the psychiatric hospital down the road.

Broadmoor. Some time before I came to Ludgrove, a Broadmoor patient had escaped and killed achild in one of the nearby villages. In response Broadmoor installed a warning siren, and now andthen they’d test it, to make sure it was in working order. A sound like Doomsday. Mr. Marston’sbell on steroids.

I mentioned this to Pa one day. He nodded sagely⁶. He’d recently visited a similar place as partof his charitable work. The patients were mostly gentle, he assured me, though one stood out. Alittle chap who claimed to be the Prince of Wales.

Pa said he’d wagged a finger at this impostor and severely⁷ reprimanded him. Now look here.

You cannot be the Prince of Wales! I’m the Prince of Wales.

The patient merely wagged his finger back. Impossible! I’m the Prince of Wales!

Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire⁸. He’d always end with aburst of philosophizing: If this mental patient could be so thoroughly⁹ convinced of his identity, noless than Pa, it raised some very Big Questions indeed. Who could say which of us was sane¹⁰? Whocould be sure they weren’t the mental patient, hopelessly deluded¹¹, humored by friends and family?

Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father? Maybeyour real father is in Broadmoor, darling boy!

He’d laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably¹² unfunny joke, given the rumor¹³ circulatingjust then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers: Major James Hewitt. Onecause of this rumor was Major Hewitt’s flaming ginger¹⁴ hair, but another cause was sadism.

Tabloid¹⁵ readers were delighted by the idea that the younger child of Prince Charles wasn’t thechild of Prince Charles. They couldn’t get enough of this “joke,” for some reason. Maybe it madethem feel better about their lives that a young prince’s life was laughable.

Never mind that my mother didn’t meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born, the story wassimply too good to drop. The press rehashed it, embroidered¹⁶ it, and there was even talk that somereporters were seeking my DNA¹⁷ to prove it—my first intimation that, after torturing my motherand sending her into hiding, they would soon be coming for me.

To this day nearly every biography of me, every longish profile in a paper or magazine,touches on Major Hewitt, treats the prospect¹⁸ of his paternity with some seriousness, including adescription of the moment Pa finally sat me down for a proper heart-to-heart, reassuring¹⁹ me thatMajor Hewitt wasn’t my real father. Vivid scene, poignant²⁰, moving, and wholly made up. If Pahad any thoughts about Major Hewitt, he kept them to himself.

 

1 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

4 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

5 bedlam   

n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院

参考例句：

• He is causing bedlam at the hotel.他正搅得旅馆鸡犬不宁。
• When the teacher was called away the classroom was a regular bedlam.当老师被叫走的时候，教室便喧闹不堪。

6 sagely   

adv. 贤能地，贤明地

参考例句：

• Even the ones who understand may nod sagely. 即使对方知道这一点，也会一本正经地点头同意。
• Well, that's about all of the sagely advice this old grey head can come up with. 好了，以上就是我这个满头银发的老头儿给你们的充满睿智的忠告。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

9 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

10 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

11 deluded   

v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't be deluded into thinking that we are out of danger yet. 不要误以为我们已脱离危险。
• She deluded everyone into following her. 她骗得每个人都听信她的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

13 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

14 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

15 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

16 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

17 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

18 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

19 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

20 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。