1-49

 

49.

Around this time, just before the wedding, or perhaps just after, I went off with Willy to train withthe British Special Boat Service. It wasn’t official training. Just a bit of boys and toys, as we calledit. Mostly a lark¹, though it did grow out of long-standing and solemn tradition.

Our family had always maintained close ties with the British military. Sometimes that meantan official visit, sometimes a casual lunch. Sometimes it meant a private chat with men andwomen home from the wars. But sometimes it meant taking part in rigorous exercises. Nothingshowed respect for the military like doing, or trying to do, what they did.

Such exercises were always kept secret from the press. The military preferred it that way, andGod knows the royals did too.

It was Mummy who took Willy and me on our first military exercise—a “killing house” inHerefordshire. The three of us were put into a room, told not to move. Then the room went dark. Asquad kicked down the door. They threw flash bangs, scared the devil out of us, which was theiraim. They wanted to teach us how to respond “if ever” our lives were in danger.

If ever? That made us laugh. Have you seen our mail?

But this day with Willy was different. Much more physical, more participatory. Less aboutteaching, more about adrenaline. We raced across Poole Harbour on speedboats, “attacked” afrigate, clambered up its cable ladders while shooting 9-mm MP5s loaded with paintball rounds. Inone exercise we scurried² down a flight of metal stairs into the frigate’s hold. Someone cut thelights, to make it more interesting, I suppose. In the pitch-dark, four steps from the bottom, I fell,landed on my left knee, which was immediately impaled³ on a fixed⁴ bolt sticking out of the floor.

Blinding pain washed over me.

I managed to get up, keep going, finish the drill. But at the end of the exercise we jumped offthe boat’s helipad, into the water, and I found my knee wasn’t working. My whole leg wasn’tworking. When I got out of the water and stripped off the dry suit, Willy looked down and turnedpale.

My knee was gushing⁵ blood.

Paramedics were there within minutes.

The Palace announced some weeks later that my entry into the Army would be postponed⁶.

Indefinitely.

Reporters demanded to know why.

The Palace comms team told them: Prince Harry⁷ has injured his knee playing rugby.

Reading the papers, my leg iced and elevated, I threw back my head and laughed. I couldn’thelp savoring⁸ one small particle of self-indulgent glee as the papers, for once, unwittingly printed alie about me.

They soon got their revenge, however. They began pushing a story that I was afraid to go intothe Army, that I was bunking⁹ off, using a fake knee injury as a way of stalling.

I was, they said, a coward.

 

1 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

2 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 impaled   

钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She impaled a lump of meat on her fork. 她用叉子戳起一块肉。
• He fell out of the window and was impaled on the iron railings. 他从窗口跌下去，身体被铁栏杆刺穿了。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 savoring   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的现在分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• Cooking was fine but it was the savoring that he enjoyed most. 烹饪当然很好，但他最享受的是闻到的各种味道。 来自互联网
• She sat there for a moment, savoring the smell of the food. 她在那儿坐了一会儿，品尝这些食物的香味。 来自互联网

9 bunking   

v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的现在分词 )；空话，废话

参考例句：

• A tacit friendship had developed between them since they had been bunking together. 他们俩自从睡在一个帐篷里以来，彼此之间已悄然结下了友谊。 来自辞典例句
• Bunking the tube was easy on the outward journey. 外出旅游期间，睡在睡袋里是件很容易的事情。 来自互联网