2-21

 

21.

I landed on March 1, 2008. The obligatory¹ press conference stood between me and a proper meal.

I held my breath, went before the chosen reporter, answered his questions. He used the word hero,which I wouldn’t stand for. The heroes are the guys on the plane. Not to mention the guys stillback at Delhi and Dwyer and Edinburgh.

I walked out of the room, straight into Willy and Pa. I think Willy hugged me. I think I gavePa a kiss on each cheek. He might also have…squeezed my shoulder? It would’ve appeared, toanyone at a distance, a normal family greeting and interaction, but for us it was a flamboyant,unprecedented demonstration² of physical affection.

Then they both stared at me, wide-eyed. I looked exhausted³. Haunted.

You look older, Pa said.

I am.

We piled into Pa’s Audi and zoomed⁴ off towards Highgrove. Along the way we spoke⁵ as if wewere in a library. Very hushed.

How are you, Harold?

Oh, I dunno. How are you?

Not bad.

How’s Kate?

Good.

I miss anything?

No. Same old.

I rolled down the window, watched the countryside fly by. My eyes couldn’t quite absorb allthat color, all that green. I breathed in the fresh air and wondered which was the dream, themonths in Afghanistan or this trip in the car? The guns of Dwyer, the beheaded goats, the boy inthe wheelbarrow—was that reality? Or was reality these soft leather seats and Pa’s cologne?

 

1 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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。