2-31

 

31.

During this time I was living in Shropshire, with Willy, who was also training to become a pilot.

He’d found a cottage ten minutes from the base, on someone’s estate, and invited me to stay withhim. Or maybe I invited myself?

The cottage was cozy¹, charming, just up a narrow country lane and behind some thicklycanopied trees. The fridge was stuffed with vacuum-packed meals sent by Pa’s chefs. Creamychicken and rice, beef curry². At the back of the house there were beautiful stables, whichexplained the horse smell in every room.

Each of us enjoyed the arrangement: our first time living together since Eton. It was fun. Betteryet, we were together for the decisive moment, the triumphal unraveling of Murdoch’s mediaempire. After months of investigation³, a gang of reporters and editors at Murdoch’s trashiestnewspaper were finally being identified, handcuffed, arrested, charged with harassment⁴ ofpoliticians, celebrities⁵ — and the Royal Family. Corruption⁶ was being exposed, finally, andpunishments were forthcoming.

Among the soon-to-be-exposed villains⁷ was the Thumb, that same journalist who’d long agopublished an absurd non-story about my thumb injury at Eton. I’d healed up nicely, but the Thumbhad never mended his ways. On the contrary he’d got a whole lot worse. He’d moved up the ranksof the newspaper world, becoming a boss, with a whole team of Thumbs at his command (underhis thumb?), many of them hacking⁸ willy-nilly into people’s phones. Blatant⁹ criminality, whichthe Thumb claimed, laughably, to know nothing about.

Also going down? Rehabber Kooks! The same loathsome¹⁰ editor who’d cooked up my rehabcharade—she’d been “resigned.” Two days later the cops arrested her.

Oh, the relief we felt when we heard. For us and our country.

A similar fate was soon to befall the others, all the plotters and stalkers and liars¹¹. Soon enoughthey would all lose their jobs, and their ill-gotten fortunes, amassed¹² during one of the wildestcrime sprees in British history.

Justice.

I was overjoyed. So was Willy. More, it was glorious to finally have our suspicions validatedand our circle of closest friends vindicated¹³, to know that we hadn’t been stark¹⁴, staring paranoid.

Things really had been amiss. We’d been betrayed, as we’d always suspected, but not bybodyguards or best mates. It was those Fleet Street weasels yet again. And the MetropolitanPolice, who’d inexplicably¹⁵ failed to do their jobs, refusing time and again to investigate and arrestobvious lawbreakers.

The question was why? Pay-offs? Collusion? Fear?

We’d soon find out.

The public was horrified¹⁶. If journalists could use the mighty¹⁷ powers vested in them for evil,then democracy was in sorry shape. More, if journalists were allowed to probe and foil the securitymeasures that notable figures and government officials required to stay safe, then they’d ultimatelyshow terrorists how to do it too. And then it would be a free-for-all. No one would be safe.

For generations Britons had said with a wry¹⁸ laugh: Ah, well, of course our newspapers are shit—but what can you do? Now they weren’t laughing. And there was general agreement: We needto do something.

There were even death rattles¹⁹ coming from the most popular Sunday newspaper, Murdoch’sNews of the World. The leading culprit in the hacking scandal, its very survival was in doubt.

Advertisers were talking about fleeing, readers were talking about boycotts²⁰. Was it possible?

Murdoch’s baby—his grotesque²¹ two-headed circus baby—might finally expire?

A new era was at hand?

Strange. While all this put Willy and me in a chipper mood, we didn’t talk much about itexplicitly. We had loads of laughs in that cottage, passed many happy hours talking about all kindsof things, but seldom that. I wonder if it was just too painful. Or maybe still too unresolved.

Maybe we didn’t want to jinx it, didn’t dare pop the cork²² on the champagne²³ until we saw photosof Rehabber Kooks and the Thumb sharing a cell.

Or maybe there was some tension under the surface between us, which I wasn’t fullycomprehending. While sharing that cottage we agreed to a rare joint²⁴ interview, in an airplanehangar at Shawbury, during which Willy griped endlessly about my habits. Harry²⁵’s a slob, he said.

Harry snores.

I turned and gave him a look. Was he joking?

I cleaned up after myself, and I didn’t snore. Besides, our rooms were separated by thick walls,so even if I did snore there was no way he heard. The reporters were having fits of giggles²⁶ about itall, but I cut in: Lies! Lies!

That only made them laugh harder. Willy too.

I laughed as well, because we often bantered²⁷ like that, but when I look back on it now, I can’thelp but wonder if there wasn’t something else at play. I was training to get to the front lines, thesame place Willy had been training to get, but the Palace had scuttled²⁸ his plans. The Spare, sure,let him run around a battlefield like a chicken with its head cut off, if that’s what he likes.

But the Heir? No.

So Willy was now training to be a search and rescue pilot, and perhaps feeling quietlyfrustrated about it. In which case, he was seeing it all wrong. He was doing remarkable²⁹, vital work,I thought, saving lives every week. I was proud of him, and full of respect for the way he wasdedicating himself wholeheartedly to his preparation.

Still, I should’ve figured out how he might have been feeling. I knew all too well the despair ofbeing pulled from a fight for which you’ve spent years preparing.

 

1 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

2 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

9 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

10 loathsome   

adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的

参考例句：

• The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
• Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。

11 liars   

说谎者( liar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest liars talk most of themselves. 最爱自吹自擂的人是最大的说谎者。
• Honest boys despise lies and liars. 诚实的孩子鄙视谎言和说谎者。

12 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

15 inexplicably   

adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是

参考例句：

• Inexplicably, Mary said she loved John. 真是不可思议，玛丽说她爱约翰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inexplicably, she never turned up. 令人不解的是，她从未露面。 来自辞典例句

16 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

17 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

18 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

19 rattles   

（使）发出格格的响声， （使）作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 )； 喋喋不休地说话； 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动，堕下或走动； 使紧张，使恐惧

参考例句：

• It rattles the windowpane and sends the dog scratching to get under the bed. 它把窗玻璃震得格格作响，把狗吓得往床底下钻。
• How thin it is, and how dainty and frail; and how it rattles. 你看它够多么薄，多么精致，多么不结实；还老那么哗楞哗楞地响。

20 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

21 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

22 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

23 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

24 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

25 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。

26 giggles   

n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间，以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句

27 bantered   

v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的过去式和过去分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• We bantered Nick on the subject of marriage. 我们就婚姻问题取笑尼克。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rival team members bantered before the game. 双方队员在比赛前互相说笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。