2-50

 

50.

My Army superiors, like Pa, were nonplussed¹. They didn’t care about me playing billiards² in theprivacy of a hotel room, naked or not. My status remained unchanged, they said. All systems go.

My fellow soldiers stood up for me too. Men and women in uniform, all around the world,posed naked, or nearly so, covering their privates with helmets, weapons, berets, and posted thephotos online, in solidarity³ with Prince Harry⁴.

As for Cress: After hearing my careful and abashed⁵ explanation, she came to the sameconclusion. I’d been a dummy⁶, not a debaucher⁷.

I apologized for embarrassing her.

Best of all, none of my bodyguards⁹ were dismissed or even disciplined—mainly because I keptit a secret that they’d been with me at the time.

But the British papers, even knowing I was off to war, continued to vent¹⁰ and fume¹¹ as if I’dcommitted a capital offense¹².

It was a good time to leave.

September 2012. The same eternal flight, but this time I wasn’t a stowaway¹³. This time therewas no hidden alcove¹⁴, no secret bunkbeds. This time I was allowed to sit with all the othersoldiers, to feel part of a team.

As we touched down at Camp Bastion, however, I realized I wasn’t quite one of the lads.

Some looked nervous, their collars tighter, their Adam’s apples larger. I remembered that feeling,but for me this was coming home. After more than four years, and against all odds¹⁵, I was finallyback. As a Captain. (I’d been promoted since my first tour.)My accommodation this time was better. In fact, compared to my last tour, it was Vegas-esque. Pilots were treated like—the word was unavoidable, everybody used it—royalty. Soft beds,clean rooms. More, the rooms were actual rooms, not trenches¹⁶ or tents. Each even had its own air-con unit.

We were given a week to learn our way around Bastion, and to recover from jet lag. OtherBastionites were helpful, more than happy to show us the ropes.

Captain Wales, this is where the latrines are!

Captain Wales, over here is where you’ll find hot pizza!

It felt a bit like a field trip, until, on the eve of my twenty-eighth birthday, I was sitting in myroom, organizing my stuff, and sirens started going off. I opened my door, peered out. All downthe hall other doors were flying open, other heads popping out.

Now both my bodyguards came running. (Unlike the last tour of duty, I had bodyguards thistime, mainly because there was proper accommodation for them, and because they could blend in:

I was living with thousands of others.) One said: We’re under attack!

We heard explosions in the distance, near the aircraft hangars. I started to run for my Apachebut my bodyguards stopped me.

Way too dangerous.

We heard shouting outside. Make ready! MAKE READY!

We all got into body armor and stood in the doorway¹⁷ to await the next instructions. As Idouble-checked my vest and helmet one bodyguard⁸ kept up a constant patter: I knew this wasgoing to happen, I just knew it, I told everyone, but no one would listen. Shut up, they said, but Itold them, I told them, Harry’s going to get hurt! Fuck off, they said, and now here we are.

He was a Scot, with a thick burr, and often sounded like Sean Connery, which was charmingunder normal circumstances, but now he just sounded like Sean Connery having a panic attack. Icut off his long story about being an unappreciated Cassandra and told him to put a sock in it.

I felt naked. I had my 9-mm, but my SA80A was locked up. I had my bodyguards, but Ineeded my Apache. That was the only place I’d feel safe—and useful. I needed to rain fire downon our attackers, whoever they were.

More explosions, louder explosions. The windows flickered¹⁸. Now we saw flames. AmericanCobras came thumping²⁰ overhead and the whole building shuddered²¹. The Cobras fired. TheApaches fired. An awesome²² roar filled the room. We all felt dread²³, and adrenaline. But we Apachepilots were especially agitated²⁴, itching²⁵ to get into our cockpits.

Someone reminded me that Bastion was about the size of Reading. How could we evernavigate our way from here to the helicopters without a map, while taking fire?

That was when we heard the all-clear.

The sirens stopped. The thump¹⁹ of rotors faded.

Bastion was secure again.

But at a terrible price, we learned. Two American soldiers were killed. Seventeen British andAmerican soldiers were injured.

Throughout that day and the next we pieced together what happened. Taliban fighters had gothold of American uniforms, cut a hole in the fence, and slipped in.

They cut a hole in the fence?

Yep.

Why?

In short, me.

They were looking for Prince Harry, they said.

The Taliban actually issued a statement: Prince Harry was our target. And the date of theattack had been carefully chosen as well.

They’d timed it, they proclaimed, to coincide with my birthday.

I didn’t know if I believed that.

I didn’t want to believe it.

But one thing was beyond dispute. The Taliban had learned about my presence on the base,and the granular details of my tour, through the nonstop coverage²⁶ that week in the British press.

 

1 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 billiards   

n.台球

参考例句：

• John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。
• Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

3 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

4 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。

5 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

7 debaucher   

参考例句：

8 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

9 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

10 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

11 fume   

n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟，气，汽

参考例句：

• The pressure of fume in chimney increases slowly from top to bottom.烟道内压力自上而下逐渐增加，底层住户的排烟最为不利。
• Your harsh words put her in a fume.你那些难听的话使她生气了。

12 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

13 stowaway   

n.（藏于轮船，飞机中的）偷乘者

参考例句：

• The stowaway masqueraded as a crew member.偷渡者假扮成乘务员。
• The crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.船员在开船约两天后发现了那名偷乘者。

14 alcove   

n.凹室

参考例句：

• The bookcase fits neatly into the alcove.书架正好放得进壁凹。
• In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves.火炉两边的凹室里是书架。

15 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

16 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

19 thump   

v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声

参考例句：

• The thief hit him a thump on the head.贼在他的头上重击一下。
• The excitement made her heart thump.她兴奋得心怦怦地跳。

20 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

23 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

24 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

25 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。