3-7

 

7.

I woke just before dawn, unzipped the tent quietly, tiptoed out. The stillness of a Botswanamorning. I watched a flock of pygmy geese fly upriver, watched impala and lechwe having theirmorning drink at the water’s edge.

The birdsong was incredible.

As the sun came up I gave thanks for this day, then walked down to the main camp for a pieceof toast. When I returned I found Meg stretched on a yoga mat beside the river.

Warrior¹ pose. Downward dog. Child’s pose.

When she finished I announced: Breakfast is served.

We ate under an acacia tree, and she asked excitedly what the plan was.

I have surprises.

Beginning with a morning drive. We hopped² into Mike’s old doorless truck, went barrelinginto the bush. Sun on our cheeks, wind in our hair, we cruised through streams, bounced over hills,flushed lions out of deep grass. Thanks for making such a racket last night, boys! We came upon alarge group of giraffes grazing the treetops, their eyelashes like rakes. They nodded good morning.

Not everyone was so friendly. Strolling by a vast watering hole, we saw a cloud of dust just upahead. A grumpy warthog confronted us. He retreated when we stood our ground.

Hippos also snorted belligerently³. We waved, retreated, jumped back into the truck.

We interrupted a pack of wild dogs trying to filch⁴ a dead buffalo⁵ from two lionesses. It wasn’tgoing well. We left them to it.

The grass was golden, swaying in the wind. Dry season, I said to Meg. The air was warm,clean, a joy to breathe. We broke out a picnic lunch, washed it down with a couple of Savannahciders. Afterwards we went for a swim in an estuary⁶ off the river, keeping our distance from thecrocs. Stay away from the dark water.

I told her this was the cleanest, purest water in the world, because it was filtered by all thatpapyrus. Even sweeter than the water in the ancient bath at Balmoral, though…better not to thinkof Balmoral.

The anniversary was only weeks away.

At dusk we lay across the bonnet⁷ of the truck, watching the sky. When the bats came out, wewent to find Teej and Mike. We turned on music, laughed and talked and sang and ate dinneragain around the fire. Meg told us a bit about her life, about growing up in Los Angeles, about herstruggles to become an actress, doing quick changes between auditions⁸ in her rundown SUV onwhich the doors didn’t always work. She was forced to enter through the boot. She talked abouther growing portfolio⁹ as an entrepreneur, her lifestyle website, which had tens of thousands ofreaders. In her free time she did philanthropic work—she was especially fierce about women’sissues.

I was fascinated, hanging on every word, while in the background I heard a faint drumbeat:

She’s perfect, she’s perfect, she’s perfect.

Chels and Cress often mentioned my Jekyll-and-Hyde existence. Happy Spike¹⁰ in Botswana,tightly wound Prince Harry¹¹ in London. I’d never been able to synthesize the two, and it botheredthem, bothered me, but with this woman, I thought, I could do it. I could be Happy Spike all thetime.

Except she didn’t call me Spike. By now Meg had taken to calling me Haz.

Every moment of that week was a revelation and a blessing¹². And yet every moment alsodragged us closer to the wrenching¹³ minute when we’d have to say goodbye. There was no wayaround it: Meg had to get back. I had to fly to the capital, Gaborone, to meet the president ofBotswana, to discuss conservation issues, after which I was embarking¹⁴ on a three-phase lads’ trip,months in the planning.

I would cancel, I told Meg, but my mates would never forgive me.

We said goodbye; Meg began to cry.

When will I see you again?

Soon.

Not soon enough.

No. Not nearly.

Teej put an arm around her and promised to take good care of her until her flight, several hoursaway.

Then one last kiss. And a wave.

Mike and I jumped into his white cruiser and headed to Maun airport, where we climbed intohis small prop¹⁵ plane and, though it broke my heart, flew away.

 

1 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

2 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

3 belligerently   

参考例句：

• 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》
• Harass, threaten, insult, or behave belligerently towards others. 向其它交战地折磨，威胁，侮辱，或表现。 来自互联网

4 filch   

v.偷窃

参考例句：

• The theif filched some notes from his wallet.小偷从他的钱包里偷了几张钞票。
• Sure you didn't filch that crown?那个银币真的不是你偷来的？

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。

7 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

8 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

9 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 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。

12 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

13 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

14 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

15 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。