【时间旅行者的妻子】40

 and Etta is going to be as mad as a hatter if you don’t go in pretty soon.”

　“Are you going to sleep here? You could come to our house, we have a guest room.”

　“Gosh, that’s very nice of you. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to meet your family until 1991.”

　Clare is utterly¹ perplexed². I think part of the problem is that she can’t imagine dates beyond the 70s. I remember having the same problem with the ‘60s when I was her age. “Why not?”

　“It’s part of the rules. People who time travel aren’t supposed to go around talking to regular people while they visit their times, because we might mess things up.” Actually, I don’t believe this; things happen the way they happened, once and only once. I’m not a proponent³ of splitting⁴ universes.

　“But you talk to me.”

　“You’re special. You’re brave and smart and good at keeping secrets.”

　Clare is embarrassed. “I told Ruth, but she didn’t believe me.”

　“Oh. Well, don’t worry about it. Very few people ever believe me, either. Especially doctors. Doctors don’t believe anything unless you can prove it to them.”

　“I believe you.”

　Clare is standing⁵ about five feet away from me. Her small pale face catches the last orange light from the west. Her hair is pulled back tightly⁶ into a ponytail and she is wearing blue jeans and a dark sweater with zebras running across the chest. Her hands are clenched⁷ and she looks fierce and determined⁸. Our daughter, I think sadly, would have looked like this.

　“Thank you, Clare.”

　“I have to go in now.”

　“Good idea.”

　“Are you coming back?”

　I consult the List, from memory. “I’ll be back October 16. It’s a Friday. Come here, right after school. Bring that little blue diary Megan gave you for your birthday and a blue ballpoint pen” I repeat the date, looking at Clare to make sure she is remembering.

　“Au revoir, Clare.”

　“Aurevoir....”

　“Henry.”

　“ Au revoir, Henri.” Already her accent is better than mine. 

1 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

2 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

3 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

4 splitting   

爆裂式的

参考例句：

• the splitting of the atom 原子的分裂
• We heard an ear-splitting scream from the terrified girl. 我们听见那个受惊的女孩发出一声刺耳的尖叫声。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

7 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。