【时间旅行者的妻子】70

He is wearing Dad’s old jeans and a plaid flannel¹ shirt, and he looks tired and unshaven. I left the back door unlocked for him this morning and here he is.

　I set the tray of food I have brought on the floor. “I could bring down some books.”

　“Actually, these are great.” He’s been reading Mad magazines from the ‘60s. “And this is indispensable for time travelers who need to know all sorts of factoids at a moment’s notice,” he says, holding up the 1968 World Almanac.

　I sit down next to him on the blankets, and look over at him to see if he’s going to make me move. I can see he’s thinking about it, so I hold up my hands for him to see and then I sit on them. He smiles. “Make yourself at home,” he says.

　“When are you coming from?”

　“2001. October”

　“You look tired.” I can see that he’s debating about telling me why he’s tired, and decides against it. “What are we up to in 2001?”

　“Big things. Exhausting things.” Henry starts to eat the roast beef sandwich I have brought him. “Hey, this is good.”

　“Nell made it.”

　He laughs. “I’ll never understand why it is that you can build huge sculptures that withstand gale² force winds, deal with dye recipes, cook kozo, and all that, and you can’t do anything whatsoever³ with food. It’s amazing.”

　“It’s a mental block. A phobia.”

　“It’s weird⁴.”

　“I walk into the kitchen and I hear this little voice saying, ‘Go away.’ So I do.”

　“Are you eating enough? You look thin.”

　I feel fat. “I’m eating.” I have a dismal⁵ thought. “Am I very fat in 2001? Maybe that’s why you think I’m too thin.”

　Henry smiles at some joke I don’t get. “Well, you’re kind of plump at the moment, in my present, but it will pass.”

　“Ugh.”

　“Plump is good. It will look very good on you.”

　“No thanks.” Henry looks at me, worrying. “You know, I’m not anorexic or anything. I mean, you don’t have to worry about it.”

　“Well, it’s just that your mom was always bugging⁶ you about it.”

　“‘Was’?”

　 “Is.”

1 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

2 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

3 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

6 bugging   

[法] 窃听

参考例句：

• Okay, then let's get the show on the road and I'll stop bugging you. 好，那么让我们开始动起来，我将不再惹你生气。 来自辞典例句
• Go fly a kite and stop bugging me. 走开，别烦我。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语