【时间旅行者的妻子】83

“She’s a.. .cock.. .tease.”

　“She has no idea. It’s like torturing a kitten because it bit you.”

　Jason doesn’t answer. His breath comes in long, shivering whinnies. Just as I am becoming concerned, Clare arrives. She holds up the inhaler, looks at me. “Darling, do you know how to use this thing?”

　“I think you shake it and then put it in his mouth and press down on the top.” She does this, asks him if he wants more. He nods. After four inhalations, we stand and watch him gradually subside¹ into more normal breathing.

　“Ready?” I ask Clare.

　She holds up the scissors, makes a few cuts in the air. Jason flinches². Clare walks over to him, kneels, and begins to cut off his clothes. “Hey,” says Jason.

　“Please be quiet,” I say. “No one is hurting you. At the moment.” Clare finishes cutting off his jeans and starts on his T-shirt. I start to duct tape him to the tree. I begin at his ankles, and wind very neatly³ up his calves⁴ and thighs⁵. “Stop there,” Clare says, indicating a point just below Jason’s crotch. She snips⁶ off his underwear. I start to tape his waist. His skin is clammy and he’s very tan everywhere except inside a crisp outline of a Speedo-type bathing suit. He’s sweating heavily. I wind all the way up to his shoulders, and stop, because I want him to be able to breathe. We step back and admire our work. Jason is now a duct-tape mummy with a large erection. Clare begins to laugh. Her laugh sounds spooky, echoing through the woods. I look at her sharply. There’s something knowing and cruel in Clare’s laugh, and it seems to me that this moment is the demarcation, a sort of no-man’s-land between Clare’s childhood and her life as a woman.

　“What next?” I inquire. Part of me wants to turn him into hamburger

1 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

2 flinches   

v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The brave man never flinches from danger. 勇敢者在危险面前从不退缩。 来自互联网
• Aureate scent-bottle can give person sex appeal mature sense, general and young girl flinches. 金色的香水瓶会给人性感成熟的感觉，一般年轻的女孩望而却步。 来自互联网

3 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

4 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 snips   

n.（剪金属板的）铁剪，铁铗；剪下之物( snip的名词复数 )；一点点；零星v.剪( snip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush. 他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。 来自辞典例句
• Pick up the snips of cloth and thread from the floor. 拾起地板上的布片和线头。 来自辞典例句