《廊桥遗梦》｜单词注释｜Chapter 6
Room to Dance Again
1
On that Tuesday evening in August of 1965, Robert Kincaid looked
steadily
at Francesca Johnson. She looked back
in kind
.
steadily /ˈstedəli/ adv. 稳定地
in kind 以同样的方法
2
From ten feet apart they were locked in to one another, solidly, intimately, and
inextricably
.
inextricably /'ɪnɪk'strɪkəbli/ adv. 逃不掉地
3
The telephone rang. Still looking at him, she did not move on the first ring, or the second.
4
In the long silence after the second ring, and before the third, he took a deep breath and looked down at his camera bags.
5
With that she was able to move across the kitchen toward the phone hanging on the wall just behind his chair.
6
“Johnson’s…. Hi, Marge. Yes, I’m fine. Thursday night?” She
calculated
: He said he’d be here a week, he came yesterday, this is only Tuesday. The decision to lie was an easy one.
calculate /ˈkælkjuleɪt/ vt. & vi. 计算
7
She was standing by the door to the porch, phone in her left hand. He sat within touching distance, his back to her.
8
She reached out with her right hand and rested it on his shoulder, in the casual way that some women have with men they care for. In only twenty-four hours she had come to care for Robert Kincaid.
9
“Oh, Marge, I’m tied up then. I’m going shopping in Des Moines. Good chance to get a lot of things done I’ve been
putting off
. You know, with Richard and the kids gone.”
put off 推迟
10
Her hand lay quietly upon him. She could feel the muscle running from his neck along his shoulder, just back of his
collarbone
.
collarbone /'kɑlɚbon/ n. 锁骨
11
She was looking down on the thick gray hair, neatly parted. Saw how it drifted over his collar.
12
Marge
babbled
on.
babble /'bæbl/ vi. 喋喋不休
13
“Yes, Richard called a little while ago…. No, the judging’s not till Wednesday, tomorrow. Richard said it’d be late Friday before they’re home.
14
Something they want to see on Thursday. It’s a long drive, particularly in the
stock
truck…. No, football practice doesn’t start for another week. Uh-huh, a week. At least that’s what Michael said.”
stock /stɑːk/ n. 家畜
15
She was
conscious
of how warm his body felt through the shirt.
conscious /ˈkɑːnʃəs/ adj. 意识到的
16
The warmth came into her hand, moved up her arm, and from there spread through her to wherever it wanted to go, with no effort — indeed, with no control — from her.
17
He was still, not wanting to make any noise that might cause Marge to wonder. Francesca understood this.
18
“Oh, yes, that was a man asking directions.” As she guessed, Floyd Clark had gone right home and told his wife about the green pickup he had seen in the Johnsons’ yard on his way by yesterday.
19
“A photographer?
Gosh
, I don’t know. I didn’t pay much attention. Could have been.” The lies were coming easier now.
gosh /ɡɑʃ/ int. 唉
20
“He was looking for Roseman Bridge…. Is that right? Taking pictures of the old bridges, huh? Oh, well, that’s
harmless
enough.
harmless /ˈhɑːrmləs/ adj. 无害的
21
“Hippie?” Francesca giggled and watched Kincaid’s head shake slowly back and forth.
22
“Well, I’m not sure what a hippie looks like. This fellow was polite. He only stayed a minute or two and then was gone….
23
I don’t know whether they have hippies in Italy, Marge. I haven’t been there for eight years. Besides, like I said, I’m not sure I’d know a hippie if I saw one.”
24
Marge was talking on about free love and
communes
and
drugs
she’d read about somewhere.
commune /ˈkɑːmjuːn/ n. 公社
drugs /drʌgz/ n. 毒品
25
“Marge, I was just getting ready to step into my bath when you called, so I’d better run before the water gets cold…. Okay, I’ll call soon. ‘Bye.”
26
She disliked removing her hand from his shoulder, but there was no good excuse not to remove it.
27
So she walked to the sink and turned on the radio. More country music. She adjusted the dial until the sound of a big
band
came on and left it there.
band /bænd/ n. 乐队
28
“ ‘
Tangerine
,’ ” he said.
tangerine /'tændʒə'rin/ n. 柑橘
29
“What?”
30
“The song. It’s called ‘Tangerine.’ It’s about an Argentinian woman.” Talking around the edges of things again.
31
Saying anything, anything. Fighting for time and the sense of it all, hearing somewhere back in his mind the faint click of a door shutting behind two people in an Iowa kitchen.
32
She smiled softly at him. “Are you hungry? I have supper ready whenever you want.”
33
“It was a long, good day. I wouldn’t mind another beer before I eat. Will you have one with me?”
34
Stalling
, looking for his center, losing it moment by moment.
stall /stɔːl/ v. 停顿
35
She would. He opened two and set one on her side of the table.
36
Francesca was pleased with how she looked and how she felt.
Feminine
. That’s how she felt. Light and warm and feminine.
feminine /ˈfemənɪn/ adj. 有女性气质的
37
She sat on the kitchen chair, crossed her legs, and the hem of her skirt rode up well above her right knee.
38
Kincaid was leaning against the refrigerator, arms folded across his chest, Budweiser in his right hand.
39
She was pleased that he noticed her legs, and he did. He noticed all of her. He could have walked out on this earlier, could still walk.
Rationality
shrieked at him.
rationality /ˌræʃən'æləti/ n. 合理的行动
40
“Let it go, Kincaid, get back on the road. Shoot the bridges, go to India. Stop in
Bangkok
on the way and look up the silk
merchant’s
daughter who knows every
ecstatic
secret the old ways can teach.
Bangkok /ˈbæŋˌkɑk/ n. 曼谷（泰国首都）
merchant /ˈmɜːrtʃənt/ n. 商人
ecstatic /ɪkˈstætɪk/ adj. 狂喜的
41
Swim naked with her at dawn in
jungle
pools and listen to her scream as you turn her inside out at
twilight
. Let go of this” — the voice was hissing now— “it’s
outrunning
you.”
jungle /ˈdʒʌŋɡl/ n. (热带)丛林
twilight /'twaɪlaɪt/ n. 黄昏
outrun /ˌaʊt'rʌn/ vt. 从......逃脱
42
But the slow
street
tango
had begun. Somewhere it played; he could hear it, an old
accordion
. It was far back, or far ahead, he couldn’t be sure. Yet it moved toward him steadily.
street /strit/ adj. 街道的
tango /'tæŋɡo/ n. 探戈舞曲
accordion /ə'kɔrdɪən/ n. 手风琴
43
And the sound of it blurred his
criteria
and
funneled
down his
alternatives
toward
unity
.
criteria /kraɪˈtɪrɪə/ n. 标准
funnel /'fʌnl/ vi. 穿过狭隘通道
alternatives /ɔ:l'tə:nətiv/ 供选方案
unity /ˈjuːnəti/ n. 统一
44
Inexorably
it did that, until there was nowhere left to go, except toward Francesca Johnson.
inexorably /in'eksərəbli/ adv. 无情地
45
“We could dance, if you like. The music’s pretty good for it,” he said in that serious, shy way of his.
46
Then he quickly
tacked
on his
caveat
: “I’m not much of a dancer, but if you’d like to, I can probably handle it in a kitchen.”
tack /tæk/ v. 附加
caveat /'kævɪ'æt/ n. 警告
47
Jack scratched at the porch door, wanting in. He could stay out.
48
Francesca blushed only a little. “Okay. But I don’t dance much, either… anymore. I did as a young girl in Italy, but now it’s just pretty much on New Year’s
Eve
, and then only a little bit.”
eve /iːv/ n. (宗教节日或假日的)前日
49
He smiled and put his beer on the counter. She rose, and they moved toward each other.
50
“It’s your Tuesday night dance party from WGN, Chicago,” said the
smooth
baritone
. “We’ll be back after these messages.”
smooth /smuːð/ adj. 流畅的
baritone /'bærə'ton/ n. 男中音
51
They both laughed. Telephones and
commercials
. Something there was that kept
inserting
reality between them. They knew it without saying it.
commercial /kəˈmɜːrʃl/ n. 商业广告
insert /ɪnˈsɜːrt/ vt. 插入
52
But he had
reached out
and taken her right hand anyway, in his left. He leaned easily against the counter, legs crossed at the ankles, right one on top.
reach out 伸出
53
She
rested
beside him, against the sink, and looked out the window near the table, feeling his slim fingers around her hand.
rest /rɛst/ vt. & vi.（使）倚靠
54
There was no breeze, and the corn was growing.
55
“Oh, just a minute.” She
reluctantly
removed her hand from his and opened the bottom right cupboard.
reluctantly /rɪˈl ʌktəntlɪ/ adv. 不情愿地
56
From it she took two white candles she had bought in Des Moines that morning, along with a small brass
holder
for each candle. She put them on the table.
holder /ˈhoʊldər/ n. （台、架等）支持物
57
He walked over,
tilted
each one, and lit it, while she snapped off the overhead light. It was dark now, except for the small flames pointing straight upward, barely fluttering on a windless night.
tilt /tɪlt/ vt. 使倾斜
58
The plain kitchen had never looked this good.
59
The music started again. Fortunately for both of them, it was a slow
rendition
of “Autumn Leaves.”
rendition /renˈdɪʃn/ n. 演唱
60
She felt awkward. So did he. But he took her hand, put an arm around her waist, she moved into him, and the
awkwardness
vanished. Somehow it worked in an easy kind of way.
awkwardness /ˈ ɔk wɚdnɪs/ n. 尴尬
61
He moved his arm farther around her waist and
pulled
her closer.
fundamental /ˌfʌndəˈmentl/ adj. 基本的
62
She could smell him, clean and soaped and warm. A good,
fundamental
smell of a civilized man who seemed, in some part of himself,
aboriginal
.
aboriginal /ˌæbə'rɪdʒənl/ adj. 土著的
melody /ˈmelədi/ n. 旋律
63
“Nice perfume,” he said, bringing their hands in to lie upon his chest, near his shoulder.
64
“Thank you.”
65
They danced, slowly. Not moving very far in any direction. She could feel his legs against hers, their stomachs touching occasionally.
66
The song ended, but he held on to her, hummed the
melody
that had just played, and they stayed as they were until the next song began.
melody /ˈmelədi/ n. 歌曲
67
He
automatically
led her into it, and the dance went on, while
locusts
complained about the coming of September.
automatically /ˌɔːtəˈmætɪkli/ adv. 不自觉地
locust /'lokəst/ n. 蝗虫
68
She could feel the muscles of his shoulder through the light
cotton
shirt. He was
real
, more real than anything she’d ever known. He bent slightly to put his cheek against hers.
cotton /ˈkɑːtn/ adj. 棉制的
real /'riəl/ adj. 实在的
69
During the time they spent together, he once
referred
to himself as one of the last
cowboys
. They had been sitting on the grass by the pump out back. She didn’t understand and asked him about it.
refer /rɪˈfɜːr/ vi. 提到
cowboy /ˈkaʊbɔɪ/ n. 牛仔
70
“There’s a
certain
breed
of man that’s
obsolete
,” he had said.
certain /ˈsɜːrtn/ adj. 某些
breed /briːd/ n. (人的)类型
obsolete /ˌɑːbsəˈliːt/ adj. （生物特征的一部分）退化的
71
“Or very nearly so. The world is getting organized, way too organized for me and some others. Everything in its place, a place for everything.
72
Well, my camera equipment is pretty well organized, I admit, but I’m talking about something more than that.
73
Rules and
regulations
and laws and social
conventions
.
regulation /ˌreɡjuˈleɪʃn/ n. 规章
convention /kənˈvenʃn/ n. 惯例
74
Hierarchies
of authority,
spans
of control, long-range plans, and
budgets
.
Corporate
power; in ‘Bud’ we trust.
hierarchy /ˈhaɪərɑːrki/ n. 等级制度
span /spæn/ n. 范围
budget /ˈbʌdʒɪt/ n. 预算
corporate /ˈkɔːrpərət/ adj. 公司的
75
A world of
wrinkled
suits and
stick-on
name tags.
wrinkled /'rɪŋkld/ adj. 有皱纹的
stick-on /'stɪk,ɔn/ adj. 粘贴上去的
76
“Not all men are the same. Some will do okay in the world that’s coming. Some, maybe just a few of us, will not.
77
You can see it in computers and robots and what they
portend
. In older worlds, there were things we could do, were designed to do, that nobody or no machine could do.
portend /pɔːrˈtend/ vt. 预示
78
We run fast, are strong and quick,
aggressive
and
tough
.
aggressive /əˈɡresɪv/ adj. 侵略性的
tough /tʌf/ adj. 吃苦耐劳的
79
We were given courage. We can throw
spears
long distances and fight in
hand-to-hand
combat
.
spears /spiə/ n. 长矛
hand-to-hand /ˈhændtəˈhænd/ adj. 肉搏的
combat /ˈkɑːmbæt/ n. 战斗
80
“Eventually, computers and robots will
run
things. Humans will manage those machines, but that doesn’t require courage or strength, or any
characteristics
like those.
run /rʌn/ vt. & vi. 管理
characteristic /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/ n. 品质
81
In fact, men are
outliving
their
usefulness
. All you need are
sperm banks
to keep the species going, and those are
coming along
now.
outlive /ˌaʊtˈlɪv/ vt. 比…活得长
usefulness /ˈjusfəlnɪs/ n. 可用性
sperm bank n. 精子库
come along 出现
82
Most men are
rotten
lovers, women say, so there’s not much loss in replacing sex with science.
rotten /ˈrɑːtn/ adj. 腐烂的
83
“We’re giving up free range, getting organized,
feathering
our emotions.
Efficiency
and
effectiveness
and all those other pieces of intellectual
artifice
.
feather /ˈfeðər/ v. 如羽毛般浮动（或移动、飘动）
efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃnsi/ n. 效率
effectiveness /ɪˈfektɪvnəs/ n. 有效
artifice /ˈɑːrtɪfɪs/ n. 巧妙的办法
84
And with the loss of free range, the cowboy disappears, along with the mountain lion and gray wolf. There’s not much room left for
travelers
.
traveler /'trævlɚ/ n. 旅行者
85
“I’m one of the last cowboys. My job gives me free range of a sort. As much as you can find nowadays.
86
I’m not sad about it. Maybe a little
wistful
, I guess. But it’s got to happen; it’s the only way we’ll keep from destroying ourselves.
wistful /ˈwɪstfl/ adj. （对不可能发生之事）神往的
87
My
contention
is that male
hormones
are the
ultimate
cause of trouble on this planet.
contention /kənˈtenʃn/ n. 论点
hormone /ˈhɔːrmoʊn/ n. <生化>(刺激生长的)荷尔蒙
ultimate /ˈʌltɪmət/ adj. 终极的
88
It was one thing to dominate another
tribe
or another
warrior
. It’s quite another to have
missiles
. It’s also quite another to have the power to destroy nature the way we’re doing.
tribe /traɪb/ n. 部落
warrior /ˈwɔːriər/ n. 战士
missile /ˈmɪsl/ n. 导弹
89
Rachel Carson is right. So were John Muir and Aldo Leopold.
90
“The curse of modern times is the
preponderance
of male hormones in places where they can do
long-term
damage.
preponderance /prɪ'pɑndərəns/ n. 占优势
long-term /ˌlɔːŋ ˈtɜːrm/ adj. 长期的
91
Even if we’re not talking about wars between nations or
assaults
on nature, there’s still that
aggressiveness
that keeps us apart from each other and the problems we need to be working on.
assault /əˈsɔːlt/ n. 袭击
aggressiveness /ə'gresivnis/ 进攻性
92
We have to somehow
sublimate
those male hormones, or at least get them under control.
sublimate /ˈsʌblɪmeɪt/ vt. 升华
93
“It’s probably time to
put away
the things of childhood and grow up.
put away vt. 处理掉(吃, 把...收好, 拿开, 排斥)
94
Hell, I recognize it. I admit it. I’m just trying to make some good pictures and get out of life before I’m totally
obsolete
or do some serious damage.”
obsolete /ˌɑːbsəˈliːt/ adj. 淘汰的
95
Over the years, she had thought about what he’d said. It seemed right to her, somehow, on the
surface
of it. Yet the ways of him
contradicted
what he said.
surface /'sɝfɪs/ n. 表面
contradict /ˌkɑːntrəˈdɪkt/ vt. 与…发生矛盾
96
He had a certain
plunging
aggressiveness
to him, but he seemed to be able to control it, to turn it on and then let go of it when he wanted.
plunging /'plʌndʒɪŋ/ adj. 突进的
aggressiveness /ə'gresivnis/ 进攻性
97
And that’s what had both confused and attracted her — incredible
intensity
, but
controlled
,
metered
, arrowlike intensity that was mixed with warmth and no hint of
meanness
.
intensity /ɪnˈtensəti/ n. 强烈
controlled /kənˈtrold/ adj. 克制的
meter /ˈmiːtər/ vi. 用表计量
meanness /ˈminnɪs/ n. 卑鄙
98
On that Tuesday night,
gradually
and without
design
, they had moved closer and closer together, dancing in the kitchen.
gradually /ˈɡrædʒuəli/ adv. 渐渐地
design /dɪˈzaɪn/ n. 计划
99
Francesca was pressed close against his chest, and she wondered if he could feel her breasts through the dress and his shirt and was certain he could.
100
He felt so good to her. She wanted this to run forever. More old songs, more dancing, more of his body against hers.
101
She had become a woman again. There was room to dance again. In a slow,
unremitting
way, she was turning for home, toward a place she’d never been.
unremitting /ˌʌnrɪˈmɪtɪŋ/ adj. 不懈的
102
It was hot. The
humidity
was up, and thunder rolled far in the southwest.
Moths
plastered
themselves on the
screens
, looking in at the candles, chasing the fire.
humidity /hjuːˈmɪdəti/ n. 潮湿
moth /mɔθ/ n. 蛾
plaster /ˈplæstər/ vt. 使紧贴
screen /skrin/ n. 纱窗
103
He was falling into her now. And she into him. She moved her cheek away from his, looked up at him with dark eyes, and he kissed her, and she kissed back, longtime soft kissing, a river of it.
104
They gave up the
pretense
of dancing, and her arms went around his neck. His left hand was on her waist behind her back, the other brushing across her neck and her cheek and her hair.
pretense /ˈpriːtens/ n. 假装
105
Thomas Wolfe talked about the “ghost of the old
eagerness
.”
eagerness / ˈiɡɚnɪs/ n. 渴望
106
The ghost had
stirred
in Francesca Johnson. In both of them.
stir /stɜːr/ vt. & vi. 搅拌
107
Sitting by the window on her sixty-seventh birthday, Francesca watched the rain and remembered.
108
She carried her brandy into the kitchen and stopped for a moment, staring at the
exact
spot where the two of them had stood. The feelings inside of her were
overwhelming
; they always were.
exact /ɪɡˈzækt/ adj. 准确的
overwhelming /ˌoʊvərˈwelmɪŋ/ adj. 势不可挡的
109
Strong enough that over the years she had dared do this in detail only once a year or her mind somehow would have
disintegrated
at the
sheer
emotional
bludgeoning
of it all.
disintegrate /dɪsˈɪntɪɡreɪt/ vt. & vi. (使)崩溃
sheer /ʃɪr/ adj. 十足的
emotional /ɪˈmoʊʃənl/ adj. 感情的
bludgeon /'blʌdʒən/ vi. 重击
110
Her
abstinence
from her
recollections
had been a matter of
survival
. Though in the last few years, the detail was coming back more and more often. She had
ceased
trying to stop him from coming into her.
abstinence /'æbstɪnəns/ n. 节制
recollection /ˌrekəˈlekʃn/ n. 回忆
survival /sərˈvaɪvl/ n. 生存
cease /siːs/ vt. & vi. 终止
111
The images were clear, and real, and
present
. And so far back. Twenty-two years back. But slowly they were becoming her reality once again, the only one in which she
cared
to live.
present /ˈpreznt/ adj. 历历在目的
care /kɛr/ v. 想要
112
She knew she was sixty-seven and accepted it, but she could not imagine Robert Kincaid being nearly seventy-five.
113
Could not think of it, could not
conceive
of it or even conceive of the conceiving of it.
conceive /kənˈsiːv/ vt. 构思
114
He was here with her, right in this kitchen, in his white shirt, long gray hair, khaki slacks, brown sandals, silver bracelet, and silver chain around his neck. He was here with his arms around her.
115
She finally pulled back from him, from where they stood in the kitchen, and took his hand, leading him toward the stairs, up the stairs, past Carolyn’s room, past Michael’s room,
116
and into her room, turning on a small reading lamp by the bed.
117
Now, all these years later, Francesca carried her brandy and walked slowly up the stairs,
118
her right hand
trailing
behind her to bring along the memory of him up the stairs and down the hallway into the bedroom.
trail /treɪl/ vt. & vi. (使某物)被拖在后面
119
The physical images were
inscribed
in her mind so clearly that they might have been
razor-edged
photographs of his.
inscribe /ɪnˈskraɪb/ vt. 铭记
razor-edged adj. 极其深刻的
120
She remembered the dreamlike
sequence
of clothes coming off and the two of them naked in bed.
sequence /ˈsiːkwəns/ n. 顺序
121
She remembered how he held himself just above her and moved his chest slowly against her belly and across her breasts.
122
How he did this again and again, like some animal
courting
rite
in an old
zoology
text
.
court /kɔːrt/ vt. 追求
rite /raɪt/ n. 仪式
zoology /zuˈɑːlədʒi/ n. 动物学
text /tɛkst/ n. 课本
123
As he moved over her, he
alternately
kissed her lips or ears or ran his tongue along her neck, licking her as some fine
leopard
might do in long grass out on the
veld
.
alternately /ɔ:l'tə:nitli/ adv. 交替地
leopard /'lɛpɚd/ n. 豹
veld /velt/ n. (南非洲的)草原
124
He was an animal. A graceful, hard, male animal who did nothing
overtly
to dominate her yet dominated her completely, in the exact way she wanted that to happen at this moment.
overtly /oˈvə..tlɪ/ adv. 明显地
125
But it was far beyond the physical, though the fact that he could make love for a long time without tiring was part of it.
126
Loving him was — it sounded almost
trite
to her now, given the attention paid to such matters over the last two decades —
spiritual
. It was spiritual, but it wasn’t trite.
trite /traɪt/ adj. 老一套的
spiritual /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəl/ adj. 精神上的
127
In the
midst
of it, the lovemaking, she had whispered it to him,
captured
it in one sentence: “Robert, you’re so powerful it’s
frightening
.”
midst /mɪdst/ n. 当中
capture /ˈkæptʃər/ v. 体现
frightening /ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ adj. 吓人的
128
He was powerful physically, but he used his strength carefully. It was more than that, however.
129
Sex was one thing. In the time since she’d met him, she had
settled into
the
anticipation
—
settle into 习惯于
anticipation /ænˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃn/ n. 预期
130
the possibility, anyway — of something
pleasurable
, a breaking with a
routine
of
hammering
sameness
.
pleasurable /'pleʒərəbl/ adj. 令人快乐的
routine /ruːˈtiːn/ n. 日常工作
hammer /ˈhæmər/ v. 反复敲打
sameness /'semnəs/ n. 千篇一律
131
She hadn’t counted on his curious power.
132
It was almost as if he had taken possession of her, in all of her
dimensions
. That’s what was
frightening
.
dimension /dɪˈmenʃn/ n. 部分
frightening /ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ adj. 令人恐惧的
133
She never had doubted at the beginning that one part of her could
remain
aloof
from whatever she and Robert Kincaid did, the part that belonged to her family and life in Madison County.
remain /rɪ'men/ v. 留下
aloof /əˈluːf/ adv. 分开地
134
But he
simply
took it away, all of it. She should have known when he first stepped out of his truck to ask directions. He had seemed
shamanlike
then, and her
original
judgment was correct.
simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. 简单地
shaman /'ʃæmən/ n. 巫师
original /əˈrɪdʒənl/ adj. 最初的
135
They would make love for an hour, maybe more, then he would pull slowly away and look at her, lighting a cigarette and one for her.
136
Or sometimes he would just lie beside her, always with one hand moving on her body.
137
Then he was inside her again, whispering soft words into her ear as he loved her, kissing her between phrases, between words, his arm around her waist, pulling her into him and him into her.
138
And she would begin to turn in her mind, breathing heavier, letting him take her where he lived, and he lived in strange,
haunted
places, far back along the
stems
of Darwin’s logic.
haunted /'hɔntɪd/ adj. （地方，场所）幽灵出没的
stem /stem/ v. 起源于
139
With her face buried in his neck and her skin against his, she could smell rivers and
wood-smoke
, could hear
steaming
trains
chuffing
out of winter stations in long-ago nighttimes,
wood-smoke 木材烟雾
steaming /'stimɪŋ/ adj. 冒热气的
chuff /tʃʌf/ v. （蒸汽机）噗噗地开动
140
could see travelers in black robes moving steadily along frozen rivers and through summer meadows, beating their way toward the end of things.
141
The
leopard
swept over her, again and again and yet again, like a long
prairie
wind,
leopard /'lɛpɚd/ n. 豹
prairie /'prɛri/ n. 大草原
142
and rolling beneath him, she rode on that wind like some temple
virgin
toward the sweet,
compliant
fires marking the soft
curve
of
oblivion
.
virgin /ˈvɜːrdʒɪn/ n. 处女
compliant /kəmˈplaɪənt/ adj. 顺从的
curve /kɜːrv/ n. 曲线
oblivion /əˈblɪviən/ n. 遗忘
143
And she murmured, softly, breathlessly, “Oh, Robert… Robert… I am losing myself.”
144
She, who had ceased having
orgasms
years ago, had them in long
sequences
now with a half-man, half-something-else creature.
orgasm /'ɔrɡæzəm/ n. 性高潮
sequence /ˈsiːkwəns/ n. 连续
145
She wondered about him and his
endurance
, and he told her that he could reach those places in his mind as well as physically, and that the orgasms of the mind had their own special
character
.
endurance /ɪnˈdʊrəns/ n. 忍耐力
character /ˈkærəktər/ n. 特性
146
She had no idea what he meant.
147
All she knew was that he had pulled in a
tether
of some kind and
wound
it around both of them so tightly she would have
suffocated
had it not been for the
vaulting
freedom from herself she felt.
tether /'tɛðɚ/ n. 拴绳
wind /wɪnd/ vt. 缠绕
suffocate /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ vt. & vi. (使某人)窒息而死
vaulting /'vɔltɪŋ/ adj. 跳跃的
148
The night went on, and the great
spiral
dance continued. Robert Kincaid
discarded
all sense of anything
linear
and moved to a part of himself that
dealt
only with shape and sound and shadow.
spiral /ˈspaɪrəl/ adj. 盘旋的
discard /dɪˈskɑːrd/ vt. 放弃
linear /ˈlɪniər/ adj. 线的
dealt /dɛlt/ v. 处理（deal的过去式和过去分词）
149
Down the paths of the old ways he went, finding his direction by
candles
of
sunlit
frost
melting upon the grass of summer and the red leaves of autumn.
candle /'kændl/ n. 烛光
sunlit /ˈsʌnlɪt/ adj. 阳光照射的
frost /frɔːst/ n. 霜冻
150
And he heard the words he whispered to her, as if a voice other than his own were saying them.
Fragments
of a Rilke poem, “around the ancient tower… I have been
circling
for a thousand years.”
fragment /ˈfræɡmənt/ n. 片断或不完整部分
circle /'sɝkl/ vt. & vi. 环绕
151
The lines to a Navajo sun
chant
.
chant /tʃænt/ n. 赞美诗
152
He whispered to her of the visions she brought to him — of blowing sand and
magenta
winds and brown
pelicans
riding the backs of dolphins moving north along the
coast
of Africa.
magenta /məˈdʒentə/ n. 洋红
pelican /'pɛlɪkən/ n. [动]鹈鹕
coast /kəʊst/ n. 海岸
153
Sounds, small,
unintelligible
sounds, came from her mouth as she
arched
herself toward him.
unintelligible /ˌʌnɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ adj. 难懂的
arch /ɑːrtʃ/ vt. & vi. (使)弯成拱形
154
But it was a language he understood completely, and in this woman beneath him, with his belly against hers, deep inside her, Robert Kincaid’s long search came to an end.
155
And he knew finally the meaning of all the small footprints on all the
deserted
beaches he had ever walked,
deserted /dɪ'zɝtɪd/ adj. 荒芜的
156
of all the secret
cargoes
carried by ships that had never sailed, of all the
curtained
faces that had watched him pass down winding streets of twilight cities.
cargo /ˈkɑːrɡoʊ/ n. 货物，船货
curtain /ˈkɜːrtn/ v. (用帘子)隔开
157
And, like a great hunter of old who has traveled distant miles and now sees the light of his home
campfires
, his loneliness dissolved. At last. At last. He had come so far… so far.
campfire /'kæmpfaɪɚ/ n. 篝火
158
And he lay upon her, perfectly formed and
unalterably
complete in his love for her. At last.
unalterably adv. 坚定不移地
159
Toward morning, he raised himself slightly and said, looking straight into her eyes,
160
“This is why I’m here on this planet, at this time, Francesca. Not to travel or make pictures, but to love you. I know that now.
161
I have been falling from the rim of a great, high place, somewhere
back in time
, for many more years than I have lived in this life. And through all of those years, I have been falling toward you.”
back in time 回到从前
162
When they came downstairs, the radio was still on. Dawn had come up, but the sun lay behind a thin
cloud cover
.
cloud cover 云层
163
“Francesca, I have a
favor
to ask.” He smiled at her as she
fussed
with the coffeepot.
favor /ˈfeɪvə/ n. 帮助
fuss /fʌs/ v. 瞎忙活
164
“Yes?” She looked at him. Oh, God, I love him so, she thought,
unsteady
, wanting even more of him, never stopping.
unsteady /ʌn'stɛdi/ adj. 无常的
165
“Slip on the jeans and T-shirt you wore last night, along with a pair of sandals. Nothing else. I want to make a picture of you as you look this morning. A photograph just for the two of us.”
166
She went upstairs, her legs
weak
from being wrapped around him all night, dressed, and went outside with him to the
pasture
. That’s where he had made the photograph she looked at each year.
weak /wik/ adj. 疲软的
pasture /ˈpæstʃər/ n. 牧场
167
