Chapter 15. Our Circus.

Dave had been to town and came home full of circus. He sat on the ground beside the tubs while Mother and Sal were washing, and raved¹ about the riding and the tumbling he had seen. He talked enthusiastically to Joe about it every day for three weeks. Dave rose very high in Joe’s estimation.

Raining. All of us inside. Sal on the sofa playing the concertina; Dad squatting² on the edge of a flat stone at the corner of the fireplace; Dave on another opposite; both gazing into the fire, which was almost out, and listening intently to the music; the dog, dripping wet, coiled at their feet, shivering; Mother sitting dreamily at the table, her palm pressed against her cheek, also enjoying the music.

Sal played on until the concertina broke. Then there was a silence.

For a while Dave played with a piece of charcoal³. At last he spoke⁴.

“Well,” he said, looking at Dad, “what about this circus?”

Dad chuckled⁵.

“But what d’ y’ THINK?”

“Well” (Dad paused), “yes” (chuckled again)—“very well.”

“A CIRCUS!” Sal put in —“a PRETTY circus YOUS’D have!”

Dave fired up.

“YOU go and ride the red heifer, strad-legs, same as y’ did yesterday,” he snarled⁶, “an’ let all the country see y’.”

Sal blushed.

Then to Dad:

“I’m certain, with Paddy Maloney in it, we could do it right enough, and make it pay, too.”

“Very well, then,” said Dad, “very well. There’s th’ tarpaulin⁷ there, and plenty bales and old bags whenever you’re ready.”

Dave was delighted, and he and Dad and Joe ran out to see where the tent could be pitched, and ran in again wetter than the dog.

One day a circus-tent went up in our yard. It attracted a lot of notice. Two of the Johnsons and old Anderson and others rode in on draught-horses and inspected it. And Smith’s spring-cart horse, that used to be driven by every day, stopped in the middle of the lane and stared at it; and, when Smith stood up and belted him with the double of the reins⁸, he bolted and upset the cart over a stump⁹. It wasn’t a very white tent. It was made of bags and green bushes, and Dad and Dave and Paddy Maloney were two days putting it up.

We all assisted in the preparations for the circus. Dad built seats out of forked sticks and slabs¹⁰, and Joe gathered jam-tins which Mother filled with fat and moleskin wicks to light up with.

Everyone in the district knew about our circus, and longed for the opening night. It came. A large fire near the slip-rails, shining across the lane and lighting¹² up a corner of the wheat-paddock, showed the way in.

Dad stood at the door to take the money. The Andersons — eleven of them — arrived first. They didn’t walk straight in. They hung about for a while. Then Anderson sidled up to Dad and talked into his ear. “Oh! that’s all right,” Dad said, and passed them all in without taking any money.

Next came the Maloneys, and, as Paddy belonged to the circus, they also walked in without paying, and secured front seats.

Then Jim Brown and Sam Holmes, and Walter Nutt, and Steve Burton, and eight others strolled along. Dad owed all of them money for binding¹³, which they happened to remember. “In yous go,” Dad said, and in the lot went. The tent filled quickly, and the crowd awaited the opening act.

Paddy Maloney came forward with his hair oiled and combed, and rang the cow-bell.

Dave, bare-footed and bare-headed, in snow-white moles¹¹ and red shirt, entered standing¹⁴ majestically¹⁵ upon old Ned’s back. He got a great reception. But Ned was tired and refused to canter. He jogged lazily round the ring. Dave shouted at him and rocked about. He was very unsteady. Paddy Maloney flogged Ned with the leg-rope. But Ned had been flogged often before. He got slower and slower. Suddenly, he stood and cocked his tail, and to prevent himself falling, Dave jumped off. Then the audience yelled while Dave dragged Ned into the dressing-room and punched him on the nose.

Paddy Maloney made a speech. He said: “Well, the next item on the programme’ll knock y’ bandy. Keep quiet, you fellows, now, an’ y’ll see somethin’.”

They saw Joe. He stepped backwards¹⁶ into the ring, pulling at a string. There was something on the string. “Come on!” Joe said, tugging¹⁷. The “something” wouldn’t come. “Chuck ’im in!” Joe called out. Then the pet kangaroo was heaved in through the doorway¹⁸, and fell on its head and raised the dust. A great many ugly dogs rushed for it savagely¹⁹. The kangaroo jumped up and bounded round the ring. The dogs pursued him noisily. “GERROUT!” Joe shouted, and the crowd stood up and became very enthusiastic. The dogs caught the kangaroo, and were dragging him to earth when Dad rushed in and kicked them in twos to the top of the tent. Then, while Johnson expostulated with Dad for laming²⁰ his brindle slut, the kangaroo dived through a hole in the tent and rushed into the house and into the bedroom, and sprang on the bed among a lot of babies and women’s hats.

When the commotion²¹ subsided²² Paddy Maloney rang the cow-bell again, and Dave and “Podgy,” the pet sheep, rode out on Nugget. Podgy sat with hind-legs astride the horse and his head leaning back against Dave’s chest. Dave (standing up) bent²³ over him with a pair of shears²⁵ in his hand. He was to shear²⁴ Podgy as the horse cantered round.

Paddy Maloney touched Nugget with the whip, and off he went —“rump-ti-dee, dump-ti-dee.” Dave rolled about a lot the first time round, but soon got his equilibrium²⁶. He brandished²⁷ the shears and plunged²⁸ the points of them into Podgy’s belly-wool — also into Podgy’s skin. “Bur-UR-R!” Podgy blurted²⁹ and struggled violently. Dave began to topple about. He dropped the shears. The audience guffawed³⁰. Then Dave jumped; but Podgy’s horns got caught in his clothes and made trouble. Dave hung on one side of the horse and the sheep dangled³¹ on the other. Dave sang out, so did Podgy. And the horse stopped and snorted, then swung furiously round and round until five or six pairs of hands seized his head and held him.

Dave didn’t repeat the act. He ran away holding his clothes together.

It was a very successful circus. Everyone enjoyed it and wished to see it again — everyone but the Maloneys. They said it was a swindle, and ran Dad down because he didn’t divide with Paddy the 3s. 6d. he took at the door.

1 raved   

v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• Andrew raved all night in his fever. 安德鲁发烧时整夜地说胡话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They raved about her beauty. 他们过分称赞她的美。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 squatting   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• They ended up squatting in the empty houses on Oxford Road. 他们落得在牛津路偷住空房的境地。
• They've been squatting in an apartment for the past two years. 他们过去两年来一直擅自占用一套公寓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

6 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。

8 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

9 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

10 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

11 moles   

防波堤( mole的名词复数 )； 鼹鼠； 痣； 间谍

参考例句：

• Unsightly moles can be removed surgically. 不雅观的痣可以手术去除。
• Two moles of epoxy react with one mole of A-1100. 两个克分子环氧与一个克分子A－1100反应。

12 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

13 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

14 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。

15 majestically   

雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地

参考例句：

• The waters of the Changjiang River rolled to the east on majestically. 雄伟的长江滚滚东流。
• Towering snowcapped peaks rise majestically. 白雪皑皑的山峰耸入云霄。

16 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

17 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

18 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

19 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

20 laming   

瘸的( lame的现在分词 )； 站不住脚的； 差劲的； 蹩脚的

参考例句：

• Under normal circumstances this conflict does not appear to have a seriously laming effect. 在正常情况之下这种冲突不会出现一个严重跛脚的（站不住脚的）影响。

21 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

22 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

24 shear   

n.修剪，剪下的东西，羊的一岁；vt.剪掉，割，剥夺；vi.修剪，切割，剥夺，穿越

参考例句：

• Every spring they shear off the sheep's wool and sell it.每年春天他们都要剪下羊毛去卖。
• In the Hebrides they shear their sheep later than anywhere else.在赫伯里兹，剪羊毛的时间比其他任何地方都要晚。

25 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• 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。

26 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

27 brandished   

v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀

参考例句：

• "Bang!Bang!"the small boy brandished a phoney pistol and shouted. “砰！砰！”那小男孩挥舞着一支假手枪，口中嚷嚷着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Swords brandished and banners waved. 刀剑挥舞，旌旗飘扬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

28 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

29 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 guffawed   

v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They all guffawed at his jokes. 他们听了他的笑话都一阵狂笑。
• Hung-chien guffawed and said, "I deserve a scolding for that! 鸿渐哈哈大笑道：“我是该骂！ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

31 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。