Chapter 22

 Three months had dragged by. It was a Friday; a hot, nauseatingsmell of fried fish filled the refectory; a strong drought blewcold about feet encased in wet boots; the walls dripped withmoisture, and outside the barred windows a fine rain was fallingfrom a grey sky. The boys, seated at marble-topped tables, weremaking a hideous¹ rattle² with their forks and tin cups, whileone of their schoolfellows, seated at the desk in the middle ofthe great room, was reading aloud, as the regulations direct,a passage from Rollin's _Ancient History_.

Jean, at the head of a table, his nose in his ill-washed earthenwareplate, had cold feet and a sore heart. Something resembling rottenwood formed a deposit at the bottom of his glass, while the serverswere handing round dishes of prunes³ with their thumbs washing inthe juice. Now and again, amid the rattle of plates, the raspingvoice of the reader, a lad of seventeen, reached the usher's ears.

He caught the name of Cleopatra and some scraps⁴ of sentences:

"_She was about to appear before Antony at an age when womenunite with the flower of their beauty every charm of wit andintellect... her person more compelling than any magnificenceof adornment⁵.... Her galley⁶ entered the Cydnus... the poop ofthe vessel⁷ shone resplendent with gold, the sails were of Tyrianpurple, the oars⁸ of silver._"Then the seductive names of _Nereids, flutes⁹, perfumes_. Thehot blood flooded his cheeks. The woman who for him was the soleand only incarnation of the whole race of womankind throughout theages rose before his mental sight with a surprising clearness;every hair of his body stood on end in an agonizing¹⁰ spasm¹¹ ofdesire, and he dug his nails into the palms of his hands. Thevision caused him an unspeakable yet delicious pain--Gabriellein a loose _peignoir_ at a small, daintily ordered table gaywith flowers and glasses. He saw it all quite clearly; his gazesearched every fold of the soft material that covered her bosomand rose and fell at each breath she drew. Face and neck andlively hands had a surprisingly brilliant yet so natural a sheenthat they exhaled¹² amorous¹³ invitation as if they had been verilyof flesh and blood. The superb moulding of the lips, poutinglike a ripe mulberry, and the exquisite¹⁴ grain of the skin weremanifest--treasures such as men risk death and crime to win.

It was the actress, in fine, seen by the two eyes which of alleyes in the whole world had learned to see her best. She was notalone; a man was looking at her with a penetrating¹⁵ intensity¹⁶ ashe filled her glass. They were straining one towards the other.

Jean could not restrain his sobs¹⁷. Suddenly he seemed to be fallingfrom the top of a high tower. The Superintendent¹⁸ of Studies wasstanding in front of him and saying:

"Monsieur Servien, will you see about punishing that boy Laboriette,who is emptying his leavings in his neighbour's pocket?"

1 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

2 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

3 prunes   

n.西梅脯，西梅干( prune的名词复数 )v.修剪（树木等）( prune的第三人称单数 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• Dried fruits such as prunes, pears, and peaches, are stewed. 梅干、梨脯、桃脯等干果，都是炖过的。 来自辞典例句
• We had stewed prunes for breakfast. 我们早饭吃炖梅干。 来自辞典例句

4 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

5 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

6 galley   

n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇；

参考例句：

• The stewardess will get you some water from the galley.空姐会从厨房给你拿些水来。
• Visitors can also go through the large galley where crew members got their meals.游客还可以穿过船员们用餐的厨房。

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 flutes   

长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）

参考例句：

• The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。
• These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

10 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

11 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

12 exhaled   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
• He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚，他吐了口长气，很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

13 amorous   

adj.多情的；有关爱情的

参考例句：

• They exchanged amorous glances and clearly made known their passions.二人眉来眼去，以目传情。
• She gave him an amorous look.她脉脉含情的看他一眼。

14 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

15 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

16 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

17 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

18 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。