Chapter 7

D is for do as i say, boy The pockets in Dan's new suit were still sewn shut, and his wet hair was frozen tight and hard against his forehead. ?Hello?? he shouted hoarsely¹ into the intercom outside theRed Letter offices on Eleventh Street in the West Village. The cigarette he'd been smoking on the walk from the subway had burned down to the quick, singeing² his fingers. He tossed it onto the sidewalk, hoping that someone fromRed Letter wasn't watching disapprovingly³ from a window. ?I'm Daniel Humphrey? The new intern⁴?? The heavily grated door buzzed, and Dan pushed it open. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants as he mounted the stairs in front of him. Already he could see the glare of office lights, hear thetap, tap, tap of computer keyboards, the hum of fax machines, photocopiers⁵, and printers, and the steady murmur⁸ of voices talking on the phone. He reached the top stair and surveyed the open-plan office, full of strange heads bent⁹ over desks, talking on the phone and looking busy, busy, busy. Bisecting the white walls was a thin, horizontal red line, making it look like the large room had been wrapped with red ribbon. When he squinted¹⁰, though, Dan could see that the line was made up of thousands of tiny words painted in red. He wondered what it said, but in order to get close enough he'd have to lean over someone's desk, and he didn't want to be rude. He waited for someone to greet him and show him around?someone there must have buzzed him in, after all?but no one seemed to notice him. Even in his fancy new suit? He shifted from foot to foot and cleared his throat noisily. Nothing. ?Um,? he spoke¹¹ to the guy sitting nearest him. The guy had dark, slicked-back hair and was wearing a crisp white shirt with French cuffs¹² tucked into neatly¹³ pressed black trousers that were probably made by Armani or Gucci or something. There were four unopened minibottles of San Pellegrino mineral water lined up on the desk in front of him. ?I'm here to see Siegfried Castle,? Dan told him. The guy looked up and squinted at Dan.?Pourquoi?? Dan frowned. Couldn't the guy just speak English? ?Because I'm his new intern?? The guy stood up. ?And I ham your new boss.? He held out his hand, palm up. ?Siegfried Castle. Call me Sig?no, actzuelly, I zink you must call mesir .? Dan wasn't sure how to handle the palm-up scenario¹⁴. Boldly he put his hand on top of Siegfried Castle's and turned it around, shaking it up and down like a normal person would. Siegfried Castle grimaced¹⁵ and removed his hand. ?You're a poet, no?? Dan nodded, his eyes shifting nervously¹⁶ to the other people in the office. They were all looking up now, examining him coldly. He noticed now that everyone else had those little green bottles of San Pellegrino lined up on their desks, too. And they were all dressed in black and white, just like Mr. Castle. Dan felt like a freak in his light blue shirt and gray suit. ?Yes. I had a poem in the Valentine's Day issue ofThe New Yorker last month. Maybe you saw it? It's called ?Sluts.?? Siegfried Castle didn't seem to hear him, and Dan wondered if there was some sort of rivalry¹⁷ betweenRed Letter andThe New Yorker . Maybe he'd committed a horrible faux pas by mentioning the competition. ?Now. I show you my out box. My in box. My files. Show you the slush pile. Show you the photocopier⁶. The phone. The fax. You sit there. I call you for things. We eat at one-thirty in conference room. You will order our food.? He was pointing around the office, and Dan realized that Mr. Castle wasn't going to show him anything else or introduce him to anyone. The tour was over. The phone rang, and Siegfried Castle sat down again and pointed¹⁸ at it with a neatly manicured finger. Dan picked up the phone. ?Hello?? He winced¹⁹, realizing he should have said something more professional. ?May I help you?? ?Who the fuck are you?? the voice on the other end said in an English accent. ?Get me the Zigster, pronto.? He held the phone out to Mr. Castle, who he noticed had a few gray hairs and was probably older than he looked. ?It's for you, I think.? Dan sat down in what was presumably his chair in the corner, facing the wall. There was nothing on the desk. No computer, no phone. Not even any San Pellegrino. He wondered if he should go around and introduce himself to the other people in the office, but he didn't really want to bother them while they were working. He squinted up at the red line of words running along the wall, but the more he looked at them, the more they seemed to dance and blur²⁰ together. He glanced sideways at Mr. Castle's out box. It had a letter in it. ?Would you like me to mail that for you?? he asked. Siegfried popped a cigarette into his mouth and flicked²¹ open his silver Zippo lighter²². Then he threw the unlit cigarette into the trash can beneath his desk. ?Go ahead,? he said spitefully, as if he couldn't wait to get rid of Dan. ?Also, I need caviar.? He pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of his pocket. ?Gourmet²³ Garage on Seventh Avenue.Not beluga. It's zee black one in the blue tin.? As ifanyone would know what he was talking about? Dan took the money and the letter and went outside. The envelope wasn't stamped, and he had no idea where the post office was, but surely there was one nearby, and he could smoke a cigarette while he was looking for it. Ten blocks later he still hadn't found the post office, but he'd smoked four cigarettes on a pier⁷ overlooking the Hudson River. ?I have to get back,? he told himself, and tossed his cigarette into the water. But how could he go back with the envelope in hand, looking like a dope because he couldn't figure out where to buy a stamp? He leaned against the railing, and before he could stop and think about what he was doing, he tossed the envelope into the swirling²⁴ brown water. It floated on top for a minute, turned beige and wet-looking, and then sank.

1 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

2 singeing   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的现在分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]；烧毛

参考例句：

• The smell of the singeing clothes and burning leather was horrible. 衣服烧焦和皮革燃烧的味儿十分浓烈。 来自辞典例句
• I can smell something singeing. 有东西烧焦了。 来自互联网

3 disapprovingly   

adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地

参考例句：

• When I suggested a drink, she coughed disapprovingly. 我提议喝一杯时，她咳了一下表示反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He shook his head disapprovingly. 他摇了摇头，表示不赞成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

5 photocopiers   

n.影印机，复印机( photocopier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I was quite taken with your line of photocopiers with collation and stapling capability. 我被贵公司能够自动整理和装订的系列复印机吸引住了。 来自辞典例句
• Printers, photocopiers and fax machines are modern office appliances. 打印机、印机和传真机是现代办公用具。 来自互联网

6 photocopier   

n.复印机

参考例句：

• You've left your master in the photocopier.你把原件留在影印机里了。
• If the photocopier stops working,just give it a clout.如果那部影印机停止运转的话就敲它一下。

7 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

8 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

9 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。

10 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

11 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。

12 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

13 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。

14 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

15 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

17 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

20 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

21 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

22 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

23 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

24 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句