“Looks like, don’t it? Joe and his are in the kitchen where I run ’em so I could get some peace. Viv, I think, is out to the barn. . . .” “And the kid?” “He drag-assed right on upstairs; you musta worked him some.” “A little,” Hank answers, hanging his coat. “I’ll go tell Viv we’re back . . .” (Puzzling over things the rest of the day didn’t get me nowhere; by the time we got home the kid and I was just as hung with each other as ever, I hadn’t come up with a thing to say to Viv, and I still had that feeling of
exasperation2. It looked like it was gonna be another long night. . . .) In my
sanctuary3 of a room I
sprawled4 myself on the bed, just as I had twenty-four hours earlier—too shot down to even bother removing my shoes—but this time the innocent sleep would not come to knit up my ravel’d sleeve of care . . . Hank walks across the straw-carpeted floor of the barn and finds Viv lost in thought at the back door, a
lithe5 silhouette6 against the blue-black sky, her hand resting on the door’s big wooden pull-handle as she looks after the cow
trudging7 darkly back out to pasture. (Viv was in the barn when I got home; I was glad for that . . .) He walks to her and wraps his arms about her waist from behind. “Hi, honey,” she says and leans her head back against his lips. (Because we get along better out there, it seems, like a couple barn animals. I go up to her and give her a little hug and see that she’s come out of her sulk pretty much, and’s just a little blue is all . . .) I lay there in the dark—wide-eyed and ache-headed, more than slightly
delirious8 from exhaustion—recalling familiar
demons9 that used to creep from the knotholes on the
dingy10 ceiling above me. I had no wish to watch their activities, but neither did I have the energy to do anything about them. They wandered wild across the ceiling—wolves and bears stalking among sheep, while the poor shepherd watches, watches helplessly, fagged and
flaked11 and wanting nothing more than sleep ...unable to let the marauders out of his sight for fear of his flock, unable also to rouse himself to its
defense12. I tried to force myself to the more pressing problems. Like: “Okay, now that you have
decided13 it’s no use trying to measure up to Brother Hank, just how do you go about pulling him down?” And like: “Why did you want to measure up to him anyway?” And: “Why is any of this crap necessary?” Viv turns inside the circle of his arms to press her cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry, hon, I was so ornery this morning—” “I’m sorry I was so ornery last night, chicken.” “And as soon as the boat pulled out I ran out to wave, but you’d gone.” He rolls a lock of her hair between his fingers. “It’s just . . .” she went on, “that Dolly McKeever was one of the best friends I had in high school, and when she moved out from Colorado I was so looking forward to . . . having somebody to kind of chat with.” “I know, chicken; I’m sorry. I shoulda told you about the WP deal right off, I suppose. I don’t know why I never.” He takes her hand. “C’mon now, let’s go on in for some supper . . .” And on the walk to the house asks, “You got Jan, though; to talk with—how come you can’t get anything goin’ with ol’ Janny lamb?” She laughs sadly. “Old Janny lamb is real nice, Hank, but did you ever sit down and try to talk to her? About just little things, say, like a movie you saw or a book you read?” Hank stopped walking. “Hey, just a minute. You know ...?” (And seeing how blue she is is what gives me the notion. By god, I say to myself, by god, you got the answer to both your hassles. By god if you don’t!) “You know? I just thought of somethin’: I think I know somebody you can chat with till the world turns blue, somebody you can really get things going with . . .” (I’ll just knock off trying to play
diplomat14 with the two sensitives, I said to myself, and let them entertain each other.) As I lay there pondering these whys and wherefores concerning myself and Brother Hank, Goya’s painting “Kronos
Devouring15 His Children” flashed across my ceiling along with all the obvious oedipal implications; but I was somehow unable to
placate16 myself with second-rate psychological symbolism. Oh no you don’t, Lee baby, not this time. Certainly there were all the run-of-the-mill Freudian reasons beneath my animosity toward my dear brother, all the castration-complex reasons, all the mother-son-father reasons—and all especially deep-seated and strong within me because the usual
abysmal17 longing18 of the sulky son wishing to do in the guy who had been diddling Mom were in me compounded by the
malevolent19 memories of a psychotic
sibling20 . . . oh yes, I had numerous scenes working on these multi-faceted levels—and any one of these note-pad facts would have constituted reason enough to provoke
vengeance21 in the heart of any loyal neurotic—but this wasn’t the Whole Truth. Also reason enough in my dislike for all he represented. It took no more than that first day to bring back all his faults;
sparse22 though our communication had been it had taken only a few seconds at each exchange of words to convince me that he was
crass23,
bigoted24, wrongheaded, hypocritical, that he substituted viscera for reason and confused his balls with his brains, and that he was in many ways the
epitome25 of the kind of man I regarded as most dangerous to my kind of world, and certainly for these reasons should I seek his destruction. But still ...not the Whole Truth. . . . Frowning slightly, Viv turns to look at him; the light from the kitchen window shapes his brow and
jaw26 against the mountains; “I know who you can get things going with about books and movies, chicken . . .” For a moment the wild, almost childish flash in his green eyes—a flash first seen through the bars of a jail—makes her think he is speaking about the only person in the world that she really cares to get things going with, but he says, “And that’s the kid, Lee, Leland. Viv, I’ll tell you straight: I need your help with him. Me and him have always been like pouring water in hot grease. And accepted it. But now the business needs him to help us through this deal. Will you go along with me on this? Kind of take him under your wing?” She said yes, she would. “Fine. Dang, that takes a load off me. Let’s get on in.” (But what I didn’t think of was that passing your hassles off on one another don’t necessarily get shut of them; sometimes it makes you a bigger one than your other two put together.) “And maybe you can run up and get on a nice dress for supper, what do you say? Could you do that for me?” She says yes, she could, and follows him on to the back door. . . . I knew that there was another, truer reason; a less concrete, more abstract, tenuous-as-a-black-widow’s-web reason ...and I knew it was
akin27 to the feeling I had experienced when on our return from work we picked up the
esteemed28 Mr. Leslie Gibbons— dirtier, if possible, than before—to ferry him from the road back across to his house. “Stamper,” Gibbons began after he arranged himself for the ride across and cleared his throat of some terrible obstruction—his misplaced wad of snuff, most likely—“I seen Bigger Newton from Reedsport t’day. We ’uz aworkin’ the same piece of pavement for a time there ...hot work, too, nigger work, that’s what, nigger work, ya know what I mean?” Hank had watched the river ahead and waited. I noticed that, in spite of Gibbons’ casual, slightly
insolent29 air, the man’s grimy hands were shaking in his lap. He kept wetting cracked lips with a tongue pink and quick as a snake’s... “. . . an’ Big, he says he was boozed that night a month or so back. You mind it? An’ he says—this is Newton, you mind, I’m just standin’ an’ listenin’ and not takin’ neither side—Big, he says you took advantage. He says—ah Christ, how’d he put it?—he says, ‘Next time I run acrost Hank Stamper I aim to kick his
ass1 till his nose bleeds!’ That was it; that’s how he put it.” “He’s tried about three times now, Les.” “Shore! I know that. But look here, Hank, them first couple times he wasn’t but eighteen or so. Snotnosed kid. Look here, I ain’t takin’ sides but you want to keep in mind he’s three years older now. An’ so’re you.” “I’ll keep it in mind, Les.” “He says—Big does—that you an’ him have got a bone to pick. Somethin’ about that bike race you won down on the beach last summer. He says you used them heavy treads for no other reason than to kick sand on the other racers. Big’s pretty sore, Hank. I just thought to tell you.” Hank glanced sideways at Gibbons, smiling into his hand. “I appreciate it, Les.” And, without taking his eyes from the river ahead, leaned down with
feigned30 absent-mindedness and took from beneath the seat a Gardol can, shook it near his ear, emptied the few remaining drops into the gas tank—“Yes, I surely do.” Then, just as Les was about to speak further on the subject, Hank crushed the empty can as though it were made of
aluminum31 foil. The thumb and finger simply came together with no apparent strain or effort. The metal seemed to offer no resistance. He tossed the can, looking like a metal hourglass, past Les’s
bulging32 eyes into the river and wiped his hand on his pants. This piece of theatrics was sufficient to keep Les silent the rest of the ride across. But when he climbed out of the boat he stood finicking with his tin hat, obviously wanting to say more; finally he
blurted33, “Saturday! Dang; nearly forgot. Hank, any you boys goin’ into the Snag this Sat’day night? I’d be obliged for a ride across.” “Probably not this Saturday, Les. But I’ll let you know.” “Will you? Will you sure enough now?” He was openly concerned. “Sure, Les. We’ll give you a call,” Joe Ben
reassured34 him quite
tersely35 for Joe. “Oh yeah. Maybe even give Bigger a call too. Maybe even give ’em a call at the Snag so they can commence setting up bleachers and selling tickets and making hot dogs. Oh, we wouldn’t let anybody miss it.” Les pretended to miss Joe’s
sarcasm36. “Wonderful,” he said. “That’ll be fine. I thank you. I’m sure obliged to you boys.” He
pranced37 on up to the fence, calling his undying
gratitude38 over his shoulder, thrilled to the core. And rightly so.
点击
收听单词发音
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1
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 |
参考例句： |
- He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
- An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
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2
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 |
参考例句： |
- He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
- She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
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3
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 |
参考例句： |
- There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
- Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
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4
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） |
参考例句： |
- He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
- He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。
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5
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 |
参考例句： |
- His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
- His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。
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6
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 |
参考例句： |
- I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
- I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。
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7
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） |
参考例句： |
- There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包，吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句
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8
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 |
参考例句： |
- He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
- She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。
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9
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 |
参考例句： |
- demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
- He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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10
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 |
参考例句： |
- It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
- The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。
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11
flaked
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| 精疲力竭的，失去知觉的，睡去的 |
参考例句： |
- They can see how its colours have faded and where paint has flaked. 他们能看到颜色消退的情况以及油漆剥落的地方。
- The river from end to end was flaked with coal fleets. 这条河上从头到尾处处都漂着一队一队的煤船。
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12
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 |
参考例句： |
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
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13
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 |
参考例句： |
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
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14
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 |
参考例句： |
- The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
- He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。
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15
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 |
参考例句： |
- The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
- He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。
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16
placate
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| v.抚慰，平息(愤怒) |
参考例句： |
- He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
- Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。
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17
abysmal
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| adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的 |
参考例句： |
- The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
- There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。
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18
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 |
参考例句： |
- Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
- His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
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19
malevolent
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| adj.有恶意的，恶毒的 |
参考例句： |
- Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
- We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
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sibling
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| n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹) |
参考例句： |
- Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
- Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。
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21
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 |
参考例句： |
- He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
- For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。
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22
sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 |
参考例句： |
- The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
- The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。
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23
crass
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| adj.愚钝的，粗糙的；彻底的 |
参考例句： |
- The government has behaved with crass insensitivity.该政府行事愚蠢而且麻木不仁。
- I didn't want any part of this silly reception,It was all so crass.我完全不想参加这个无聊的欢迎会，它实在太糟糕了。
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24
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 |
参考例句： |
- He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
- I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。
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25
epitome
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| n.典型，梗概 |
参考例句： |
- He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
- This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。
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26
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 |
参考例句： |
- He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
- A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 |
参考例句： |
- She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
- Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。
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28
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 |
参考例句： |
- The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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29
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 |
参考例句： |
- His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
- It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇，脸皮真厚。
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30
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 |
参考例句： |
- He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
- He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。
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31
aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 |
参考例句： |
- The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
- During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 |
参考例句： |
- Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
- Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”
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33
blurted
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| 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》
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34
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) |
参考例句： |
- The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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35
tersely
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| adv. 简捷地, 简要地 |
参考例句： |
- Nixon proceeded to respond, mercifully more tersely than Brezhnev. 尼克松开始作出回答了。幸运的是，他讲的比勃列日涅夫简练。
- Hafiz Issail tersely informed me that Israel force had broken the young cease-fire. 哈菲兹·伊斯梅尔的来电简洁扼要，他说以色列部队破坏了刚刚生效的停火。
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36
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） |
参考例句： |
- His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
- She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
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37
pranced
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
- The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句
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38
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 |
参考例句： |
- I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
- She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
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