Chapter 7

‘Wow, Mr Neat. How come there are no pictures on thewalls?’
I had not had visitors since Daphne moved out of the building.
I knew that I only needed to put out an extra plate andcutlery. But it had already been a stressful evening, and theadrenaline-induced eu-phoria that had immediately followed theJacket Incident had evaporated, at least on my part. Rosieseemed to be in a permanently¹ manic state.
We were in the living area, which adjoins the kitchen.
‘Because after a while I would stop noticing them. The humanbrain is wired to focus on differences in its environment – soit can rapidly discern a predator². If I installed pictures or otherdecorative objects, I would notice them for a few days andthen my brain would ignore them. If I want to see art, I go tothe gallery. The paintings there are of higher quality, and thetotal expenditure³ over time is less than the purchase price ofcheap posters.’ In fact, I had not been to an art gallery sincethe tenth of May, three years before. But this informationwould55/290weaken my argument and I saw no reason to share it withRosie and open up other aspects of my personal life tointerrogation.
Rosie had moved on and was now examining my CDcollection. The investigation⁴ was becoming annoying. Dinner wasalready late.
‘You really love Bach,’ she said. This was a reasonablededuction, as my CD collection consists only of the works ofthat composer. But it was not correct.
‘I decided⁵ to focus on Bach after reading G?del, Escher, Bachby Douglas Hofstadter. Unfortunately I haven’t made muchprogress. I don’t think my brain works fast enough to decodethe patterns in the music.’
‘You don’t listen to it for fun?’
This was beginning to sound like the initial dinner conversationswith Daphne and I didn’t answer.
‘You’ve got an iPhone?’ she said.
‘Of course, but I don’t use it for music. I download podcasts.’
‘Let me guess – on genetics.’
‘Science in general.’
I moved to the kitchen to begin dinner preparation and Rosiefollowed me, stopping to look at my whiteboard schedule.
‘Wow,’ she said, again. This reaction was becoming predictable.
I wondered what her response to DNA⁷ or evolution would be.
I commenced retrieval of vegetables and herbs from therefrigerator.
‘Let me help,’ she said. ‘I can chop or something.’ Theimplication was that chopping could be done by aninexperienced person unfamiliar⁸ with the recipe. After hercomment that she was unable to cook even in a life-threateningsituation, I had visions of huge chunks⁹ of leek¹⁰ and fragmentsof herbs too fine to sieve¹¹ out.
‘No assistance is required,’ I said. ‘I recommend reading abook.’
56/290I watched Rosie walk to the bookshelf, briefly¹² peruse¹³ thecontents, then walk away. Perhaps she used IBM rather thanMac software, although many of the manuals applied¹⁴ to both.
The sound system has an iPod port that I use to playpodcasts while I cook. Rosie plugged in her phone, and musicemanated from the speakers. It was not loud, but I was certainthat if I had put on a podcast without asking permission whenvisiting someone’s house, I would have been accused of a socialerror. Very certain, as I had made this exact mistake at adinner party four years and sixty-seven days ago.
Rosie continued her exploration, like an animal in a newenvironment, which of course was what she was. She openedthe blinds and raised them, creating some dust. I considermyself fastidious in my cleaning, but I do not need to open theblinds and there must have been dust in places not reachablewithout doing so. Behind the blinds are doors, and Rosiereleased the bolts and opened them.
I was feeling very uncomfortable at this violation¹⁵ of mypersonal environment. I tried to concentrate on foodpreparation as Rosie stepped out of sight onto the balcony. Icould hear her dragging the two big pot plants, whichpresumably were dead after all these years. I put the herb andvegetable mixture in the large saucepan with the water, salt,rice wine vinegar, mirin, orange peel and coriander seeds.
‘I don’t know what you’re cooking,’ Rosie called out, ‘but I’mbasically vegetarian¹⁶.’
Vegetarian! I had already commenced cooking! Based oningredients purchased on the assumption that I would be eatingalone. And what did ‘basically’ mean – did it imply somelimited level of flexibility¹⁷, like my colleague Esther, who admitted,only under rigorous questioning, that she would eat pork ifnecessary to survive?
Vegetarians¹⁸ and vegans can be incredibly annoying. Gene⁶ has ajoke: ‘How can you tell if someone is a vegan? Just wait tenminutes57/290and they’ll tell you.’ If this were so, it would not be so muchof a problem. No! Vegetarians arrive for dinner and then say,‘I don’t eat meat.’
This was the second time. The Pig’s Trotter Disasterhappened six years ago, when Gene suggested that I invite awoman to dinner at my apartment. He argued that my cookingexpertise would make me more desirable and I would not haveto deal with the pressure of a restaurant environment. ‘Andyou can drink as much as you like and stagger to thebedroom.’
The woman’s name was Bethany, and her internet profile didnot mention vegetarianism¹⁹. Realising that the quality of the mealwould be critical, I borrowed a recently published book of ‘noseto tail’ recipes from the library, and planned a multi-coursemeal featuring various parts of the animal: brains, tongue,mesentery, pancreas, kidneys, etc.
Bethany arrived on time and seemed very pleasant. We had aglass of wine, and then things went downhill. We started withfried pig’s trotter, which had been quite complex to prepare,and Bethany ate very little of hers.
‘I’m not big on pig’s trotters,’ she said. This was not entirelyunreasonable: we all have preferences and perhaps she wasconcerned about fat and cholesterol²⁰. But when I outlined thecourses to follow, she declared herself to be a vegetarian.
Unbelievable!
She offered to buy dinner at a restaurant but, having spent somuch time in preparation, I did not want to abandon the food.
I ate alone and did not see Bethany again.
Now Rosie. In this case it might be a good thing. Rosie couldleave and life would return to normal. She had obviously notfilled in the questionnaire honestly, or Gene had made anerror. Or possibly he had selected her for her high level ofsexual attractiveness, imposing²¹ his own preferences on me.
Rosie came back inside, looking at me, as if expecting aresponse.
‘Seafood is okay,’ she said. ‘If it’s sustainable.’
58/290I had mixed feelings. It is always satisfying to have the solutionto a problem, but now Rosie would be staying for dinner. Iwalked to the bathroom, and Rosie followed. I picked up thelobster from the bath, where it had been crawling around.
‘Oh shit,’ said Rosie.
‘You don’t like lobster²²?’ I carried it back to the kitchen.
‘I love lobster but …’
The problem was now obvious and I could sympathise.
‘You find the killing²³ process unpleasant. Agreed.’
I put the lobster in the freezer, and explained to Rosie that Ihad researched lobster-execution methods, and the freezermethod was considered the most humane²⁴. I gave her a websitereference.
While the lobster died, Rosie continued her sniffing²⁵ around. Sheopened the pantry and seemed impressed with its level oforganisation: one shelf for each day of the week, plus storagespaces for common resources, alcohol, breakfast, etc., and stockdata on the back of the door.
‘You want to come and sort out my place?’
‘You want to implement²⁶ the Standardised Meal System?’ Despiteits substantial advantages, most people consider it odd.
‘Just cleaning out the refrigerator would do,’ she said. ‘I’mguessing you want Tuesday ingredients?’
I informed her that, as today was Tuesday, no guessing wasrequired.
She handed me the nori sheets and bonito flakes²⁷. I requestedmac-adamia nut oil, sea salt and the pepper grinder from thecommon resources area.
‘Chinese rice wine,’ I added. ‘Filed under alcohol.’
‘Naturally,’ said Rosie.
She passed me the wine, then began looking at the otherbottles in the alcohol section. I purchase my wine in half-bottles.
59/290‘So, you cook this same meal every Tuesday, right?’
‘Correct.’ I listed the eight major advantages of theStandardised Meal System.
1. No need to accumulate recipe books.
2. Standard shopping list – hence very efficient shopping.
3. Almost zero waste – nothing in the refrigerator or pantryunless required for one of the recipes.
4. Diet planned and nutritionally balanced in advance.
5. No time wasted wondering what to cook.
6. No mistakes, no unpleasant surprises.
7. Excellent food, superior to most restaurants at a much lowerprice (see point 3).
8. Minimal²⁸ cognitive²⁹ load required.
‘Cognitive load?’
‘The cooking procedures are in my cerebellum – virtually noconscious effort is required.’
‘Like riding a bike.’
‘Correct.’
‘You can make lobster whatever without thinking?’
‘Lobster, mango and avocado salad with wasabi-coated flyingfish roe³⁰ and crispy seaweed and deep-fried leek garnish³¹.
Correct. My current project is quail-boning. It still requiresconscious effort.’
Rosie was laughing. It brought back memories of school days.
Good ones.
As I retrieved³² additional ingredients for the dressing³³ from therefrigerator, Rosie brushed past me with two half-bottles ofchablis and put them in the freezer with the lobster.
‘Our dinner seems to have stopped moving.’
60/290‘Further time is required to be certain of death,’ I said.
‘Unfortunately, the Jacket Incident has disrupted the preparationschedule. All times will need to be recalculated.’ I realised atthis point that I should have put the lobster in the freezer assoon as we arrived home, but my brain had been overloadedby the problems created by Rosie’s presence. I went to thewhiteboard and started writing up revised preparation times.
Rosie was examining the ingredients.
‘You were going to eat all this by yourself?’
I had not revised the Standardised Meal System since Daphne’sde-parture, and now ate the lobster salad by myself onTuesdays, deleting the wine to compensate³⁴ for the additionalcalorie intake³⁵.
‘The quantity is sufficient for two,’ I said. ‘The recipe can’t bescaled down. It’s infeasible to purchase a fraction of a livelobster.’ I had intended the last part as a mild joke, and Rosiereacted by laughing. I had another unexpected moment offeeling good as I continued recalculating times.
Rosie interrupted again. ‘If you were on your usual schedule,what time would it be now?’
‘6.38 p.m.’
The clock on the oven showed 9.09 p.m. Rosie located thecontrols and started adjusting the time. I realised what she wasdoing. A perfect solution. When she was finished, it showed6.38 p.m. No recalcula-tions required. I congratulated her onher thinking. ‘You’ve created a new time zone. Dinner will beready at 8.55 p.m. – Rosie time.’
‘Beats doing the maths,’ she said.
Her observation gave me an opportunity for another WifeProject question. ‘Do you find mathematics difficult?’
She laughed. ‘It’s only the single hardest part of what I do.
Drives me nuts.’
If the simple arithmetic of bar and restaurant bills was beyondher, it was hard to imagine how we could have meaningfuldiscussions.
61/290‘Where do you hide the corkscrew?’ she asked.
‘Wine is not scheduled for Tuesdays.’
‘Fuck that,’ said Rosie.
There was a certain logic³⁶ underlying³⁷ Rosie’s response. I wouldonly be eating a single serve of dinner. It was the final step inthe abandonment of the evening’s schedule.
I announced the change. ‘Time has been redefined. Previousrules no longer apply. Alcohol is hereby declared mandatory³⁸ inthe Rosie Time Zone.’

1 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 decided   

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。

6 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

7 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

9 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

10 leek   

n.韭葱

参考例句：

• He is always confusing wheat with leek.他对麦苗和韭菜总是辨别不清。
• He said the dumplings with the stuffing of pork and leek were his favourite.他说他喜欢吃猪肉韭菜馅的饺子。

11 sieve   

n.筛，滤器，漏勺

参考例句：

• We often shake flour through a sieve.我们经常用筛子筛面粉。
• Finally,it is like drawing water with a sieve.到头来，竹篮打水一场空。

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

13 peruse   

v.细读，精读

参考例句：

• We perused the company's financial statements for the past five years.我们翻阅了公司过去5年来的财务报表。
• Please peruse this report at your leisure.请在空暇时细读这篇报道。

14 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

15 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

16 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

17 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

18 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

19 vegetarianism   

n.素食，素食主义

参考例句：

• More and more people are believing in vegetarianism and diet for health. 而今越来越多的人们相信素食和节食有利于身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is an exponent of vegetarianism. 她是一个素食主义的倡导者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

21 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

22 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

23 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

24 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

25 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

27 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

28 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

29 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

30 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

31 garnish   

n.装饰，添饰，配菜

参考例句：

• The turkey was served with a garnish of parsley.做好的火鸡上面配上芫荽菜做点缀。
• The sandwiches came with a rather limp salad garnish.三明治配着蔫软的色拉饰菜。

32 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

33 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

34 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

35 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

36 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

37 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

38 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。