Chapter 4

One day a woman came into his office. She smoked too much, and she wanted him to help her quit.

"I know that smoking is no good for me," she said as she puffed¹ on her cigarette. "It's bad for my heart. It fills my lungs with gunk. And my husband won't kiss me because my breath stinks³. But I can't quit!"

She finished her cigarette, smushed it out in an ashtray⁴, then immediately lit another one.

"Have a seat," said Dr. Pickle⁵.

She sat down on the couch.

"Look into my eyes," said Dr. Pickle.

The woman stared into his deep, penetrating⁶ eyes.

Dr. Pickle held up a gold chain. At the end of the chain was a green stone that was almost transparent⁷ but not quite. It looked like a pickle.

Hence, his name.

"Watch the pickle," he said, as he gently moved the chain.

The pickle went back and forth⁸, back and forth, back and forth.

The woman's eyes went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

"Put down your cigarette," Dr. Pickle said in a strong but gentle voice.

The woman set her cigarette in the ashtray as she continued to stare at the pickle.

"You are getting sleepy," said Dr. Pickle. "Your eyelids⁹ are getting heavy."

The woman blinked her eyes.

"When I count to three," said Dr. Pickle, "you will fall into a deep, deep sleep. One . . . two . . . three."

The woman's eyes closed.

Dr. Pickle put down the pickle. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," said the woman, in a low voice from deep inside her.

"You will do what I say," said Dr. Pickle.

"I - will - do - what - you - say," the woman repeated.

"I am going to count to five," said Dr. Pickle. "And then you will wake up. And, as usual, you will want to smoke a cigarette."

"I - will - want - to - smoke - a - cigarette," the woman repeated.

"But when you put the cigarette in your mouth," said Dr. Pickle, "it will feel just like a worm. A wiggling, slimy worm."

"A - yucky - icky - worm," repeated the woman.

"Good," said Dr. Pickle. "Now just one more
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thing." He rubbed his beard and smiled. "Whenever your husband says the word 'potato,' you will slap him across the face."

"When - Fred - says - 'potato' -I - will - slap -his - face."

"Good," said Dr. Pickle. He counted to five.

The woman woke up.

"So do you think you can help me?" she asked in her normal voice, as she reached for her cigarette.

Dr. Pickle shrugged¹⁰.

She put her cigarette in her mouth, then screamed as she pulled it out.

She looked at the cigarette, puzzled. "Hm?" she said. She placed it back in her mouth, then spit it out onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said, a little confused. She picked up the cigarette and put it in the ashtray.

"That's all right," said Dr. Pickle.

She took out a new cigarette from her pack, but as soon as she put that in her mouth, she spit it out too.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I don't know what's come over me."

She walked out of his office shaking her head. She dropped her pack of cigarettes in the trash.

She never smoked again.

It was an interesting thing about the word "potato." Whenever Fred said it, she slapped him. And he'd ask her why she slapped him, but she never remembered slapping him, so they'd get in a big fight, each calling the other crazy. Then they'd kiss and make up, which was nice because her breath didn't stink².

They never figured out it had anything to do with saying "potato." How could they?

But deep down they both must have realized it somehow, because while they used to eat lots of potatoes, they gradually ate fewer and fewer, until they finally stopped eating them altogether.

Dr. Pickle was a good doctor, but he kept playing those kinds of jokes on people. There was a woman who quacked¹¹ like a duck whenever she saw a freight train with more than twenty cars. There was a man who took off his shoe anytime someone said "parking meter."

Eventually Dr. Pickle was caught and he was no longer allowed to practice psychiatry¹². So he had to find another job.

He became a counselor¹³ at an elementary school.

1 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

3 stinks   

v.散发出恶臭( stink的第三人称单数 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• The whole scheme stinks to high heaven—don't get involved in it. 整件事十分卑鄙龌龊——可别陷了进去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soup stinks of garlic. 这汤有大蒜气味。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 ashtray   

n.烟灰缸

参考例句：

• He knocked out his pipe in the big glass ashtray.他在大玻璃烟灰缸里磕净烟斗。
• She threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray.她把烟头扔进烟灰缸。

5 pickle   

n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡

参考例句：

• Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
• Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。

6 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。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 quacked   

v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

12 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

13 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。