Part 2 In The Breton Land Chapter 10

Rain in torrents¹, under a heavy black sky. This was India. Sylvestrehad just set foot upon land, chance selecting him to complete the crewof a whale boat. He felt the warm shower upon him through the thickfoliage, and looked around, surprised at the novel sight. All wasmagnificently green; the leaves of the trees waved like giganticfeathers, and the people walking beneath them had large velvety² eyes,which seemed to close under the weight of their lashes³. The very windthat brought the rain had the odour of musk⁴ and flowers.

　　At a distance, dusky girls beckoned⁵ him to come to them. Some happystrain they sang, like the "Whist! here, you darling boy!" so oftenheard at Brest. But seductive as was their country, their call wasimperious and exasperating⁶, making his very flesh shudder⁷. Theirperfect bosoms⁸ rose and fell under transparent⁹ muslin, in which theywere solely¹⁰ draped; they were glowing and polished as in bronzestatues. Hesitating, fascinated by them, he wavered about, followingthem; but the boatswain's sharp shrill¹¹ whistle rent the air with bird-like trills, summoning him hurriedly back to his boat, about to pushoff.

　　He took his flight, and bade farewell to India's beauties.

　　After a second week of the blue sea, they paused off another land ofdewy verdure. A crowd of yellow men appeared, yelling out and pressingon deck, bringing coal in baskets.

　　"Already in China?" asked Sylvestre, at the sight of those grotesquefigures in pigtails.

　　"Bless you, no, not yet," they told him; "have a little morepatience."It was only Singapore. He went up into his mast-top again, to avoidthe black dust tossed about by the breeze, while the coal wasfeverishly heaped up in the bunkers from little baskets.

　　One day, at length, they arrived off a land called Tourane, where the/Circe/ was anchored, to blockade the port. This was the ship to whichSylvestre had been long ago assigned, and he was left there with hisbag.

　　On board he met with two mates from home, Icelanders, who werecaptains of guns for the time being. Through the long, hot, stillevenings, when there was no work to be done, they clustered on deckapart from the others, to form together a little Brittany ofremembrances.

　　Five months he passed there in inaction and exile, locked up in thecheerless bay, with the feverish¹² desire to go out and fight and slay,for change's sake.

1 torrents   

n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断

参考例句：

• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 velvety   

adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的

参考例句：

• a velvety red wine 醇厚的红葡萄酒
• Her skin was admired for its velvety softness. 她的皮肤如天鹅绒般柔软，令人赞叹。

3 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

5 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 exasperating   

adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Our team's failure is very exasperating. 我们队失败了，真是气死人。
• It is really exasperating that he has not turned up when the train is about to leave. 火车快开了， 他还不来，实在急人。

7 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

8 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

9 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。

10 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

11 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

12 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。