CHAPTER VII.

 Ippolyte Ippolytovich sat in the large, bare dining-room eating chicken cutlets and broth¹. A napkin was tied round his neck as if he were a child. Vasena fed him from a tea-spoon, and afterwards led him into his study. The old man lay down on a sofa, put his hand behind his head and fell asleep, his eyes half-open.

 

Ilya went to him in the study. He again made a pretence² of being cheerful, but his tired eyes betrayed grief, and behind his clean- shaven face, his grey English coat, and yellow boots, somehow one felt there was a great shaken and puzzled soul suffering, yet seeking to conceal³ its anguish⁴.

 

He sat down at his father's feet.

 

For a long time the old man searched his face with his eyes, then in a scraping, worn-out piping voice, said: "Eh?"

 

"It is so long since we met, father, I am longing⁵ to have a chat with you! Somehow I have no one dearer to me than you! Absolutely no one! How are you, sir?"

 

The old man gazed before him with bleary eyes. He did not seem to have heard. But suddenly screwing up his eyes, straightening out his lips and opening his empty jaws⁶, he laughed:

 

"He-he! he-he!" he laughed, and said jovially⁷: "I am dying soon. He- he! he-he!"

 

However, Ilya no longer felt as embarrassed as on that first occasion on the terrace. In a hasty undertone, almost under his breath, he asked:

 

"But aren't you afraid?"

 

"No! He-he!"

 

"Don't you believe in God?"

 

"No! He-he!"

 

They were silent for a long time after that. Then the old man raised himself on his elbows with a sly grin.

 

"You see," he said, "when a man is worn out … sleep is the best thing for him … that is so with dying … one wants to die…. Understand? When a man is worn out…."

 

He was silent for a moment, then grinned and repeated:

 

"He-he! He-he! Understand?"

 

Ilya gave his father a long look, standing⁸ there motionless, with wide-open eyes, feeling a thrill of utter horror.

 

But the old man was already slumbering⁹.

1 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

2 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

3 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

4 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

5 longing   

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。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 jovially   

adv.愉快地，高兴地

参考例句：

• "Hello, Wilson, old man,'said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. "How's business?" “哈罗，威尔逊，你这家伙，”汤姆说，一面嘻嘻哈哈地拍拍他的肩膀，“生意怎么样？” 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• Hall greeted him jovially enough, but Gorman and Walson scowled as they grunted curt "Good Mornings." 霍尔兴致十足地向他打招呼，戈曼和沃森却满脸不豫之色，敷衍地咕哝句“早安”。 来自辞典例句

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。