CHAPTER III A SPOT OF YELLOW PAINT

 Next morning, while the sun gave its first touch to the bronze head of Garibaldi, Bertino tied on an apron¹ and set to work in Signor Di Bello’s shop, that peerless grocery whose small window and large door look tranquilly² on the Park of Paradise. For a dozen years it had been known far and wide among Italia’s children as “The Sign of the Wooden Bunch.” The nickname came of a piece of carved oak simulating a bunch of bananas that hung before the door. In the early days of his business life the padrone had learned that the air of Mulberry was singularly fatal to the real fruit that he put on show outside. It happened some days that as many as twenty bananas on one stem [Pg 38]would evaporate, though all the others remained intact. It was always the ones nearest the ground that vanished. One evening it struck Signor Di Bello that a violent chemical change in the exposed fruit would put an end to its mysterious disintegration³. So he substituted the bananas of art for those of Nature. The evaporation⁴ ceased straightway, but for two or three mornings thereafter certain small boys, on their way to the Five Points Mission School, beheld⁵ with bitter disappointment the oaken symbol, and answered its grin of mockery with looks of blackest disgust.

 

Those boys are workingmen now, and when they dream of the springtimes of childhood, they see Giorgio Di Bello, paint brush in hand, giving a fresh skin of yellow to the make-believe bananas. It was a promise of vernal roses as sure as the chirp⁶ of a bluebird in the churchyard grass or the gladsome advent⁷ of Simone the Sardinian with his hokey-pokey cart. When the people saw him giving the bunch its annual sprucing up, [Pg 39]they were wont⁹ to exclaim: “Bravo! Summer is coming. Soon we shall have music in Paradise.”

 

The morning of Bertino’s début at the shop was a bright one of young June, and the baby maples¹⁰ of the Park were showing their first dimples of green. It was the blatant¹¹ hour when Mulberry’s street bazaar¹² is in full cry; when the sham¹³ battle fought every morning between honeyed sellers and scornful buyers is in hot movement; when dimes¹⁴ and coppers¹⁵ are the vender¹⁶’s prize against flounders, cabbages, saucepans, calicoes, apples, and shoestrings¹⁷, as the stake that fires the housewife’s tongue and eye; when stout-lunged hucksters cut the din⁸ with the siren songs their kind have sung for ages in the market place.

 

Spick and span in the clean blouse of Monday, Signor Di Bello stood on his broad threshold ready for the day’s trade. He had just shown Bertino how to convert the prosy doorway¹⁹ into a bower²⁰ abloom with garlands of freckled²¹ salame, cordons²² of silvery garlic, [Pg 40]clusters of cacciocavalli cheese; how to hang in the entry luring²³ sheaves of wild herbs, strings¹⁸ of hazelnuts, and the golden colocynths that are—as all must know—an anodyne²⁴ for every ill. To flaunt²⁵ this ravishing group to the senses of the colony was Bertino’s first duty of the day. That accomplished²⁶, he set out on either side of the doorway the tubs of tempting²⁷ stockfish, the black peas of Lombardy, parched²⁸ tomatoes and red peppers, lupini beans in fresh water, ripe olives in brine, and macaroni of sundry²⁹ types.

 

Presently the foraging³⁰ women, their blue-and-red-skirted hips³¹ wabbling under the weight of well-loaded baskets balanced on their heads, began to enter the shop. Dexterously³² taking down their burdens and setting them on the counter, they called out their wants in the varied³³ jargons³⁴ of the Peninsula. Not only was Signor Di Bello equal to them, one and all, but he could give back two raps in the haggling³⁵ set-to for every tap that he received. When the morning had worn on, [Pg 41]and the lay of the last vender had died out, he opened a small can of yellow paint, chose a brush from the stock, placed it in the hand of his nephew, and said:

 

“Nipote mio, do you see the green spots on the boughs³⁶? Well, it is time to give the Bunch a new coat.”

 

Bertino applied³⁷ the colour, while his uncle looked on with fond and critical eye, for it was the first time he had intrusted the historic task to other hands than his own. Before the finishing touch had been given he was called into the shop to hack³⁸ off a four-cent chunk³⁹ of Roman cheese. A moment later Bertino stepped back to survey his handiwork, the brush at heedless poise—Mulberry’s sidewalks are narrow and teeming—when an angry voice fairly stung his ear:

 

“Guarda, donkey! What are you about?”

 

He turned and looked into the blazing eyes of a tall young woman, whose full-flowered beauty startled him more than her [Pg 42]words had done, and for the moment his tongue had no speech.

 

“Clumsy dog! Why don’t you look?” she began again, drawing out a gingham handkerchief of purple and putting it to her face. On her cheek, just where the flush faded in the rich tawn of her skin, was a spot of yellow—as strangely there as though some fool had tried to adorn⁴⁰ a radiant blossom.

 

“But excuse me; a thousand pardons. I did not see you,” he blurted⁴¹. “I did not see you, veramente, signorina—beautiful signorina.”

 

“Bah!” she flung back. “Where are your eyes, calf⁴² of a countryman?”

 

He watched her as she sailed away above the heads of Mulberry’s little brown maids and matrons, and for hours afterward⁴³ felt the spell of her massing black tresses, her proud step, and the rugged⁴⁴ poetry of her plenteous line.

 

Small matters these—a spot of fortuitous colour, flashing eyes among a people who are always flashing, and a mountaineer with [Pg 43]youth in his veins⁴⁵ thinking about a well-knit and warm-hued maid who has proved her fire with a blistering⁴⁶ tongue. But in the light of all that has come and gone, that stain of yellow may not be wiped out from this record of the warring dilemmas⁴⁷ that sharpened the lives of certain little people of the little world wherein we have set foot.

1 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

2 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

3 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

4 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

5 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

6 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

7 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

8 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

9 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

10 maples   

槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木

参考例句：

• There are many maples in the park. 公园里有好多枫树。
• The wind of the autumn colour the maples carmine . 秋风给枫林涂抹胭红。

11 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

12 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

13 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

14 dimes   

n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters are United States coins. 1分铜币、5分镍币、1角银币和2角5分银币是美国硬币。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes. 1965年，铸币厂停止向10分硬币中加入银的成分。 来自辞典例句

15 coppers   

铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币

参考例句：

• I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。
• He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。

16 vender   

n.小贩

参考例句：

• The news vender hasn't open yet,lets buy it later.卖报纸的还没出摊儿，待会儿再去买吧。
• The vender sells candies,fiuits,toys,cigarettes,and all that.这位小贩既卖糖果、水果又卖玩具香烟等等。

17 shoestrings   

n.以极少的钱( shoestring的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Laura loved him and he was ready to kiss her shoestrings. 劳拉爱他，他都乐于吻她的鞋带。 来自互联网
• Result: The strong shoestrings were easily restored in the semi-solid medium with rich organic nitrogen source. 结果：在富含有机氮的半固体培养基上蜜环菌最易形成粗壮的菌索。 来自互联网

18 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

19 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

20 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

21 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

22 cordons   

n.警戒线，警戒圈( cordon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Demonstrators attacked police cordons with sticks and assorted missiles. 示威者用棍棒和各种投射物向警察的封锁线进攻。 来自辞典例句

23 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

24 anodyne   

n.解除痛苦的东西，止痛剂

参考例句：

• It was their delight,their folly,their anodyne,their intellectual stimulant.这是他们的人生乐趣，他们的一时荒唐，他们的止痛药，他们的脑力刺激剂。
• Friendship is not only the condiment but also the anodyne of life.友谊是人生的调味品，也是人生的止痛药。

25 flaunt   

vt.夸耀，夸饰

参考例句：

• His behavior was an outrageous flaunt.他的行为是一种无耻的炫耀。
• Why would you flaunt that on a public forum?为什么你们会在公共论坛大肆炫耀？

26 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

27 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

28 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

29 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

30 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

31 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 dexterously   

adv.巧妙地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He operates the machine dexterously. 他操纵机器动作非常轻巧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• How dexterously he handled the mite. 他伺候小家伙，有多么熟练。 来自辞典例句

33 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

34 jargons   

n.行话，黑话，隐语( jargon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Doctors, actors and sailors have jargons. 医生、演员和水手都有自己的行话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The chief objection to the essay is its inappropriate use of special jargons. 这篇文章的主要缺点是专门术语用得不当。 来自辞典例句

35 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句

36 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

37 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。

38 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

39 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

40 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

41 blurted   

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》

42 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

43 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

44 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

45 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

46 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

47 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句