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Part 1 Chapter 5
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    "And even if it isn't fine tomorrow," said Mrs Ramsay, raising her eyes toglance at William Bankes and Lily Briscoe as they passed, "it will be anotherday. And now," she said, thinking that Lily's charm was herChinese eyes, aslant1 in her white, puckered2 little face, but it would take aclever man to see it, "and now stand up, and let me measure your leg,"for they might go to the Lighthouse after all, and she must see if thestocking did not need to be an inch or two longer in the leg.

  Smiling, for it was an admirable idea, that had flashed upon her thisvery second—William and Lily should marry—she took the heather-mixture stocking, with its criss-cross of steel needles at the mouth of it,and measured it against James's leg.

  "My dear, stand still," she said, for in his jealousy3, not liking4 to serve asmeasuring block for the Lighthouse keeper's little boy, James fidgetedpurposely; and if he did that, how could she see, was it too long, was ittoo short? she asked.

  She looked up—what demon5 possessed6 him, her youngest, her cherished?—and saw the room, saw the chairs, thought them fearfullyshabby. Their entrails, as Andrew said the other day, were all over thefloor; but then what was the point, she asked, of buying good chairs tolet them spoil up here all through the winter when the house, with onlyone old woman to see to it, positively7 dripped with wet? Never mind,the rent was precisely8 twopence half-penny; the children loved it; it didher husband good to be three thousand, or if she must be accurate, threehundred miles from his libraries and his lectures and his disciples9; andthere was room for visitors. Mats, camp beds, crazy ghosts of chairs andtables whose London life of service was done—they did well enoughhere; and a photograph or two, and books. Books, she thought, grew ofthemselves. She never had time to read them. Alas10! even the books thathad been given her and inscribed11 by the hand of the poet himself: "Forher whose wishes must be obeyed"… "The happier Helen of our days"…disgraceful to say, she had never read them. And Croom on the Mind and Bates on the Savage12 Customs of Polynesia ("My dear, stand still," shesaid)—neither of those could one send to the Lighthouse. At a certainmoment, she supposed, the house would become so shabby thatsomething must be done. If they could be taught to wipe their feet andnot bring the beach in with them—that would be something. Crabs13, shehad to allow, if Andrew really wished to dissect14 them, or if Jasper believedthat one could make soup from seaweed, one could not prevent it;or Rose's objects—shells, reeds, stones; for they were gifted, her children,but all in quite different ways. And the result of it was, she sighed, takingin the whole room from floor to ceiling, as she held the stockingagainst James's leg, that things got shabbier and got shabbier summerafter summer. The mat was fading; the wall-paper was flapping. Youcouldn't tell any more that those were roses on it. Still, if every door in ahouse is left perpetually open, and no lockmaker in the whole of Scotlandcan mend a bolt, things must spoil. What was the use of flinging agreen Cashemere shawl over the edge of a picture frame? In two weeks itwould be the colour of pea soup. But it was the doors that annoyed her;every door was left open. She listened. The drawing-room door wasopen; the hall door was open; it sounded as if the bedroom doors wereopen; and certainly the window on the landing was open, for that shehad opened herself. That windows should be open, and doorsshut—simple as it was, could none of them remember it? She would gointo the maids' bedrooms at night and find them sealed like ovens, exceptfor Marie's, the Swiss girl, who would rather go without a bath thanwithout fresh air, but then at home, she had said, "the mountains are sobeautiful." She had said that last night looking out of the window withtears in her eyes. "The mountains are so beautiful." Her father was dyingthere, Mrs Ramsay knew. He was leaving them fatherless. Scolding anddemonstrating (how to make a bed, how to open a window, with handsthat shut and spread like a Frenchwoman's) all had folded itself quietlyabout her, when the girl spoke15, as, after a flight through the sunshine thewings of a bird fold themselves quietly and the blue of its plumagechanges from bright steel to soft purple. She had stood there silent forthere was nothing to be said. He had cancer of the throat. At the recolection—how she had stood there, how the girl had said, "At home themountains are so beautiful," and there was no hope, no hope whatever,she had a spasm16 of irritation17, and speaking sharply, said to James:

  "Stand still. Don't be tiresome," so that he knew instantly that herseverity was real, and straightened his leg and she measured it.

   The stocking was too short by half an inch at least, making allowancefor the fact that Sorley's little boy would be less well grown than James.

  "It's too short," she said, "ever so much too short."Never did anybody look so sad. Bitter and black, half-way down, inthe darkness, in the shaft18 which ran from the sunlight to the depths, perhapsa tear formed; a tear fell; the waters swayed this way and that, receivedit, and were at rest. Never did anybody look so sad.

  But was it nothing but looks, people said? What was there behindit—her beauty and splendour? Had he blown his brains out, they asked,had he died the week before they were married—some other, earlier lover,of whom rumours19 reached one? Or was there nothing? nothing but anincomparable beauty which she lived behind, and could do nothing todisturb? For easily though she might have said at some moment of intimacywhen stories of great passion, of love foiled, of ambition thwartedcame her way how she too had known or felt or been through it herself,she never spoke. She was silent always. She knew then—she knewwithout having learnt. Her simplicity20 fathomed21 what clever people falsified.

  Her singleness of mind made her drop plumb22 like a stone, alight exactas a bird, gave her, naturally, this swoop23 and fall of the spirit upontruth which delighted, eased, sustained—falsely perhaps.

  ("Nature has but little clay," said Mr Bankes once, much moved by hervoice on the telephone, though she was only telling him a fact about atrain, "like that of which she moulded you." He saw her at the end of theline, Greek, blue-eyed, straight-nosed. How incongruous it seemed to betelephoning to a woman like that. The Graces assembling seemed tohave joined hands in meadows of asphodel to compose that face. Yes, hewould catch the 10:30 at Euston.

  "But she's no more aware of her beauty than a child," said Mr Bankes,replacing the receiver and crossing the room to see what progress theworkmen were making with an hotel which they were building at theback of his house. And he thought of Mrs Ramsay as he looked at thatstir among the unfinished walls. For always, he thought, there wassomething incongruous to be worked into the harmony of her face. Sheclapped a deer-stalker's hat on her head; she ran across the lawn ingaloshes to snatch a child from mischief24. So that if it was her beautymerely that one thought of, one must remember the quivering thing, theliving thing (they were carrying bricks up a little plank25 as he watchedthem), and work it into the picture; or if one thought of her simply as awoman, one must endow her with some freak of idiosyncrasy—she did not like admiration—or suppose some latent desire to doff26 her royalty27 ofform as if her beauty bored her and all that men say of beauty, and shewanted only to be like other people, insignificant28. He did not know. Hedid not know. He must go to his work.)Knitting her reddish-brown hairy stocking, with her head outlined absurdlyby the gilt29 frame, the green shawl which she had tossed over theedge of the frame, and the authenticated30 masterpiece by Michael Angelo,Mrs Ramsay smoothed out what had been harsh in her manner a momentbefore, raised his head, and kissed her little boy on the forehead.

  "Let us find another picture to cut out," she said.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aslant Eyzzq0     
adv.倾斜地;adj.斜的
参考例句:
  • The sunlight fell aslant the floor.阳光斜落在地板上。
  • He leant aslant against the wall.他身子歪斜着依靠在墙上。
2 puckered 919dc557997e8559eff50805cb11f46e     
v.(使某物)起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱,像要哭了。
  • His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸,眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 jealousy WaRz6     
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌
参考例句:
  • Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
  • I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。
4 liking mpXzQ5     
n.爱好;嗜好;喜欢
参考例句:
  • The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
  • I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。
5 demon Wmdyj     
n.魔鬼,恶魔
参考例句:
  • The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
  • He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。
6 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
7 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
8 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
9 disciples e24b5e52634d7118146b7b4e56748cac     
n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 );门徒;耶稣的信徒;(尤指)耶稣十二门徒之一
参考例句:
  • Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
10 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
11 inscribed 65fb4f97174c35f702447e725cb615e7     
v.写,刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 );内接
参考例句:
  • His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
  • The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
13 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 dissect 3tNxQ     
v.分割;解剖
参考例句:
  • In biology class we had to dissect a frog.上生物课时我们得解剖青蛙。
  • Not everyone can dissect and digest the public information they receive.不是每个人都可以解析和消化他们得到的公共信息的。
15 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
16 spasm dFJzH     
n.痉挛,抽搐;一阵发作
参考例句:
  • When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后,他虚弱无力,一直冒汗。
  • He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦,一脚踢向椅子。
17 irritation la9zf     
n.激怒,恼怒,生气
参考例句:
  • He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
  • Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说,但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。
18 shaft YEtzp     
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物
参考例句:
  • He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
  • This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。
19 rumours ba6e2decd2e28dec9a80f28cb99e131d     
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传
参考例句:
  • The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
  • Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
20 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
21 fathomed 52a650f5a22787075c3e396a2bee375e     
理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 ); 彻底了解; 弄清真相
参考例句:
  • I have not yet quite fathomed her meaning. 我当时还没有完全揣摸出她是什么意思。
  • Have you fathomed out how to work the video yet? 你弄清楚如何操作录像机了吗?
22 plumb Y2szL     
adv.精确地,完全地;v.了解意义,测水深
参考例句:
  • No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
  • It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。
23 swoop nHPzI     
n.俯冲,攫取;v.抓取,突然袭击
参考例句:
  • The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
  • We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。
24 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
参考例句:
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
25 plank p2CzA     
n.板条,木板,政策要点,政纲条目
参考例句:
  • The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
  • They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。
26 doff gkAzs     
v.脱,丢弃,废除
参考例句:
  • The peasants doff their hats.农民脱下了他们的帽子。
  • When he received me informally,he doffed the uniform of state and always wore a long chinese coat.当他非正式接见我的时候,他不穿礼服而总是穿中国长袍。
27 royalty iX6xN     
n.皇家,皇族
参考例句:
  • She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
  • I waited on tables,and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生, 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。
28 insignificant k6Mx1     
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的
参考例句:
  • In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季,这种作用是不明显的。
  • This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。
29 gilt p6UyB     
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券
参考例句:
  • The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
  • The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。
30 authenticated 700633a1b0f65fa8456a18bd6053193c     
v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 );鉴定,使生效
参考例句:
  • The letter has been authenticated by handwriting experts. 这封信已由笔迹专家证明是真的。
  • The date of manufacture of the jewellery has not been authenticated. 这些珠宝的制造日期尚未经证实。 来自《简明英汉词典》


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