Part 2 Chapter 2

    So with the lamps all put out, the moon sunk, and a thin rain drummingon the roof a downpouring of immense darkness began. Nothing, itseemed, could survive the flood, the profusion¹ of darkness which, creepingin at keyholes and crevices², stole round window blinds, came intobedrooms, swallowed up here a jug³ and basin, there a bowl of red andyellow dahlias, there the sharp edges and firm bulk of a chest of drawers.

　　Not only was furniture confounded; there was scarcely anything left ofbody or mind by which one could say, "This is he" or "This is she." Sometimesa hand was raised as if to clutch something or ward⁴ off something,or somebody groaned⁵, or somebody laughed aloud as if sharing a jokewith nothingness.

　　Nothing stirred in the drawing-room or in the dining-room or on thestaircase. Only through the rusty⁶ hinges and swollen⁷ sea-moistenedwoodwork certain airs, detached from the body of the wind (the housewas ramshackle after all) crept round corners and ventured indoors. Almostone might imagine them, as they entered the drawing-room questioningand wondering, toying with the flap of hanging wall-paper, asking,would it hang much longer, when would it fall? Then smoothlybrushing the walls, they passed on musingly⁸ as if asking the red and yellowroses on the wall-paper whether they would fade, and questioning(gently, for there was time at their disposal) the torn letters in thewastepaper basket, the flowers, the books, all of which were now open tothem and asking, Were they allies? Were they enemies? How long wouldthey endure?

　　So some random⁹ light directing them with its pale footfall upon stairand mat, from some uncovered star, or wandering ship, or the Lighthouseeven, with its pale footfall upon stair and mat, the little airs mountedthe staircase and nosed round bedroom doors. But here surely, theymust cease. Whatever else may perish and disappear, what lies here issteadfast. Here one might say to those sliding lights, those fumbling¹⁰ airsthat breathe and bend over the bed itself, here you can neither touch nordestroy. Upon which, wearily, ghostlily, as if they had feather-light fingersand the light persistency¹¹ of feathers, they would look, once, on theshut eyes, and the loosely clasping fingers, and fold their garments wearilyand disappear. And so, nosing, rubbing, they went to the window onthe staircase, to the servants' bedrooms, to the boxes in the attics¹²; descending,blanched the apples on the dining-room table, fumbled¹³ thepetals of roses, tried the picture on the easel, brushed the mat and blew alittle sand along the floor. At length, desisting, all ceased together,gathered together, all sighed together; all together gave off an aimlessgust of lamentation¹⁴ to which some door in the kitchen replied; swungwide; admitted nothing; and slammed to.

　　[Here Mr Carmichael, who was reading Virgil, blew out his candle. Itwas past midnight.]

1 profusion   

n.挥霍；丰富

参考例句：

• He is liberal to profusion.他挥霍无度。
• The leaves are falling in profusion.落叶纷纷。

2 crevices   

n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It has bedded into the deepest crevices of the store. 它已钻进了店里最隐避的隙缝。 来自辞典例句
• The wind whistled through the crevices in the rock. 风呼啸着吹过岩石的缝隙。 来自辞典例句

3 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

4 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

5 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

7 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

8 musingly   

adv.沉思地，冥想地

参考例句：

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 fumbling   

n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理

参考例句：

• If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
• If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。

11 persistency   

n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数)

参考例句：

• I was nettled by her persistency. 我被她的固执惹恼了。
• We should stick to and develop the heritage of persistency. 我们应坚持和发扬坚忍不拔的传统。

12 attics   

n. 阁楼

参考例句：

• They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics. 他们把暂时不需要的东西放在抽屉里、壁橱中和搁楼上。
• He rummaged busily in the attics of European literature, bringing to light much of interest. 他在欧洲文学的阁楼里忙着翻箱倒笼，找到了不少有趣的东西。

13 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

14 lamentation   

n.悲叹，哀悼

参考例句：

• This ingredient does not invite or generally produce lugubrious lamentation. 这一要素并不引起，或者说通常不产生故作悲伤的叹息。 来自哲学部分
• Much lamentation followed the death of the old king. 老国王晏驾，人们悲恸不已。 来自辞典例句