Part 2 Chapter 9

    The house was left; the house was deserted¹. It was left like a shell on asandhill to fill with dry salt grains now that life had left it. The long nightseemed to have set in; the trifling² airs, nibbling³, the clammy breaths,fumbling, seemed to have triumphed. The saucepan had rusted⁴ and themat decayed. Toads⁵ had nosed their way in. Idly, aimlessly, the swayingshawl swung to and fro. A thistle thrust itself between the tiles in the larder⁶.

　　The swallows nested in the drawing-roon; the floor was strewnwith straw; the plaster fell in shovelfuls; rafters were laid bare; rats carriedoff this and that to gnaw⁷ behind the wainscots. Tortoise-shell butterfliesburst from the chrysalis and pattered their life out on the windowpane.

　　Poppies sowed themselves among the dahlias; the lawn wavedwith long grass; giant artichokes towered among roses; a fringed carnationflowered among the cabbages; while the gentle tapping of a weed atthe window had become, on winters' nights, a drumming from sturdytrees and thorned briars which made the whole room green in summer.

　　What power could now prevent the fertility, the insensibility ofnature? Mrs McNab's dream of a lady, of a child, of a plate of milk soup?

　　It had wavered over the walls like a spot of sunlight and vanished. Shehad locked the door; she had gone. It was beyond the strength of onewoman, she said. They never sent. They never wrote. There were thingsup there rotting in the drawers—it was a shame to leave them so, shesaid. The place was gone to rack and ruin. Only the Lighthouse beamentered the rooms for a moment, sent its sudden stare over bed and wallin the darkness of winter, looked with equanimity⁸ at the thistle and theswallow, the rat and the straw. Nothing now withstood them; nothingsaid no to them. Let the wind blow; let the poppy seed itself and thecarnation mate with the cabbage. Let the swallow build in the drawing-room, and the thistle thrust aside the tiles, and the butterfly sun itself onthe faded chintz of the arm-chairs. Let the broken glass and the china lieout on the lawn and be tangled⁹ over with grass and wild berries.

　　For now had come that moment, that hesitation¹⁰ when dawn tremblesand night pauses, when if a feather alight in the scale it will be weigheddown. One feather, and the house, sinking, falling, would have turnedand pitched downwards¹¹ to the depths of darkness. In the ruined room,picnickers would have lit their kettles; lovers sought shelter there, lyingon the bare boards; and the shepherd stored his dinner on the bricks, andthe tramp slept with his coat round him to ward¹² off the cold. Then theroof would have fallen; briars and hemlocks¹³ would have blotted¹⁴ outpath, step and window; would have grown, unequally but lustily overthe mound¹⁵, until some trespasser¹⁶, losing his way, could have told onlyby a red-hot poker¹⁷ among the nettles¹⁸, or a scrap¹⁹ of china in the hemlock,that here once some one had lived; there had been a house.

　　If the feather had fallen, if it had tipped the scale downwards, thewhole house would have plunged²⁰ to the depths to lie upon the sands ofoblivion. But there was a force working; something not highly conscious;something that leered, something that lurched; something not inspired togo about its work with dignified²¹ ritual or solemn chanting. Mrs McNabgroaned; Mrs Bast creaked. They were old; they were stiff; their legsached. They came with their brooms and pails at last; they got to work.

　　All of a sudden, would Mrs McNab see that the house was ready, one ofthe young ladies wrote: would she get this done; would she get thatdone; all in a hurry. They might be coming for the summer; had lefteverything to the last; expected to find things as they had left them.

　　Slowly and painfully, with broom and pail, mopping, scouring²³, MrsMcNab, Mrs Bast, stayed the corruption²⁴ and the rot; rescued from thepool of Time that was fast closing over them now a basin, now a cupboard;fetched up from oblivion all the Waverley novels and a tea-setone morning; in the afternoon restored to sun and air a brass²⁵ fender anda set of steel fire-irons. George, Mrs Bast's son, caught the rats, and cutthe grass. They had the builders. Attended with the creaking of hingesand the screeching²⁶ of bolts, the slamming and banging of damp-swollenwoodwork, some rusty²⁷ laborious²⁸ birth seemed to be taking place, as thewomen, stooping, rising, groaning²⁹, singing, slapped and slammed, upstairsnow, now down in the cellars. Oh, they said, the work!

　　They drank their tea in the bedroom sometimes, or in the study; breakingoff work at mid-day with the smudge on their faces, and their oldhands clasped and cramped³⁰ with the broom handles. Flopped³¹ on chairs,they contemplated³² now the magnificent conquest over taps and bath;now the more arduous³³, more partial triumph over long rows of books,black as ravens³⁴ once, now white-stained, breeding pale mushrooms andsecreting furtive³⁵ spiders. Once more, as she felt the tea warm in her, thetelescope fitted itself to Mrs McNab's eyes, and in a ring of light she sawthe old gentleman, lean as a rake, wagging his head, as she came up withthe washing, talking to himself, she supposed, on the lawn. He never noticedher. Some said he was dead; some said she was dead. Which wasit? Mrs Bast didn't know for certain either. The young gentleman wasdead. That she was sure. She had read his name in the papers.

　　There was the cook now, Mildred, Marian, some such name as that—ared-headed woman, quick-tempered like all her sort, but kind, too, ifyou knew the way with her. Many a laugh they had had together. Shesaved a plate of soup for Maggie; a bite of ham, sometimes; whateverwas over. They lived well in those days. They had everything theywanted (glibly, jovially³⁶, with the tea hot in her, she unwound her ball ofmemories, sitting in the wicker arm-chair by the nursery fender). Therewas always plenty doing, people in the house, twenty staying sometimes,and washing up till long past midnight.

　　Mrs Bast (she had never known them; had lived in Glasgow at thattime) wondered, putting her cup down, whatever they hung that beast'sskull there for? Shot in foreign parts no doubt.

　　It might well be, said Mrs McNab, wantoning on with her memories;they had friends in eastern countries; gentlemen staying there, ladies inevening dress; she had seen them once through the dining-room door allsitting at dinner. Twenty she dared say all in their jewellery, and sheasked to stay help wash up, might be till after midnight.

　　Ah, said Mrs Bast, they'd find it changed. She leant out of the window.

　　She watched her son George scything³⁷ the grass. They might well ask,what had been done to it? seeing how old Kennedy was supposed tohave charge of it, and then his leg got so bad after he fell from the cart;and perhaps then no one for a year, or the better part of one; and thenDavie Macdonald, and seeds might be sent, but who should say if theywere ever planted? They'd find it changed.

　　She watched her son scything. He was a great one for work—one ofthose quiet ones. Well they must be getting along with the cupboards,she supposed. They hauled themselves up.

　　At last, after days of labour within, of cutting and digging without,dusters were flicked³⁸ from the windows, the windows were shut to, keyswere turned all over the house; the front door was banged; it wasfinished.

　　And now as if the cleaning and the scrubbing and the scything and themowing had drowned it there rose that half-heard melody, that intermittentmusic which the ear half catches but lets fall; a bark, a bleat³⁹; irregular,intermittent, yet somehow related; the hum of an insect, the tremorof cut grass, disevered yet somehow belonging; the jar of a dorbeetle, thesqueak of a wheel, loud, low, but mysteriously related; which the earstrains to bring together and is always on the verge⁴⁰ of harmonising, butthey are never quite heard, never fully²² harmonised, and at last, in theevening, one after another the sounds die out, and the harmony falters,and silence falls. With the sunset sharpness was lost, and like mist rising,quiet rose, quiet spread, the wind settled; loosely the world shook itselfdown to sleep, darkly here without a light to it, save what came greensuffused through leaves, or pale on the white flowers in the bed by thewindow.

　　[Lily Briscoe had her bag carried up to the house late one evening inSeptember. Mr Carmichael came by the same train.]

1 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

2 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

3 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

6 larder   

n.食物贮藏室，食品橱

参考例句：

• Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
• They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。

7 gnaw   

v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨

参考例句：

• Dogs like to gnaw on a bone.狗爱啃骨头。
• A rat can gnaw a hole through wood.老鼠能啃穿木头。

8 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

9 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

10 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

11 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

12 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。

13 hemlocks   

由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 )

参考例句：

14 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

15 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

16 trespasser   

n.侵犯者；违反者

参考例句：

• The worst they'd ever dealt with was an occasionally trespasser or small-time thief. 他们过去对付的充其量是一个偶尔闯入者或是小偷小摸者。
• In such event the offending member or guest shall be trespasser. 在此情况下，违例的会员或嘉宾一概视作擅自进入论。

17 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

18 nettles   

n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I tingle where I sat in the nettles. 我坐过在荨麻上的那个部位觉得刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard. 那蔓草丛生的凄凉地方是教堂公墓。 来自辞典例句

19 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

20 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

21 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

22 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

23 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

24 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

25 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

26 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

27 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。

28 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

29 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

30 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

31 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

33 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

34 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

35 furtive   

adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• The teacher was suspicious of the student's furtive behaviour during the exam.老师怀疑这个学生在考试时有偷偷摸摸的行为。
• His furtive behaviour aroused our suspicion.他鬼鬼祟祟的行为引起了我们的怀疑。

36 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

37 scything   

v.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The workers are scything in the meadow. 工人们正在草地上割草。 来自互联网

38 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

39 bleat   

v.咩咩叫，(讲)废话，哭诉；n.咩咩叫，废话，哭诉

参考例句：

• He heard the bleat of a lamb.他听到小羊的叫声。
• They bleat about how miserable they are.他们诉说他们的生活是多么悲惨。

40 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。