Chapter 11

At times he gets agitated¹. It's nothing I say (I say verylittle). It's his own story that does it. Memory is an oceanand he bobs on its surface. I worry that he'll want to stop.
But he wants to tell me his story. He goes on. After allthese years, Richard Parker still preys² on his mind.
He's a sweet man. Every time I visit he prepares a SouthIndian vegetarian³ feast. I told him Hike spicy⁴ food. I don'tknow why I said such a stupid thing. It's a complete lie. Iadd dollop of yogurt after dollop of yogurt. Nothing doing.
Each time it's the same: my taste buds shrivel up and die,my skin goes beet⁵ red, my eyes well up with tears, myhead feels like a house on fire, and my digestive tractstarts to twist and groan⁶ in agony like a boa constrictorthat has swallowed a lawn mower⁷.

1 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

2 preys   

v.掠食( prey的第三人称单数 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• His misfortune preys upon his mind. 他的不幸使她心中苦恼。 来自辞典例句
• The owl preys on mice. 猫头鹰捕食老鼠。 来自辞典例句

3 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

4 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

5 beet   

n.甜菜；甜菜根

参考例句：

• He farmed his pickers to work in the beet fields. 他出租他的摘棉工去甜菜地里干活。
• The sugar beet is an entirely different kind of plant.糖用甜菜是一种完全不同的作物。

6 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

7 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。