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Chapter 41
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The sound of a helicopter has been getting louder for some minutes now. Even though Hiro lives right next to the airport, this is unusual. They're not supposed to fly right near LAX, it raises evident safety questions.

It doesn't stop getting louder until it is very loud, and at that point, the helicopter is hovering1 a few feet above the parking lot, right out in front of Hiro and Vitaly's 20-by-30. It's a nice one, a corporate2 jet chopper, dark green, with subdued3 markings. Hiro suspects that in brighter light, he would be able to make out the logo of a defense4 contractor5, most likely General Jim's Defense System.

A pale-faced white man with a very high forehead-cum-bald spot jumps out of the chopper, looking a lot more athletic6 than his face and general demeanor7 would lead you to expect, and jogs across the parking lot directly toward Hiro. This is the kind of guy Hiro remembers from when his dad was in the Army -- not the gristly veterans of legends and movies, just sort of regular thirty-five-year-old guys rattling8 around in bulky uniforms. He's a major. His name, sewn onto his BDUs, is Clem.

"Hiro Protagonist9?"

"The same."

"Juanita sent me to pick you up. She said you'd recognize the name."

"I recognize the name. But I don't really work for Juanita."

"She says you do now."

"Well, that's nice," Hiro says. "So I guess it's kind of urgent?"

"I think that would be a fair assumption," Major Clem says.

"Can I spare a few minutes? Because I've been working out, and I need to run next door."

Major Clem looks next door. The next logo down the strip is

THE REST STOP.

"The situation is fairly static. You could spare five minutes," Major Clem says. Hiro has an account with The Rest Stop. To live at the U-Stor-It, you sort of have to have an account. So he gets to bypass the front office where the attendant waits by the cash register. He shoves his membership card into a slot, and a computer screen lights up with three choices:

M F NURSERY (UNISEX)

Hiro slaps the "M" button. Then the screen changes to a menu of four choices:

OUR SPECIAL LIMITED FACILITIES -- THRIFTY10 BUT SANITARY11 STANDARD FACILITIES -- JUST LIKE HOME -- MAYBE JUST A LITTLE BETTER PRIME FACILITIES -- A GRACIOUS PLACE FOR THE DISCRIMINATING12 PATRON THE LAVATORY13 GRANDE ROYALE

He has to override14 a well-worn reflex to stop himself from automatically punching SPECIAL LIMITED FACILITIES, which is what he and all the other U-Stor-It residents always use. Almost impossible to go in there and not come in contact with someone else's bodily fluids. Not a pretty sight. Not at all gracious. Instead -- what the flick15, Juanita's going to hire him, right? -- he slams the button for LAVATORY GRANDE ROYALE.

Never been here before. It's like something on the top floor of a luxury high-rise casino in Atlantic City, where they put semi-retarded adults from South Philly after they've blundered into the mega-jackpot. It's got everything that a dimwitted pathological gambler would identify with luxury: gold-plated fixtures16, lots of injection-molded pseudomarble, velvet17 drapes, and a butler. None of the U-Stor-It residents ever use The Lavatory Grande Royale. The only reason it's here is that this place happens to be across the street from LAX. Singaporean CEOs who want to have a shower and take a nice, leisurely18 crap, with all the sound effects, without having to hear and smell other travelers doing the same, can come here and put it all on their corporate travel card.

The butler is a thirty-year-old CentroAmerican whose eyes look a little funny, like they've been closed for the last several hours. He is just throwing some improbably thick towels over his arm as Hiro bursts in.

"Gotta get in and out in five minutes," Hiro says.

"You want shave?" the butler says. He paws at his own cheeks suggestively, unable to peg19 Hiro's ethnic20 group.

"Love to. No time."

He peels off his jockey shorts, tosses his swords onto the crushed-velvet sofa, and steps into the marbleized amphitheatre of the shower stall. Hot water hits him from all directions at once. There's a knob on the wall so you can choose your favorite temperature.

Afterward21, he'd like to take a dump, read some of those glossy22 phone book-sized magazines next to the high-tech23 shitter, but he's got to get going. He dries himself off with a fresh towel the size of a circus tent, yanks on some loose drawstring slacks and a T-shirt, throws some Kongbucks at the butler, and runs out, girding himself with the swords.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hovering 99fdb695db3c202536060470c79b067f     
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫
参考例句:
  • The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
  • I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。
2 corporate 7olzl     
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
参考例句:
  • This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
  • His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
3 subdued 76419335ce506a486af8913f13b8981d     
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
  • I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候,我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。
4 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
5 contractor GnZyO     
n.订约人,承包人,收缩肌
参考例句:
  • The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
  • The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样,有几分要看地势而定。
6 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
7 demeanor JmXyk     
n.行为;风度
参考例句:
  • She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
  • The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。
8 rattling 7b0e25ab43c3cc912945aafbb80e7dfd     
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词
参考例句:
  • This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
  • At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时,一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来,把窗玻璃震得当当地响。
9 protagonist mBVyN     
n.(思想观念的)倡导者;主角,主人公
参考例句:
  • The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
  • He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的!
10 thrifty NIgzT     
adj.节俭的;兴旺的;健壮的
参考例句:
  • Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒,他是个生活节俭的人。
  • She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女,每月都设法存些钱。
11 sanitary SCXzF     
adj.卫生方面的,卫生的,清洁的,卫生的
参考例句:
  • It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
  • The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。
12 discriminating 4umz8W     
a.有辨别能力的
参考例句:
  • Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
  • Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。
13 lavatory LkOyJ     
n.盥洗室,厕所
参考例句:
  • Is there any lavatory in this building?这座楼里有厕所吗?
  • The use of the lavatory has been suspended during take-off.在飞机起飞期间,盥洗室暂停使用。
14 override sK4xu     
vt.不顾,不理睬,否决;压倒,优先于
参考例句:
  • The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
  • I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。
15 flick mgZz1     
n.快速的轻打,轻打声,弹开;v.轻弹,轻轻拂去,忽然摇动
参考例句:
  • He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
  • By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下,将马头上的苍蝇驱走。
16 fixtures 9403e5114acb6bb59791a97291be54b5     
(房屋等的)固定装置( fixture的名词复数 ); 如(浴盆、抽水马桶); 固定在某位置的人或物; (定期定点举行的)体育活动
参考例句:
  • The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
  • The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了,钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
17 velvet 5gqyO     
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的
参考例句:
  • This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
  • The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。
18 leisurely 51Txb     
adj.悠闲的;从容的,慢慢的
参考例句:
  • We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着,看遍所有的橱窗。
  • He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐,高兴的开车去工作。
19 peg p3Fzi     
n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定
参考例句:
  • Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
  • He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
20 ethnic jiAz3     
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
参考例句:
  • This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏,这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
  • The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。
21 afterward fK6y3     
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。
22 glossy nfvxx     
adj.平滑的;有光泽的
参考例句:
  • I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
  • She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。
23 high-tech high-tech     
adj.高科技的
参考例句:
  • The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展,这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
  • The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。


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