Chapter 23

Dear Clive,

Please come back on receiving this. I have looked out your connections, and you can reach England on Tuesday week if you start at once. I am very anxious about you on account¹ of your letter, as it shows how ill you are. I have waited to hear from you for a fortnight and now come two sentences, which I suppose mean that you cannot love anyone of your own sex any longer. We will see whether this is so as soon as you arrive!

I called upon Pippa yesterday. She was full of the lawsuit², and thinks your mother made a mistake in closing the path. Your mother has told the village she is not closing it against them. I called to get news of you, but Pippa had not heard either. You will be amused³ to hear that I have been learning⁴ some classical⁵ music lately—also golf. I get on as well as can be expected at Hill and Hall's. My mother has gone to Birmingham after changing back-wards and forwards for a week. Now you have all the news. Wire on getting this, and again on reaching Dover.

Maurice.

Clive received this letter and shook his head. He was going with some hotel acquaintances⁶ up Pentelicus, and tore it to pieces on the top of the mountain. He had stopped loving Mau-rice and should have to say so plainly.

亲爱的克莱夫：

收到这封信后，就请回来吧。我查了一下交通情况。假若马上动身的话，星期二你就能抵达英国。由于你的信的缘故，我为你非常担忧。因为它证实了你病得多么重。这封信我盼了两个星期，盼到的是两个句子。你的意思莫非是说，今后你再也不能爱任何一个同性的人了。你一回来就水落石出了！

昨天我给皮帕打了电话。她满脑子都是诉讼的事。她认为令堂禁止通行那条路是个错误。令堂已告诉村方，此举不是针对他们的。我打电话是为了得到你的消息，然而皮帕也没收到你的信。近来我学了点儿古典音乐，你听了，会觉得好笑吧。还学会了打高尔夫球。我在希尔与霍尔混得还可以。家母反复考虑了一周之后，到伯明翰去了。现在你已有了所有的消息。收到此函，请打个电报。在多佛上岸后，再打一次。

莫瑞斯

克莱夫收到此信，摇了摇头。他约好了跟几个在旅馆结识的人去攀登彭特利库斯山（译注：彭特利库斯山是希腊阿蒂卡州山地。主峰科基纳拉斯峰海拔1109米，位于雅典东北约16公里处。山顶有一座雅典娜女神殿堂。）。在山顶上，他把信撕得粉碎。克莱夫已经不再爱莫瑞斯了，必须坦率地告诉他。

1 account   

n.叙述；帐目；帐户

参考例句：

• She left out an important item in her account.她的账目漏掉了一个重要的项目。
• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account.他从银行账户上提了几次款。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 amused   

adj.被逗笑的；愉快的；顽皮的v.“amuse”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• My funny drawings amused the kids. 我的滑稽图画把孩子们逗乐了。
• There was an amused look on the President's face. 总统面带愉悦的神情。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 classical   

adj.古典的；古典文学的；正统派的；古典主义的

参考例句：

• This classical poem is hard to understand.这首古诗很费解。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

6 acquaintances   

n.相识的人( acquaintance的名词复数 )；熟人；对…有了解；（与某人）认识

参考例句：

• Claire has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances . 克莱尔交游很广。
• We are the casual acquaintances of a long railway journey. 我们是在火车长途旅行中相识的朋友。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》