PART THREE DECEMBER 24TH II

II

They came into the room and paused at the doorway¹.

Simeon was speaking into the telephone. He waved a hand to them.

“Sit down, all of you. I shan’t be a minute.”

He went on speaking into the telephone.

“Is that Charlton, Hodgkins & Bruce? Is that you, Charlton? Simeon Lee speaking. Yes, isn’t

it? . . . Yes . . . No, I wanted you to make a new will for me . . . Yes, it’s some time since I made

the other . . . Circumstances have altered . . . Oh no, no hurry. Don’t want you to spoil your

Christmas. Say Boxing Day or the day after. Come along, and I’ll tell you what I want done. No,

that’s quite all right. I shan’t be dying just yet.”

He replaced the receiver, then looked round at the eight members of his family. He cackled

and said:

“You’re all looking very glum². What is the matter?”

Alfred said: “You sent for us. . . .”

Simeon said quickly: “Oh, sorry—nothing portentous³ about it. Did you think it was a family

council? No, I’m just rather tired today, that’s all. None of you need come up after dinner. I shall

go to bed. I want to be fresh for Christmas Day.”

He grinned at them. George said earnestly:

“Of course . . . of course. . . .”

Simeon said: “Grand old institution, Christmas. Promotes solidarity⁴ of family feeling. What

do you think, Magdalene, my dear?”

Magdalene Lee jumped. Her rather silly little mouth flew open and then shut itself. She said:

“Oh—oh, yes!”

Simeon said: “Let me see, you lived with a retired⁵ naval⁶ officer”—he paused—“your father.

Don’t suppose you made much of Christmas. It needs a big family for that!”

“Well—well—yes, perhaps it does.”

Simeon’s eyes slid past her.

“Don’t want to talk of anything unpleasant at this time of year, but you know, George, I’m

afraid I’ll have to cut down your allowance a bit. My establishment here is going to cost me a bit

more to run in future.”

George got very red.

“But look here, Father, you can’t do that!”

Simeon said softly: “Oh, can’t I!”

“My expenses are very heavy already. Very heavy. As it is, I don’t know how I make both

ends meet. It needs the most rigorous economy.”

“Let your wife do a bit more of it,” said Simeon. “Women are good at that sort of thing. They

often think of economies where a man would never have dreamt of them. And a clever woman can

make her own clothes. My wife, I remember, was clever with her needle. About all she was clever

with—a good woman, but deadly dull—”

David sprang up. His father said:

“Sit down, boy, you’ll knock something over—”

David said: “My mother—”

Simeon said: “Your mother had the brains of a louse! And it seems to me she’s transmitted

those brains to her children.” He raised himself up suddenly. A red spot appeared on each cheek.

His voice came high and shrill⁷. “You’re not worth a penny piece, any of you! I’m sick of you all!

You’re not men! You’re weaklings—a set of namby-pamby weaklings. Pilar’s worth any two of

you put together! I’ll swear to heaven I’ve got a better son somewhere in the world than any of

you, even if you are born the right side of the blanket!”

“Here, Father, hold hard,” cried Harry⁸.

He had jumped up and stood there, a frown on his usually good-humoured face. Simeon

snapped:

“The same goes for you! What have you ever done? Whined⁹ to me for money from all over

the world! I tell you I’m sick of the sight of you all! Get out!”

He leaned back in his chair, panting a little.

Slowly, one by one, his family went out. George was red and indignant. Magdalene looked

frightened. David was pale and quivering. Harry blustered¹⁰ out of the room. Alfred went like a man

in a dream. Lydia followed him with her head held high. Only Hilda paused in the doorway and

came slowly back.

She stood over him, and he started when he opened his eyes and found her standing¹¹ there.

There was something menacing in the solid way she stood there quite immovably.

He said irritably¹²: “What is it?”

Hilda said: “When your letter came I believed what you said—that you wanted your family

round you for Christmas, I persuaded David to come.”

Simeon said: “Well, what of it?”

Hilda said slowly: “You did want your family round you—but not for the purpose you said!

You wanted them there, didn’t you, in order to set them all by the ears? God help you, it’s your

idea of fun!”

Simeon chuckled¹³. He said: “I always had rather a specialized¹⁴ sense of humour. I don’t expect

anyone else to appreciate the joke. I’m enjoying it!”

She said nothing. A vague feeling of apprehension¹⁵ came over Simeon Lee. He said sharply:

“What are you thinking about?”

Hilda Lee said slowly: “I’m afraid. . . .”

Simeon said: “You’re afraid—of me?”

Hilda said: “Not of you. I’m afraid—for you!”

Like a judge who has delivered sentence, she turned away. She marched, slowly and heavily,

out of the room. . . .

Simeon sat staring at the door.

Then he got to his feet and made his way over to the safe. He murmured: “Let’s have a look

at my beauties.”

1 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

2 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

3 portentous   

adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的

参考例句：

• The present aspect of society is portentous of great change.现在的社会预示着重大变革的发生。
• There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.He was bubbling with humour.他一点也不装腔作势或故作严肃，浑身散发着幽默。

4 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

8 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

9 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

10 blustered   

v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹

参考例句：

• He blustered his way through the crowd. 他吆喝着挤出人群。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind blustered around the house. 狂风呼啸着吹过房屋周围。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 irritably   

ad.易生气地

参考例句：

• He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
• On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

14 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

15 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。