Pig 2

2
The news of this killing¹, for which the three policemen subsequently received citations², was
eagerly conveyed to all the relatives of the deceased couple by newspaper reporters, and the next
morning the closest of these relatives, as well as a couple of undertakers, three lawyers, and a
priest, climbed into taxis and set out for the house with the broken window. They assembled in the
living-room, men and women both, and they sat around in a circle on the sofas and armchairs,
smoking cigarettes and sipping³ sherry and debating what on earth should be done now with the
baby upstairs, the orphan⁴ Lexington.
It soon became apparent that none of the relatives was particularly keen to assume responsibility
for the child, and the discussions and arguments continued all through the day. Everybody
declared an enormous, almost an irresistible⁵ desire to look after him, and would have done so with
the greatest of pleasure were it not for the fact that their apartment was too small, or that they
already had one baby and couldn’t possibly afford another, or that they wouldn’t know what to do
with the poor little thing when they went abroad in the summer, or that they were getting on in
years, which surely would be most unfair to the boy when he grew up, and so on and so forth⁶.
They all knew, of course, that the father had been heavily in debt for a long time and that the
house was mortgaged and that consequently there would be no money at all to go with the child.
They were still arguing like mad at six in the evening when suddenly, in the middle of it all, an
old aunt of the deceased father (her name was Glosspan) swept in from Virginia, and without even
removing her hat and coat, not even pausing to sit down, ignoring all offers of a martini, a whisky,
a sherry, she announced firmly to the assembled relatives that she herself intended to take sole
charge of the infant boy from then on. What was more, she said, she would assume full financial
responsibility on all counts, including education, and everyone else could go back home where
they belonged and give their consciences a rest. So saying, she trotted⁷ upstairs to the nursery and
snatched Lexington from his cradle and swept out of the house with the baby clutched tightly in
her arms, while the relatives simply sat and stared and smiled and looked relieved, and McPottle
the nurse stood stiff with disapproval⁸ at the head of the stairs, her lips compressed, her arms folded
across her starchy bosom⁹.
And thus it was that the infant Lexington, when he was thirteen days old, left the City of New
York and travelled southward to live with his Great Aunt Glosspan in the State of Virginia.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句

3 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

4 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

5 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

8 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

9 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。