Four（2）

II
One of the oddest things in life, as we all know, is the way that when youhave heard a thing mentioned, within twenty-four hours you nearly al-ways come across it again. I had an instance of that the next morning.
My telephone rang and I answered it—
“Flaxman 73841.”
A kind of gasp¹ came through the phone. Then a voice said breathlesslybut defiantly²:
“I’ve thought about it, and I’ll come!”
I cast round wildly in my mind.
“Splendid,” I said, stalling for time. “Er—is that—?”
“After all,” said the voice, “lightning never strikes twice.”
“Are you sure you’ve got the right number?”
“Of course I have. You’re Mark Easterbrook, aren’t you?”
“Got it!” I said. “Mrs. Oliver.”
“Oh,” said the voice, surprised. “Didn’t you know who it was? I neverthought of that. It’s about that fête of Rhoda’s. I’ll come and sign books ifshe wants me to.”
“That’s frightfully nice of you. They’ll put you up, of course.”
“There won’t be parties, will there?” asked Mrs. Oliver apprehensively³.
“You know the kind of thing,” she went on. “People coming up to me andsaying am I writing something just now—when you’d think they could seeI’m drinking ginger⁴ ale or tomato juice and not writing at all. And sayingthey like my books—which of course is pleasing, but I’ve never found theright answer. If you say ‘I’m so glad’ it sounds like ‘Pleased to meet you.’ Akind of stock phrase. Well, it is, of course. And you don’t think they’ll wantme to go out to the Pink Horse and have drinks?”
“The Pink Horse?”
“Well, the Pale Horse. Pubs, I mean. I’m so bad in pubs. I can just drinkbeer at a pinch, but it makes me terribly gurgly.”
“Just what do you mean by the Pale Horse?”
“There’s a pub called that down there, isn’t there? Or perhaps I do meanthe Pink Horse? Or perhaps that’s somewhere else. I may have just ima-gined it. I do imagine quite a lot of things.”
“How’s the Cockatoo getting on?” I asked.
“The Cockatoo?” Mrs. Oliver sounded at sea.
“And the cricket ball?”
“Really,” said Mrs. Oliver with dignity. “I think you must be mad or havea hangover or something. Pink Horses and cockatoos and cricket balls.”
She rang off.
I was still considering this second mention of the Pale Horse when mytelephone rang again.
This time, it was Mr. Soames White, a distinguished⁵ solicitor⁶ who rangup to remind me that under the will of my godmother, Lady Hesketh-Dubois, I was entitled to choose three of her pictures.
“There is nothing outstandingly valuable, of course,” said Mr. SoamesWhite in his defeatist melancholy⁷ tones. “But I understand that at sometime you expressed admiration⁸ of some of the pictures to the deceased.”
“She had some very charming watercolours of Indian scenes,” I said. “Ibelieve you already have written to me about this matter, but I’m afraid itslipped my memory.”
“Quite so,” said Mr. Soames White. “But probate has now been granted,and the executors, of whom I am one, are arranging for the sale of the ef-fects of her London house. If you could go round to Ellesmere Square inthe near future….”
“I’ll go now,” I said.
It seemed an unfavourable morning for work.

1 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

2 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 apprehensively   

adv.担心地

参考例句：

• He glanced a trifle apprehensively towards the crowded ballroom. 他敏捷地朝挤满了人的舞厅瞟了一眼。 来自辞典例句
• Then it passed, leaving everything in a state of suspense, even the willow branches waiting apprehensively. 一阵这样的风过去，一切都不知怎好似的，连柳树都惊疑不定的等着点什么。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

4 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

7 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。