One（2）

II
Half an hour later when Tuppence broke in, panting and eager withcuriosity, Tommy was alone, whistling in an armchair with a doubtful ex-pression on his face.
“Well?” demanded Tuppence, throwing an infinity¹ of feeling into themonosyllable.
“Well,” said Tommy with a somewhat doubtful air, “I’ve got a job—ofkinds.”
“What kind?”
Tommy made a suitable grimace².
“Office work in the wilds of Scotland. Hush³- hush and all that, butdoesn’t sound very thrilling.”
“Both of us, or only you?”
“Only me, I’m afraid.”
“Blast and curse you. How could our Mr. Carter be so mean?”
“I imagine they segregate⁴ the sexes in these jobs. Otherwise too distract-ing for the mind.”
“Is it coding—or code breaking? Is it like Deborah’s job? Do be careful,Tommy, people go queer doing that and can’t sleep and walk about allnight groaning⁵ and repeating 978345286 or something like that and finallyhave nervous breakdowns⁶ and go into homes.”
“Not me.”
Tuppence said gloomily:
“I expect you will sooner or later. Can I come too—not to work but justas a wife. Slippers⁷ in front of the fire and a hot meal at the end of theday?”
Tommy looked uncomfortable.
“Sorry, old thing. I am sorry. I hate leaving you—”
“But you feel you ought to go,” murmured Tuppence reminiscently.
“After all,” said Tommy feebly, “you can knit, you know.”
“Knit?” said Tuppence. “Knit?”
Seizing her Balaclava helmet she flung it on the ground.
“I hate khaki wool,” said Tuppence, “and Navy wool and Air Force blue.
I should like to knit something magenta⁸!”
“It has a fine military sound,” said Tommy. “Almost a suggestion ofBlitzkrieg.”
He felt definitely very unhappy. Tuppence, however, was a Spartan⁹ andplayed up well, admitting freely that of course he had to take the job andthat it didn’t really matter about her. She added that she had heard theywanted someone to scrub down the First-Aid Post floors. She might pos-sibly be found fit to do that.
Tommy departed for Aberdeen three days later. Tuppence saw him offat the station. Her eyes were bright and she blinked once or twice, but shekept resolutely¹⁰ cheerful.
Only as the train drew out of the station and Tommy saw the forlornlittle figure walking away down the platform did he feel a lump in his ownthroat. War or no war he felt he was deserting Tuppence. .?.?.
He pulled himself together with an effort. Orders were orders.
Having duly arrived in Scotland, he took a train the next day toManchester. On the third day a train deposited him at Leahampton. Herehe went to the principal hotel and on the following day made a tour ofvarious private hotels and guesthouses, seeing rooms and inquiring termsfor a long stay.
Sans Souci was a dark red Victorian villa¹¹, set on the side of a hill with agood view over the sea from its upper windows. There was a slight smellof dust and cooking in the hall and the carpet was worn, but it comparedquite favourably¹² with some of the other establishments Tommy had seen.
He interviewed the proprietress, Mrs. Perenna, in her office, a small un-tidy room with a large desk covered with loose papers.
Mrs. Perenna herself was rather untidy looking, a woman of middle-agewith a large mop of fiercely curling black hair, some vaguely¹³ appliedmakeup and a determined¹⁴ smile showing a lot of very white teeth.
Tommy murmured a mention of his elderly cousin, Miss Meadowes,who had stayed at Sans Souci two years ago. Mrs. Perenna rememberedMiss Meadowes quite well—such a dear old lady—at least perhaps notreally old—very active and such a sense of humour.
Tommy agreed cautiously. There was, he knew, a real Miss Meadowes—the department was careful about these points.
And how was dear Miss Meadowes?
Tommy explained sadly that Miss Meadowes was no more and Mrs. Per-enna clicked her teeth sympathetically and made the proper noises andput on a correct mourning face.
She was soon talking volubly again. She had, she was sure, just the roomthat would suit Mr. Meadowes. A lovely sea view. She thought Mr. Mead-owes was so right to want to get out of London. Very depressingnowadays, so she understood, and, of course, after such a bad go of influ-enza—
Still talking, Mrs. Perenna led Tommy upstairs and showed him variousbedrooms. She mentioned a weekly sum. Tommy displayed dismay. Mrs.
Perenna explained that prices had risen so appallingly¹⁵. Tommy explainedthat his income had unfortunately decreased and what with taxation¹⁶ andone thing and another—
Mrs. Perenna groaned¹⁷ and said:
“This terrible war—”
Tommy agreed and said that in his opinion that fellow Hitler ought to behanged. A madman, that’s what he was, a madman.
Mrs. Perenna agreed and said that what with rations¹⁸ and the difficultythe butchers had in getting the meat they wanted—and sometimes toomuch and sweetbreads and liver practically disappeared, it all madehousekeeping very difficult, but as Mr. Meadowes was a relation of MissMeadowes, she would make it half a guinea less.
Tommy then beat a retreat with the promise to think it over and Mrs.
Perenna pursued him to the gate, talking more volubly than ever and dis-playing an archness that Tommy found most alarming. She was, he admit-ted, quite a handsome woman in her way. He found himself wonderingwhat her nationality was. Surely not quite English? The name was Spanishor Portuguese¹⁹, but that would be her husband’s nationality, not hers. Shemight, he thought, be Irish, though she had no brogue. But it would ac-count for the vitality²⁰ and the exuberance²¹.
It was finally settled that Mr. Meadowes should move in the followingday.
Tommy timed his arrival for six o’clock. Mrs. Perenna came out into thehall to greet him, threw a series of instructions about his luggage to an al-most imbecile-looking maid, who goggled²² at Tommy with her mouth open,and then led him into what she called the lounge.
“I always introduce my guests,” said Mrs. Perenna, beaming determin-edly at the suspicious glares of five people. “This is our new arrival, Mr.
Meadowes — Mrs. O’Rourke.” A terrifying mountain of a woman withbeady eyes and a moustache gave him a beaming smile.
“Major Bletchley.” Major Bletchley eyed Tommy appraisingly²³ and madea stiff inclination²⁴ of the head.
“Mr. von Deinim.” A young man, very stiff, fair-haired and blue-eyed,got up and bowed.
“Miss Minton.” An elderly woman with a lot of beads²⁵, knitting withkhaki wool, smiled and tittered.
“And Mrs. Blenkensop.” More knitting—an untidy dark head which lif-ted from an absorbed contemplation of a Balaclava helmet.
Tommy held his breath, the room spun²⁶ round.
Mrs. Blenkensop! Tuppence! By all that was impossible and unbeliev-able—Tuppence, calmly knitting in the lounge of Sans Souci.
Her eyes met his—polite, uninterested stranger’s eyes.
His admiration²⁷ rose.
Tuppence!

1 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

2 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

3 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

4 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

5 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

6 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

7 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

8 magenta   

n..紫红色（的染料）；adj.紫红色的

参考例句：

• In the one photo in which she appeared, Hillary Clinton wore a magenta gown.在其中一张照片中，希拉里身着一件紫红色礼服。
• For the same reason air information is printed in magenta.出于同样的原因，航空资料采用品红色印刷。

9 spartan   

adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人

参考例句：

• Their spartan lifestyle prohibits a fridge or a phone.他们不使用冰箱和电话，过着简朴的生活。
• The rooms were spartan and undecorated.房间没有装饰，极为简陋。

10 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

11 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

12 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

13 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 appallingly   

毛骨悚然地

参考例句：

• His tradecraft was appallingly reckless. 他的经营轻率得令人吃惊。
• Another damning statistic for South Africa is its appallingly high murder rate. 南非还有一项糟糕的统计，表明它还有着令人毛骨悚然的高谋杀率。

16 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

17 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

19 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

20 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

21 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

22 goggled   

adj.戴护目镜的v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He goggled in bewilderment. 他困惑地瞪着眼睛。 来自辞典例句
• The children goggled in amazement at the peculiar old man. 孩子们惊讶的睁视著那个奇怪的老人。 来自互联网

23 appraisingly   

adv.以品评或评价的眼光

参考例句：

• He looked about him appraisingly. 他以品评的目光环视四周。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She sat opposite him on the bench and studied him-wryly, appraisingly, curiously. 她坐在他对面的凳子上，仔细打量着他--带着嘲笑、揣摩和好奇的神情。 来自辞典例句

24 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

25 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

26 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

27 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。