Chapter 40

    Exhausted¹ finally they lay down on their backs to recover breath. The sky above them was another country. Winter stars, close enough to lick, had come out before sunset. For a moment, looking up,Sethe entered the perfect peace they offered. Then Denver stood up and tried for a long,independent glide². The tip of her single skate hit an ice bump, and as she fell, the flapping of herarms was so wild and hopeless that all three — Sethe, Beloved and Denver herself — laughed tillthey coughed. Sethe rose to her hands and knees, laughter still shaking her chest, making her eyeswet. She stayed that way for a while, on all fours. But when her laughter died, the tears did not andit was some time before Beloved or Denver knew the difference. When they did they touched herlightly on the shoulders.

　　Walking back through the woods, Sethe put an arm around each girl at her side. Both of them hadan arm around her waist. Making their way over hard snow, they stumbled and had to hold ontight, but nobody saw them fall.

　　Inside the house they found out they were cold. They took off their shoes, wet stockings, and puton dry woolen³ ones. Denver fed the fire. Sethe warmed a pan of milk and stirred cane⁴ syrup⁵ andvanilla into it. Wrapped in quilts and blankets before the cooking stove, they drank, wiped theirnoses, and drank again.

　　"We could roast some taters," said Denver.

　　"Tomorrow," said Sethe. "Time to sleep."She poured them each a bit more of the hot sweet milk. The stovefire roared.

　　"You finished with your eyes?" asked Beloved.

　　Sethe smiled. "Yes, I'm finished with my eyes. Drink up. Time for bed."But none of them wanted to leave the warmth of the blankets, the fire and the cups for the chill ofan unheated bed. They went on sipping⁶ and watching the fire.

　　When the click came Sethe didn't know what it was. Afterward⁷ it was clear as daylight that theclick came at the very beginning — a beat, almost, before it started; before she heard three notes;before the melody was even clear. Leaning forward a little, Beloved was humming softly.

　　It was then, when Beloved finished humming, that Sethe recalled the click — the settling of piecesinto places designed and made especially for them. No milk spilled from her cup because her handwas not shaking. She simply turned her head and looked at Beloved's profile: the chin, mouth,nose, forehead, copied and exaggerated in the huge shadow the fire threw on the wall behind her.

　　Her hair, which Denver had braided into twenty or thirty plaits, curved toward her shoulders likearms. From where she sat Sethe could not examine it, not the hairline, nor the eyebrows⁸, the lips,nor... "All I remember," Baby Suggs had said, "is how she loved the burned bottom of bread. Herlittle hands I wouldn't know em if they slapped me.". . the birthmark, nor the color of the gums, the shape of her ears, nor...

　　"Here. Look here. This is your ma'am. If you can't tell me by my face, look here.".. the fingers, nor their nails, nor even...

　　But there would be time. The click had clicked; things were where they ought to be or poised⁹ andready to glide in.

　　"I made that song up," said Sethe. "I made it up and sang it to my children. Nobody knows thatsong but me and my children." Beloved turned to look at Sethe. "I know it," she said.

　　A hobnail casket of jewels found in a tree hollow should be fondled before it is opened. Its lockmay have rusted¹⁰ or broken away from the clasp. Still you should touch the nail heads, and test itsweight. No smashing with an ax head before it is decently exhumed¹¹ from the grave that has hiddenit all this time. No gasp¹² at a miracle that is truly miraculous¹³ because the magic lies in the fact thatyou knew it was there for you all along.

　　Sethe wiped the white satin coat from the inside of the pan, brought pillows from the keeping roomfor the girls' heads. There was no tremor¹⁴ in her voice as she instructed them to keep the fire — -ifnot, come on upstairs.

1 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

2 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

3 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

4 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

5 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

6 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。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

9 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

10 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 exhumed   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens, New York City. 他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

14 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。