'Nope.'
'Zihuatanejo,' he said, rolling the word softly from his tongue like music. 'Down in Mexico. It's a little place maybe twenty miles from Playa Azul and Mexico Highway 37. It's a hundred miles north-west of Acapulco on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?'
I told him I didn't.
They say it has no memory. And that's where I want to finish out my life, Red. In a warm place that has no memory.'
He had picked up a handful of pebbles¹ as he spoke²; now he tossed them, one by one, and watched them bounce and roll across the baseball diamond's dirt infield, which would be under a foot of snow before long.
'Zihuatanejo. I'm going to have a little hotel down there. Six cabanas along the beach, and six more set further back, for the highway trade. I'll have a guy who'll take my guests out charter fishing. There'll be a trophy³ for the guy who catches the biggest marlin of the season, and I'll put his picture up in the lobby. It won't be a family place. It'll be a place for people on their honeymoons⁴ ... first or second varieties.'
'And where are you going to get the money to buy this fabulous⁵ place?' I asked. 'Your stock account?'
He looked at me and smiled. 'That's not so far wrong,' he said. 'Sometimes you startle me, Red.'
'What are you talking about?'
'There are really only two types of men in the world when it comes to bad trouble,' Andy said, cupping a match between his hands and lighting⁶ a cigarette. 'Suppose there was a house full of rare paintings and sculptures and fine old antiques, Red? And suppose the guy who owned the house heard that there was a monster of a hurricane headed right at it. One of those two kinds of men just hopes for the best. The hurricane will change course, he says to himself. No right-thinking hurricane would ever dare wipe out all these Rembrandts, my two Degas horses, my Jackson Pollocks and my Paul Klees. Furthermore, God wouldn't allow it. And if worst comes to worst, they're insured. That's one sort of man. The other sort just assumes that hurricane is going to tear right through the middle of his house. If the weather bureau says the hurricane just changed course, this guy assumes it'll change back in order to put his house on ground zero again. This second type of guy knows there's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst.'

点击收听单词发音  

1 pebbles
[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。 Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

2 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 trophy
n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品
参考例句：
The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。 He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

4 honeymoons
蜜月( honeymoon的名词复数 )； 短暂的和谐时期； 蜜月期； 最初的和谐时期
参考例句：
I suppose all honeymoons are more or less alike. 我想所有的蜜月多多少少都是相似的。 Honeymoons are stupid things. 蜜月是乏味的事情。

5 fabulous
adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的
参考例句：
We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。 This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

6 lighting
n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光
参考例句：
The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。 The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

7 butt
n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶
参考例句：
The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。 He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

8 grimaced
v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。 She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lugging
超载运转能力
参考例句：
I would smile when I saw him lugging his golf bags into the office. 看到他把高尔夫球袋拖进办公室，我就笑一笑。 来自辞典例句 As a general guide, S＄1 should be adequate for baggage-lugging service. 一般的准则是，如有人帮你搬运行李，给一新元就够了。 来自互联网

10 license
n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许
参考例句：
The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。 The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

11 anonymous
adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的
参考例句：
Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。 The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

12 jaw
n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训
参考例句：
He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。 A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

13 thump
v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声
参考例句：
The thief hit him a thump on the head.贼在他的头上重击一下。 The excitement made her heart thump.她兴奋得心怦怦地跳。

14 bucks
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。 They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 ulcer
n.溃疡，腐坏物
参考例句：
She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。 A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

16 sifting
n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审
参考例句：
He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

17 gracefully
ad.大大方方地；优美地
参考例句：
She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。 The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

18 warden
n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人
参考例句：
He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。 The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

19 miserable
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。 Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。