PART 2 CHAPTER 36

PART 2 CHAPTER

36

I HEARD MA’S VOICE CALLING TO MARY AS I MOUNTED THE PORCH STEPS. They were in the

upstairs back of the house, and Ma was asking for help in finding something. For a moment I

remained there quietly, soaking in the hot smell of oak and cedar¹ trees across from the house,

the indigo² hills behind the fields, and the longed-for familiarity of the voices within. I also

needed a moment to rein³ in my feelings before I was swept away by those of my family. Finally,

I opened the door and called out. “Ma? Pa? I’m home!”

Tish was the first to reach the door. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. She called over her

shoulder, “Ma, come quick! It’s Tom!”

Tish threw her arms around my neck, and over her head I could see the others running toward

us. The women smothered⁴ me in hugs, as Pa beamed, waiting for them to finish so that he could

greet me. He sheepishly wiped at the tears rolling down his cheeks. Ma clung to my arm as if I

might run off at any second.

Eventually, Mary said, “We should leave you be for a while. You might like to wash some of

that travel grime away.” Tears filmed her eyes as she smiled at me.

Ma reminded me that my shirts and pants were hanging in the cupboard where I’d left them,

and Pa had an extra pair of boots for my use. They were worn but at least had intact soles. I went

to my room, closed the door, and collapsed⁵ on the bed, where I wept into my pillow like an

infant. During the past year, I’d never thought I would see home again.

While they waited for my return downstairs, Tish and Mary planned a celebration dinner.

Four months after the war’s end, the shelves of Staunton stores were still bare. So my sisters had

set off through the woods with their foraging⁶ basket and returned with their finds. The three

women sauteed mushrooms, boiled dandelion greens seasoned with apple vinegar, and used the

last of Pa’s secret garden potatoes. For dessert, there were wild grapes and mint drizzled⁷ with a

spoonful of Tatternook’s honey. Mary was bursting with questions, but thankfully had gained

new patience in the time I’d been gone. Distressed⁸ by the looks of me, I believe Ma, Mary, and

Tish took a vow⁹ not to press me about what I’d seen and done. Lord, all you had to do was

glance into my eyes to recognize there was a chasm¹⁰ that was too dark to explore.

Mary didn’t ask about Beards, why he’d stopped writing, and if he might still care for her.

When Pa asked me about his well-being¹¹, her flushed face and downcast eyes were the only signs

that she still had feelings for him. I couldn’t have answered her questions, but I knew the past

four years had changed him too.

When we were all exhausted¹² from so much feeling and talk, I bade them good night and

returned to my room. I lingered by the bed, wanting to savor¹³ every minute of turning back the

smooth sheets and sinking into the down-stuffed mattress¹⁴. With the covers folded back, I slipped

between the cool linens¹⁵, my head swallowed up to the ears by the pillow. I thought I’d departed

this earth and gone to Heaven, with a belly¹⁶ full of food and shrouded¹⁷ in a silken cocoon¹⁸.

But the happiness of those first days wore off, and my melancholia crept back. I was

damaged, and so were all the folks around here. No one wanted to discuss the bad times, and

they were timid about prying¹⁹ into mine. But the war’s toll²⁰ was visible in my parents’ stooped

shoulders, lined faces, and the girls’ silences. At first, after the joy of my return, my mother’s

transformation²¹ was less apparent. But within several days, it was evident that she had changed

the most. She’d become more subdued²² and tentative. The resolute²³, self- assured mother I

remembered seemed defeated. She deferred²⁴ to the other three most of the time, speaking

infrequently and then in a quiet tone. Always tidy in her appearance, she was less so now, with

hairpins²⁵ often dangling²⁶ from her loosely coiled braids and her collar askew²⁷. When I asked Mary

about it, she shook her head sadly. “The war was especially hard on her.” That was all she’d say.

It made me grieve to see my mother like this, but nothing was the same anymore.

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

3 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

4 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

7 drizzled   

下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dew on the branches drizzled our hair and shoulders. 枝头上的露珠润湿了我们的头发和双肩。
• It drizzled throughout the night. 毛毛雨下了一夜。

8 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

9 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

10 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

12 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。

13 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

14 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

15 linens   

n.亚麻布( linen的名词复数 )；家庭日用织品

参考例句：

• All linens and towels are provided. 提供全套日用织品和毛巾。 来自辞典例句
• Linen, Table Linens, Chair Covers, Bed and Bath Linens. Linen. 采购产品亚麻布，亚麻布，椅子套子，床和沭浴亚麻布。 来自互联网

16 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

17 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 cocoon   

n.茧

参考例句：

• A cocoon is a kind of silk covering made by an insect.蚕茧是由昆虫制造的一种由丝组成的外包层。
• The beautiful butterfly emerged from the cocoon.美丽的蝴蝶自茧中出现。

19 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

21 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

22 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

23 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

24 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

25 hairpins   

n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The price of these hairpins are about the same. 这些发夹的价格大致相同。 来自互联网
• So the king gives a hundred hairpins to each of them. 所以国王送给她们每人一百个漂亮的发夹。 来自互联网

26 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

27 askew   

adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的

参考例句：

• His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。
• Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。