THE BRANGWEN family was going to move from Beldover. It was necessary now for the father to be in town.

Birkin had taken out a marriage licence, yet Ursula deferred¹ from day to day. She would not fix any definite time -- she still wavered. Her month's notice to leave the Grammar School was in its third week. Christmas was not far off.

Gerald waited for the Ursula-Birkin marriage. It was something crucial to him.

`Shall we make it a double-barrelled affair?' he said to Birkin one day.

`Who for the second shot?' asked Birkin.

`Gudrun and me,' said Gerald, the venturesome twinkle in his eyes.

Birkin looked at him steadily², as if somewhat taken aback.

`Serious -- or joking?' he asked.

`Oh, serious. Shall I? Shall Gudrun and I rush in along with you?'

`Do by all means,' said Birkin. `I didn't know you'd got that length.'

`What length?' said Gerald, looking at the other man, and laughing.

`Oh yes, we've gone all the lengths.'

`There remains³ to put it on a broad social basis, and to achieve a high moral purpose,' said Birkin.

`Something like that: the length and breadth and height of it,' replied Gerald, smiling.

`Oh well,' said Birkin,' it's a very admirable step to take, I should say.'

Gerald looked at him closely.

`Why aren't you enthusiastic?' he asked. `I thought you were such dead nuts on marriage.'

Birkin lifted his shoulders.

`One might as well be dead nuts on noses. There are all sorts of noses, snub and otherwise--'

Gerald laughed.

`And all sorts of marriage, also snub and otherwise?' he said.

`That's it.'

`And you think if I marry, it will be snub?' asked Gerald quizzically, his head a little on one side.

Birkin laughed quickly.

`How do I know what it will be!' he said. `Don't lambaste me with my own parallels--'

Gerald pondered a while.

`But I should like to know your opinion, exactly,' he said.

`On your marriage? -- or marrying? Why should you want my opinion? I've got no opinions. I'm not interested in legal marriage, one way or another. It's a mere⁴ question of convenience.'

Still Gerald watched him closely.

`More than that, I think,' he said seriously. `However you may be bored by the ethics

点击收听单词发音  

1 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

2 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 ethics
n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准
参考例句：
The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。 Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

6 registrar
n.记录员，登记员；(大学的)注册主任
参考例句：
You can obtain the application from the registrar.你可以向注册人员索取申请书。 The manager fired a young registrar.经理昨天解雇了一名年轻的记录员。

7 heed
v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心
参考例句：
You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。 For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

8 constrained
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句：
The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。 I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

9 repulsive
adj.排斥的，使人反感的
参考例句：
She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。 The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

10 stewing
炖
参考例句：
The meat was stewing in the pan. 肉正炖在锅里。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 The cashier was stewing herself over the sum of 1, 000 which was missing. 钱短了一千美元，出纳员着急得要命。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 supreme
adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的
参考例句：
It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。 He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 triumphantly
ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地
参考例句：
The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。 Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

13 doom
n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定
参考例句：
The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。 The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

14 doomed
命定的
参考例句：
The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。 A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

15 condemn
vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑
参考例句：
Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。 We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

16 condemned
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。 The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

17 subterranean
adj.地下的，地表下的
参考例句：
London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。 We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

18 condemnation
n.谴责; 定罪
参考例句：
There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。 The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

19 numbness
n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆
参考例句：
She was fighting off the numbness of frostbite. 她在竭力摆脱冻僵的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Sometimes they stay dead, causing' only numbness. 有时，它们没有任何反应，只会造成麻木。 来自时文部分

20 volition
n.意志；决意
参考例句：
We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.我们常常认为我们所做和所想的一切都出自自己的意愿。 Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.梅金说库姆斯先生是主动去投案的。

21 atrophy
n./v.萎缩，虚脱，衰退
参考例句：
Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool.病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。 Many hoped he would renew the country's atrophied political system.很多人都期望他能使该国萎靡的政治体系振作起来。