Ancient

?Evenings,?

Distant

?Music

ancient /'en??nt/ adj.?古老的

distant /?d?st?nt/ adj.?遙遠(yuǎn)的

1

Now what? thought Francesca. Supper over, sitting there.

2

He?

took care of

?it.

take care of?處理

3

“How about a walk out in the meadow? It’s cooling down a little.” When she said yes, he reached into a?

knapsack

?and pulled out a camera,?

draping

?the?

strap

?over his shoulder.

knapsack /'n?ps?k/ n.?背包

drape /drep/ vt.?將(衣服、織物等)懸掛

strap /str?p/ n.?帶子

4

Kincaid pushed open the?

back porch

?door and held it for her, followed her out, then shut it gently.

back porch?后門廊

5

They went down the?

cracked

?

sidewalk

, across the graveled?

farmyard

, and onto the grass east of the machine?

shed

.?

cracked /kr?kt/ adj.?有裂紋的

sidewalk /'sa?dw?k/ n. <美>人行道

farmyard /'fɑrmjɑrd/ n.?農(nóng)家庭院

shed /?ed/ n.?棚

6

The shed smelled like warm?

grease

.

grease /ɡri?s/ n.?動(dòng)物油脂

7

When they came to the?

fence

, she?

held down

?the?

barbed

?wire with one hand and?

stepped over

?it,?

fence /fens/ n.?籬笆

hold down?壓制

barbed /bɑrbd/ adj.?有倒鉤的

step over?跨過

8

feeling the?

dew

?on her feet around the thin?

sandal

?straps.

dew /du?/ n.?露水

sandal /'s?ndl/ n.?涼鞋

9

He?

executed

?the same?

maneuver

, easily?

swinging

?his boots over the wire.

execute /?eks?kju?t/ v.?完成

maneuver /m??nu?v?r/ n.?策略

swing /sw??/ v.?做弧線運(yùn)動(dòng)

10

“Do you call this a meadow or a?

pasture

?” he asked.

pasture /?p?st??r/ n.?牧場

11

“Pasture, I guess. The cattle keep the grass short. Watch out for their?

leavings

.”

leavings /'liv??z/ n.?殘存物

12

A moon nearly full was coming up the?

eastern

?sky, which had turned?

azure

?with the sun just under the horizon.

eastern /'ist?n/ adj.?東方的

azure /????r/ adj.?蔚藍(lán)的

13

On the road below, a car?

rocketed

?past, loud?

muffler

. The Clark boy.?

Quarterback

?on the Winterset team.?

Dated

Judy Leverenson.

rocket /?rɑ?k?t/ vi.?飛快地移動(dòng)

muffler /'m?fl?/ n.?消音器

quarterback /'kw?rt?b?k/ n. (美式足球)(指揮進(jìn)攻的)四分衛(wèi)

date /det/ v.?約會(huì)

14

It had been a long time since she had?

taken a walk

?like this.

take a walk?散步

15

After supper, which was always at five, there was the television news, then the evening programs, watched by Richard and sometimes by the children when they had finished their homework.

16

Francesca usually read in the kitchen — books from the Winterset library and the book club she?

belonged to

, history and?

poetry

?and?

fiction

?— or sat on the front porch in good weather.

belong to?屬于

poetry /?po??tri/ n.?詩歌

fiction /?f?k?n/ n.?小說

17

The television?

bored

?her.

bore /b??r/ vt.?令人厭煩

18

When Richard would call, “Frannie,?

you’ve got to

?see this!” she’d go in and sit with him for a while.

have got to?必須

19

Elvis

?always?

generated

?such a?

summons

.?

Elvis /'elvis/?埃爾維斯（搖滾明星"貓王")

generate /?d?en?re?t/ vt.?使形成

summon /?s?m?n/ vt.?召喚

20

So did the Beatles when they first appeared on The?

Ed Sullivan Show

. Richard looked at their hair and kept shaking his head in?

disbelief

?and?

disapproval

.

Ed Sullivan Show?蘇利文秀

disbelief /?d?sb?'lif/ n.?懷疑

disapproval /'d?s?'pr?vl/ n.?不贊同

21

For a short time, red?

streaks

?cut across part of the sky. “I call that ‘

bounce

,’ ” Robert Kincaid said, pointing upward.

streak /stri?k/ n.?條紋

bounce /ba?ns/ v.?反彈

22

“Most people put their cameras away too soon.

23

After the sun goes down, there’s often a?

period

?of really nice light and color in the sky, just for a few minutes, when the sun is below the horizon but bounces its light off the sky.”

period /'p?r??d/ n. (一段)時(shí)間

24

Francesca said nothing, wondering about a man to?

whom

?the difference between a?

pasture

?and a meadow seemed important,

whom /hum/ pron. (who的賓格)誰

pasture /?p?st??r/ n.?牧場

25

who got excited about sky color, who wrote a little?

poetry

?but not much?

fiction

.

poetry /?po??tri/ n.?詩歌

fiction /?f?k?n/ n.?小說

26

Who played the guitar, who earned his living by images and carried his tools in knapsacks. Who seemed like the wind. And moved like it. Came from it, perhaps.

27

He looked upward, hands in his Levi’s pockets, camera hanging against his left hip.

28

“The silver apples of the moon/ The golden apples of the sun.”?

29

His?

midrange

?

baritone

?said the words like that of a?

professional

?actor.

midrange /'mid,reind?/ n.?適中范圍

baritone /'b?r?'ton/ n.?男中音

professional /pr??fe??nl/ adj.?職業(yè)的

30

She looked over at him. “W. B.?

Yeats

, ‘The Song of?

Wandering

??ngus.’ ”

Yeats /jets/?葉芝（愛爾蘭詩人,?曾獲1923年諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng))

wander /?wɑ?nd?r/ v.?流浪

31

“Right. Good?

stuff

, Yeats.?

Realism

,?

economy

,?

sensuousness,

?beauty, magic.

stuff /st?f/ n. <非正式>作品

realism /'ri?l?z?m/ n.?（藝術(shù)、文學(xué)中的）現(xiàn)實(shí)主義

economy /??kɑ?n?mi/ n.?簡練

sensuousness /?sensju'?siti/ n.?感性

32

Appeals to

?my?

Irish

?

heritage

.”

appeal to?對......有吸引力

Irish /?a?r??/ adj.?愛爾蘭的；愛爾蘭人的

heritage /?her?t?d?/ n.?傳統(tǒng)

33

He had said it all, right there in five words. Francesca had?

labored

?to explain Yeats to the Winterset students but never?

got through to

?most of them.

labor /?le?b?r/ vi.?努力

get through to?使理解

34

She had picked Yeats?

partly

?because of what Kincaid had just said,

partly /?pɑ?rtli/ adv.?部分地

35

thinking all of those qualities would appeal to teenagers whose?

glands

?were?

pounding

?like the high school?

marching band

?at football?

halftimes

.

gland /ɡl?nd/ n.?〈解〉腺

pound /pa?nd/ v.?連續(xù)轟炸

marching band?奏進(jìn)行曲作操練表演的樂隊(duì)

halftime /?hɑ:f'taim/ n.?中場休息

36

But the?

bias

?against poetry they had?

picked up

, the?

view

?of it as a product of unsteady?

masculinity

, was too much even for Yeats to overcome.

bias /?ba??s/ n.?偏見(受個(gè)人利益或經(jīng)驗(yàn)影響的觀點(diǎn)。)

pick up?獲得

view /vju?/ n.?觀點(diǎn)

masculinity /?m?skju'l?n?ti/ n.?男子氣

37

She remembered Matthew Clark looking at the boy beside him and then?

forming

?his hands as if to?

cup

?them over a woman’s breasts when she read, “The golden apples of the sun.”

form /f??rm/ v.?（使）出現(xiàn)

cup /k?p/ vt.?使成杯狀

38

They had?

snickered

, and the girls in the back row with them?

blushed

.

snicker /?sn?k?r/ v.?偷笑

blush /bl??/ vi.?臉紅

39

They would live with those attitudes all their?

lives

. That’s what had?

discouraged

?her, knowing that,

lives /la?vz/ n.?生命（life的復(fù)數(shù)）

discourage /d?s?k??r?d?/ vt.?使氣餒

40

and she felt?

compromised

?and alone,?

in spite of

?the?

outward

?

friendliness

?of the community.

compromise /?kɑ?mpr?ma?z/ v.?違背(信念)

in spite of?盡管

outward /?a?tw?rd/ adj.?表面的

friendliness / ?fr?ndl?n?s/ n.?友善

41

Poets

?were not welcome here.

poet /?po??t/ n.?詩人

42

The people of Madison County liked to say,?

compensating

?for their own?

self-imposed

?sense of?

cultural

?

inferiority

, “This is a good place to raise kids.”

compensate /?kɑ?mpense?t/ v.?抵消

self-imposed /?s?lf?m?pozd/ adj.?自己強(qiáng)加的

cultural /?k?lt??r?l/ adj.?文化的

inferiority /?n?f?ri???r?ti/ n.?自卑感

43

And she always felt like?

responding

, “But is it a good place to?

raise

?adults?”

respond /r??spɑ?nd/ vi.?回答

raise /re?z/ v.?養(yǎng)育

44

Without any?

conscious

?plan, they had walked slowly into the?

pasture

?a few hundred yards, made a?

loop

, and were headed back toward the house.

conscious /?kɑ?n??s/ adj.?刻意的

pasture /?p?st??r/ n.?牧場

loop /lu?p/ n.?回路

45

Darkness?

came about

?them as they crossed the fence, with him pushing down the wire for her this time.

come about v.?發(fā)生

46

She remembered the brandy. “I have some brandy. Or would you like some coffee?”

47

“Is the possibility of both open?” His words came out of the darkness. She knew he was smiling.

48

As they came into the?

circle

?

inscribed

?on grass and gravel by the yard light, she answered, “Of course,” hearing the sound of something in her voice that?

worried

?her.

circle /'s?kl/ n.?圓

inscribe /?n?skra?b/ vt.?雕

worry /?w?:ri/ v.?使不安寧

49

It was the sound of?

easy

?laughter in the cafes of Naples.

easy /'izi/ adj.?輕浮的

50

It was difficult finding two cups without some kind of?

chip

?on them. Though she was sure that chipped cups were part of his life, she wanted perfect ones this time.

chip /t??p/ n.?缺口

51

The brandy glasses, two of them back in the cupboard, turned?

upside down

, had never been used, like the brandy.

upside down?電腦

52

She had to stretch on her tiptoes to reach them and was aware of her wet?

sandals

?and the jeans stretched tight?

across

?her bottom.

sandal /'s?ndl/ n.?涼鞋

across /?'kr?s/ prep.?在......上

53

He sat on the same chair he had used before and watched her. The old ways. The old ways coming into him again.

54

He wondered how her hair would feel to his touch, how the?

curve

?of her back would fit his hand, how she would feel underneath him.

curve /k??rv/ n.?曲線

55

The old ways struggling against all that is learned, struggling against the?

propriety

?

drummed in

?by centuries of culture, the?

hard

?rules of civilized man.

propriety /pr??pra??ti/ n. <正式>行為規(guī)范

drum in?反復(fù)灌輸

hard /hɑ?rd/ adj.?嚴(yán)厲的

56

He tried to think of something else, photography or the road or covered bridges. Anything?

but

?how she looked just now.

but /b?t,b?t/ prep.?除…以外

57

But he failed and wondered again how it would feel to touch her skin, to put his?

belly

?against hers.

belly /?beli/ n.?腹部

58

The questions?

eternal

, and always the same. The?

goddamned

?old ways, fighting toward the surface. He pounded them back, pushed them down, lit a Camel, and breathed deeply.

eternal /??t??rnl/ adj.?永恒的

goddamned /?ɡɑd?d?md/ adj.?該死的

59

She could feel his eyes on her?

constantly

, though his watching was?

circumspect

, never obvious, never?

intrusive

.

constantly /'kɑnst?ntli/ adv.?不斷地

circumspect /?s??rk?mspekt/ adj.?謹(jǐn)慎小心的

intrusive /?n'trus?v/ adj.?闖入的

60

She knew that he knew brandy had never been poured into those glasses.

61

And with his Irishman’s sense of the?

tragic

, she also knew he felt something about such?

emptiness

. Not?

pity

. That was not what he was about.?

Sadness

, maybe.

tragic /?tr?d??k/ adj.?悲劇的

emptiness /'?mpt?n?s/ n.?空虛

pity /'p?ti/ n.?憐憫

sadness /'s?dnis/ n.?悲哀

62

She could almost hear his mind forming the words:

63

the bottle?

unopened

, and glasses empty,

unopened /?n'op?nd/ adj.?未啟封的

64

she reached to find them, somewhere north of?

Middle River

, in Iowa.

Middle River?中央河(位于美國)

65

I watched her with eyes that had seen a?

Jivaro’s

?Amazon

Jivaro /?hiv??ro/ n.?希瓦羅人[語]

66

and the?

Silk Road

?with?

caravan

?dust climbing behind me,

Silk Road /s?lk/ n.?絲綢之路

caravan /?k?r?v?n/ n.?旅行隊(duì)

67

reaching into?

unused

?spaces of Asian sky.

unused /'?n'j?zd/ adj.?不再使用的

68

As Francesca?

stripped

?the Iowa?

liquor

?

seal

?from the top of the brandy bottle, she looked at her?

fingernails

?and wished they were longer and better cared for.

strip /str?p/ vt.?剝?nèi)?/p>

liquor /?l?k?r/ n.?酒

seal /si?l/ n.?密封裝置

fingernail /'f??ɡ?nel/ n.?指甲

69

Farm life did not?

permit

?long fingernails. Until now it hadn’t?

mattered

.

permit /p?r?m?t/ vt.?允許

matte /m?t/ v.?要緊

70

Brandy, two glasses, on the table.?

71

While she arranged the coffee, he opened the bottle and poured just the right amount into each glass. Robert Kincaid had dealt with after-dinner brandy before.

72

She wondered in how many kitchens, how many good restaurants, how many living rooms with?

subdued

?light he had practiced that small?

trade

.

subdued /s?b?du?d/ adj.?不太響亮、強(qiáng)烈、顯著等的

trade /tre?d/ n.?手藝

73

How many sets of long fingernails had he watched?

delicately

?pointing toward him from the?

stems

?of brandy glasses,

delicately /?d ?l?k?tl?/ adv.?優(yōu)美地

stem /stem/ n.?（高腳酒杯的）柄腳

74

how many pairs of blue-round and brown-

oval

?eyes had looked at him through?

foreign

?evenings,?

oval /?o?vl/ adj.?橢圓的

foreign /?f??r?n/ adj.?外國的

75

while?

anchored

?sailboats?

rocked

?

offshore

?and water slapped against the?

quays

?of ancient ports?

anchor /???k?r/ vt.?拋錨

rock /rɑ?k/ v.?（使）輕輕搖晃

offshore /??f'??r/ adv.?離岸地

quay /ki?/ n.?碼頭

76

The overhead kitchen light was too bright for coffee and brandy.?

77

Francesca Johnson, Richard Johnson’s wife, would leave it on.

78

Francesca Johnson, a woman walking through after-supper grass and?

leafing

?through?

girlhood

?dreams, would turn it off.

leaf /lif/ vt.?匆匆翻閱

girlhood /'ɡ?lh?d/ n.?少女時(shí)期

79

A candle was?

in order

, but that would be too much. He might get the wrong idea.

in order?狀況良好

80

She?

put on

?the small light over the kitchen sink and turned off the overhead. It was still not perfect, but it was better.

put on?打開（設(shè)備、裝置等）

81

He raised his glass to shoulder level and moved it toward her. “To ancient evenings and distant music.”

82

For some reason those words made her take a?

short

,?

quick

?breath.

short /??rt/ adj.?呼吸困難的

quick /kw?k/ adj.?迅速的

83

But she touched her glass to his, and even though she wanted to say, “To ancient evenings and distant music,” she only smiled a little.

84

They both smoked, saying nothing, drinking brandy, drinking coffee.

85

A?

pheasant

?called from the fields. Jack, the?

collie

, barked twice out in the yard.

pheasant /'f?znt/ n.?野雞

collie /?kɑli/ n.?柯利牧羊狗（原產(chǎn)蘇格蘭）

86

Mosquitoes

?

tested

?the window screen near the table,?

mosquito /m??ski?to?/ n.?蚊子

test /test/ v.?測試

87

and a single moth,?

circuitous

?of thought?

yet

?sure of?

instinct

, was?

goaded

?by the sink light’s possibilities.

circuitous /s?r?kju??t?s/ adj.?迂回的

yet /j?t/ conj.?但是

instinct /??nst??kt/ n.?本能

goad /ɡo?d/ vt.?刺激

88

It was still hot, no?

breeze

, some?

humidity

?now.

breeze /bri?z/ n.?微風(fēng)

humidity /hju??m?d?ti/ n.?潮濕

89

Robert Kincaid was?

perspiring

?

mildly

, his top two shirt buttons?

undone

.

perspire /p?r?spa??r/ vi.?出汗

mildly /?ma?ldli/ adv.?稍微地

undone /?n'd?n/ v.?解開

90

He was not looking at her directly, though she sensed his?

peripheral

?vision could find her, even as he seemed to stare out the window.

peripheral /p??r?f?r?l/ adj.?周邊的

91

In the way he was turned, she could see the top of his chest through the open buttons of his shirt and small?

beads

?of?

moisture

?lying there upon his skin.

bead /bi?d/ n.?珠子

moisture /?m??st??r/ n.?潮濕

92

Francesca was feeling good feelings, old feelings, poetry and music feelings.?

Still

, it was time for him to go, she thought. Nine fifty-two on the clock above the?

refrigerator

.

still /st?l/ conj.?盡管如此

refrigerator /r?'fr?d??ret?/ n.?冰箱

93

Faron Young on the radio.?

Tune

?from a few years back: “The?

Shrine

?of St. Cecilia.”?

tune /tu?n/ n.?歌曲

shrine /?ra?n/ n.?神殿

94

Roman?

martyr

?of the third century?

A.D.

, Francesca remembered that.?

Patron

?

saint

?of music and the blind.

martyr /?mɑ?rt?r/ n.?殉道者

A.D. abbr.?（拉）公元（Anno Domini）

patron /?pe?tr?n/ n.?贊助人；保護(hù)人；主顧

saint /se?nt/ n.?圣人

95

His glass was empty. Just as he?

swung around

?from looking out the window, Francesca picked up the brandy bottle by the?

neck

?and?

gestured

?with it toward the empty glass.

swing around?轉(zhuǎn)過身來

neck /n?k/ n.?頸部

gesture /?d?est??r/ vt. & vi.?做手勢

96

He shook his head. “Roseman Bridge at?

dawn

. I’d better get going.”

dawn /d??n/ n.?黎明

97

She was relieved. But she sank in?

disappointment

. She turned around inside of herself. Yes, please leave. Have some more brandy. Stay. Go.

disappointment /?d?s??p??ntm?nt/ n.?失望

98

Faron Young didn’t care about her feelings. Neither did the moth above the sink. She didn’t know for sure what Robert Kincaid thought.

99

He stood, swung one?

knapsack

?onto his left shoulder, put the other on top of his?

cooler

. She came around the table. His hand moved toward her, and she took it.

knapsack /'n?ps?k/ n.?背包

cooler /'kul?/ n. (便攜式)冷藏箱

100

“Thanks for the evening, the supper, the walk. They were all nice. You’re a good person, Francesca. Keep the brandy toward the front of the cupboard; maybe it’ll work out after a while.”

101

He had known, just as she thought. But she wasn’t?

offended

?by his words.

offend /??fend/ vi.?引起不舒服

102

He was talking about romance, and he meant it in the best possible way. She could tell by the?

softness

?of his language, the way he said the words.

softness /'s?ftn?s/ n.?溫柔

103

What she didn’t know was that he wanted to shout at the kitchen walls,?

bas-reliefing

?his words in the?

plaster

: “

For Christ’s sake

, Richard Johnson, are you as big a fool as I think you must be?”

What she didn’t know was that he wanted to shout at the kitchen walls, bas-reliefing his words in the plaster: “For Christ’s sake, Richard Johnson, are you as big a fool as I think you must be?”

104

She followed him out to his truck and stood by while he put his gear into it.

105

The collie came across the yard, sniffing around the truck. “Jack, come here,” she whispered sharply, and the dog moved to sit by her, panting.

106

“Good-bye.?

Take care

,” he said, stopping by the truck door to look at her for a moment, straight at her.

take care?保重

107

Then, in one motion, he was behind the wheel and?

shutting

?the door after him. He turned the old engine over,?

stomped

?at the?

accelerator

, and it?

rattled

?into a start.

shut /??t/ vt. & vi.?關(guān)上

stomp /stɑmp/ v.?重踩

accelerator /?k's?l?'ret?/ n.?加速裝置(尤指車輛的油門踏板)

rattle /?r?tl/ vi.?發(fā)出咔嗒咔嗒聲

108

He leaned out the window, grinning, “

Tune-up

?required, I think.”

tune-up n.?發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的調(diào)整

109

He?

clutched

?it, backed up, shifted again, and headed across the yard under the light.

clutch /kl?t?/ v.?踩汽車離合器踏板

110

Just before he reached the darkness of the lane, his left hand came out of the window and waved back at her. She waved, too, even though she knew he couldn’t see it.

111

As the truck moved down the lane, she?

jogged

?over and stood in shadow, watching the red lights rising and falling with the?

bumps

.

jog /d?ɑ?ɡ/ vt. & vi.?慢跑

bump /b?mp/ vi.?顛簸而行

112

Robert Kincaid turned left on the main road toward Winterset, while?

heat lightning

?cut the summer sky and Jack?

slumbered

?toward the back porch.

heat lightning?熱閃電(常見于夏日傍晚,不伴雷聲的)

slumber /?sl?mb?r/ vi.?睡眠（多指安詳?shù)鼗蜷L時(shí)間地睡）

113

After he left, Francesca stood before the?

bureau

?mirror,?

naked

.?

bureau /?bj?ro?/ n.?衣柜

naked /?ne?k?d/ adj.?裸體的

114

Her hips?

flared

?only a little from the children, her breasts were still nice and?

firm

, not too large, not too small, belly slightly rounded.

flare /fler/ vt.?使張開

firm /f??rm/ adj.?堅(jiān)挺的

115

She couldn’t see her legs in the mirror, but she knew they were still good. She should shave more often, but there didn’t seem much point to it.

116

Richard was interested in sex only?

occasionally

, every couple of months, but it was over fast,?

rudimentary

?and?

unmoving

, and he didn’t seem to care much about?

perfume

?or shaving or any of that.?

occasionally /??ke??n?li/ adv.?偶爾

rudimentary /?ru?d??mentri/ adj.?基本的

unmoving /'?n'm?v??/ adj.?不動(dòng)人的

perfume /p?r?fju?m/ n.?香水

117

It was easy to get a little?

sloppy

.

sloppy /?slɑ?pi/ adj.?邋遢的

118

She was more of a business partner to him than anything else.

119

Some of her?

appreciated

?that. But?

rustling

?

yet

?within her was another person who wanted to?

bathe

?and perfume herself…?

appreciate /??pri??ie?t/ vt.?感謝

rustle /?r?sl/ vt. & vi.?發(fā)出沙沙的聲音

yet /j?t/ adv.?還

bathe /be?e/ vi.?沐浴

120

and?

be taken

, carried away, and?

peeled

?back by a force she could sense, but never?

articulate

, even?

dimly

?within her mind.

be taken?被占有

peel /pi?l/ vi.?剝落

articulate /ɑ?r?t?kjule?t/ v.?明確表達(dá)

dimly /?d?ml?/ adv.?朦朧地

121

She dressed again and sat at the kitchen table writing on half?

a sheet of

?

plain

?paper.

a sheet of?一張

plain /ple?n/ adj.?無裝飾的

122

Jack followed her out to the Ford pickup and jumped in when she opened the door.

123

He went to the?

passenger side

?and stuck his head out the window as she backed the truck out of the shed, looking over at her,

passenger side?副駕駛位

124

then out the window again as she drove down the lane and turned right onto the?

county

?road.

county /?ka?nti/ n.?縣

125

Roseman Bridge was dark. But Jack?

loped

?on ahead, checking things out while she carried a?

flashlight

?from the truck. She?

tacked

?the note on the left side of the entrance to the bridge and went home.

lope /lo?p/ vi. (尤指動(dòng)物)輕跳著奔跑

flashlight /'fl??la?t/ n.?手電筒

tack /t?k/ vt. (用平頭釘)釘上

126