【时间旅行者的妻子】84

and part of me doesn’t want to beat up somebody who’s taped to a tree.

　Jason is bright red. It contrasts nicely with the gray duct tape.

　“Oh,” says Clare. “You know, I think that’s enough.”

　I am relieved. So of course I say, “You sure? I mean there are all sorts of things I could do. Break his eardrums? Nose? Oh, wait, he’s already broken it once himself. We could cut his Achilles’ tendons. He wouldn’t be playing football in the near future.”

　“No!” Jason strains against the tape.

　“Apologize, then,” I tell him.

　Jason hesitates. “Sorry.”

　“That’s pretty pathetic—”

　“I know,” Clare says. She fishes around in her purse and finds a Magic Marker. She walks up to Jason as though he is a dangerous zoo animal, and begins to write on his duct-taped chest. When she’s done, she stands back and caps her marker. She’s written an account of their date. She sticks the marker back in her purse and says, “Let’s go.”

　“You know, we can’t just leave him. He might have another asthma¹ attack.”

　“Hmm. Okay, I know. I’ll call some people.”

　“Wait a minute,” says Jason.

　“What?” says Clare.

　“Who are you calling? Call Rob.”

　Clare laughs. “Uh-uh. I’m going to call every girl I know.”

　I walk over to Jason and place the muzzle² of the gun under his chin. “If you mention my existence to one human and I find out about it I will come back and I will devastate³ you. You won’t be able to walk, talk, eat, or fuck when I’m done. As far as you know, Clare is a nice girl who for some inexplicable⁴ reason doesn’t date. Right?”

　Jason looks at me with hatred⁵. “Right.”

　“We’ve dealt with you very leniently⁶, here. If you hassle Clare again in any way you will be sorry.”

　“Okay.”

　“Good.” I place the gun back in my pocket. “It’s been fun.”

1 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

2 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

3 devastate   

v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒

参考例句：

• A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
• Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。

4 inexplicable   

adj.无法解释的，难理解的

参考例句：

• It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。
• There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 leniently   

温和地，仁慈地

参考例句：

• He marked the paper leniently. 他改考卷打分数很松。
• Considering the signs he showed of genuine repentance,we shall deal leniently with him. 鉴于他有真诚悔改的表现，我们将对他宽大处理。