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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Unit 10
TEXT I
"Keep Class 2 Under Your Thumb"
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"You'll have to keep Class 2 under your thumb," said the headmaster. To make this clear, he showed me his own thumb; a huge thing, like a pocket cudgel. I felt very pale. I had reason enough to distrust my thumb.
Class 2. They were top year boys. Their own teacher had been sick for a long time; a succession of startled substitutes had stood before them, ducked, winced1 and fled. I was the seventh that term. No one quite knew where the class had got in any subject. It was plain the headmaster thought they had got nowhere. But I was to take them for nearly everything; and first, that awful afternoon, for history.
I trembled down to Room H. In the hall I was nearly knocked over by a boy illegally running. I should have told him off; instead, I apologized. It was all wrong; my mood was all placatory2; I was, inwardly, all white flag.
The room was easily traced by the noise that was coming from it. It didn't sound a studious noise. I crept through the door. Enormous boys were everywhere, doing indefensible things. I can't recall much in particular what they were doing; indeed, that was the worst of it — that these improprieties couldn't be nailed down.
I managed to make out that mixed up with these giants was a certain amount of furniture. This consisted, I found, of individual desks; doll's house things that rested on mountainous knees and swayed from side to side. Too negligently4 or maliciously5 treated, one would, from time to time, crash to the floor. There were certainly fights going on; and I believe one desk was chasing another. The air was full of pieces of chalk, a strange rain of it.
Feeling invisible, I walked towards the teacher's desk. Not an eye was turned in my direction. I just stood there and looked at them and an awful pointless indignation mounted in me. Was I not a teacher? Was I really so puny6, so ineffective?
"Now, shut up," I shouted. There was a fatal note of pleading in my voice. They took no notice, so I shouted again.
And then I said, "If you don't shut up, I'll..." Now they heard me and an awful silence came, not an obedient silence but a sceptical one. My voice trailed away. If they didn't shut up, I would — what? I was toying inwardly with ideas of thunderbolts, earthquakes, mass executions. But in cold blood I could think of no practical substitute for these dramatic punishments.
A boy leaned back in his desk, indolently far back, and said, "Are you going to try to teach us?" He looked round and laughed. There was a murmur7 from the back of the room and another laugh.
I was shocked to the core. Shocked, stung and frightened. "Yes, I am," I shouted. "And you — you had better shut up."
They all laughed. Then they turned to one another and discussed the matter. A fight began at the back. But what hurt me most was that in the middle of the room sat a very studious-looking boy reading a book. He looked up, raised a wry8 eyebrow9, looked at me, raised his eyebrow higher, and then shrugged10 himself back into his book.
I shouted for a while, but it was beyond me. I hadn't the manner. I was a plain impostor. My blushing and bawling11 were a joy to them. There was, for a time, pandemonium12, like a big scene in an opera being played backwards13 on a gramophone.
It struck me that I had in my briefcase14 a book on Chaucer. It contained a large number of documents of the period. Accounts of street brawls15. It seemed appropriate.
It was, alas16, very big and looked very academic. "Cor, the Bible," said a voice. "Read any good book lately?" said another. "You hit me with that and I'll tell my dad." "He can read!" And in falsetto, "Tell us a fairy story!"
From Roaring Boys by Edward Blishen
TEXT II
An Exeter School Boy
Colin Lockwood was bored and tired. There were three reasons for this, he told himself; it was an exceptionally warm afternoon; he had only had a few hours' sleep last night because of the air-raid; and Mr. Kitchen, the history master, was being even duller and more aggravating17 than usual. Sixty or seventy people dead. No one Colin or his family knew; most of the bombs had fallen on King Street, on Wonford and Pennsylvania, areas some distance away from where he lived. But the stories of what had happened had been filtering through all day. More than a hundred houses destroyed. An air-raid warden18 blown off his bike and thrown head-first into a sewage pond, not a scratch on him; the only treatment he needed was a hot bath.
Why Exeter? There were no targets the Germans needed to destroy, no industry, no munitions19 factories, nothing. But it had a beautiful cathedral. That was the reason, people said.
He gazed out of the window. Lucky third-formers outside on the field, playing cricket! Pluck! The noise of ball on bat. Pluck! A shout of excitement: someone had hit a six. If you hit a six that smashed the pavilion clock, the school presented you with the bat and ball to keep. No-one had ever smashed the pavilion clock, of course. And tomorrow, when he should be out on the field, when it was the turn of the fifth-formers, it would rain. He was sure it would rain. After all, it was only just May; afternoons like this were a surprise, a real bonus.
He rested his head on his arms, and looked at the new leaf-buds on the trees; when he half-shut his eyes they were like green dust in the slanting20 light, pale, as if they had not expected such sun, such heat. His sister Mary had a dress that colour. An expensive thing it was. He dozed21 right off.
He was woken by a sharp dig in the ribs22. It was the boy who shared his desk. Terry Wootton. Colin disliked Wootton, who was an evacuee23 from London and who seemed to think, like all the evacuees24 from London, that he was superior in every way to the Exeter boys.
Colin sensed that something was wrong. The whole class was staring at him. There were a few grins of malice25, particularly on the faces of the Cockneys.
"Go on! Answer!" Wootton hissed26.
Mr. Kitchen was leaning against the blackboard, idly throwing a piece of chalk in the air and catching27 it again. He looked distinctly unamused. Dangerous, in fact.
"Did you ask me a question, sir?" Colin ventured, timidly.
The class dissolved in laughter. "No, I did not," said Mr. Kitchen, and added, "I hardly ever think it worthwhile asking a question of you, Lockwood, as I know perfectly28 well I shall never get an answer. At least, not a correct answer." The class guffawed29 obligingly. "As it so happened I was speaking to Wootton. I was merely wondering if he could explain why you were fast asleep."
Colin glared at his neighbour, who was looking intently at his exercise book, a self-satisfied smile on his face. I'll wipe that smirk30 off your ugly mug, Colin thought; just wait till the bell goes!
"As you're wasting both my time and that of the whole class," Mr. Kitchen went on, "I'll waste yours, Lockwood. You can write me a four-page essay entitled 'Why I am a fool.' No, boy! Not why I am a fool. I may well be one, but I'm not interested in your views on that. Why you" — and he jabbed his finger at Colin — "are a fool. And that's in addition to the homework I set just now. I suppose you were asleep then, were you? Do you know what it is?"
"No, sir."
"So you'll just have to ask Wootton, won't you? Now, as I was saying, in a city like Exeter there is history in every nook and cranny."
Colin seethed31 with anger. Who did Kitchen think he was? So many members of staff had been called up for the war in the last year or two that the whole school had gone to rack and ruin as a result. Aged3 fools, yanked out of their retirement32 bungalows33, attempted to go through the motions of teaching.
From Exeter Blitz by David Rees
收听单词发音 |
1
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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placatory
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| adj.安抚的，抚慰的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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negligently
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maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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brawls
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| 吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 ) | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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warden
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| n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人 | |
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munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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evacuee
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| n.被疏散的人员，被撤走的人员 | |
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evacuees
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| n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 ) | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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guffawed
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| v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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seethed
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| （液体）沸腾( seethe的过去式和过去分词 )； 激动，大怒； 强压怒火； 生闷气(~with sth|~ at sth) | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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bungalows
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| n.平房( bungalow的名词复数 )；单层小屋，多于一层的小屋 | |
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