2-2

2.

I pondered quitting the Army. What was the point of staying if I couldn’t actually be a soldier?

I talked it over with Chels. She was torn. On the one hand she couldn’t hide her relief. On theother she knew how much I wanted to be there for my team. She knew that I’d long felt persecutedby the press, and that the Army had been the one healthy outlet¹ I’d found.

She also knew that I believed in the Mission.

I talked it over with Willy. He had complicated feelings as well. He sympathized, as a soldier.

But as a sibling²? A highly competitive older brother? He couldn’t bring himself to totally regretthis turn of events.

Most of the time Willy and I didn’t have any truck with all that Heir-Spare nonsense. But nowand then I’d be brought up short and realize that on some level it really did matter to him.

Professionally, personally, he cared where I stood, what I was doing.

Not getting comfort from any quarter, I looked for it in vodka and Red Bull. And gin andtonic. I was photographed around this time going into or coming out of multiple pubs, clubs, houseparties, at wee hours.

I didn’t love waking to find a photo of myself on the front page of a tabloid³. But what I reallycouldn’t bear was the sound of the photo being taken in the first place. That click, that terriblenoise, from over my shoulder or behind my back or within my peripheral⁴ vision, had alwaystriggered me, had always made my heart race, but after Sandhurst it sounded like a gun cocking ora blade being notched⁵ open. And then, even a little worse, a little more traumatizing, came thatblinding flash.

Great, I thought. The Army has made me more able to recognize threats, to feel threats, tobecome adrenalized in the face of those threats, and now it’s casting me aside.

I was in a bad, bad place.

Paps, somehow, knew. Around this time they began hitting me with their cameras,deliberately, trying to incite⁶ me. They’d brush, smack⁷, jostle, or just straight wallop me, hoping toget a rise, hoping I’d retaliate⁸, because that would create a better photo, and thus more money intheir pockets. A snap of me in 2007 fetched about thirty thousand pounds. Down payment on aflat. But a snap of me doing something aggressive? That might be a down payment on a house inthe countryside.

I got into one scrap⁹ that became big news. I came away with a swollen¹⁰ nose, and mybodyguard was livid. You made those paps rich, Harry¹²! You happy?

Happy? No, I said. No, I’m not happy.

The paps had always been grotesque¹³ people, but as I reached maturity¹⁴ they were worse. Youcould see it in their eyes, their body language. They were more emboldened¹⁵, more radicalized, justas young men in Iraq had been radicalized. Their mullahs were editors, the same ones who’dvowed to do better after Mummy died. The editors promised publicly to never again sendphotographers chasing after people, and now, ten years later, they were back to their old ways.

They justified¹⁶ it by no longer sending their own photographers, directly; instead they contractedwith pap agencies, who sent the photographers, a distinction without a shred¹⁷ of difference. Theeditors were still inciting¹⁸ and handsomely rewarding thugs and losers to stalk the Royal Family, oranyone else unlucky enough to be deemed famous or newsworthy.

And no one seemed to give a shit. I remember leaving a club in London and being swarmed¹⁹ bytwenty paps. They surrounded me, then surrounded the police car in which I was sitting, threwthemselves across the bonnet²⁰, all wearing football scarves around their faces and hoods²¹ over theirheads, the uniform of terrorists everywhere. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and Iknew no one cared. Price you pay, people would say, though I never understood what they meant.

Price for what?

I was particularly close to one of my bodyguards²². Billy. I called him Billy the Rock, becausehe was so solid, so dependable. He once pounced²³ on a grenade someone tossed at me from acrowd. Luckily, it turned out not to be a real one. I promised Billy I wouldn’t push any more paps.

But neither could I just stroll into their ambushes²⁴. So, when we left a club, I said, You’re going tohave to stuff me into the boot of the car, Billy.

He looked at me, wide-eyed. Really?

That’s the only way I won’t be tempted²⁵ to have a go at them, and they won’t be able to makeany money out of me.

Win-win.

I didn’t tell Billy that this was something my mother used to do.

Thus began a very strange routine between us. When leaving a pub or club in 2007, I’d havethe car pull into a back alley²⁶ or underground parking lot, climb into the boot and let Billy shut thelid, and I’d lie there in the dark, hands across my chest, while he and another bodyguard¹¹ ferriedme home. It felt like being in a coffin²⁷. I didn’t care.

 

1 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

2 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

3 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

4 peripheral   

adj.周边的，外围的

参考例句：

• We dealt with the peripheral aspects of a cost reduction program.我们谈到了降低成本计划的一些外围问题。
• The hotel provides the clerk the service and the peripheral traveling consultation.旅舍提供票务服务和周边旅游咨询。

5 notched   

a.有凹口的，有缺口的

参考例句：

• Torino notched up a 2-1 win at Lazio. 都灵队以2 比1 赢了拉齐奧队。
• He notched up ten points in the first five minutes of the game. 他在比赛开始后的五分钟里得了十分。

6 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

7 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

8 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

9 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

10 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

11 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

12 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

13 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

14 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

15 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

17 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

18 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

19 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

20 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

21 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

22 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

23 pounced   

v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击）

参考例句：

• As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网

25 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

26 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

27 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。