238.英文正文（238）

o’brienpickedupthecageandbroughtitacrosstothenearertable。***hesetitdowncarefullyonthebaizecloth。winstoncouldhearthebloodsinginginhisears。hehadthefeelingofsittinginutterloneliness。hewasinthemiddleofagreatemptyplain，aflatdesertdrenchedwithsunlight，acrosswhichallsoundscametohimoutofimmensedistances。yetthecagewiththeratswasnottwometresawayfromhim。theywereenormousrats。theywereattheagewhenarat’smuzzlegrowsbluntandfierceandhisfurbrowninsteadofgrey。

“therat，”saido’brien，stilladdressinghisinvisibleaudience，“althougharodent，iscarnivorous。youareawareofthat。youwillhaveheardofthethingsthathappeninthepoorquartersofthistown。insomestreetsawomandarenotleaveherbabyaloneinthehouse，evenforfiveminutes。theratsarecertaintoattackit。withinquiteasmalltimetheywillstripittothebones。theyalsoattacksickordyingpeople。theyshowastonishingintelligenceinknowingwhenahumanbeingishelpless。”

therewasanoutburstofsquealsfromthecage。itseemedtoreachwinstonfromfaraway。theratswerefighting；theyweretryingtogetateachotherthroughthepartition。heheardalsoadeepgroanofdespair。that，too，seemedtocomefromoutsidehimself。

o’brienpickedupthecage，and，ashedidso，pressedsomethinginit。therewasasharpclick。winstonmadeafranticefforttotearhimselfloosefromthechair。itwashopeless；everypartofhim，evenhishead，washeldimmovably。o’brienmovedthecagenearer。itwaslessthanametrefromwinston’sface。