240.英文正文(240)
“itwasacommonpunishmentinimperialchina,”saido’brienasdidacticallyasever。***
themaskwasclosingonhisface。thewirebrushedhischeek。andthen—no,itwasnotrelief,onlyhope,atinyfragmentofhope。toolate,perhapstoolate。buthehadsuddenlyunderstoodthatinthewholeworldtherewasjustonepersontowhomhecouldtransferhispunishment—onebodythathecouldthrustbetweenhimselfandtherats。andhewasshoutingfrantically,overandover。
“doittojulia!doittojulia!notme!julia!idon’tcarewhatyoudotoher。tearherfaceoff,striphertothebones。notme!julia!notme!”
hewasfallingbackwards,intoenormousdepths,awayfromtherats。hewasstillstrappedinthechair,buthehadfallenthroughthefloor,throughthewallsofthebuilding,throughtheearth,throughtheoceans,throughtheatmosphere,intoouterspace,intothegulfsbetweenthestars—alwaysaway,away,awayfromtherats。hewaslightyearsdistant,buto'brienwasstillstandingathisside。therewasstillthecoldtouchofwireagainsthischeek。butthroughthedarknessthatenvelopedhimheheardanothermetallicclick,andknewthatthecagedoorhadclickedshutandnotopen。
xx4
thechestnuttreewasalmostempty。arayofsunlightslantingthroughawindowfellondustytable-tops。itwasthelonelyhouroffifteen。atinnymusictrickledfromthetelescreens。
winstonsatinhisusualcorner,gazingintoanemptyglass。nowandagainheglancedupatavastfacewhicheyedhimfromtheoppositewall。bigbrotheriswatchingyou,thecaptionsaid。unbidden,awaitercameandfilledhisglassupwithvictorygin,shakingintoitafewdropsfromanotherbottlewithaquillthroughthecork。itwassaccharineflavouredwithcloves,thespecialityofthecafé。