242.英文正文(242)
themusicfromthetelescreenstoppedandavoicetookover。***winstonraisedhisheadtolisten。nobulletinsfromthefront,however。itwasmerelyabriefannouncementfromtheministryofplenty。intheprecedingquarter,itappeared,thetenththree-yearplan’squotaforbootlaceshadbeenoverfulfilledby98percent。
heexaminedthechessproblemandsetoutthepieces。itwasatrickyending,involvingacoupleofknights。“whitetoplayandmateintwomoves。”winstonlookedupattheportraitofbigbrother。whitealwaysmates,hethoughtwithasortofcloudymysticism。always,withoutexception,itissoarranged。innochessproblemsincethebeginningoftheworldhasblackeverwon。diditnotsymbolizetheeternal,unvaryingtriumphofgoodoverevil?thehugefacegazedbackathim,fullofcalmpower。whitealwaysmates。
thevoicefromthetelescreenpausedandaddedinadifferentandmuchgravertone:“youarewarnedtostandbyforanimportantannouncementatfifteen-thirty。fifteen-thirty!thisisnewsofthehighestimportance。takecarenottomissit。fifteen-thirty!”thetinkingmusicstruckupagain。
winston’sheartstirred。thatwasthebulletinfromthefront;instincttoldhimthatitwasbadnewsthatwascoming。allday,withlittlespurtsofexcitement,thethoughtofasmashingdefeatinafricahadbeeninandoutofhismind。heseemedactuallytoseetheeurasianarmyswarmingacrossthenever-brokenfrontierandpouringdownintothetipofafricalikeacolumnofants。whyhaditnotbeenpossibletooutflanktheminsomeway?theoutlineofthewestafricancoaststoodoutvividlyinhismind。hepickedupthewhiteknightandmoveditacrosstheboard。therewastheproperspot。evenwhilehesawtheblackhorderacingsouthwardhesawanotherforce,mysteriouslyassembled,suddenlyplantedintheirrear,cuttingtheircomunicationsbylandandsea。hefeltthatbywillingithewasbringingthatotherforceintoexistence。butitwasnecessarytoactquickly。iftheycouldgetcontrolofthewholeofafrica,iftheyhadairfieldsandsubmarinebasesatthecape,itwouldcutoceaniaintwo。itmightmeananything:defeat,breakdown,theredivisionoftheworld,thedestructionoftheparty!hedrewadeepbreath。anextraordinarymedleyoffeeling-butitwasnotamedley,exactly;ratheritwassuccessivelayersoffeeling,inwhichonecouldnotsaywhichlayerwasundermoststruggledinsidehim。