247.英文正文（247）

thetelescreenwassilentforamoment。winstonraisedhisheadagain。thebulletin！butno，theyweremerelychangingthemusic。hehadthemapofafricabehindhiseyelids。themovementofthearmieswasadiagram：ablackarrowtearingverticallysouthward，andawhitearrowhorizontallyeastward，acrossthetailofthefirst。asthoughforreassurancehelookedupattheimperturbablefaceintheportrait。wasitconceivablethatthesecondarrowdidnotevenexist？hisinterestflaggedagain。hedrankanothermouthfulofgin，pickedupthewhiteknightandmadeatentativemove。check。butitwasevidentlynottherightmove，becauseuncalled，amemoryfloatedintohismind。hesawacandle-litroomwithavastwhite-counterpanedbed，andhimself，aboyofnineorten，sittingonthefloor，shakingadice-box，andlaughingexcitedly。hismotherwassittingoppositehimandalsolaughing。

itmusthavebeenaboutamonthbeforeshedisappeared。itwasamomentofreconciliation，whenthenagginghungerinhisbellywasforgottenandhisearlieraffectionforherhadtemporarilyrevived。herememberedthedaywell，apelting，drenchingdaywhenthewaterstreameddownthewindow-paneandthelightindoorswastoodulltoreadby。theboredomofthetwochildreninthedark，crampedbedroombecameunbearable。winstonwhinedandgrizzled，madefutiledemandsforfood，frettedabouttheroompullingeverythingoutofplaceandkickingthewainscotinguntiltheneighboursbangedonthewall，whiletheyoungerchildwailedintermittently。intheendhismothersaid，“nowbegood，andi’ilbuyyouatoy。alovelytoy—you’llloveit”；andthenshehadgoneoutintherain，toalittlegeneralshopwhichwasstillsporadicallyopennearby，andcamebackwithacardboardboxcontaininganoutfitofsnakesandladders。hecouldstillrememberthesmellofthedampcardboard。itwasamiserableoutfit。theboardwascrackedandthetinywoodendiceweresoill-cutthattheywouldhardlylieontheirsides。winstonlookedatthethingsulkilyandwithoutinterest。butthenhismotherlitapieceofcandleandtheysatdownonthefloortoplay。soonhewaswildlyexcitedandshoutingwithlaughterasthetiddly-winksclimbedhopefullyuptheladdersandthencameslitheringdownthesnakesagain，almosttothestarting-point。theyplayedeightgames，winningfoureach。histinysister，tooyoungtounderstandwhatthegamewasabout，hadsatproppedupagainstabolster，laughingbecausetheotherswerelaughing。forawholeafternoontheyhadallbeenhappytogether，asinhisearlierchildhood。