英语听力 暮光之城•暮色 第113期:第七章 梦魇(18)

 The next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of the driveway. 接下来我听到了查理的巡逻车碾上车道的砖块的声音。

I sat up in surprise, realizing the light was gone, behind the trees, and I had fallen asleep. 我吃惊地坐起来，发觉光线已经消失在了树丛后。

I looked around, muddled¹, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone. 我方才睡着了。我茫然地环顾四周，忽然意识到我不是一个人。

"Charlie?" I asked. But I could hear his door slamming in front of the house. “查理？”我出声询问道。但我能听到从房子前头传来的他关门的声音。

I jumped up, foolishly edgy², gathering³ the now-damp quilt and my book. 我跳起来，急躁得有些可笑，收拾起已经有些潮湿的褥子和书。

I ran inside to get some oil heating on the stove, realizing that dinner would be late. 我冲进屋里，往锅里放了点油，开始加热，意识到晚餐要推迟了。

Charlie was hanging up his gun belt and stepping out of his boots when I came in. 当我进来的时候，查理正在把武装带挂起来，脱下靴子。

"Sorry, Dad, dinner's not ready yet—I fell asleep outside." I stifled⁴ a yawn. “抱歉，爸爸，晚餐还没好——我在屋外睡着了。”我的话被呵欠打断了。

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I wanted to catch the score on the game, anyway." “别担心，”他说。“总之，我想先看看赛事的比分情况。”

I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. 为了找些事干，晚饭后我和查理一起看电视。

There wasn't anything on I wanted to watch, but he knew I didn't like baseball, so he turned it to some mindless sitcom⁵ that neither of us enjoyed. 没什么我想看的节目，但他知道我不喜欢棒球，所以他换了台，切换到某个我们都不怎么喜欢的情景喜剧。

He seemed happy, though, to be doing something together. 但他还是很开心，因为我们能待在一起做点什么。

And it felt good, despite my depression, to make him happy. 如果不去管我的失落的话，让他高兴是件不错的事。

"Dad," I said during a commercial, "Jessica and Angela are going to look at dresses for the dance tomorrow night in Port Angeles, “爸爸，”插播广告的时候我说道。“杰西卡和安吉拉打算明天晚上去天使港去找舞会穿的衣服，

and they wanted me to help them choose... do you mind if I go with them?" 她们想让我帮忙挑选……你介意我跟她们一起去吗？”

"Jessica Stanley?" he asked. “杰西卡·斯坦利？”他问道。

"And Angela Weber." I sighed as I gave him the details. “还有安吉拉·韦伯。”我叹了口气，给了他更加详尽的信息。

He was confused. "But you're not going to the dance, right?" 他很困惑：“可你不打算去舞会，对吧？”

"No, Dad, but I'm helping⁶ them find dresses—you know, giving them constructive⁷ criticism." I wouldn't have to explain this to a woman. “我不去，爸爸。但我可以帮她们找衣服——你知道，给她们一点有建设性的意见。”如果是跟一个女人说话，我就不用解释这些了。

1 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

5 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。