【时间旅行者的妻子】13

She continues to hold my hands. She looks at me with eagerness; with love. I feel profoundly humble¹.　“Clare?”　“Yes?”　“Could we back up? Could we pretend that this is a normal first date between two normal people?”　“Okay.” Clare gets up and goes back to her side of the table. She sits up straight and tries not to smile.　“Um, right. Gee², ah, Clare, ah, tell me about yourself. Hobbies? Pets? Unusual sexual proclivities³?”　“Find out for yourself.”　“Right. Let’s see.. .where do you go to school? What are you studying?”　“I’m at the School of the Art Institute; I’ve been doing sculpture, and I’ve just started to study papermaking.”　“Cool. What’s your work like?”　For the first time, Clare seems uncomfortable. “It’s kind of...big, and it’s about.. .birds.” She looks at the table, then takes a sip⁴ of tea.　“Birds?”　“Well, really it’s about, um, longing⁵.” She is still not looking at me, so I change the subject.　“Tell more about your family.”　“Okay.” Clare relaxes, smiles. “Well...my family lives in Michigan, by a small town on the lake called South Haven⁶. Our house is in an unincorporated area outside the town, actually. It originally belonged to my mother’s parents, my Grandpa and Grandma Meagram. He died before I was born, and she lived with us until she died. I was seventeen. My grandpa was a lawyer, and my dad is a lawyer; my dad met my mom when he came to work for Grandpa.”　“So he married the boss’s daughter.”　“Yeah. Actually, I sometimes wonder if he really married the boss’s house. My mom is an only child, and the house is sort of amazing; it’s in a lot of books on the Arts and Crafts movement.”　“Does it have a name? Who built it?”　“It’s called Meadowlark House, and it was built in 1896 by Peter Wyns.”　“Wow. I’ve seen pictures of it. It was built for one of the Henderson family, right?”　“Yes. It was a wedding present for Mary Henderson and Dieter Bascombe. 

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

3 proclivities   

n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Raised by adoptive parents,Hill received early encouragement in her musical proclivities. 希尔由养父母带大，从小，她的音乐爱好就受到了鼓励。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whatever his political connections and proclivities, he did not care to neglect so powerful a man. 无论他的政治关系和脾气如何，他并不愿怠慢这样有势力的人。 来自辞典例句

4 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

5 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

6 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。