【有声英语文学名著】英国病人 27

 He had, he thought, said nothing of worth to them. But they let him go, so perhaps he was wrong. Then he had walked along the Via di Santo Spirito to the one geographical¹ location he had hidden away in his brain. Walked past Brunelleschi’s church towards the library of the German Institute, where he knew a certain person would look after him. 

 Suddenly he realized this was why they had let him go. Letting him walk freely would fool him into revealing this contact. He arced into a side street, not looking back, never looking back. He wanted a street fire so he could stanch² his wounds, hang them 

over the smoke from a tar³ cauldron so black smoke would envelop⁴ his hands. He was on the Santa Trinita Bridge. There was nothing around, no traffic, which surprised him. He sat on the smooth balustrade of the bridge, then lay back. No sounds. 

Earlier, when he had walked, his hands in his wet pockets, there had been the manic movement of tanks and jeeps. As he lay there the mined bridge exploded and he was flung upwards⁵ and then down as part of the end of the world. He opened his eyes and there was a giant head beside him. He breathed in and his chest filled with water. He was underwater. 

1 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

2 stanch   

v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的

参考例句：

• Cuttlebone can be used as a medicine to stanch bleeding.海螵蛸可以入药，用来止血。
• I thought it my duty to help stanch these leaks.我认为帮助堵塞漏洞是我的职责。

3 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

4 envelop   

vt.包，封，遮盖；包围

参考例句：

• All combine to form a layer of mist to envelop this region.织成一层烟雾又笼罩着这个地区。
• The dust cloud will envelop the planet within weeks.产生的尘云将会笼罩整个星球长达几周。

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。