1-30

30.

Weeks later, back at Eton, I was walking past two blue doors, almost exactly the same blue as oneof Gan-Gan’s kilts. She’d have liked these doors, I thought.

They were the doors to the TV room, one of my sanctuaries¹.

Almost every day, straight after lunch, my mates and I would head to the TV room and watcha bit of Neighbours, or maybe Home and Away, before going off to sports. But this day inSeptember 2001 the room was packed and Neighbours wasn’t on.

The news was on.

And the news was a nightmare.

Some buildings on fire?

Oh, wow, where’s that?

New York.

I tried to see the screen through all the boys massed in the room. I asked the boy to my rightwhat was going on.

He said America was under attack.

Terrorists had flown planes into the Twin Towers in New York City.

People were…jumping. From the tops of buildings half a kilometer high.

More and more boys gathered, stood around, biting their lips, their nails, tugging² their ears. Instunned silence, in boyish confusion, we watched the only world we’d ever known disappear inclouds of toxic³ smoke.

World War Three, someone muttered.

Someone propped⁴ open the blue doors. Boys kept streaming in.

None made a sound.

So much chaos⁵, so much pain.

What can be done? What can we do?

What will we be called to do?

Days later I turned seventeen.

 

1 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

2 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。