Disgrace: 20(8)

He visits the bank, takes a load of washing to the laundry. In the little shop where for years he has bought his coffee the assistant pretends not to recognize him. His neighbour, watering her garden, studiously keeps her back turned.

他去了银行，又把一堆要洗的衣服拿到洗衣店。在那家他多年来一直在那里买咖啡的小店里，那个店员假装不认识他。他的邻居，正在给她自家的花园浇水，也故意背转身去。

He thinks of William Wordsworth on his first stay in London, visiting the pantomime [1], seeing Jack the Giant Killer [2] blithely striding the stage, flourishing his sword, protected by the word Invisible written on his chest.

他想到了威廉·华兹华斯在伦敦首次逗留期间观看童话剧，看到巨人捕手杰克欢快地在舞台上大步走过，一边挥舞着他的剑，受到他胸前写着的“隐形”二字的庇护。

In the evening he calls Lucy from a public telephone. 'I thought I'd phone in case you were worried about me,' he says. 'I'm fine. I'll take a while to settle down, I suspect. I rattle about in the house like a pea in a bottle. I miss the ducks.'

傍晚时分，他用公共电话给露西打去电话。‘我想着给你打个电话，以免你担心我，’他说，‘我很好。在这里安心住下来还得一段时间，也许吧。我在屋里坐卧不宁，就像一颗装进瓶子里的豌豆。我怀念你那儿的鸭子。’

【1】“pantomime”：[新牛津英汉双解大词典]

(英)（圣诞节期间演出的）童话剧

【2】“Jack the Giant Killer”：[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Giant_Killer]

"Jack the Giant Killer" is an English fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of giants during King Arthur's reign.

Read Alps 2019年2月20日