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文章总共2页
section of the Church Lads' Brigade, and an authority on horseflesh,
expects him to be among the first three."
"The nephews of housekeepers are invariably optimists," said Bertie;
"it's a kind of natural reaction against the professional pessimism
of their aunts."
"We don't seem to get much further in our search for the probable
winner," said Mrs. de Claux; "the more I listen to you experts the
more hopelessly befogged I get."
"It's all very well to blame us," said Bertie to his hostess; "you
haven't produced anything in the way of an inspiration."
"My inspiration consisted in asking you down for Derby week,"
retorted Mrs. de Claux; "I thought you and Odo between you might
throw some light on the question of the moment."
Further recriminations were cut short by the arrival of Lola
Pevensey, who floated into the room with an air of gracious apology.
"So sorry to be so late," she observed, making a rapid tour of
inspection of the breakfast dishes.
"Did you have a good night?" asked her hostess with perfunctory
solicitude.
"Quite, thank you," said Lola; "I dreamt a most remarkable dream."
A flutter, indicative of general boredom; went round the table.
Other people's dreams are about as universally interesting as
accounts of other people's gardens, or chickens, or children.
"I dreamt about the winner of the Derby," said Lola.
A swift reaction of attentive interest set in.
"Do tell us what you dreamt," came in a chorus.
"The really remarkable thing about it is that I've dreamt it two
nights running," said Lola, finally deciding between the allurements
of sausages and kedgeree; "that is why I thought it worth
mentioning. You know, when I dream things two or three nights in
succession, it always means something; I have special powers in that
way. For instance, I once dreamed three times that a winged lion
was flying through the sky and one of his wings dropped off, and he
came to the ground with a crash; just afterwards the Campanile at
Venice fell down. The winged lion is the symbol of Venice, you
know," she added for the enlightenment of those who might not be
versed in Italian heraldry. "Then," she continued, "just before the
murder of the King and Queen of Servia I had a vivid dream of two
crowned figures walking into a slaughter-house by the banks of a big
river, which I took to be the Danube; and only the other day--"
"Do tell us what you've dreamt about the Derby," interrupted Odo
impatiently.
"Well, I saw the finish of the race as clearly as anything; and one
horse won easily, almost in a canter, and everybody cried out 'Bread
and Butter wins! Good old Bread and Butter.' I heard the name
distinctly, and I've had the same dream two nights running."
"Bread and Butter," said Mrs. de Claux, "now, whatever horse can
that point to? Why--of course; Nursery Tea!"
She looked round with the triumphant smile of a successful
unraveller of mystery.
"How about Le Five O'Clock?" interposed Sir Lulworth.
"It would fit either of them equally well," said Odo; "can you
remember any details about the jockey's colours? That might help
us."
"I seem to remember a glimpse of lemon sleeves or cap, but I can't
be sure," said Lola, after due reflection.
"There isn't a lemon jacket or cap in the race," said Bertie,
referring to a list of starters and jockeys; "can't you remember
anything about the appearance of the horse? If it were a thick-set
animal, this bread and butter would typify Nursery Tea; and if it
were thin, of course, it would mean Le Five O'Clock."
"That seems sound enough," said Mrs. de Claux; "do think, Lola dear,
whether the horse in your dream was thin or stoutly built."
"I can't remember that it was one or the other," said Lola; "one
wouldn't notice such a detail in the excitement of a finish."
"But this was a symbolic animal," said Sir Lulworth; "if it were to
typify thick or thin bread and butter surely it ought to have been
either as bulky and tubby as a shire cart-horse; or as thin as a
heraldic leopard."
"I'm afraid you are rather a careless dreamer," said Bertie
resentfully.
"Of course, at the moment of dreaming I thought I was witnessing a
real race, not the portent of one," said Lola; "otherwise I should
have particularly noticed all helpful details."
"The Derby isn't run till to-morrow," said Mrs. de Claux; "do you
think you are likely to have the same dream again to-night? If so;
you can fix your attention on the important detail of the animal's
expects him to be among the first three."
"The nephews of housekeepers are invariably optimists," said Bertie;
"it's a kind of natural reaction against the professional pessimism
of their aunts."
"We don't seem to get much further in our search for the probable
winner," said Mrs. de Claux; "the more I listen to you experts the
more hopelessly befogged I get."
"It's all very well to blame us," said Bertie to his hostess; "you
haven't produced anything in the way of an inspiration."
"My inspiration consisted in asking you down for Derby week,"
retorted Mrs. de Claux; "I thought you and Odo between you might
throw some light on the question of the moment."
Further recriminations were cut short by the arrival of Lola
Pevensey, who floated into the room with an air of gracious apology.
"So sorry to be so late," she observed, making a rapid tour of
inspection of the breakfast dishes.
"Did you have a good night?" asked her hostess with perfunctory
solicitude.
"Quite, thank you," said Lola; "I dreamt a most remarkable dream."
A flutter, indicative of general boredom; went round the table.
Other people's dreams are about as universally interesting as
accounts of other people's gardens, or chickens, or children.
"I dreamt about the winner of the Derby," said Lola.
A swift reaction of attentive interest set in.
"Do tell us what you dreamt," came in a chorus.
"The really remarkable thing about it is that I've dreamt it two
nights running," said Lola, finally deciding between the allurements
of sausages and kedgeree; "that is why I thought it worth
mentioning. You know, when I dream things two or three nights in
succession, it always means something; I have special powers in that
way. For instance, I once dreamed three times that a winged lion
was flying through the sky and one of his wings dropped off, and he
came to the ground with a crash; just afterwards the Campanile at
Venice fell down. The winged lion is the symbol of Venice, you
know," she added for the enlightenment of those who might not be
versed in Italian heraldry. "Then," she continued, "just before the
murder of the King and Queen of Servia I had a vivid dream of two
crowned figures walking into a slaughter-house by the banks of a big
river, which I took to be the Danube; and only the other day--"
"Do tell us what you've dreamt about the Derby," interrupted Odo
impatiently.
"Well, I saw the finish of the race as clearly as anything; and one
horse won easily, almost in a canter, and everybody cried out 'Bread
and Butter wins! Good old Bread and Butter.' I heard the name
distinctly, and I've had the same dream two nights running."
"Bread and Butter," said Mrs. de Claux, "now, whatever horse can
that point to? Why--of course; Nursery Tea!"
She looked round with the triumphant smile of a successful
unraveller of mystery.
"How about Le Five O'Clock?" interposed Sir Lulworth.
"It would fit either of them equally well," said Odo; "can you
remember any details about the jockey's colours? That might help
us."
"I seem to remember a glimpse of lemon sleeves or cap, but I can't
be sure," said Lola, after due reflection.
"There isn't a lemon jacket or cap in the race," said Bertie,
referring to a list of starters and jockeys; "can't you remember
anything about the appearance of the horse? If it were a thick-set
animal, this bread and butter would typify Nursery Tea; and if it
were thin, of course, it would mean Le Five O'Clock."
"That seems sound enough," said Mrs. de Claux; "do think, Lola dear,
whether the horse in your dream was thin or stoutly built."
"I can't remember that it was one or the other," said Lola; "one
wouldn't notice such a detail in the excitement of a finish."
"But this was a symbolic animal," said Sir Lulworth; "if it were to
typify thick or thin bread and butter surely it ought to have been
either as bulky and tubby as a shire cart-horse; or as thin as a
heraldic leopard."
"I'm afraid you are rather a careless dreamer," said Bertie
resentfully.
"Of course, at the moment of dreaming I thought I was witnessing a
real race, not the portent of one," said Lola; "otherwise I should
have particularly noticed all helpful details."
"The Derby isn't run till to-morrow," said Mrs. de Claux; "do you
think you are likely to have the same dream again to-night? If so;
you can fix your attention on the important detail of the animal's
- restaurant [´restərɔnt]
n.饭店，菜馆 (初中英语单词) - ambitious [æm´biʃəs] a.有雄心的；热望的 (初中英语单词)
- expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
- politics [´pɔlitiks] n.政治(学)；政治活动 (初中英语单词)
- dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
- suffering [´sʌfəriŋ] n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词)
- invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)
- horror [´hɔrə] n.恐怖；战栗 (初中英语单词)
- rabbit [´ræbit] n.兔子，野兔 (初中英语单词)
- sufficiently [sə´fiʃəntli] ad.充分地，足够地 (初中英语单词)
- luncheon [´lʌntʃ(ə)n] n.午餐，午宴 (初中英语单词)
- luxury [´lʌkʃəri] n.奢侈(品)；享受 (初中英语单词)
- sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
- chatter [´tʃætə] vi.&n.饶舌；闲聊 (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- nephew [´nevju:, ´nɛfju] n.侄子；外甥 (初中英语单词)
- reaction [ri´ækʃən] n.反应(力) (初中英语单词)
- professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)
- arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
- gracious [´greiʃəs] a.和蔼可亲的；任慈的 (初中英语单词)
- remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的；显著的 (初中英语单词)
- flutter [´flʌtə] vi.飘扬；摆 n.拍动 (初中英语单词)
- attentive [ə´tentiv] a.注意的；殷勤的 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- winged [´wiŋd] a.有翼的 (初中英语单词)
- italian [i´tæliən] a.意大利 n.意大利人 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)
- glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)
- jacket [´dʒækit] n.茄克衫；外套 (初中英语单词)
- excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)
- careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)
- enthusiastic [inθju:zi´æstik] a.热情的，热心的 (高中英语单词)
- recommendation [,rekəmen´deiʃən] n.推荐；劝告 (高中英语单词)
- specially [´speʃəli] ad.专门地；特别地 (高中英语单词)
- hostess [´həustis] n.女主人；旅馆女老板 (高中英语单词)
- recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)
- hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
- contemplate [´kɔntempleit] v.注视；沉思；期待 (高中英语单词)
- nursery [´nə:səri] n.托儿所；苗床；养鱼场 (高中英语单词)
- stifle [´staifəl] vt.(使)窒息，闷死 (高中英语单词)
- inspiration [,inspi´reiʃən] n.鼓舞；灵感；启发 (高中英语单词)
- earthly [´ə:θli] a.地球的；世俗的 (高中英语单词)
- invariably [in´veəriəbli] ad.不变地；永恒地 (高中英语单词)
- symbol [´simbəl] n.符号；象征 (高中英语单词)
- venice [´venis] n.威尼斯 (高中英语单词)
- hurriedly [´hʌridli] ad.仓促地，忙乱地 (英语四级单词)
- composure [kəm´pəuʒə] n.镇静，沉着 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- sneeze [sni:z] n.&vi.(打)喷嚏(声) (英语四级单词)
- winner [´winə] n.胜利者，得奖者 (英语四级单词)
- brigade [bri´geid] n.(军队的)旅；队，组 (英语四级单词)
- hopelessly [´həuplisli] ad.无希望地，绝望地 (英语四级单词)
- universally [,ju:ni´və:səli] ad.普遍地 (英语四级单词)
- danube [´dænju:b] n.多瑙河 (英语四级单词)
- triumphant [trai´ʌmfənt] a.胜利的；洋洋得意的 (英语四级单词)
- turkish [´tə:kiʃ] a.&n.土耳其人(语)的 (英语六级单词)
- squeal [skwi:l] n.&v.长而尖的叫声 (英语六级单词)
- calais [´kælei] n.加来 (英语六级单词)
- illumination [i,lju:mi´neiʃən] n.照明；阐明 (英语六级单词)
- scuttle [´skʌtl] n.煤桶；天窗 vi.奔逃 (英语六级单词)
- suggestive [sə´dʒestiv] a.暗示的；启发的 (英语六级单词)
- involuntary [in´vɔləntəri] a.无意识的；非自愿的 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- bunting [´bʌntiŋ] n.旗帜；白颊鸟 (英语六级单词)
- indicative [in´dikətiv] a.指示的；陈述的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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