238.英文正文(238)
o’brienpickedupthecageandbroughtitacrosstothenearertable。***hesetitdowncarefullyonthebaizecloth。winstoncouldhearthebloodsinginginhisears。hehadthefeelingofsittinginutterloneliness。hewasinthemiddleofagreatemptyplain,aflatdesertdrenchedwithsunlight,acrosswhichallsoundscametohimoutofimmensedistances。yetthecagewiththeratswasnottwometresawayfromhim。theywereenormousrats。theywereattheagewhenarat’smuzzlegrowsbluntandfierceandhisfurbrowninsteadofgrey。
“therat,”saido’brien,stilladdressinghisinvisibleaudience,“althougharodent,iscarnivorous。youareawareofthat。youwillhaveheardofthethingsthathappeninthepoorquartersofthistown。insomestreetsawomandarenotleaveherbabyaloneinthehouse,evenforfiveminutes。theratsarecertaintoattackit。withinquiteasmalltimetheywillstripittothebones。theyalsoattacksickordyingpeople。theyshowastonishingintelligenceinknowingwhenahumanbeingishelpless。”
therewasanoutburstofsquealsfromthecage。itseemedtoreachwinstonfromfaraway。theratswerefighting;theyweretryingtogetateachotherthroughthepartition。heheardalsoadeepgroanofdespair。that,too,seemedtocomefromoutsidehimself。
o’brienpickedupthecage,and,ashedidso,pressedsomethinginit。therewasasharpclick。winstonmadeafranticefforttotearhimselfloosefromthechair。itwashopeless;everypartofhim,evenhishead,washeldimmovably。o’brienmovedthecagenearer。itwaslessthanametrefromwinston’sface。