The people of the town stared at us from the sides of their eyes as they passed us. They
clenched(握紧) their hands and muttered, and some of them spat on the pavement. A few of us were attacked and beaten in the dark, and driven from the parks and streets. All of the time, the Police told us to move on, move on.
It is the end of the third month when it happens.
The farmers hired coaches and send them into the town. From four o'clock in the morning we waited in agitating silence, hands pushed deep into pockets, our hats pulled down tight against the cold and the watching policemen.
By the time the coaches arrived, there are hundreds of workers waiting in the darkness. We pressed forward as the doors opened. The supervisors stood on the bottom steps of the coaches and asked, "Who has the permit?"
The men with permits hold them up and were allowed onto the coaches.
Some of the workers were from the countries in Europe and did not need permits, so they were allowed on when they showed their passports. I went from coach to coach until I saw a group of Chileans (智利人), who I knew have no permits, climbing aboard a waiting coach. The leader of their group spoke first with the foreman and shook his hand, then they were taken on. I stood before the supervisor.
―You have the permit?‖he asked me. He was broad, stout (肥胖的)and filled the doorway of the coach. His fat neck spilt from the upturned (向上翻的) collar of his leather jacket. His hair was
shaven close to his head. I explain to him that my application was rejected but I would try again.
―Come back when you have a permit,‖ he told me. He frowned as he inhaled (吸入，吸气) a smoke and looked down the avenue to where the policemen were watching the coaches. I explained to him that I was a hard worker, that I had eaten only once in three days, that I was eager to work and send money to my family.
He looked at the policemen, who had started walking along the pavement beside the coaches, and glared at me and says, ―Go to Madrid and tell them.‖
The Chileans were laughing and pointing at me through the coach windows.
The supervisor tossed his half-finished cigarette into the gutter(排水沟) by my foot. At the moment I stabbed him in the stomach. He bent down with a small cry.
The policemen looked at us and I began to run away from the coaches, into the dark side streets. I heard loud running steps close behind me, and the roar of car engines.
I slid into the shadows of a shop's back door, behind two tall metal containers that stank (发出臭味) of rotting meat and spoiled foodstuff (食品). I gasped, and each breath burnt. My heart hammered against my chest.
30篇文章贯通考研词汇
I had run almost to the river; I could hear it rushing in the darkness beneath me.
My right hand felt cold. I looked down in the yellow light of a street lamp, and saw my hand still clenched into a fist. It looked like the hand of another person, not part of me. A short blade, no longer than my thumb, stuck out from the fist. The blade, my fist, and my sleeve were all stained dark red.
Paulo gave me the knife when I picked artichokes on the farms. The short thick blade is very sharp, made for cutting the plants' stalks.
I scrambled down to the banks of the river and threw the knife into the river water. I heard it splashed far away. The river touched my feet. I bowed down and washed my sleeve and hand, although the water was so cold, like ice, that my hand became numb. Then I walked back up to the street.
I found some of the other workers hiding in the deserted warehouse we had found. One of them went to find Paulo, who came and told me about the old farm buildings near to the coast road. I waited until darkness before I followed the road out of the town, throwing myself into the ditch if I heard a car approaching.
The weather has been clear and I have seen the coast of Morocco every day. Across the blue sea, the land is a strip of dark brown and gray, and looks close enough for me to touch. Maybe I could find an old tractor tyre tube around the farm and float across the Straits? Or maybe I could walk along the shore and steal a boat?
I do not want to become a thief. I am an honest man who wants only to work and support his family. But what can I do?
I will wait here for Paulo and listen to him. He will tell me what to do for the best. I know that he will help me.
注释:
store→★store
chestnut
grain
barrel→★bar
sour
engine→★engine
beam
patch
broken
cling
numb
tremble
patrol
strait
squeeze
shallow
tomb
scare
pray→★pray
save→★safe
could
inland→★land
contact
30篇文章贯通考研词汇
open→★open
orchard
disappear
wrap
present
happy
cabbage
bean
cucumber
pea
perfume
local→★local
wage
landlord→★land