I was thirtyseven then, strapped in my seat as the huge 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport. Cold November rains drenched the earth and lent everything the gloomy air of a Flemish landscape: the ground crew ran gear, a flag atop a squat（蹲着的） airport building, a BMW billboard. So Germany again.
Once the plane was on the ground soft music began to flow from the ceiling speakers: a sweet orchestral（管弦乐的） cover version of the Beatles' " Norwegian Wood". The melody never failed to send a shudder through me, but this time it hit me harder than ever.
I bent forward in my seat, face in hands to keep my skull from splitting open. Before long one of the German stewardesses approached and asked in English if I was sick. "No," I said, just dizzy"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Thanks."
She smiled and left, and the music changed to a Billy Joel tune. I straight ened up and looked out the plane window at the dark clouds hanging over the North Sea, thinking of what I had lost in the course of my life: times gone forever, friends who had died or disappeared, feelings I would never know again.
The plane reached the gate. People began unlatching their seatbelts and pulling baggage from the storage bins, and all the while I was in the meadow. I could smell the grass, feel the wind on my face, hear the cries of the birds. Autumn 1969,and soon I would be twenty.
True, given time enough, I can bring back her face. I start joining image-her tiny, cold hand; her straight, black hair so smooth and cool to the touch; a soft, rounded earlobe and the microscopic mole just beneath it; the camels hair coat she wore in the winter; her habit of looking straight into your eyes when asking a question; the slight trembling that would come to her voice now and then (as if she were speaking on a windy hilltop)-and suddenly her face is there, always in profile at first, because Naoko and I were always out waking together, side by side. Then she turns to me, and smiles, and tilts her head just a bit, and begins to speak, and she looks into my eyes as if trying to catch the image of a minnow that has darted across the pool of a mlimpid spring.
I do need that time, though for Naoko's face to appear. And as the years have passed, the time has grown longer. The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute - like shadows lengthening at dusk. Someday, I suppose, the shadows will be swallowed up in darkness. There is no way around it: my memory is growing ever more distant from the spot where Naoko used to stand-ever more distant from the spot where my old self used to stand. And nothing but scenery, that view of the meadow in October, returns again and again to me like a symbolic scene in a movie. Each time it appears, it delivers a kick to some part of my mind. "Wale up," it says. "I'm still here! Wake up and think
It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to write things down to feel I fully comprehend them.
相关单词：strapped
strapped解释：adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带
strapped例句：
Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：plunged
plunged解释：v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降
plunged例句：
The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
相关单词：dense
dense解释：a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的
dense例句：
The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
相关单词：drenched
drenched解释：adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）
drenched例句：
We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：squat
squat解释：v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的
squat例句：
For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。
相关单词：billboard
billboard解释：n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌
billboard例句：
He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。
相关单词：shudder
shudder解释：v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动
shudder例句：
The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。
相关单词：bent
bent解释：n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的
bent例句：
He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
相关单词：skull
skull解释：n.头骨；颅骨
skull例句：
The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。
相关单词：stewardesses
stewardesses解释：（飞机上的）女服务员，空中小姐( stewardess的名词复数 )
stewardesses例句：
If you need help, stewardesses will be pleased to help you. 如果你需要帮忙的话，空中小姐会很高兴为你效劳。
Stewardesses on planes should be employed for their ability, not for their looks. 应该根据能力而不是容貌来录用飞机上的女服务员。
相关单词：tune
tune解释：n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
tune例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
相关单词：bins
bins解释：n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )
bins例句：
Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句
相关单词：microscopic
microscopic解释：adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的
microscopic例句：
It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。
相关单词：mole
mole解释：n.胎块；痣；克分子
mole例句：
She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
The young girl felt very self- conscious
相关单词：tilts
tilts解释：（意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 )
tilts例句：
As the kitten touches it, it tilts at the floor. 它随着击碰倾侧，头不动，眼不动，还呆呆地注视着地上。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
The two writers had a number of tilts in print. 这两位作家写过一些文章互相攻击。
相关单词：darted
darted解释：v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔
darted例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：lengthening
lengthening解释：（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长
lengthening例句：
The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分
相关单词：symbolic
symbolic解释：adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的
symbolic例句：
It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。
相关单词：fully
fully解释：adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
fully例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
