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。