240.英文正文（240）

「itwasacommonpunishmentinimperialchina，」saido』brienasdidacticallyasever。***

themaskwasclosingonhisface。thewirebrushedhischeek。andthen—no，itwasnotrelief，onlyhope，atinyfragmentofhope。toolate，perhapstoolate。buthehadsuddenlyunderstoodthatinthewholeworldtherewasjustonepersontowhomhecouldtransferhispunishment—onebodythathecouldthrustbetweenhimselfandtherats。andhewasshoutingfrantically，overandover。

「doittojulia！doittojulia！notme！julia！idon』tcarewhatyoudotoher。tearherfaceoff，striphertothebones。notme！julia！notme！」

hewasfallingbackwards，intoenormousdepths，awayfromtherats。hewasstillstrappedinthechair，buthehadfallenthroughthefloor，throughthewallsofthebuilding，throughtheearth，throughtheoceans，throughtheatmosphere，intoouterspace，intothegulfsbetweenthestars—alwaysaway，away，awayfromtherats。hewaslightyearsdistant，buto'brienwasstillstandingathisside。therewasstillthecoldtouchofwireagainsthischeek。butthroughthedarknessthatenvelopedhimheheardanothermetallicclick，andknewthatthecagedoorhadclickedshutandnotopen。

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thechestnuttreewasalmostempty。arayofsunlightslantingthroughawindowfellondustytable-tops。itwasthelonelyhouroffifteen。atinnymusictrickledfromthetelescreens。

winstonsatinhisusualcorner，gazingintoanemptyglass。nowandagainheglancedupatavastfacewhicheyedhimfromtheoppositewall。bigbrotheriswatchingyou，thecaptionsaid。unbidden，awaitercameandfilledhisglassupwithvictorygin，shakingintoitafewdropsfromanotherbottlewithaquillthroughthecork。itwassaccharineflavouredwithcloves，thespecialityofthecafé。