242.英文正文（242）

themusicfromthetelescreenstoppedandavoicetookover。***winstonraisedhisheadtolisten。nobulletinsfromthefront，however。itwasmerelyabriefannouncementfromtheministryofplenty。intheprecedingquarter，itappeared，thetenththree-yearplan』squotaforbootlaceshadbeenoverfulfilledby98percent。

heexaminedthechessproblemandsetoutthepieces。itwasatrickyending，involvingacoupleofknights。「whitetoplayandmateintwomoves。」winstonlookedupattheportraitofbigbrother。whitealwaysmates，hethoughtwithasortofcloudymysticism。always，withoutexception，itissoarranged。innochessproblemsincethebeginningoftheworldhasblackeverwon。diditnotsymbolizetheeternal，unvaryingtriumphofgoodoverevil？thehugefacegazedbackathim，fullofcalmpower。whitealwaysmates。

thevoicefromthetelescreenpausedandaddedinadifferentandmuchgravertone：「youarewarnedtostandbyforanimportantannouncementatfifteen-thirty。fifteen-thirty！thisisnewsofthehighestimportance。takecarenottomissit。fifteen-thirty！」thetinkingmusicstruckupagain。

winston』sheartstirred。thatwasthebulletinfromthefront；instincttoldhimthatitwasbadnewsthatwascoming。allday，withlittlespurtsofexcitement，thethoughtofasmashingdefeatinafricahadbeeninandoutofhismind。heseemedactuallytoseetheeurasianarmyswarmingacrossthenever-brokenfrontierandpouringdownintothetipofafricalikeacolumnofants。whyhaditnotbeenpossibletooutflanktheminsomeway？theoutlineofthewestafricancoaststoodoutvividlyinhismind。hepickedupthewhiteknightandmoveditacrosstheboard。therewastheproperspot。evenwhilehesawtheblackhorderacingsouthwardhesawanotherforce，mysteriouslyassembled，suddenlyplantedintheirrear，cuttingtheircomunicationsbylandandsea。hefeltthatbywillingithewasbringingthatotherforceintoexistence。butitwasnecessarytoactquickly。iftheycouldgetcontrolofthewholeofafrica，iftheyhadairfieldsandsubmarinebasesatthecape，itwouldcutoceaniaintwo。itmightmeananything：defeat，breakdown，theredivisionoftheworld，thedestructionoftheparty！hedrewadeepbreath。anextraordinarymedleyoffeeling-butitwasnotamedley，exactly；ratheritwassuccessivelayersoffeeling，inwhichonecouldnotsaywhichlayerwasundermoststruggledinsidehim。