Plague - Apr 07

It cannot be denied that, anyhow in the early days, the natural feelings of the family were somewhat outraged by these ________(闪电般的) funerals.

Actually the most striking feature of our funerals was their speed. Formalities had been ________(逐渐减少/缩减), and, generally speaking, all elaborate ceremonial suppressed.

Next the coffin was loaded on a motor-vehicle—a real ________(灵车) or a large converted ambulance. The mourners stepped into one of the few taxis still allowed to ply and the vehicles drove ________(尽快) to the cemetery ________(走某条路线) avoiding the center of the town.

Let us suppose that these formalities were taking place at the auxiliary hospital of which Dr. Rieux was in charge. This converted school had an exit at the back of the main building. A large storeroom ________(朝向/面向) the corridor contained the coffins.

In lifeless squares and avenues these tawdry idols ________(对...作威作福，这里理解为高高居于宝座之上) under the lowering sky; stolid monsters that might have personified the rule of immobility imposed on us.

Indeed, had not the epidemic, as already mentioned, ________(延伸破坏性), ________(一切都会很好).

The ambulance had already left and was being sprayed with disinfectant, and while spadefuls of clay thudded more and more dully on the rising layer of earth, the family were ________(挤进[某个空间]) the taxi.