一场电影下来，两个人已经感觉不再有禁忌了，回工地的路上，胡奎朔的手一直没离开过虞天月的腰过，他有意无意地触碰着虞天月的臀部，摸着它，感觉今天是他最幸福的日子，他终于征服了眼前的心上人了。而虞天月也似乎很享受这份温存，她有点小鸟依人般紧贴着胡奎朔的胸口一起慢慢走着。月儿似乎很知趣，本来用它那半睁半闭的眼睛偷窥着这世界的。现在这个时候居然也躲到云层后面，不再去看这对青年人心底燃起的狂热和躁动了。大街上除了昏昏欲睡的路灯无力地张望着，人也少了许多，整条街都留给了他们，今天的天气真好，不冷不热，适合恋爱的日子。胡奎朔闻到了虞天月那散发出来的女人的体香，虞天月也感受到了胡奎朔那男人味的烟味，他们搂得更紧了，生怕在这黑夜里，会有人从身边把他（她）拉走了。在路过一个公园的时候，胡奎朔搂着虞天月一起走入了那无人行走的小道。，觉得那里有更适合浪漫的地方。虽然没有了路灯，两边密林丛生，但更让胡奎朔感觉安全，这里更适合他和虞天月享受这爱情的甜蜜了。虞天月此时已经完全像一只听话的羔羊，任由胡奎朔牵引着，她更不想失去这种开心和快活。两个人就这样牵绊着走着，胡奎朔终于控制不住地将虞天月整个人搂在了怀里，将两片厚厚的嘴唇印在了虞天月的嘴唇上。虞天月趁势也搂紧了胡奎朔，很配合地将舌头伸到了胡奎朔的嘴里，任由它们缠绵在一起了，他们都瘫软到了地上，亲吻着，搂抱着。胡奎朔抱着虞天月趁势滚到了边上的树丛里，一起疯狂着。这一晚他们很晚回到工地上，但他们得到了人世间最大的快乐，虞天月现在开始已经不再厌倦这讨厌的工地了，反而觉得自己找到了真正的幸福，她倒希望这工地的活能干一辈子了。现在只要有机会，胡奎朔都会带她晚上出去了，吃饭看电影那些都不是事，更重要的是两个人能一起花前月下的了，虞天月已彻底地成了胡奎朔的人了。今年这个暑假放假前的一天，孙荣然正在整理课桌上的书本准备回宿舍的时候，鲁隽见教室里的人走的只剩下荣然一个人了，便悄悄地走到孙荣然的身后静静地看着他的一举一动。孙荣然将课桌上的书本都收拾好准备走的时候，一转身差点撞上鲁隽，被她吓了一大跳。“鲁隽，你啥时候站在我身后的，也不叫我一声的，可被你吓得不轻。”
孙荣然有点埋怨似的说道。鲁隽依旧一副微笑地脸孔看着孙荣然那种惊怕的神情，柔声道：“问你了，一点都不在乎旁边的人的。我在你身后站了好久了，一直看着你把东西整理好的。”
孙荣然有点不好意思地说道：“鲁隽，怪我自己没留意，你找我有事吗？”
鲁隽从袋里掏出一张纸条：“马上就要放假了，怕是又要两个月不能见面了，我把我家的地址给你，你到时可以写信给我，好吗？”
孙荣然没想到鲁隽会把她家的地址给他，他有点激动地接过那纸条，连声应道：“嗯，鲁隽，我会的，我把我家的地址也写给你吧，我怕我暑假里事多，忘了写，你也可以写信给我的。”
孙荣然手忙脚乱地拿出纸笔把自己家的地址写好给了鲁隽。鲁隽接过地址，便冲孙荣然一笑：“你这人真是傻乎乎的。”
说完便一转身赶紧跑走了。孙荣然怔怔地站在那里，不知道鲁隽怎么会说他傻乎乎的。他和汤慧雅之间的信依然是每周一封的，好多次孙荣然有点想给她表白的冲动，但他还是忍住了，他感觉只有等毕业了，家里条件改善了，他才有资格去向人家表白的，他不能牵累人家的。所以每次给汤慧雅的信依然是不痛不痒的几句近况的汇报和对汤慧雅的一些言语安慰的。这个暑假孙荣然依然和以前一样，除了替父亲去喷塑厂干一段时间，就是自家地里去劳作的，现在的农活相比前几年，已经少了许多的了，孙荣然有时间去多看点书了。很快他收到了鲁隽写来的第一封信，她在信中问孙荣然暑假在干些什么，并告诉孙荣然，她这个暑假在上日语培训班，因为姐姐鲁蔚在日本留学，她爸爸也想安排她去日本留学，因为杭大和日本静冈有交流生，她或许下学期不来学校上课了，要去上几个月的日语加强班，等语言关过了后，明年可能就要去日本静冈大学留学的。所以这段时间只能和孙荣然书信联系的。孙荣然心里很替鲁隽高兴的，但又有种莫名的伤感，两个人也许就这样永远分开了，人生的确有时分合不能自主的。他虽然伤感，但还是明白自己的位置的，只是在信中有点难以启齿和鲁隽说自己的这种生活的。再回头一想自己本就是农家出身的，鲁隽也是知道的，何必假装自己很富贵气的呢，还不如把田间的一些趣事写给她看看，或许她也有兴趣听一种完全不一样的生活呢。于是孙荣然在信里写了许多田间的劳作生活，包括双抢这些的劳动的，写了自己希望鲁隽能抓住机会的，过了语言关顺利出国留学的。就这样，书信在孙荣然和鲁隽间来往，在孙荣然和汤慧雅间来往，这个暑假似乎很短了，很快就到了新学期开学的日子了。孙荣然虽然知道鲁隽这个学期是不会再来学校上课的了，他好希望还是能见到她的身影的。当然这是不可能的，但鲁隽的信却是即时到了学校里了，她讲了她现在日语学习的近况，并问了孙荣然现在学校的一些课程，她希望孙荣然能安心于英语专业的学习的，虽然喜欢文学写作这些的，但不能荒废了自己这个专业的，千万别挂科的，既然选择了这路就一定要坚持的。孙荣然回信告诉她学校的一些情况，感谢她对自己的关心，他会记住她跟他说的这些话的，自然会好好学习的，也希望鲁隽能够顺利成功的。两个人就这样书信来往地相互关心和鼓励着。下半年汤慧雅的来信在逐渐减少，孙荣然也没有在意，他依然还是和以前一样给她每信必回的，但汤慧雅突然在一封信中告诉孙荣然自己的父母亲给她物色了一个男朋友，说这个男朋友家境很好，父亲是当官的，他本人也是在邮电器材厂跑业务的，经济条件很是优越的，问孙荣然她该怎么办。孙荣然心里泛起一种酸楚，他知道他是不可能和人家匹敌的，更何况那男的肯定是入了汤慧雅父母的法眼的了，哪怕他现在戳破这层纸，现身在汤慧雅家中也入不了汤慧雅父母的法眼的。更何况自己的学业还没完成的，也不可能去谈这事的，若去谈了，岂不让现在的同学们笑话了。唉，不属于自己的终究不是自己的，也许这就是天意的。他在心里纠结了一番后，便给汤慧雅回信表示这是好事的，要相信父母的眼睛的，也是缘分天定的，祝愿她能找到自己的人生伴侣的。回信很短，孙荣然想不出能再说些什么了，他也不想表达心中的那种失落和遗憾的。这封信之后，整整好几个月不再收到汤慧雅的信了，日子似乎少了一点什么，但孙荣然一直在心里提醒自己：你没资格！你没资格！心里才好过一点，好在鲁隽还常给他来信问这问那的，孙荣然情感的转移还是快的。只是隔了几个月孙荣然收到了汤慧雅的最后一封信告诉他，她准备和那个男人结婚了。至此，孙荣然便和汤慧雅断了书信来往。天气和孙荣然的心一样，几次冷空气来过之后，一天比一天冷的，真正的冬天来临了。树上只剩下光秃秃的枝干了，只有几只鸟儿停留在树枝上打着盹，似乎也在感叹这本可遮风挡雨的树叶怎么一下子就没了呢。天灰蒙蒙的，似乎蒙了一层纱或是哪个偷懒的没把天空之镜认真擦亮的。这种天让人心里更感到压抑，再加上那份透骨的冷让人站也不是，坐也不是，手是不敢伸出来的，连脖子都比平时似乎缩短了许多。孙荣然似乎也别无有兴致去的地方了，只有学校图书馆那的阅览室尚能觅得一些温度的，于是他便独自拿着自己的《Advanced English》课本去阅览室坐了下来慢慢啃着了。孙荣然整个人都投入在了Andrew Neil写的Britannia Rues the Waves中了。Britain's merchant navy seldom grabs the headlines these days; it is almost a forgotten industry. Yet shipping is the essential lifeline for the nation's economy. Ninety-nine percent of our trade in and out of the country goes by ship—and over half of it in British ships. Shipping is also a significant British success story. It earns over ￡1000 million a year in foreign exchange earnings: without our merchant fleet, the balance of payments would be permanently in deficit, despite North Sea oil. But ,today this vital British industry is more in peril than ever before. On almost all the major sea routes of the world, the British fleet risks being elbowed out by stiff foreign competition. The threat comes from two main directions: from the Russians and the Eastern bloc countries who are now in the middle of a massive expansion of their merchant navies, and carving their way into the international shipping trade by severely undercutting Western shipping compaines; and from the merchant fleets of the developing nations, who are bent on taking over the lion's share of the trade between Europe and Africa, Asia and the Far East-- routes in which Britain has a bib stake. Today, the British fleet no longer dominates the high seas: our share of the world's merchant fleet has fallen from 40 per cent to around eight per cent. But, in terms of tonnage, the British merchant navy has continued to expand, it can now carry over two-thirds more than it could in 1914, and, almost alone among our traditional industries, shipping has remained a major success story. Unlike the rest of British industry, ship-owners invested big. In the early 1960s, the shipping companies cashed in on government grants and tax concessions. Between 1966 and 1976, British shipping lines invested at a rate of over ￡1 million a day. By the early 1970s, it seemed that, some-where in the world, a new British ship was being launched every week. The result is that Britain has a very modern fleet: the average age of our merchant ships is only six years, and over half the fleet is under five years old. For some time now, British shipping managers have stayed ahead of the competition by investing in the most sophisticated ships. The other major factor which has played a key role in the dominance of the British merchant navy is an institution invented by the British well over 100 years ago: the ‘conference'. In the middle of the 19th century, competition between sailing-ships and steam-ships became out-throat, and price cutting ruined many long-established companies. So the ship owners got together to establish a more settled system, and they set up a system of price fixing. In other words, every possible type of cargo had a price, which all owners agreed to charge. It was, in fact, a cartel, though the British ship owners gave it the more dignified name of a’ conference'. The system has certainly stood the test of time. Today, there are about 300 conferences governing the trade-routes of the world, and the British still play a major role. By reducing competition, shipping conferences have taken some of the risk out of the dodgy business of moving goods by sea. They make it harder, perhaps, to make a big killing in good times, because you have to share the trade with other conference members. But they make it easier to weather the bad times, because there is no mad, competitive scramble for the available trade. By the early 1970s, bad times were just around the corner. The world shipbuilding boom reached its peak in 1973,but that was the year of the Arab-lsraeli war, which was followed rapidly by the quadrupling of oil prices. By 1974, the industrialised world had begun its slide into the worst depression since the 1980s, and the shipping industry had entered its long years of crisis. The first to be affected were the oil-tanker fleets. As oil demand was cut back, charter rates plummeted, and the estuaries of the world became jammed with the steadily increasing numbers of moth-ball tankers. Norway and Greece suffered most. British ship owners had not become so involved in the tanker boom in the first place, so they were not so badly affected. By 1976, the slump had begun to bite into the bulk-carrier trade. Bulk carriers are ships that carry dry cargo of one particular kind, such as sugar, coal or wheat, with iron ore being by far the most important. But with the world steel industry deep in the doldrums, who needed iron ore carriers? With its big bulk-carrier fleet, the British shipping industry now began to feel the pinch. Even though the slump spread fast into most shipping sectors, the British fleet was still a long way from bankruptcy. The one area which has weathered the economic storms best is that controlled by the conferences: the scheduled freight-liner services -- and that is where Britain's fleet is strongly entrenched. Liner-freight vessels offer people who want to send goods by sea a regular, scheduled shipping service; they follow agreed routes, or ‘lines', and call at ports on a greed dates. For example, if I want to send a shipment of spare tractor parts from Taiwan to Bangkok, all I have to do is contact the Far East Freight Conference, and that will be able to tell me when the next liner ship will be calling at Taiwan, the exact date on which it will get to Bangkok, and the going freight rate. It is an ideal ‘parcel' service for people with cargoes that are not big enough to make it worth chartering a whole ship. It is also a plus for the ship owners not to be dependent on only one customer. Liner ships carry all sorts of different cargoes -- mainly finished manufactured goods -- so, if there is a slump in one particular industry, provided there is still buoyancy in other industries, the liner fleets can still survive. That gives them a distinct advantage over oil tankers or bulk carriers, because the latter are dependent on one or two basic raw materials. That is why Britain has remained relatively strong. Much of Britain's liner fleet rarely sees a British port. Our ships are extensive cross-traders; that is, they carry goods between foreign countries. British companies are big, for example, on the Japan-to-Australia run, and on the growing trade routes between the Far East and the Middle East, around the Persian Gulf. Until recently, those routes were highly profitable for the British companies, and a major source of foreign currency for Britain. They are also the routes on which the Third World and the Russians are out to make the biggest inroads. Most emerging countries in the Third World are out to carry a bigger share of their trade in their own ships. Developing countries regard a merchant navy as something of a status symbol -- the next thing to go for after a national airline. Singapore has expanded their fleet by 6 000 percent in the last 15 years, India by 400 percent. The challenge from the Third World has always been foreseen by our shipping companies. P & O, for example, while still out to increase the total freight it carries, is planning for a gradual reduction in its percentage share of the trade with the new shipping powers of the Third World. But P & O has no intention of throwing in the towel. The key tactic behind its strategy of holding on to the richest slice of the trade has been to move up-market -- to go where the Third World cannot follow: into high-technology investment. Containers, for example, were an American invention, but it was British ship owners who put up the money to pioneer the international deep-sea container service. Containers save time, because the loading is done in the factory or warehouse, rather than on the dockside, and they are very secure against theft; except for a code number on the outside, there is no indication of what is inside the box. To cash in on the container revolution, you need a sophisticated system of roads and railways, something that most Third World countries do not have: And container ships are expensive, around ￡50 million each. P & O's high-technology, high-investment strategy,however, is far from being the whole answer to the Third World threat. The developing countries are not out to compete with Western fleets by commercial means; they want to impose a set of rules which will guarantee them a major slice of the shipping trade. This demand has found official expression in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD. The UNCTAD liner code lays down that between two trading partners, 80 per cent of the freight should be split equally between their respective merchant fleets. That leaves only 20 per cent to go into the numerous cross-traders, all fighting for a share, and it is on these cross-trades that British liner companies earn 40 per cent of their revenue. Not enough countries have ratified the UNCTAD code yet to bring it into force. But if it does become universal, it could strike a severe blow to Britain's liner trade. The Iron Curtain countries represent an even greater and more organised threat to the future of Britain's liner ships, and it is a threat that is much more difficult to counter. Russia has expanded its cargo-liner fleet far faster than the growth in either its own trade or world trade would justify. Today, it has the largest liner fleet in the world and another one million tons should come into service before 1980. And with its policy of excessively low freight rates, the Russian merchant navy has already made major inroads into Western trade. Russia now carries 95 per cent of its seaborne trade with the EEC in its own ships. More important, it is biting deeply into the major cross-trading routes of the world. Eastern bloc countries -- Russia, with Poland and East Germany- have already captured 20 per cent of the cargo traffic on the busy sea-lanes of the North Atlantic, almost 25 per cent of the trade between Europe and South America and just abou, t the same percentage of the trade between Europe and East Africa., How can the Russians afford to undercut by up to 40 percent? Well, Soviet ships are not necessarily out to make a profit, in our sense of the word. The name of the same ,for Russian ships, is hard currency. The Soviet Union is becoming more dependent on Western imports -- from grain to technology -- but the West will not accept roubles in payment. So Russia needs hard currencies, tike the dollar, the mark or the yen, even sterling, to pay for its imports. It is these currencies Russian ships earn as cross-traders. It does not matter very much if they are operating at a loss; that can be made up by the Soviet government in roubles. But there is more to it than that for the Russians. The Soviet mercantile marine obviously acts as a support to the Soviet navy, very much as Western fleets used to do. But there are important differences. The Soviet merchant fleet, which has now been almost 20 years in growing, has developed the kinds of ships which would certainly expand the Soviet reach well beyond its perimeters. For example, much of the heavy equipment for the Cubans and Angolans was brought in Soviet merchant ships. So this mercantile marine capability is certainly a great advance in the Soviet ability to project their power at some distance from their own frontiers. And this is also part of a general Soviet hydrographic policy to map the oceans of the world, to get to know the ports and, above all, to deepen contacts with the states with whom the Russians are developing close trading ties. How can Western ship owners react to undercutting of 40 per cent that would drive them out of business if they did the same? There is a limit, of course, to what any British government can do on its own. Shipping is an essentially international business, and Britain can only counter the challenges of the developing world and the Russians at an international level. But whom could we count on for support? The EEC is so divided about shipping that it is almost powerless to act .Take the challenge of the developing world. The French do not mind the UNCTAD code on liner shipping because it would help them to increase their share of the liner trade; the same is true for the Germans and the Belgians. So Britain cannot rely on concerted EEC action on that issue. As far as the Russians are concerned, Britain, along with West Germany and Denmark, has been calling for a coordinated response; the monitoring of Russian ship movements and restrictions on the number of Russian ships allowed to call at EEC ports. But, last June, the French, because of their Russian ties, blocked plans along these lines. It will be November before the question is considered again. British ship owners are so far happy with the strength of the British government attempts to force the EEC into action. They believe that the Trade Department, which looks after shipping, understands their problems. But they are far less sure about other government ministers, especially those in the powerful Industry Department, which oversees shipbuilding. Ship owners fear that saving jobs in Britain's ailing shipyards comes well before saving its merchant fleet. British shipyard, s are currently churning out 24 vessels for Poland. The Poles were lured to Britain by the gift of a￡28 million subsidy and the promise that British shipbuilders would raise all the credit; so while our shipping fleet is under attack from communist ships, our government is using British taxpayers' money to out their shipbuilding costs. We are doing the same for developing countries' fleets. India is now a major Third World shipping power, yet Britain is to build six ships for the Indians -- for nothing. In the end, British companies could be driven out of shipping altogether. Some, such as P & O, have already moved into other fields, from house building to oil. Smaller shipping lines do not have the resources to diversify. They face extinction. And when they go, so does a huge slice of the few traditional industries worth keeping.文章对英国航运业的分析还是比较中肯的，对英国一百年前曾经辉煌的海运业为何能够称雄于世界的原因进行了总结，也对现在受到的来自两方面的威胁进行了剖析，也预言了英国海运公司最终将有可能被完全挤出海运行业。孙荣然边阅读课文边给一些生词查着英文词典并在一旁写上注释，心里也有着很多的感悟。是啊，世界的发展总是在竞争中往前进步，正如帆船与汽船之间的竞争虽然当时是非常激烈的，但最终肯定是能跟上时代进步的站在这个历史舞台上的了。人也一样，只有能够适应这个时代潮流，适应这个世界发展的人才能立足于社会的。正在孙荣然埋头投入在文章学习中的时候，一个熟悉的身影坐在了孙荣然的身边，一只手靠在桌子上托着脸腮，歪着头看着孙荣然。孙荣然抬头一看，不禁有点惊喜地要喊出来了：鲁隽。鲁隽赶紧将右手手指按在自己的嘴上轻轻地“嘘”了一声，然后将手指了指坐在角落里正在看报纸的阅览室管理老师。孙荣然硬生生将那声大喊咽了回去。孙荣然赶紧拿起书本和鲁隽一起走出了阅览室。一出阅览室，孙荣然便耐不住地问鲁隽：“鲁隽，你回学校来了？日语培训好了？以后不用再去上日语课了？”
孙荣然一口气问了好多问题。鲁隽有点忍俊不禁：“你这人咋这么多问题的，我一到学校见教室里没你，问男同学知道你也不在寝室里的，操场上也没你，想想你一定在阅览室了，才赶紧到那来找你的。”
孙荣然不好意思地说道：“对不起，鲁隽，好久没见到你了，你的突然出现怎能不让我惊喜的。你还回去吗？”
此时鲁隽停下了脚步，低着头一声不响，两个人都沉默了，孙荣然意识到估计不是他想的那个答案了，但他不愿自己说出来。过了良久，鲁隽抬头看着孙荣然，说道：“荣然，我语言关算是过了，但我还是需要继续去上强化班的，所以这个学期我已经在学校办了退学手续了，估计明年一出年我就要去日本了。今天我是来和你说一声再见的，顺便把我的还有一些东西也带回去。”
孙荣然知道分别的日子早晚会来到的，却没想到会来得这么快的。他心中又不禁掠过一丝心伤。但他却只能笑着对鲁隽说道：“鲁隽，好事啊，真的该好好恭喜你的了，呆会我请你一起去食堂吃最后的一顿午饭，好吗？”
鲁隽点点头道：“好的，我也的确没有饭菜票了，自然要你请我吃的了。我这次来给你带了两本我爸爸的书，一本是中华五千年文明中的未解之谜，一本是唐宋词中的朦胧诗解。你好好看看，送给你了。以后我怕是不能再给你一些书了。”
边说着话，鲁隽从她的包里拿出两本厚厚的书递给孙荣然。孙荣然喜出望外地接过书本说道：“鲁隽，你又送书给我，我真不知道该怎么谢谢你的了！”
孙荣然和鲁隽两个人便一起去食堂吃饭了，孙荣然给鲁隽买了她最喜欢吃的霉干菜扣肉和红烧鲫鱼，两个人一起边吃边聊。孙荣然对鲁隽说道：“鲁隽，你一个人去日本那么远真有点担心你的。”
鲁隽微笑着说道：“嗯，没事的，我姐姐鲁蔚在那边，她会照顾我的。只是估计在那读书我也不能像国内一样衣食无忧的，我爸爸已经交待我了必须在那勤工俭学养活自己的。”
“你这么一说，我倒更担心你的了，你一个女孩子怎么去参加那些累活脏活的，就怕你到时吃不消的。”
孙荣然不无担心。鲁隽却依然轻松地带着微笑说道：“荣然，其实你不也是一直在勤工俭学的，你不要以为我不知道，我知道你干的农活可是很累累的，你不也过来了吗？”
孙荣然回道：“我和你不一样，我是男的，你是女的啊！”
“你看你又开始激动了，你就这毛病，总是这么轻易露出声色的，一激动就喉咙响起来。”
鲁隽有点嗔怪。孙荣然赶紧赔不是：“对不起，鲁隽，我也是关心你，担心你！你别介意啊。”
鲁隽见孙荣然有点急了，便柔声说道：“好了，荣然，我根本没介意的，我知道你关心我，其实我更担心你，你总是容易激动，眼中揉不得沙子的，说的好听点是爱憎分明，说的不好好听点你总是喜怒于形的，容易得罪人的，我就担心你和别人搞不好关系的。”
孙荣然被她这么一说，感觉也的确是让她说中了自己的不足处了，他有点挂不住的沉默了。鲁隽知道孙荣然有点挂不住，便赶紧安抚道：“好了，荣然，我知道你人真的很好，我没有怪你的意思，我是希望你能听我和你所说的，别那样，既然改变不了世界，那就去适应世界的。好吗？”
孙荣然知道鲁隽是希望他能好好地过日子的，知道鲁隽其实也是好意的，自然也没生气的，缓了口气说道：“好了，鲁隽，我懂你所说的话的，我也知道我的确存在着这个缺点的，主要还是自己总爱义愤填膺，爱打抱不平，以后我一定会注意的。好好吃饭吧。”
这顿午饭吃得时间很长，但天下没有不散的宴席的，鲁隽终究还是要和孙荣然分手的了。孙荣然把她送到了车站，一直陪着她等到汽车过来。临上车时，鲁隽对孙荣然说道：“荣然，临走了我送你两句话：好相处的随随便便点，难相处的客客气气点。千万要记住！”
孙荣然点点头响亮地说道：“我记住了！阿隽。”
鲁隽听孙荣然这么叫她，羞着脸赶紧上了车从车窗向孙荣然挥挥手：“你回去吧，我会给你写信过来的。”
随着汽车一阵青烟，汽车绝尘而去了，留着孙荣然孤单地站在那车站上，天似乎不再那么冷了，孙荣然甚至感到有点热。