Now suddenly she began to sob, holding herself in as if weeping were a disgrace. Homer wanted to get up and run, but he knew he would stay. He even thought he might stay the rest of his life. He just didn't know what else to do to try to make the woman less unhappy, and if she had asked him to take the place of her son, he would not have been able to refuse, because he would not have known how. He got to his feet站起来, as if by standing he meant to begin correcting what could not be corrected and then he knew the foolishness of this intention and became more awkward than ever. In his heart he was saying over and over again, "What can I do? What the hell can I do? I'm only the messenger."

extend
vt. hold out 伸出
pause
vi. stop for a short time　暂停，中止
interrupt
vt. stop (sb. speaking) by breaking in 打断（某人讲话）
nervous　　　　　　
a. 神经质的；紧张的
ma'am
madam (used in direct address)　夫人，太太，小姐
smooth
vt. make smooth or smoother　把...弄平
department
n. 部门；系
swiftly
ad. rapidly, quickly　快速地；敏捷地
swift
a.
chocolate 　　　　
n. 巧克力（糖）
chew 口香糖：chewing gum
vt. crush (food) with the teeth 咀嚼
cactus
n. 仙人掌
sob
vi. cry with short, quick breaths 啜泣；呜咽
disgrace
n. shame 耻辱；丢脸的人（或事） grace优雅
unhappy
a. not happy
hell
n. 地狱