He looked at me with an air of surprised disapproval, as a colonel might look at a private whose bootlaces were undone. 'Ah yes,' he grunted. 'You'd better come inside.' The narrow, sunless hall smelled unpleasantly of stale cabbage; the walls were dirty with ink marks; it was all silent. His study(书房), judging by the crumbs on the carpet, was also his dining-room. 'You'd better sit down,' he said, and proceeded to ask me a number of questions: what subjects I had taken in my General School Certificate; how old I was; what games I played; then fixing me suddenly with his bloodshot eyes, he asked me whether I thought games were a vital part of a boy's education. I mumbled something about not attaching too much importance to them. He grunted. I had said the wrong thing. The headmaster and I obviously had very little in common.

The school, he said, consisted of one class of twenty-four boys, ranging in age(插入语，在年纪方面) from seven to thirteen. I should have to teach all subjects except art, which he taught himself. Football and cricket were played in the Park, a mile away on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

ah
interj. (a cry of surprise, pity, pain, joy, dislike, etc.) 啊
grunt
vt. 咕哝着说出
unpleasantly
ad. 令人不愉快地
stale
a. not fresh 不新鲜的
cabbage
n. 卷心菜
crumb
n. very small, broken piece of bread or cake 面包屑;糕饼屑
carpet
n. heavy woven material fir covering floors or stairs 地毯
certificate
n. 证(明)书
bloodshot
a. (眼睛)充血的
vital
a. very necessary; of the greatest importance 必不可少的,极其重要的
mumble
vt. speak (words) unclearly 含糊地说
attach
vt. give (to); fasten (to) 把...给予;系,贴
importance
n. the quality of being important
obviously
ad. it can be easily seen; plainly 明显地，显然
obvious
a.
consist (of)
vi. be made up (of) 组成，构成
range
vi. vary between certain limits （在一定的范围内）变动