Usually hunting partridge or grouse3 is the pleasure only of those who remain at home; but one day, while sitting in a dugout, I enjoyed a wonderful meal.
Our dugout was in a communication trench some five hundred yards from the front line, and probably six hundred from the German. The dugout was one of those steel-roofed affairs, the roof forming a graceful4 semicircle of one-eighth-inch metal, covered with sand a foot thick, carelessly shoveled5 on. My orderlies were Corporal Roy, a Canadian boy of twenty; Private Jock whose well-developed sense of dry Scotch6 humor showed itself by his irritating the men about him by any method of teasing which came easiest, but whose personal good nature and loyal love of doing his duty, be it the most arduous7 and dangerous, made everyone forgive him any of his annoying tricks; and my batman, Private John, a decent, clean and brave Canadian boy who, by the way, was one of the best men I ever had to look after my comforts, or lessen8 my discomforts9, whichever way you choose to put it.
This fine, cool winter day we had been standing10 at the door of our dugout peeping over a comparatively safe bit of parapet, watching some of our sixty-pound trench mortars11 hurtle through the air and burst in the German lines. At last, tiring of the performance, I went inside and sat down to read one of Jeffrey Farnol's latest books. A few minutes later Roy came hurrying in, grabbed his rifle, and went racing12 out again. Wondering what was the cause of this strange behavior, and hearing a shot, I went out.
Turning into the main communication trench, I was just in time to see Corporal Roy climbing back over the parapet with a plump, dead partridge in his hand. Only those of you who have been living for some months on army rations13 can appreciate the glorious anticipations14 which a fat, plump partridge can conjure15 up in one's imagination. His rifle was leaning against the parados, and Roy explained to us that he had seen two partridges, but had only succeeded in getting one. His impatience16 getting the better of his judgment17, he did not wait till dark to go out and get his prize, but went over the parapet in plain view of German snipers only six hundred yards away, and brought in his bag of game.
The partridge was cleaned by John and Jock and with the addition of a little mutton and carrots from last night's rations, I made a stew of it. All agreed—perhaps my boys didn't dare to disagree—that it was delicious.
This is the recipe for Rago?t à la mode de guerre: Shoot a partridge over the parapet on a bright day; take your life in your hands to go out and get the victim; clean it—but not too clean; mix with it a little mutton and carrots; stew it in a canteen or dixie over a charcoal18 brazier, with plenty of the penetrating19 charcoal fumes20 entering your lungs; and perform all these rites21 in a dugout with enemy shells popping about in the neighborhood. If you have carefully carried out all these directions, then, being sufficiently22 hungry, add a goodly portion of that most savory23 of sauces—appetite—to the dish. I promise you that, though your tastes are blasé to the last degree, you will admit that Rago?t à la mode de guerre makes a meal fit for the discriminating24 palate of a king.

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收听单词发音

1
trench
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n./v.(挖)沟,(挖)战壕 | |
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2
stew
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n.炖汤,焖,烦恼;v.炖汤,焖,忧虑 | |
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3
grouse
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n.松鸡;v.牢骚,诉苦 | |
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4
graceful
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adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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5
shoveled
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vt.铲,铲出(shovel的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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6
scotch
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n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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7
arduous
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adj.艰苦的,费力的,陡峭的 | |
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lessen
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vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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9
discomforts
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n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 );不愉快,苦恼 | |
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10
standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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11
mortars
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n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 );砂浆;房产;研钵 | |
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12
racing
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n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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rations
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定量( ration的名词复数 ); 配给量; 正常量; 合理的量 | |
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14
anticipations
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预期( anticipation的名词复数 ); 预测; (信托财产收益的)预支; 预期的事物 | |
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15
conjure
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v.恳求,祈求;变魔术,变戏法 | |
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16
impatience
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n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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17
judgment
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n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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18
charcoal
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n.炭,木炭,生物炭 | |
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19
penetrating
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adj.(声音)响亮的,尖锐的adj.(气味)刺激的adj.(思想)敏锐的,有洞察力的 | |
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20
fumes
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n.(强烈而刺激的)气味,气体 | |
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21
rites
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仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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22
sufficiently
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adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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23
savory
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adj.风味极佳的,可口的,味香的 | |
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24
discriminating
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a.有辨别能力的 | |
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