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选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
ON THE ROCKS
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      “For they are blest that have not much to rue1
      That have not oft misheard the prompter's cue.”
 
The gale2 was apparently3 at its height—that is to say, it was blowing harder than it had blown all through the night. But those whose business is on the great waters know that a gale usually finishes its wrath4 in a few wild squalls. “'Tis getting puffy,” the sailors say; “'tis nearly over.”
A man hurrying through the narrow main street of Yport was thrown against the shutters5 of the little baker's shop on the left-hand side, and stood there gasping6 for breath.
“Mon Dieu!” he muttered. “It's a dog's night.”
And he wiped the rain from his face. The wind, which blew from a wild north-west, roared against the towering cliffs, and from east and west concentrated itself funnel8-wise on the gap where Yport lies. Out seaward there was a queer, ghostly light lying on the face of the waters—the storm-light—and landsmen rarely see it. For the sea was beaten into unbroken foam10. The man, who was clad in oilskins, was in the neck of the funnel. Overhead, he heard the wind roaring through the pines far up on the slope of the narrow valley—close at hand, a continuous whistle told of its passage across the housetops. The man steadied himself with his left hand. He had but one, and he cursed the empty sleeve which flapped across his face.
“Provided,” he muttered, “that I can waken that cure.”
He crept on, while the gale paused to take breath, and a moment later cowered11 in the porch of a little yellow house. He kicked the door with his heel and then waited, with his ear to the great keyhole. Surely the cure must have been a good man to sleep in such a night. The street had naturally been deserted12, for it was nearly three o'clock in the morning, and dawn could not be far off.
“A one-armed man and a priest!” said the man to himself, with an expressive13 jerk of the head. And, indeed, all the men of Yport had sailed for the Northern fisheries, leaving the village to the women and children, and the maimed.
Within the house there were sounds of some one astir.
“One comes!” cried a cheery voice belonging assuredly to some one who was brave, for none expects to be called from his bed to hear good news. A single bolt was drawn14 and the door thrown open. The cure—a little man—stood back, shading the candle with his hand.
“Ah, Jean Belfort! it is you.”
“Yes, I and my one arm,” replied the man, coming in and closing the door. The rain dripped from his oilskins to the clean floor.
“Ah, but this is no night to complain. Better be on shore with one arm than at sea with two to-night.”
The little cure looked at his visitor with bright eyes, and a shake of the head. A quick-spoken man this, with a little square mouth, a soft heart, a keen sense of humour.
“Why have you got me from my bed, malcontent16?” he asked.
“Because there are some out there that want your prayers,” replied Belfort, jerking his head towards the sea. He was an unbeliever, this maimed sailor, who read the Petit Journal, and talked too loudly in the Cafe de la Marine17 of an evening. He spoke15 mockingly now.
“One can pray in the morning. Come with me while I get on some clothes—if it is a wreck18,” said the priest, simply.
The man followed him to a little bare room, of which the walls were decorated by two cheap sacred prints and a crucifix, such as may be bought for ten sous at any fair on the coast.
“Never mind your hat,” said the priest, seeing the man's fingers at the strings19 of his sou'wester. “Give me my great boots from the cupboard. A wreck is it? The summer storms are always the worst. Is it a boat?”
“Who knows?” replied the man. “It is my wife who looked from the window an hour ago, and saw a light at sea two points to the east of north—a red light and then a green and then the masthead light.”
“A steamer.”
“So it would appear; and now there are no lights. That is all.”
The priest was dressed, and now pulled on a great oilskin coat. There are men who seem compact in mind and body, impressing their fellows with a sense of that restfulness which comes of assured strength. This little priest was one of these, and the mental impress that he left upon all who came in contact with him was to the effect that there is nothing in a human life that need appal20, no sorrow beyond the reach of consolation—no temptation too strong to be resisted. The children ran after him in the streets, their faces expectant of a joke. The women in the doorways21 gave a little sigh as he passed. A woman will often sigh at the thought of that which another woman has lost, and this touches a whole gamut22 of thoughts which are above the reach of a man's mind.
The priest tied the strings of a sou'wester under his pink chin. He was little more than a boy after all—or else he was the possessor of a very young heart.
“Between us we make a whole man—you and I,” he said cheerily. “Perhaps we can do something.”
They went out into the night, the priest locking the door and pausing to hide the key under the mat in the porch. They all keep the house-door key under the mat at Yport. In the narrow street, which forms the whole village, running down the valley to the sea, they met the full force of the gale, and stood for a moment breathlessly fighting against it. In a lull23 they pushed on.
“And the tide?” shouted the priest.
“It is high at four o'clock—a spring tide, and the wind in the north-west—not standing24 room on the shore against the cliff for a man from here to Glainval.”
At high tide the waves beat against the towering cliff all along this grim coast, and a man standing on the turf may not recognize his son on the rocks below, while the human voice can only span the distance in calmest weather. There are spaces of three and four miles between the gaps in the great and inaccessible25 bluffs26. An evil lee-shore to have under one's quarter—one of the waste places of the world which Nature has set apart for her own use. When Nature speaks it is with no uncertain voice.
“There is old Loisette,” shouted the cure. “He may have gone to bed sober.”
“There is no reason to suppose it,” shouted the man in reply. “No, my father, if there is aught to be done, you and I must do it.”
What with the wind and the flannel28 ear-flaps of the sou'wester, it was hard to make one's self heard, and the two faces almost touched—the unbeliever who knew so little, and the priest who knew not only books but men. They made their way to the little quay29, or, rather, the few yards of sea-wall that protect the houses at the corner of the street. But here they could not stand, and were forced to retire to the lee side of the Hotel de la Plage, which, as all know, stands at the corner, with two timorous30 windows turned seaward, and all the rest seeking the comfort of the street.
In a few words Belfort explained where the light had been seen, and where, according to his judgment31, the steamer must have taken the rocks.
“If the good God has farther use for any of them, he will throw them on the shore a kilometre to the east of us, where the wire rope descends32 from the cliff to the shore for the seaweed,” said the priest.
The other nodded.
“What must be done must be done quickly. Let us go,” said the little cure in his rather bustling33 manner, at which the great, slow-limbed fishermen were wont34 to laugh.
“Where to?”
“Along the shore.”
“With a rising tide racing35 in before a north-westerly wind?” said Belfort, grimly, and shook his head.
“Why not? You have your two legs, and there is Some One—up there!”
“I shouldn't have thought it,” answered the man, glancing up at the storm-driven clouds. “However, where a priest can go a one-armed man can surely follow. We need lanterns and a bottle of brandy.”
“Yes; I will wait and watch here while you fetch them.”
The priest, left alone, peered round the corner, shading his eyes with his soft, white hand, upon which the cold rain pattered. To the east of him he knew that there were three miles of almost impassable shore, of unbroken, unscalable cliff. To the west of him the same. On the one hand Fecamp, five miles away by a cliff path that none would attempt by night, nine miles by road. On the other hand Etretat, still further by road and cliff path. Inland a few farms and many miles of forest. He and Belfort had stumbled over the fallen telegraph wires as they struggled down the village street. No; if there was a wreck out there in the darkness, and men, clinging half-drowned to the rigging, were looking towards the shore, they had better look elsewhere. The sea, like the wind, treated Yport as the mouth of a funnel, and a hundred cross currents were piling up such waves as no boat could pass, though the Yport women were skilful36 as any man with oar7 or sail.
Presently Belfort returned carrying two lanterns.
“I have told her that we will not quit the seawall,” he said with a short laugh.
And straightway they both clambered over the wall and down the iron ladder to the beach. A meandering37, narrow pathway is worn on the weed-grown chalk from the village to the washing-ground on the beach, a mile to the eastward38, where, at low tide, a spring of fresh water wells up amid the shingle39 and the rock. Along this pathway the two men made their way, the cure following on his companion's heel. They stumbled and fell many times. At every step they slipped, for their boots were soaked, and the chalk was greasy40 and half decomposed41 by the salt water. At times they paused to listen, and through the roar of the wind and sea came the distant note of a bell clanging continuously.
“It is the bell on Fecamp pier,” said Belfort. “The mist is coming before the dawn.”
To the east the long arm of Fecamp light swung slowly round the horizon, from the summit of the great bluff27 of Notre Dame42 du Salut, as if sweeping43 the sea and elbowing away all that dared approach so grim a coast.
“Ah!” exclaimed the priest, “I am in the water—the tide is coming up.”
To their left a wall of foam and spray shut off all view of the sea. On the right the cliff rose, a vast barrier, and cut the sky in two. These two men had nothing in common. They had, indeed, standing between them that sword which was brought into the world nineteen hundred years ago, and is still unsheathed. But neither thought of turning back. It had been agreed between them that they should make what speed they could along the shore, and only turn back at the last moment, searching the sea and beach as they returned in the light of dawn.
Belfort, the leader, the expert in night and tide and wind, led the way with one eye on the sea, the other on the eastern sky, which was now showing grey through tossing clouds.
“Here we must turn,” he said suddenly, “and the last half-mile to the sea-wall we shall have to wade44.”
They paused and looked up to the sky. In half an hour the day would come, but in seventy minutes the breakers must beat against the sheer cliff.
“None has reached the shore alive and with his senses,” said Belfort, looking out to sea. “He would have seen our lights and come to us, or called if he had broken limbs. It is useless to search the shore too closely. We shall find them here at the edge, half in, half out, especially those with life belts, such as we find any winter morning after bad weather.”
He spoke grimly, as one who knew that it is not the deep sea that must be paid its toll46, but the shoal water where the rocks and quicksands and crabs47 and gulls48 are waiting. They made their way back in silence, and slowly a new grey day crept into life. At last they could see the horizon and read the face of the water still torn into a seething49 chaos50 of foam. There was no ship upon them. If there had been a wreck the storm had done its work thoroughly51. Belfort climbed to the summit of a rock, and looked back towards Fecamp. Then he turned and searched the shore towards Yport.
“There is one,” he cried, “half in, half out, as I said. We shall cheat the crabs at all events, my father.”
And clambering down, he stumbled on with a reckless haste that contrasted strangely with his speech. For, whatever our words may be, a human life must ever command respect. Any may (as some have done) die laughing, but his last sight must necessarily be of grave faces.
“This one is not dead,” said the priest, when they had turned the man over and dragged him to dry land. Belfort cut away the life-belt, examining it as he did so.
“No name,” he said. “They will have to wait over there in London, till he can tell them what ship it was. See, he has been struck on the head. But he is alive—a marvel52.”
He looked up, meeting the priest's eyes, and, remembering his words spoken under the lee of the wall of the Hotel de la Plage, he laughed as a fencer may laugh who has been touched beyond doubt by a skilful adversary53.
“He is a small-made man and light enough to carry—some town mouse this, my father—who has never had a wet jacket before—see his face how white it is, and his little arms and hands. We can carry him, turn and turn about, and shall reach the sea-wall before the tide is up, provided we find no more.”
It was full daylight when they at length reached the weed-grown steps at the side of the sea-wall, and the smoke was already beginning to rise from the chimneys of Yport. The gale was waning54 as the day came, but the sea was at its highest, and all the houses facing northward55 had their wooden shutters up. The waves were breaking over the sea-wall, but the two men with their senseless burden took no heed56 of it. They were all past thinking of salt water.
In answer to their summons, the Mother Senneville came hastily enough to the back door of the Hotel de la Plage—a small inn of no great promise. The Mother Senneville was a great woman, six feet high, with the carriage of a Grenadier, the calm eye of some ruminating57 animal, the soft, deep voice, and perhaps the soft heart, of a giant.
“Already!” she said simply, as she held the door back for them to pass in. “I thought there would likely be some this morning without the money in their pockets.”
“This one will not call too loud for his coffee,” replied Belfort, with a cynicism specially45 assumed for the benefit of the cure. “And now,” he added, as they laid their burden on the wine-stained table, “if he has papers that will tell us the name of the ship, I will walk to Fecamp, to Lloyds' agents there, with the news. It will be a five-franc piece in my pocket.”
They hastily searched the dripping clothing, and found a crumpled58 envelope, which, however, told them all they desired to know. It was addressed to Mr. Albert Robinson, steamship59 Ocean Waif, Southampton.
“That will suffice,” said Belfort. “I take this and leave the rest to you and Mother Senneville.”
“Send the doctor from Fecamp,” said the woman—“the new one in the Rue du Bac. It is the young ones that work best for nothing, and here is no payment for any of us.”
“Not now,” said the priest.
“Ah!” cried Belfort, tossing off the brandy, which the Mother Senneville had poured out for him. “You—you expect so much in the Hereafter, Mr. the Cure.”
“And you—you expect so much in the present, Mr. the one-armed malcontent,” replied the priest, with his comfortable little laugh. “Come, Madame Senneville. Let me get this man to bed.”
“It is an Englishman, of course,” said the Mother Senneville, examining the placid60 white face. “They throw their dead about the world like cigar-ends.”
By midday the news was in the London streets, and the talk was all of storms and wrecks61 and gallant62 rescues. And a few whose concern it was noted63 the fact that the Ocean Waif, of London, on a voyage from Antwerp and Southampton to the River Plate, had supposedly been wrecked64 off the north coast of France. Sole survivor65, Albert Robinson, apparently a fireman or a steward66, who lay at the Hotel de la Plage at Yport, unconscious, and suffering from a severe concussion67 of the brain. By midday, also, the cure was established as sick nurse in the back bedroom of the little hotel with an English conversation-book, borrowed from the schoolmaster, protruding68 from the pocket of his soutane, awaiting the return of Albert Robinson's inner consciousness.
“Are you feeling better?” the cure had all ready to fire off at him as soon as he awoke. To which the conversation-book made reply: “Yes, but I have caught a severe chill on the mountain,” which also the cure had made ready to understand—with modifications69.
But the day passed away without any use having been found for the conversation-book. And sundry70 persons, whose business it was, came and looked at Albert Robinson, and talked to the priest and to Jean Belfort—who, to tell the truth, made much capital and a number of free glasses of red wine out of the incident—and went away again.
The cure passed that night on the second bed of the back bedroom of the Hotel de la Plage, and awoke only at daylight, full of self-reproach, to find his charge still unconscious, still placid like a statue, with cheeks a little hollower, and lips a little whiter. The young doctor came and shook his head, and discoursed71 of other cases of a similar nature which he had read up since the previous day, and pretended now to have remembered among his experiences. He also went away again, and Yport seemed to drop out of the world once more into that oblivion to which a village with such a poor sea front and no railway station, or lodging72 houses, or hotels where there are waiters, must expect to be consigned73.
The cure had just finished his dejeuner of fish and an omelette—the day being Friday—when a carriage rattled74 down the village street, leaving behind it doorways suddenly occupied by the female population of Yport wiping its hands upon its apron75.
“It is Francois Morin's carriage from Fecamp,” said the Mother Senneville, “with a Parisienne, who has a parasol, if you please.”
“No,” corrected the cure; “that is an Englishwoman. I saw several last year in Rouen.”
And he hurried out, hatless, conversation-book in hand. He was rather taken aback—never having spoken to a person so well-dressed as this English girl, who nodded quickly in answer to his salutation.
“Is this the hotel? Is he here? Is he conscious yet?” she asked in tolerable French.
“Yes—madam. He is here, but he is not conscious yet. The doctor—”
“I am not madam—I am mademoiselle. I am his sister,” said the girl, quickly descending76 from the carriage and frankly77 accepting the assistance of the cure's rather timid hand.
He followed her meekly78, wondering at her complete self-possession—at an utter lack of ceremony—at a certain blunt frankness which was new to Yport. She nodded to Madame Senneville.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Monsieur le Cure will show you. It is he who has saved his life.”
The young lady turned and looked into the priest's pink face, which grew pinker. This was not the material of which gallant rescuers are usually made.
“Thank you, Monsieur le Cure,” she said, with a sudden gentleness. “Thank you. It is so difficult—is it not?—to thank any one.”
“There is not the necessity,” murmured the little cure, rather confusedly; and he led the way upstairs.
Once in the sick-room he found his tongue again, and explained matters volubly enough. Besides, she made it easy. She was so marvellously natural, so free from a certain constraint79 which in some French circles is mistaken for good manners. She asked every detail, and made particular inquiry80 as to who had seen the patient.
“No one must be allowed to see him,” she said, in her decisive way. “He must be kept quite quiet. No one must approach this room, only you and I, Monsieur le Cure.”
“Yes, mademoiselle,” he said slowly. “Yes.”
“You have been so good—you have done such wonders, that I rely upon you to help me;” and a sudden, sharp look of anxiety swept across her face. “We shall be good friends—n'est ce pas?” she said, turning to look at him as he stood near the door.
“It will be easy, I think, mademoiselle.”
Then he turned to Madame Senneville, who was carrying the baggage upstairs.
“It is his sister, Madame Senneville,” he said. “She will, of course, stay in the hotel.”
“Yes, and I have no room ready,” replied the huge woman, pessimistically. “One never knows what a summer storm may bring to one.”
“No, Mother Senneville, no; one never knows,” he said rather absently, and went out into the street. He was thinking of the strange young person upstairs, who was unlike any woman he had met or imagined. Those in her station in life whom he had seen during his short thirty years were mostly dressed-up dolls, to whom one made banal81 remarks without meaning. The rest were almost men, doing men's work, leading a man's life.
That same evening the injured man recovered consciousness, and it was the cure who sent off the telegram to the doctor at Fecamp. For the wire had been repaired with the practical rapidity with which they manage such affairs in France.
Through the slow recovery it was the cure who was ever at the beck and call of the two strangers, divining their desires, making quite easy a situation which otherwise might have been difficult enough. Not only the cure, but the whole village soon became quite reconciled to the hitherto unheard-of position assumed by this young girl, without a guardian82 or a chaperon, who lived a frank, fearless life among them, making every day terrible assaults upon that code of feminine behaviour which hedges Frenchwomen about like a wall.
In the intimacy83 of the sick-room the little priest soon learnt to talk with the Englishwoman and her brother quite freely, as man to man, as he had talked to his bosom84 friend by selection at St. Omer. And there was in his heart that ever-abiding85 wonder that a woman may thus be a companion to a man, sharing his thoughts, nay86, divining them before he had shaped them in his own mind. It was all very wonderful and new to this little priest, who had walked, as it were, on one side of the street of life since boyhood without a thought of crossing the road.
When the three were together they were merry enough; indeed, the Englishman's mistakes in French were sufficient to cause laughter in themselves without that re-action which lightens the atmosphere of a sick-room when the danger is past. But while he was talking to the Mother Senneville downstairs, or waiting a summons to come up, the cure never heard laughter in the back bedroom. There seemed to be some shadow there which fled before his cheery smile when he went upstairs. When he and the girl were together when she walked on the sea-wall with him for a breath of air, she was grave enough too, as if now that she knew him better she no longer considered it necessary to assume a light-heartedness she did not feel.
“Are you sure there is nothing I can do to make your life easier here?” he asked suddenly one day.
“Quite sure,” she answered without conviction.
“Have you all that you want, mademoiselle?”
“Oh yes.”
But he felt that there was some anxiety weighing upon her. He was always at or near the Hotel de la Plage now, so that she could call him from the window or the door. One day—a day of cloud and drizzle87, which are common enough at Yport in the early summer—he went into the little front room, which the Mother Senneville fondly called her salon88, to read the daily office from the cloth-bound book he ever carried in his pocket. He was engaged in this devout89 work when the Englishwoman came hastily into the room, closing the door and standing with her back against it.
“There is a gendarme90 in the street,” she said, in little more than a whisper, her eyes glittering. She was breathless.
“What of it, mademoiselle? It is my old friend the Sergeant91 Grall. It is I who christen his children.”
“Why is he here?”
“It is his duty, mademoiselle. The village is peaceful enough now that the men are away at the fisheries. You have nothing to fear.”
She glanced round the room with a hunted look in her eyes.
“Oh,” she said, “I cannot keep it up any longer. You must have guessed—you who are so quick—that my brother is a great criminal. He has ruined thousands of people. He was escaping with the money he had stolen when the steamer was wrecked.”
The cure did not say whether this news surprised him or not, but walked to the window and looked thoughtfully out to sea. The windows were dull and spray-ridden.
“Ah!” the girl cried, “you must not judge hastily. You cannot know his temptation.”
“I will not judge at all, mademoiselle. No man may judge of another's temptation. But—he can restore the money.”
“No. It was all lost in the steamer.”
She had approached the other window, and stood beside the little priest looking out over the grey sea.
“It was surely my duty to come here and help him, whatever he had done.”
“Assuredly, mademoiselle.”
“But he says you can give him up if you like.”
She glanced at him and caught her breath. The priest shook his head.
“Why not? Because you are too charitable?” she whispered; and again he shook his head. “Then, why not?” she persisted with a strange pertinacity92.
“Because he is your brother, mademoiselle.”
And they stood for some moments looking out over the sea, through the rime-covered windows, in a breathless silence. The cure spoke at length.
“You must get him removed to Havre,” he said, in his cheery way, “as soon as possible. There he can take a steamer to America. I will impress upon the doctor the necessity of an early departure.”
It was not lately, but many years ago, that the Ocean Waif was wrecked in a summer storm. And any who penetrate93 to Yport to-day will probably see in the sunlight on the sea-wall a cheery little cure, who taps his snuff-box, while he exchanges jokes with the idlers there. Yport has slowly crept into the ken9 of the traveller, and every summer sees English tourists pass that way. They are not popular with the rough natives, who, after all, are of the same ancestry94 as ourselves; but the little cure is quick and kind with information or assistance to all who seek it. When the English tongue is spoken he draws near and listens—snuff-box in hand; when the travellers speak in French his eyes travel out to sea with a queer look, as if the accent aroused some memory.
And in an obscure English watering-place there lives a queer little old maid—churchy and prim—who does charitable work, gives her opinion very freely concerning the administration of matters parochial, thinks the vicar very self-indulgent and idle—and in her own heart has the abiding conviction that there are none on earth like the Roman clergy95.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 rue 8DGy6     
n.懊悔,芸香,后悔;v.后悔,悲伤,懊悔
参考例句:
  • You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
  • You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。
2 gale Xf3zD     
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等)
参考例句:
  • We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
  • According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报,明天有大风。
3 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
4 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
5 shutters 74d48a88b636ca064333022eb3458e1f     
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
参考例句:
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
6 gasping gasping     
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
  • "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗?”“我巴不得能喝点!”
7 oar EH0xQ     
n.桨,橹,划手;v.划行
参考例句:
  • The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
  • The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。
8 funnel xhgx4     
n.漏斗;烟囱;v.汇集
参考例句:
  • He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
  • I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。
9 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
10 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
11 cowered 4916dbf7ce78e68601f216157e090999     
v.畏缩,抖缩( cower的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响,人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
  • He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里,吓得语无伦次。
12 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
13 expressive shwz4     
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
参考例句:
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
14 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
15 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
16 malcontent IAYxQ     
n.不满者,不平者;adj.抱不平的,不满的
参考例句:
  • The malcontent is gunning for his supervisor.那个心怀不满的人在伺机加害他的上司。
  • Nevertheless,this kind of plan brings about partial player is malcontent.不过,这种方案招致部分玩家不满。
17 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
18 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
19 strings nh0zBe     
n.弦
参考例句:
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
20 appal kMIyP     
vt.使胆寒,使惊骇
参考例句:
  • I was appalled at the news.我被这消息吓坏了。
  • This "Hamlet" will appal some for being so resolutely unclassical.新版《哈姆雷特 》如此违背经典,确实惊世骇俗。
21 doorways 9f2a4f4f89bff2d72720b05d20d8f3d6     
n.门口,门道( doorway的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群,从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
  • He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句
22 gamut HzJyL     
n.全音阶,(一领域的)全部知识
参考例句:
  • The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
  • This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。
23 lull E8hz7     
v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇
参考例句:
  • The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
  • Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后,地面战又突然爆发了。
24 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
25 inaccessible 49Nx8     
adj.达不到的,难接近的
参考例句:
  • This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
  • The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。
26 bluffs b61bfde7c25e2c4facccab11221128fc     
恐吓( bluff的名词复数 ); 悬崖; 峭壁
参考例句:
  • Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
  • He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式,假装最初是一个洗碗机,然后厨师。
27 bluff ftZzB     
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗
参考例句:
  • His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
  • John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。
28 flannel S7dyQ     
n.法兰绒;法兰绒衣服
参考例句:
  • She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
  • She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子,看上去楚楚动人。
29 quay uClyc     
n.码头,靠岸处
参考例句:
  • There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
  • The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。
30 timorous gg6yb     
adj.胆怯的,胆小的
参考例句:
  • She is as timorous as a rabbit.她胆小得像只兔子。
  • The timorous rabbit ran away.那只胆小的兔子跑开了。
31 judgment e3xxC     
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
参考例句:
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
32 descends e9fd61c3161a390a0db3b45b3a992bee     
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜
参考例句:
  • This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 bustling LxgzEl     
adj.喧闹的
参考例句:
  • The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
  • This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。
34 wont peXzFP     
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯
参考例句:
  • He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
  • It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。
35 racing 1ksz3w     
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
参考例句:
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
36 skilful 8i2zDY     
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的
参考例句:
  • The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多,熟练的程度越高。
  • He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。
37 meandering 0ce7d94ddbd9f3712952aa87f4e44840     
蜿蜒的河流,漫步,聊天
参考例句:
  • The village seemed deserted except for small boys and a meandering donkey. 整个村子的人都像是逃光了,只留下了几个小男孩和一头正在游游荡荡的小毛驴。 来自教父部分
  • We often took a walk along the meandering river after supper. 晚饭后我们常沿着那条弯弯曲曲的小河散步。
38 eastward CrjxP     
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部
参考例句:
  • The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
  • The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去,他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。
39 shingle 8yKwr     
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短
参考例句:
  • He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土,下面露出一块松木瓦块。
  • He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。
40 greasy a64yV     
adj. 多脂的,油脂的
参考例句:
  • He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
  • You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时,你会厌恶油腻的气味。
41 decomposed d6dafa7f02e02b23fd957d01ced03499     
已分解的,已腐烂的
参考例句:
  • A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时,液体就分解。
  • Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。
42 dame dvGzR0     
n.女士
参考例句:
  • The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
  • If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会,你就要跟那个夫人结婚。
43 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
44 wade nMgzu     
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉
参考例句:
  • We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
  • We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。
45 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
46 toll LJpzo     
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟)
参考例句:
  • The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
  • The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
47 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
48 gulls 6fb3fed3efaafee48092b1fa6f548167     
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
49 seething e6f773e71251620fed3d8d4245606fcf     
沸腾的,火热的
参考例句:
  • The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
  • The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。
50 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
51 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
52 marvel b2xyG     
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事
参考例句:
  • The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
  • The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。
53 adversary mxrzt     
adj.敌手,对手
参考例句:
  • He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
  • They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。
54 waning waning     
adj.(月亮)渐亏的,逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡
参考例句:
  • Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
  • The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
55 northward YHexe     
adv.向北;n.北方的地区
参考例句:
  • He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
  • I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
56 heed ldQzi     
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心
参考例句:
  • You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
  • For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。
57 ruminating 29b02bd23c266a224e13df488b3acca0     
v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 );反复考虑;反刍;倒嚼
参考例句:
  • He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth. 他坐在那儿沉思,轻轻地抚弄着桌布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is ruminating on what had happened the day before. 他在沉思前一天发生的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
58 crumpled crumpled     
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
  • She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。
59 steamship 1h9zcA     
n.汽船,轮船
参考例句:
  • The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
  • It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
60 placid 7A1yV     
adj.安静的,平和的
参考例句:
  • He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
  • You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。
61 wrecks 8d69da0aee97ed3f7157e10ff9dbd4ae     
n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 );(事故中)遭严重毁坏的汽车(或飞机等);(身体或精神上)受到严重损伤的人;状况非常糟糕的车辆(或建筑物等)v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 );使(船舶)失事,使遇难,使下沉
参考例句:
  • The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句
62 gallant 66Myb     
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句:
  • Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
  • These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
63 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
64 wrecked ze0zKI     
adj.失事的,遇难的
参考例句:
  • the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
  • the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞
65 survivor hrIw8     
n.生存者,残存者,幸存者
参考例句:
  • The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
  • There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
66 steward uUtzw     
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员
参考例句:
  • He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
  • He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员,到过世界各地。
67 concussion 5YDys     
n.脑震荡;震动
参考例句:
  • He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
  • She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。
68 protruding e7480908ef1e5355b3418870e3d0812f     
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸
参考例句:
  • He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
  • There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句
69 modifications aab0760046b3cea52940f1668245e65d     
n.缓和( modification的名词复数 );限制;更改;改变
参考例句:
  • The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型,然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》
70 sundry CswwL     
adj.各式各样的,种种的
参考例句:
  • This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
  • We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。
71 discoursed bc3a69d4dd9f0bc34060d8c215954249     
演说(discourse的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He discoursed on an interesting topic. 他就一个有趣的题目发表了演讲。
  • The scholar discoursed at great length on the poetic style of John Keats. 那位学者详细讲述了约翰·济慈的诗歌风格。
72 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句:
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
73 consigned 9dc22c154336e2c50aa2b71897ceceed     
v.把…置于(令人不快的境地)( consign的过去式和过去分词 );把…托付给;把…托人代售;丟弃
参考例句:
  • I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
  • The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
74 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
75 apron Lvzzo     
n.围裙;工作裙
参考例句:
  • We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
  • She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。
76 descending descending     
n. 下行 adj. 下降的
参考例句:
  • The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
  • The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置,然后再下山。
77 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
78 meekly meekly     
adv.温顺地,逆来顺受地
参考例句:
  • He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时,他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》
79 constraint rYnzo     
n.(on)约束,限制;限制(或约束)性的事物
参考例句:
  • The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
  • The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。
80 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
81 banal joCyK     
adj.陈腐的,平庸的
参考例句:
  • Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits.他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调。
  • The allegations ranged from the banal to the bizarre.从平淡无奇到离奇百怪的各种说法都有。
82 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
83 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
84 bosom Lt9zW     
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
参考例句:
  • She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
  • A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
85 abiding uzMzxC     
adj.永久的,持久的,不变的
参考例句:
  • He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
  • He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。
86 nay unjzAQ     
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者
参考例句:
  • He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的,不,应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
  • Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章,不,应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。
87 drizzle Mrdxn     
v.下毛毛雨;n.毛毛雨,蒙蒙细雨
参考例句:
  • The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小,最后变成了毛毛雨。
  • Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨,今天果然下起来了。
88 salon VjTz2Z     
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室
参考例句:
  • Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
  • You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
89 devout Qlozt     
adj.虔诚的,虔敬的,衷心的 (n.devoutness)
参考例句:
  • His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
  • The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。
90 gendarme DlayC     
n.宪兵
参考例句:
  • A gendarme was crossing the court.一个宪兵正在院子里踱步。
  • While he was at work,a gendarme passed,observed him,and demanded his papers.正在他工作时,有个警察走过,注意到他,便向他要证件。
91 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官,中士
参考例句:
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
92 pertinacity sMPxS     
n.执拗,顽固
参考例句:
93 penetrate juSyv     
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解
参考例句:
  • Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
  • The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
94 ancestry BNvzf     
n.祖先,家世
参考例句:
  • Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
  • He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。
95 clergy SnZy2     
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员
参考例句:
  • I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望,我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
  • All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。


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