Chapter 1

 Gradually he became aware of resilient rubber and plastic supporting him. He lay on his back, heels together and toes lopped outward, elbows crowding uncomfortably into his ribs¹. His body shifted. The month-long hibernation² was over.

A delicious feeling of completeness—of achievement—swept over him. He, Dorav Brink³, had escaped from the endless boredom⁴ and idleness of Earth's mechanized domes⁵, after all. Here on Sulle II there would be adventure and work in plenty.

His eyes opened. In the soft yellowish light which flooded the small square room, he saw a dozen other couches, similar to that on which he lay. Most of them were occupied. His gaze probed the huddled⁶ figures searching for the girl Rea.

He had met her aboard the space lighter⁷ enroute to the interstellar liner that was to carry them to Sulle II. Then they had been given their preliminary capsules of iberno and he remembered no more.

Iberno hits some people that way—with others it takes five or six capsules to put them into the death-like cataleptic state required for star hopping⁸....

He saw her! Third couch to the right of his own. He stood up carefully, balancing on rubbery legs, and his hand went up to the constriction⁹ binding¹⁰ his skull¹¹. What was this? Goggles¹²! Brink's fingers curled about the flexible band securing them. He tugged¹³.

"Stop that, Brink!"

Brink's hand fell away. He recognized the voice of Len Daniels, the recruiter for this illegal voyage here to Sulle II.

"Want to lose your eyesight, Brink?" demanded the dapper little man. "We warned you of the danger. For at least ten days your eyes must remain protected."

The little gray-haired man wore no glasses, he had acquired an immunity¹⁴ to the sunlight of Sulle II from former voyages, but his naturally pink-and-white complexion¹⁵ was a sickly yellow.

Their voices roused the other colonists¹⁶, and now Daniels moved among them, his soft full voice admonishing¹⁷ and sympathetic.

A coarse-haired giant of a man, dark hair graying at the temples of his ruddy outsize features, clamped Brink's fist with a huge hand.

"Name's Bryt Carby," he said, his voice ridiculously shrill¹⁸.

"I'm Dorav Brink." His eyes slid toward the tall slenderness of Rea Smyt.

"Air don't taste much different from back home, Brink."

Brink made a wry¹⁹ face. "After breathing spacer air and being doped with iberno for months could we tell the difference?"

Carby laughed in agreement. "But Senior Daniels," and Brink wanted to grin at the respectful term used by the big, slow speaking man, "Senior Daniels says that Sulle II is like Earth in almost every respect."

"He would! And possibly it is. According to him even the animals resemble our own planet's."

"Once," and Carby grinned widely, "I ate a bit of cooked native meat. Ten credits it cost me. After that the protein packets and yea-steaks sickened me."

"I tried it once too, Carby, but it cost me fifteen credits. And that's the way Daniels and his company will get back the thousand credits we owe them for the trip." Brink laughed. "With food that we raise and meat that we kill, Carby. Daniels flies it to Earth and smuggles²⁰ it into the domes as native to Earth. His profit must be enormous."

Carby frowned and rubbed a stubby finger across the bridge of his huge nose. And Brink edged away from his neighbor toward the slim tallness of Rea Smyt.

 

1 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

2 hibernation   

n.冬眠

参考例句：

• Bears wake up in the spring after a winter of hibernation.熊经过一个冬天的冬眠后在春季苏醒。
• The tortoise spends the winter months in hibernation.乌龟在冬眠中度过寒冬季节。

3 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

4 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

5 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

6 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

9 constriction   

压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物

参考例句：

• She feels a constriction in the chest. 她胸部有压迫感。
• If you strain to run fast, you start coughing and feel a constriction in the chest. 还是别跑紧了，一咬牙就咳嗽，心口窝辣蒿蒿的！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

10 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

11 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

12 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

13 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

15 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

16 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 admonishing   

v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• It is waste of time, admonishing you. 劝告你简直是浪费工夫。 来自辞典例句
• To date, the Doctrine of Cheng Fu still exerts its admonishing effect. 时至今日，承负说仍具有警示作用。 来自互联网

18 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

19 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

20 smuggles   

v.偷运( smuggle的第三人称单数 )；私运；走私；不按规章地偷带（人或物）

参考例句：