Chapter 3

 Dusk caught them, hours later, on the wooded ridge¹ high above the broad valley that was their destination.

Carby followed Rea off the crumbled² highway, that the vanished Sullans had built, and into a sheltered grove³ of long-leaved trees. Brink⁴ and Tzal, pushing easily together at the harnesses behind the rubber-tired cart, followed them.

Clumsily, for they had never seen a tent before, they released the forward section of the cart and drew out the slender jointed⁵ ribs⁶ of metal. They snapped these together into a low dome⁷ ten feet in diameter; and then Tzal controlled the extensible arms feeding out the plastic covering, while Brink locked the opaque⁸ skin into place.

Five minutes later, with the wind cone⁹ driving the generator¹⁰ and the bottled gas feeding the small stove, Tzal was preparing their evening meal under the soft glowing tubes.

She turned to Brink.

"Better go help Carby," she suggested, smiling. "That Rea—" And she shook her head.

Brink found Carby struggling doggedly¹¹ with the metal ribs. His partner was not in sight, but they could hear her voice, singing softly somewhere out among the dusky trees. When at last the lighting¹² tubes were glowing and Carby had lighted the stove, Brink eyed the weary, large-featured man curiously¹³.

"What are you going to do about it?" he blurted¹⁴. "You can't go on doing all the work. She needs a good—a good, lumping, I think the Ancients called it."

Carby grinned faintly.

"When she is ready," he said mildly, "she will help."

"Hah!" Brink snorted and went to the zippered¹⁵ entrance. "See you tomorrow, Bryt."

He crossed the near-darkness of the needle-strewn glade¹⁶ to his own tent. How bright were these stars and how sweet and cold was this raw air. In York Dome, with its thirty million citizens and its mild, conditioned atmosphere, one saw the stars only through telescreens or viewing ports.

Somewhere in the darkness a mournful wail¹⁷, an aching ghost of a howl, sounded, and faded into the unfamiliar¹⁸ chirps¹⁹, and hums of the night prowlers of the Sullan uplands....

There was a choked scream from nearby and Brink heard the crashing progress of Rea Smyt toward her tent. The zippered entrance brightened and then dimmed as she shut it behind her. Brink shrugged²⁰. Stooping he entered his own savory-smelling tent.

Tzal had covered the sleeping cots with the gay scarlet-and-blue blankets provided them, and their sliced and steaming rations²¹ were ready on the extended table shelf of the cart. Tzal smiled at him from the cot that doubled as a chair.

"Better eat before it gets cold," she invited, and helped herself to a serving of salmon-hued promine.

"Tomorrow," Brink said as he seated himself beside her, "we will dine on real meat—meat that I kill."

"Of course," Tzal agreed placidly²².

1 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

2 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

3 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

4 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。

5 jointed   

有接缝的

参考例句：

• To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她，那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
• It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。

6 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。

7 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

8 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

9 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

10 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

11 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

12 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

13 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

14 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 zippered   

v.拉上拉链( zipper的过去式和过去分词 )；用拉链扣上

参考例句：

• Freeze grapes and put them into a zippered plastic bag. 还可以把葡萄冷冻，然后放在有拉链的塑料袋里。 来自互联网
• Packaging is a VZB( Vinyl Zippered Bag packaging), with a color insert. 包装：有拉链的塑料袋，放一张彩卡。 来自互联网

16 glade   

n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地

参考例句：

• In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
• The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。

17 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

18 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

19 chirps   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾

参考例句：

• The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
• She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

20 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

22 placidly   

adv.平稳地，平静地

参考例句：

• Hurstwood stood placidly by, while the car rolled back into the yard. 当车子开回场地时，赫斯渥沉着地站在一边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The water chestnut floated placidly there, where it would grow. 那棵菱角就又安安稳稳浮在水面上生长去了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说