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Chapter 1
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 An immense gallery, five hundred feet long, occupied the upper floor of the main factory-building. Looking down the gallery, a perspective of iron girders spanned the roof, gaunt skeletons of architecture, uncompromising, inexorably utilitarian1, inflexible2, remorseless. A drone of machinery3 filled the air, neither very loud nor very near at hand, but softly and unremittingly continuous; the drone of clanking, of loosely-running wheels and leather belts, muffled4 by the intervening floor into a not unpleasant murmur5. Outside the windows three chimneys reared their heads side by side, emitting three parallel streams of smoke, gigantic black plumes6 that floated horizontally away over the flooded country, and that at night were flecked with red sparks as they flowed out from the red glare at their base.
4All these things, the chimneys and the girders, were crushingly larger than the men who laboured amongst them. The men seemed of pigmy size as they pushed their hand-trucks along the floor of the big gallery. They pushed them down the narrow passage-ways left between the vats8. The gallery was full of vats, set in pairs down the whole length of the building; square vats twenty feet each way, as large and as deep as an ordinary room. Some of the vats were empty, temporarily not in use; some were only half full; but in most the hot, liquid soap boiled and bubbled right up to the rim9.
The smell which filled the gallery was the smell of the soap, pungent10 and acrid11 on the surface, but fat and nauseating12 underneath13, rasping the throat of the chance visitor before it penetrated14 deeper with its hot, furry15 smell that tickled16 and disgusted the sensitiveness at the back of his nose. The chance visitor rarely lingered long in the gallery. He would stand for a few moments watching the men that came and went in their splashed overalls17, indifferent to his presence; then he would turn to go carefully down the steep iron stair into the pleasanter rooms where white powder was heaped on the floor in miniature mountains, and where lines of 5girls seated on high stools were occupied in tying ribbons with the twist of dexterity18 round the necks of scent19 bottles, and the room was filled with scent like a garden of orange-trees in blossom.
Up in the gallery, the soap in the vats moved uneasily with the motion of an evil quicksand. The soap was yellow, and its consistency20 one of slimy liquidity21. If the vat7 were not sufficiently22 full, the quantity increased mysteriously from below, the level rising thanks to the unseen source of supply. It was not hard to believe that the recesses23 of the vat were inhabited by some foul24 and secret monster whose jaws25 emitted the viscid, yellow stream to conceal26 his abode27. The soap moved restlessly, boiling and bursting into little craters28, which subsided30, leaving wrinkles and circles on the surface. Quiet for a moment, it heaved in another place; heaved slowly and deliberately31, but did not break; heaved again; broke with a spout32 of steam and a sluggish33 splash as the walls of the crater29 fell in. It was never altogether still. It seemed alive, because it swelled34 and breathed and vomited35, or at least it seemed as though some live creature dwelt within, occasioning by its movements the disturbances36 and eruptions37 of the slime.
6In other vats a wrinkled brown skin had formed over the cooling soap, a skin puckered38 and broken up into valleys and chasms39, plains and ridges40, so that of all things it most resembled the physical map of a country. The parallel was exact as to colour, even to the greenish stretches at the bottom of the valleys. Mountain ridges three inches high, chasms three inches deep, plateaux six inches across, the landscape of some dead but perpetually changing world. For here the slime moved also, but with a difference; it did not seethe41, it did not erupt; it rather subsided; was a dead, rather than a living thing. The monster that dwelt in those depths had died, and lay at the bottom, a heap of corruption42 the imagination would not willingly picture.
Other vats were empty, and if the hot boiling soap resembled a shifting quicksand, and the cooling soap the desolation of a dead world, the empty vats resembled the sea-bottom. The others, with their hint of greed and evil, might be more terrifying; these empty vats were infinitely43 more fantastic. Their sides were caked with the dry soap, brown-yellow, and their depths were surprisingly revealed; ending in a blunt point, like the point of a cone44; they were sunk lower than the floor of the gallery 7into an unlighted chamber45 of corresponding size below. In these empty vats, various portions of apparatus46 were brought to light: immense chains, caked and corroded47, hung like ship’s cables and were lost in the deposit at the bottom; vast strainers swung against the sides; ropes, stiffened48 hard as wood, spanned diagonally from side to side; and, emerging from the tapering49 depths, stumps50 of wreckage51 stood up, transformed from their original shape to stalagmites of dry frangible matter, that would chip away, crisp and powdery, betraying the nature of their kernel,—was it a shovel52? was it an anchor? was it the decaying bones of the ancient monster?—and the low parapets of the vats were coated with the same brittle53 dryness that yellowed the walls of those grotesque54 and extraordinary pits.

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1 utilitarian THVy9     
adj.实用的,功利的
参考例句:
  • On the utilitarian side American education has outstridden the rest of the world.在实用方面美国教育已超越世界各国。
  • A good cloth coat is more utilitarian than a fur one.一件优质的布外衣要比一件毛皮外衣更有用。
2 inflexible xbZz7     
adj.不可改变的,不受影响的,不屈服的
参考例句:
  • Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
  • The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。
3 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
4 muffled fnmzel     
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
参考例句:
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
6 plumes 15625acbfa4517aa1374a6f1f44be446     
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句:
  • The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
  • The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头,那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。
7 vat sKszW     
n.(=value added tax)增值税,大桶
参考例句:
  • The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
  • His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。
8 vats 3cf7466f161beb5cb241053041e2077e     
varieties 变化,多样性,种类
参考例句:
  • Fixed rare issue with getting stuck in VATS mode. 修正了极少出现的VATS模式卡住的问题。
  • Objective To summarize the experience of VATS clinic application. 目的总结电视胸腔镜手术(vats)胸外科疾病治疗中的临床应用经验。
9 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
10 pungent ot6y7     
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
  • Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息,迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。
11 acrid TJEy4     
adj.辛辣的,尖刻的,刻薄的
参考例句:
  • There is an acrid tone to your remarks.你说这些话的口气带有讥刺意味。
  • The room was filled with acrid smoke.房里充满刺鼻的烟。
12 nauseating fb14f89658fba421f177319ea59b96a6     
adj.令人恶心的,使人厌恶的v.使恶心,作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
14 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
15 furry Rssz2D     
adj.毛皮的;似毛皮的;毛皮制的
参考例句:
  • This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
  • Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗,当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。
16 tickled 2db1470d48948f1aa50b3cf234843b26     
(使)发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)愉快,逗乐
参考例句:
  • We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友,我们高兴极了。
  • I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚,使她发笑。
17 overalls 2mCz6w     
n.(复)工装裤;长罩衣
参考例句:
  • He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
  • He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤,换上了一套西服。
18 dexterity hlXzs     
n.(手的)灵巧,灵活
参考例句:
  • You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
  • I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧,我不如你。
19 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
20 consistency IY2yT     
n.一贯性,前后一致,稳定性;(液体的)浓度
参考例句:
  • Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
  • We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。
21 liquidity VRXzb     
n.流动性,偿债能力,流动资产
参考例句:
  • The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
  • The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。
22 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
23 recesses 617c7fa11fa356bfdf4893777e4e8e62     
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭
参考例句:
  • I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
24 foul Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
参考例句:
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
25 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
26 conceal DpYzt     
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽
参考例句:
  • He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方,他只好隐瞒身份。
  • He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。
27 abode hIby0     
n.住处,住所
参考例句:
  • It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫,才好不容易打听到他的住处。
  • Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍!
28 craters 1f8461e3895b38f51c992255a1c86823     
n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等
参考例句:
  • Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
29 crater WofzH     
n.火山口,弹坑
参考例句:
  • With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
  • They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。
30 subsided 1bda21cef31764468020a8c83598cc0d     
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上
参考例句:
  • After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后,部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚, 暴风雨已经过去,四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
31 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
32 spout uGmzx     
v.喷出,涌出;滔滔不绝地讲;n.喷管;水柱
参考例句:
  • Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
  • This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季,这东西被用作喷管来排水。
33 sluggish VEgzS     
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的
参考例句:
  • This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
  • Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。
34 swelled bd4016b2ddc016008c1fc5827f252c73     
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情)
参考例句:
  • The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染,他的手肿了起来。
  • After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后,河水猛涨。
35 vomited 23632f2de1c0dc958c22b917c3cdd795     
参考例句:
  • Corbett leaned against the wall and promptly vomited. 科比特倚在墙边,马上呕吐了起来。
  • She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. 她向前一俯,哇的一声吐了一地。 来自英汉文学
36 disturbances a0726bd74d4516cd6fbe05e362bc74af     
n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 );打扰;困扰;障碍
参考例句:
  • The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
  • Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。
37 eruptions ca60b8eba3620efa5cdd7044f6dd0b66     
n.喷发,爆发( eruption的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句
38 puckered 919dc557997e8559eff50805cb11f46e     
v.(使某物)起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱,像要哭了。
  • His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸,眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 chasms 59f980d139181b57c2aa4045ac238a6f     
裂缝( chasm的名词复数 ); 裂口; 分歧; 差别
参考例句:
  • She found great chasms in her mathematics and physics. 她觉得她的数学课和物理课的知识还很欠缺。
  • The sectarian chasms remain deep, the wounds of strife raw. 各派别的分歧巨大,旧恨新仇交织。
40 ridges 9198b24606843d31204907681f48436b     
n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊
参考例句:
  • The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
  • Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上,这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。
41 seethe QE0yt     
vi.拥挤,云集;发怒,激动,骚动
参考例句:
  • Many Indians continue to seethe and some are calling for military action against their riotous neighbour.很多印度人都处于热血沸腾的状态,很多都呼吁针对印度这个恶邻采取军事行动。
  • She seethed with indignation.她由于愤怒而不能平静。
42 corruption TzCxn     
n.腐败,堕落,贪污
参考例句:
  • The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
  • The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。
43 infinitely 0qhz2I     
adv.无限地,无穷地
参考例句:
  • There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
  • The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。
44 cone lYJyi     
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。
45 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
46 apparatus ivTzx     
n.装置,器械;器具,设备
参考例句:
  • The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
  • They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
47 corroded 77e49c02c5fb1fe2e59b1a771002f409     
已被腐蚀的
参考例句:
  • Rust has corroded the steel rails. 锈侵蚀了钢轨。
  • Jealousy corroded his character. 嫉妒损伤了他的人格。
48 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
49 tapering pq5wC     
adj.尖端细的
参考例句:
  • Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
  • Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。
50 stumps 221f9ff23e30fdcc0f64ec738849554c     
(被砍下的树的)树桩( stump的名词复数 ); 残肢; (板球三柱门的)柱; 残余部分
参考例句:
  • Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
  • If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆,如果你不快走,上学又要迟到了。
51 wreckage nMhzF     
n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏
参考例句:
  • They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
  • New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。
52 shovel cELzg     
n.铁锨,铲子,一铲之量;v.铲,铲出
参考例句:
  • He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
  • He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。
53 brittle IWizN     
adj.易碎的;脆弱的;冷淡的;(声音)尖利的
参考例句:
  • The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
  • She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。
54 grotesque O6ryZ     
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物)
参考例句:
  • His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
  • Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。


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