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Chapter 1
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 About an hour out of San Francisco on the flight to Los Angeles, I made the discovery. I had finished reading the Chronicle, folded and put it beside me, turned and looked out the window, expecting to see the San Joaquin Valley but finding only a sea of clouds instead. So I returned my attention to the inside of the plane, to the overstuffed gray-haired woman asleep beside me, to the backs of heads in seats before me, across the aisle1 to other heads, and down to the blonde.
I had seen her in the concourse and at the gate, a shapely thing. Now she had crossed her legs and I was privileged to view a trim ankle and calf2, and her profile as she stared moodily3 across the aisle and out a window where there was nothing to see.
I slid my eyes past her to others. A crossword-puzzle worker, a togetherness-type-magazine reader.
Inventory4 completed, I went back to looking at the clouds, knowing I should be thinking about the printing order I was going to Los Angeles for, and not wanting to.
So I started going through the purse of the woman next to me. Perhaps that sounds bad. It wasn't. I'd been doing it for years and nobody ever complained.
It started when I was a kid, this business of being able to explore the insides of things like purses and sealed boxes and locked drawers and—well, human beings. But human beings aren't worth the trouble. It's like swimming through spaghetti. And I've got to stay away from electric wires. They hurt. Now don't ask me how they hurt.
Maybe you think it's fun. For the most part, it really isn't. I always knew what was in Christmas presents before I unwrapped them, and therefore Christmas was always spoiled for me as a kid. I can't feel the color of anything, just its consistency5. An apple senses about the same as a potato, except for the core and the stem. I can't even tell if there's writing on a piece of paper. So you see it isn't much. Just the feel of shapes, the hardnesses and softnesses. But I've learned to become pretty good at guessing.
Like this woman next to me. She had a short, cylindrical6 metal object in her purse with waxlike stuff inside it—a lipstick7. A round, hard object with dust inside—a compact. Handkerchief, chewing gum, a small book, probably an address book, money in a change purse—a few bills and coins. Not much else.
I was a little disappointed. I've run across a gun or two in my time. But I never say anything.
I learned the wisdom of keeping my mouth shut in the fourth grade when Miss Winters, a stern, white-haired disciplinarian, ordered me to eat my sack lunch in the classroom with her instead of outside with some of the other kids. This was the punishment for some minor8 infraction9. Lunchtime was nearly over and we'd both finished eating; she said she'd be gone for a few moments and that I was to erase10 the blackboard during her absence, which I dutifully did.
Class had hardly resumed when she started looking around the desk for her favorite mechanical pencil, asking if any of us had seen it, and looking straight at me. I didn't want her to think I had taken it while she was out of the room, so I probed the contents of her purse, which she always kept in the upper right drawer of her desk.
"It's in your purse," I blurted11 out.
I was sent home with a stinging note.
Since then I've kept quiet. At one time I assumed everybody was able to sense. I've known better for years. Still, I wonder how many other people are as close-mouthed about their special gift as I am about mine.
I used to think that some day I'd make a lot of money out of it, but how? I can't read thoughts. I can't even be sure what some of the things I sense in probing really are.
But I've learned to move things. Ever so little. A piece of paper. A feather. Once I stopped one of those little glass-enclosed light or heat-powered devices with vanes you see now and then in a jeweler's window. And I can stop clocks.
Take this morning, for example. I had set my alarm for five-thirty because I had to catch the seven o'clock plane at San Francisco International Airport. This being earlier than I usually get up, it seems all I did during the night was feel my way past the escapement and balance wheel to see where the notch12 for the alarm was. The last time I did it there was just the merest fraction of an inch between the pawl and the notch. So I sighed and moved to the balance wheel and its delicate ribbon of spiraling steel. I hung onto the wheel, exerting influence to decrease the restoring torque.
The wheel slowed down until there was no more ticking. It took quite a bit of effort, as it always does, but I did it, as I usually do. I can't stand the alarm.
When I first learned to do this, I thought I had it made. I even went to Las Vegas to try my hand, so to speak, with the ratchets and pawls and cams and springs on the slot machines. But there's nothing delicate about a slot machine, and the spring tensions are too strong. I dropped quite a lot of nickels before I finally gave up.
So I'm stuck with a talent I've found little real use for. Except that it amuses me. Sometimes. Not like this time on the plane.
The woman beside me stirred, sat up suddenly and looked across me out the window. "Where are we?" she asked in a surprised voice. I told her we were probably a little north of Bakersfield. She said, "Oh," glanced at her wristwatch and sank back again.
Soon the stewardesses14 would bring coffee and doughnuts around, so I contented15 myself with looking at the clouds and trying to think about Amos Magaffey, who was purchasing agent for a Los Angeles amusement chain, and how I was going to convince him our printing prices were maybe a little higher but the quality and service were better. My mind wandered below where I was sitting, idly moving from one piece of luggage to another, looking for my beat-up suitcase. I went through slips and slippers16, lingerie and laundry, a jig17 saw puzzle and a ukulele.
I never did find my suitcase because I found the bomb first.
 
The bomb was in a small bag—a woman's bag judging by the soft, flimsy things you'd never find in a man's—and I didn't know it was a bomb right away. I thought it was just a clock, one of those small, quiet alarms. I was going to pass it by and go on, but what held me was that something was taped to it. By the feel, I knew it must be electrician's tape. Interested and curious, I explored the clock more closely, found two wires. One went to a battery and the other to hard round cylinders18 taped together. The hairs stood up at the base of my neck when I suddenly realized what it was.
The clock's balance wheel was rocking merrily. Quickly I went up past the train of gears to the alarm wheel. If this was anything like my own alarm clock, this one had something like ten minutes to go.
It was forty minutes to Burbank and Lockheed Air Terminal.
My mind was churning when I turned from the window to look around at the unconcerned passengers, the woman at my side asleep again. I thought: Which one of these.... No, none of them would know it was there. I glanced out the window again; clouds were still in the way. We'd be leaving the valley for the mountain range north of Los Angeles soon, if we hadn't left it already. No place to land the plane there.
But of course that had been the plan!
My heart was beating in jackhammer rhythm; my mouth was dry and my mind was numb19. Tell somebody about the bomb before it's too late! No, they'd think I put it there. Besides, what good would it do? There would be panic and they'd never get the plane down in time—if they believed me.
"Sir." My head jerked around. The stewardess13 stood in the aisle, smiling, extending a tray to me, a brown plastic tray bearing a small paper cup of tomato juice, a cup of coffee, a cellophane-wrapped doughnut, paper spoon, sugar and dehydrated cream envelopes, and a napkin.
I goggled20 at her, managed to croak21, "No, thanks." She gave me an odd look and moved along. My seatmate had accepted hers and was tearing at the cellophane. I couldn't bear to watch her.
I closed my eyes, forced my mind back to the luggage compartment22, spent a frantic23 moment before I found the bag again. I had to stop that balance wheel, just as I stopped my alarm clock every morning. I tried to close everything off—the throb24 of engines, the rush of air, the woman sipping25 coffee noisily beside me—and I went into the clock and surrounded the seesawing26 wheel. When it went forward, I pulled it back; when it went back, I pulled it forward. I struggled with it, and it was like trying to work with greasy27 hands, and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to stop it.
Then, little by little, it started to slow its beat. But I could not afford to relax. I pushed and pulled and didn't dare release my hold until it came to a dead stop.
"Anything the matter?"
My eyelids28 flew open and I looked into the eyes of the woman next to me. There was sugar from the doughnut around her mouth and she was still chewing.
"No," I said, letting out my breath. "I'm all right."
"You were moaning, it sounded like. And you kept moving your head back and forth29."
"Must have been dreaming," I said as I rang for the stewardess. When she came I told her I'd take some of that coffee now. No, nothing else, just coffee. I didn't tell her how much I needed it. I sat there clammy with sweat until she returned. Coffee never tasted so good.
All right, so I had stopped the bomb's timer. My mind raced ahead to the landing. When they unloaded the luggage, the balance wheel would start again. I wouldn't be able to stay with it, keeping it still. I considered telling the authorities as soon as we landed, or maybe calling in ahead, but wouldn't that just bring suspicion, questions. Maybe I could convince them I could stop a clock—but not before the bomb exploded. And then what? My secret would be out and my life would be changed. I'd be a man not to be trusted, a prying30 man, a man literally31 with gimlet eyes.
Mountain crags jutted32 through the clouds. We were in the range north of the city. Here and there were clear spots and I could see roads below, but there were also clouds far above us. It was very beautiful, but it was also very bumpy33, and we started to slip and slide.
To my horror I found that the balance wheel was rocking again. Closing my eyes and gritting34 my teeth, I forced my senses to the wheel, tugging35 and pulling and shoving and pushing until it finally stopped.
A jab in the shoulder. I jumped, startled.
"Your cup," my seat partner said, pointing.
I looked down at the coffee cup I had crushed in my hands. Then I looked up into the eyes of the stewardess. I handed it to her. She took it without a word and went away.
"Were you really asleep that time?"
"Not really," I said. I was tempted36 to tell the woman I was subject to fits, but I didn't.
It was only a few minutes to landing, but they became the longest minutes of my life as time after time I stopped the rocking wheel when the plane dipped and bumped to a landing.
Leaving the apron37 with the other passengers, I tried to walk as unconcernedly as they through the exit gate. I would have liked walking through the terminal and out the entrance and away, but I could not. I had my suitcase to get, for one thing. The damned bomb was the other. So I strolled out into the concourse again to look at the plane and watch the baggagemen at work, transferring the luggage to two airfield38 carts. They weren't as careful as I would have been.
It was impossible to tell from this distance just which bag contained the bomb; I could hardly identify my own scarred suitcase. The assortment39 of bags—a strange conglomeration40 of sizes and colors—was packed in some places six deep, and it rolled toward the gate where I was standing41. I didn't know whether to stay or run, imagining the balance wheel now happily rocking again. The load went past me down a ramp42 to the front of the air terminal where the luggage was unloaded and placed in a long rack. I went with it.
There was a flurry of ticket matching, hands grabbing for suitcases, and a general exodus43 on the part of my fellow passengers, too fast to determine who had got the one with the bomb. Now all that was left was the attendant and I had two bags—my own battered44 veteran of years, and a fine new red overnight case, small enough to be the one.
I lit a cigarette, reached out. Inside were a woman's things and—a clock. The escapement was clicking vigorously.
I didn't moan this time. I just closed my eyes, stretched toward and grabbed the balance wheel I was getting to know like my own. I entered into a union with it so strong that after I had reduced it to immobility, it was like waking when I opened my eyes.
The baggage claim attendant was staring at me. For only a moment I stared back. Then I quickly reached for my baggage check and presented it to him. His hand hovered45 over the handle of the little red bag and I was ready to yell at him. But then, matching numbers on the tags with his eyes, his hand grasped the handle of my own suitcase and pushed it toward me.
"Thanks," I said, taking it. I glanced ever so casually46 toward the remaining bag. "One left over, eh?"
"Yeah." He was so bored I was tempted to tell him what was in it. But he was eying me with a "well-why-don't-you-get-along?" look.
I said, "What happens if nobody claims it?"
"Take it inside. Why?"
He was getting too curious. "Oh, I just wondered, that's all."
I stepped on my cigarette and walked toward the air terminal entrance and put my suitcase on the stone steps there. A redcap came hurrying over.
"Cab?"
I shook my head. "Just waiting."
Just waiting for somebody to pick up a bomb.
I lit another cigarette and glanced now and then toward the baggage claim area. The red bag was still there. All sorts of theories ran through my head as to why it should still be there, and none satisfied me.
I should not have been there, that much I knew; I should be with a man named Amos Magaffey on Sixth Street at ten o'clock, discussing something very mundane47, the matter of a printing order. But what could I do? If I left the airport, the attendant would eventually take the bag inside and there would be an explosion, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
No. I had to stay to keep the balance wheel stationary48 until—until what?
A man in tan gabardine, wearing a police cap and badge, walked out of the entrance to stand on the stone steps beside me while he put on a pair of dark glasses. A member of the airport police detail. I could tell him. I could take him down to the little red bag and explain the whole thing. Then it would be his baby and I would be off on my own business.
But he moved on down the steps, nodded at the redcap, and started across the street to the parking area. I could have called to him, "Hey, officer, let me tell you about a bomb in a little red bag." But I didn't. I didn't because I caught a movement at the baggage claim counter out of the side of my eye.
The attendant had picked up the bag and was walking with it up the ramp to the rear of the air terminal. Picking up my own suitcase, I went inside in time to see him enter through a side door and deposit the bag on the scales at the airline desk and say something to the clerk. The clerk nodded and moved the bag to the rear room.
I could visualize49 the balance wheel once again rocking like crazy. How many minutes—or seconds—were left? I was sweating when I moved to the counter, and it wasn't because of the sunshine I'd been soaking in. I had to get as close to the bag as I could if I was going to stop the clock again.
"Can I help you?" the clerk asked.
"No. I'm waiting for someone."
I turned my back to him, put down my suitcase, leaned against the counter and reached out for the wheel. I found I could reach the device, but it was far away. When I tried to dampen it, the wheel escaped my grasp.
"Do you have my suitcase?"
I blinked my eyes open and looked around. The blonde in the plane stood there looking very fresh and bright and unconcerned. In her right hand she had a green baggage claim check.
The clerk took it, nodded, and in a moment brought out the overnight case and set it on the scales. The girl thanked him, picked it up, glanced at me indifferently, and then started for the entrance with it.
"Just a moment," I found myself saying, grabbing my bag and hurrying after her.
At her side and a little ahead of her, I said, "Listen to me."
She looked annoyed and increased her stride toward the door.
"It's a matter of life or death," I said. I wanted to wrest50 the bag from her and hurl51 it out through the doorway52 into the street, but I restrained myself.
She stopped and stared. I noticed a short, fat man in a rumpled53 suitcoat and unpressed pants staring, too. Ignoring him, I said, "Please put the bag down. Over there." I indicated a spot beside a telephone booth where it would be out of the way.
She didn't move. She just said, "Why?"
"For God's sake!" I took the case. She offered no resistance. I put her bag and mine next to the booth. When I turned around she was standing there looking at me as if I had gone out of my mind. Her eyes were blue and brown-flecked, very pretty eyes, and my thought at the moment was, I'm glad the bomb didn't go off; these eyes wouldn't be looking at me or anything else right now if it had.
"I've got to talk to you. It's very important."
The girl said, "Why?" I was beginning to think it was the only word she knew. At the same time I was wondering why anyone would want to kill someone so lovely.
"I'll explain in a moment. Please stand right here while I make a telephone call." I moved toward the phone booth, paused and said, "And don't ask me why."
She gave me a speculative54 look.
I must not have seemed a complete idiot because she said, "All right, but—"
I didn't listen for the rest. I went into the booth, closed the door, pretended to drop a coin and dial a number. But all the time I was in there, I was reaching out through the glass for the clock. At this range it wasn't difficult to stop the balance wheel.
Just the same, when I came out I was wringing55 wet.
"Now will you please tell me what this is all about?" she said stiffly.
"Gladly. Let me buy you a cup of coffee and I'll explain."
She glanced at the bags. I told her they'd be all right. We followed the short, fat man into the coffee shop.
Over coffee I explained it all to her, how I had this extrasensory ability, how she was the first person I had ever revealed it to, and how I had discovered what was in her overnight bag.
During the telling, her untouched coffee grew a skin, her face grew pale, her eyes grew less curious and more troubled. There were tears there when I finished. I asked her who put the bomb in her bag.
"Joe did," she said in a toneless voice, not looking at me any more but staring vacantly across the room. "Joe put it there." Behind her eyes she was reliving some recent scene.
"Who is Joe?"
"My husband." I thought she was going to really bawl56, but she got control again. "This trip was his idea, my coming down here to visit my sister." Her smile was bleak57. "I see now why he wanted to put in those books. I'd finished packing and was in the bathroom. He said he'd put in some books we'd both finished reading—for my sister. That's when he must have put the—put it in there."
I said gently, "Why would he want to do a thing like that?"
"I don't know." She shook her head. "I just don't know." And she was close to bawling58 again. Then she recovered and said, "I'm not sure I want to know." I admired her for saying it. Joe must have been crazy.
"It's all right now?" she asked.
I nodded. "As long as we don't move it."
I told her I didn't know how much more time there was, that I'd been thinking it over and that the only way out seemed to be to tell the airport policeman. After I explained it to her, the girl—she said her name was Julia Claremont—agreed to tell him she thought there was a bomb in her bag, that she had noticed a ticking and had become worried because she knew she hadn't packed a clock. It wasn't good, but it would have to do.
"We've got to get it deactivated," I said, watching the fat man pay for his coffee and leave. "The sooner the better."
I finished my coffee in one gulp59 and went to pay the bill with her. I asked her why she didn't claim the bag at the same time the other people had. She said she had called her sister and the phone was busy for a long while.
"She was supposed to meet me, and when she wasn't here, I got worried. She said she isn't feeling well and asked me to take a cab." She smiled a little. It was a bright, cheery thing. I had the feeling it was all for me. "That's where I was going when you caught up with me."
It had become a very nice day. But the bottom dropped out of it again when we reached the lobby.
The two bags weren't there.
I ran to the entrance and nearly collided with the redcap.
"See anybody go out of here with a little red bag and an old battered suitcase?"
"Bag? Suitcase?" he mumbled60. Then he became excited. "Why, a man just stepped out of here—" He turned to look down the street. "That's him."
The dumpy man I'd seen was walking off; Julia's bag in his right hand, mine in his left. He seemed in no hurry.
"Hey!" I shouted, starting toward him.
The man turned, took one look at me, and started to run. He came abreast61 an old gray, mud-spattered coupe, ran around, opened the door and threw both bags into the rear seat as he got in.
The car was a hundred feet away and gathering62 speed by the time I reached where it had been parked. I watched it for a moment, then walked back to the entranceway where Julia was standing with the redcap, who said, "That man steal them suitcases?"
"That he did," I said.
Just then the airport policeman started across the street from the parking lot. Redcap said, "Better tell him about it."
The policeman was sympathetic and concerned. He said, "We'd better get over to the office."
But we never left the spot because an explosion some blocks distant shattered the air. Julia's hand grasped my arm. Hard.
"Jets," the redcap said, eying the sky.
"I don't know," the policeman said. "Didn't sound much like a jet to me."
We stood there. I could visualize the wreckage63 of an old gray coupe in the middle of a street, but I couldn't visualize the driver. That was all right. I didn't want to see him. I didn't know what Julia was thinking.
She said, "About those bags," and looked at me.
The officer said, "Yes, miss?"
"I—I don't care about mine. I didn't have much of anything in it."
"I feel the same way," I said. "Would it be all right if we didn't bother to report it?"
"Well," the policeman said, "I can't make you report it."
"I'd rather not then," Julia said. She turned to me. "I'd like some air. Can't we walk a little?"
"Sure," I said.
We started down the street, her arm in mine, as the air began to fill with the distant sounds of sirens.

The End

 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aisle qxPz3     
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道
参考例句:
  • The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
  • The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。
2 calf ecLye     
n.小牛,犊,幼仔,小牛皮
参考例句:
  • The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
  • The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。
3 moodily 830ff6e3db19016ccfc088bb2ad40745     
adv.喜怒无常地;情绪多变地;心情不稳地;易生气地
参考例句:
  • Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来,留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
  • He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车,既松了一口气,又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网
4 inventory 04xx7     
n.详细目录,存货清单
参考例句:
  • Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
  • We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。
5 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。
6 cylindrical CnMza     
adj.圆筒形的
参考例句:
  • huge cylindrical gas tanks 巨大的圆柱形贮气罐
  • Beer cans are cylindrical. 啤酒罐子是圆筒形的。
7 lipstick o0zxg     
n.口红,唇膏
参考例句:
  • Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红,开始往嘴唇上抹。
  • Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。
8 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
9 infraction gbbz5     
n.违反;违法
参考例句:
  • He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
  • Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的,触犯此条的司机将受重罚。
10 erase woMxN     
v.擦掉;消除某事物的痕迹
参考例句:
  • He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
  • Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。
11 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
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》
12 notch P58zb     
n.(V字形)槽口,缺口,等级
参考例句:
  • The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
  • He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。
13 stewardess BUkzw     
n.空中小姐,女乘务员
参考例句:
  • Please show your ticket to the stewardess when you board the plane.登机时请向空中小姐出示机票。
  • The stewardess hurried the passengers onto the plane.空中小姐催乘客赶快登机。
14 stewardesses 1d7231e44b525dfb926043ab47aac26c     
(飞机上的)女服务员,空中小姐( stewardess的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • If you need help, stewardesses will be pleased to help you. 如果你需要帮忙的话,空中小姐会很高兴为你效劳。
  • Stewardesses on planes should be employed for their ability, not for their looks. 应该根据能力而不是容貌来录用飞机上的女服务员。
15 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
参考例句:
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
16 slippers oiPzHV     
n. 拖鞋
参考例句:
  • a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
  • He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋,倒在床上。
17 jig aRnzk     
n.快步舞(曲);v.上下晃动;用夹具辅助加工;蹦蹦跳跳
参考例句:
  • I went mad with joy and danced a little jig.我欣喜若狂,跳了几步吉格舞。
  • He piped a jig so that we could dance.他用笛子吹奏格舞曲好让我们跳舞。
18 cylinders fd0c4aab3548ce77958c1502f0bc9692     
n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 );圆柱;汽缸;(尤指用作容器的)圆筒状物
参考例句:
  • They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 numb 0RIzK     
adj.麻木的,失去感觉的;v.使麻木
参考例句:
  • His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
  • Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵,催着疲惫的马继续往前走。
20 goggled f52598b3646e2ce36350c4ece41e0c69     
adj.戴护目镜的v.睁大眼睛瞪视, (惊讶的)转动眼珠( goggle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He goggled in bewilderment. 他困惑地瞪着眼睛。 来自辞典例句
  • The children goggled in amazement at the peculiar old man. 孩子们惊讶的睁视著那个奇怪的老人。 来自互联网
21 croak yYLzJ     
vi.嘎嘎叫,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲,想发发牢骚。
  • Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。
22 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
23 frantic Jfyzr     
adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的
参考例句:
  • I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
  • He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。
24 throb aIrzV     
v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动
参考例句:
  • She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
  • The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。
25 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
26 seesawing 52b336bb4d06543f86e93332f2146250     
v.使上下(来回)摇动( seesaw的现在分词 );玩跷跷板,上下(来回)摇动
参考例句:
  • The score had been seesawing from the very start. 从一开始比分就成拉锯局面。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
27 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。
28 eyelids 86ece0ca18a95664f58bda5de252f4e7     
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 );眼睛也不眨一下;不露声色;面不改色
参考例句:
  • She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了,眼睑开始往下垂。
  • Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
29 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
30 prying a63afacc70963cb0fda72f623793f578     
adj.爱打听的v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的现在分词 );撬开
参考例句:
  • I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活!
  • She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
31 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
32 jutted 24c546c23e927de0beca5ea56f7fb23f     
v.(使)突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出
参考例句:
  • A row of small windows jutted out from the roof. 有一排小窗户从房顶上突出来。
  • His jaw jutted stubbornly forward; he would not be denied. 他固执地扬起下巴,一副不肯罢休的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 bumpy 2sIz7     
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
参考例句:
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
34 gritting 51dd4f54ec0b8d94ce6d9df0cead2d3a     
v.以沙砾覆盖(某物),撒沙砾于( grit的现在分词 );咬紧牙关
参考例句:
  • Gritting my teeth, I did my best to stifle one or two remarks. 我咬紧牙关,硬是吞回了几句话。 来自辞典例句
  • It takes gritting your teeth. It takes discipline. 你得咬紧牙关,你得有严格的纪律。 来自辞典例句
35 tugging 1b03c4e07db34ec7462f2931af418753     
n.牵引感v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉,样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
  • She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他,一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句
36 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
37 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。
38 airfield cz9z9Z     
n.飞机场
参考例句:
  • The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
  • The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。
39 assortment FVDzT     
n.分类,各色俱备之物,聚集
参考例句:
  • This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全,任君选择。
  • She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。
40 conglomeration Fp8z6     
n.团块,聚集,混合物
参考例句:
  • a conglomeration of buildings of different sizes and styles 大小和风格各异的建筑楼群
  • To her it was a wonderful conglomeration of everything great and mighty. 在她看来,那里奇妙地聚集着所有伟大和非凡的事业。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
41 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。
42 ramp QTgxf     
n.暴怒,斜坡,坡道;vi.作恐吓姿势,暴怒,加速;vt.加速
参考例句:
  • That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
  • The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。
43 exodus khnzj     
v.大批离去,成群外出
参考例句:
  • The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去,医疗系统面临崩溃。
  • Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战,就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。
44 battered NyezEM     
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损
参考例句:
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
45 hovered d194b7e43467f867f4b4380809ba6b19     
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫
参考例句:
  • A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
  • A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。
46 casually UwBzvw     
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地
参考例句:
  • She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
  • I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。
47 mundane F6NzJ     
adj.平凡的;尘世的;宇宙的
参考例句:
  • I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作,而不是一份平凡无奇的。
  • I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的,即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。
48 stationary CuAwc     
adj.固定的,静止不动的
参考例句:
  • A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
  • Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。
49 visualize yeJzsZ     
vt.使看得见,使具体化,想象,设想
参考例句:
  • I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人,但他的样子我想不起来了。
  • She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。
50 wrest 1fdwD     
n.扭,拧,猛夺;v.夺取,猛扭,歪曲
参考例句:
  • The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
  • You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。
51 hurl Yc4zy     
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂
参考例句:
  • The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
  • To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。
52 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
53 rumpled 86d497fd85370afd8a55db59ea16ef4a     
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
  • The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪,散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
54 speculative uvjwd     
adj.思索性的,暝想性的,推理的
参考例句:
  • Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
  • The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大,不应理会。
55 wringing 70c74d76c2d55027ff25f12f2ab350a9     
淋湿的,湿透的
参考例句:
  • He was wringing wet after working in the field in the hot sun. 烈日下在田里干活使他汗流满面。
  • He is wringing out the water from his swimming trunks. 他正在把游泳裤中的水绞出来。
56 bawl KQJyu     
v.大喊大叫,大声地喊,咆哮
参考例句:
  • You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫,大家都能听见你。
  • Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。
57 bleak gtWz5     
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的
参考例句:
  • They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
  • The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。
58 bawling e2721b3f95f01146f848648232396282     
v.大叫,大喊( bawl的现在分词 );放声大哭;大声叫出;叫卖(货物)
参考例句:
  • We heard the dulcet tones of the sergeant, bawling at us to get on parade. 我们听到中士用“悦耳”的声音向我们大喊,让我们跟上队伍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • "Why are you bawling at me? “你向我们吼啥子? 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
59 gulp yQ0z6     
vt.吞咽,大口地吸(气);vi.哽住;n.吞咽
参考例句:
  • She took down the tablets in one gulp.她把那些药片一口吞了下去。
  • Don't gulp your food,chew it before you swallow it.吃东西不要狼吞虎咽,要嚼碎了再咽下去。
60 mumbled 3855fd60b1f055fa928ebec8bcf3f539     
含糊地说某事,叽咕,咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话,可我没太听清楚。
  • George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。
61 abreast Zf3yi     
adv.并排地;跟上(时代)的步伐,与…并进地
参考例句:
  • She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
  • We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习,就会跟不上形势。
62 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
63 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。


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