Chapter 29

A single-edged ax sticking from a round chopping stump¹ directed his eye on toward the old port-red barn. One side of the barn was covered with the yellowing leaves of an ambitious grapevine. On the front, tacked² on the huge sliding door sagging³ off its trolley⁴, a display of coon and fox and muskrat⁵ hides dried and stiffened⁶. Who trapped the animals and stripped the hides? In this world, in this day? Who played at Dan’l Boone in a forest full of fallout? And at the side of this door, distinguished⁷ and alone, looking more like a big, ill-cut window than an animal skin, was the massive dark patch of a bear hide. What tribe is this so sunk in itself that it dreams in a night gone crazy? He stared at the dark pool of fur as at a dark window, trying to see through it, as Hank entered the house . . . (When I got on in the kitchen I saw the old man’s already up to his elbows. I tell him the kid’s come home and he looks up with a chop bone sticking out of his greasy⁸ mug like the tusk⁹ out of a wild hog¹⁰. “What kid?” he hollers around the bone. “What kid’s come home where?” “Your kid’s come home here,” I tell him. “Leland Stanford, big as life. Christ, look at you; you didn’t waste any time tearing inta the groceries, did you?” Cool and matter-of-fact because I don’t want him blowing a gasket. I turn to Joe Ben. “Where’s Viv, Joby?” “Upstairs powderin’ her nose, I imagine. Her an’ Jan here are—” “Hold on! What’s this you was talkin’ about, this kid?” “Your kid, goddammit, Leland.” “Bullshit!” He thinks I’m shucking him again. “Ain’t nobody come nowhere.” “Have it your way.” I shrug¹¹ and make like I’m going to sit down. “Just thought I’d tell you—” “What—” He whangs the table with his fork—“the hell’s going on behind me now, I wanta know! By god, I won’t tolerate—” “Henry, take that bone outa your mouth and listen to me. If you’ll quit stuffing your face a minute maybe I can get something through to your ears. Your son, Leland, has come home—” “Where? Let me see this bullshit!” “Easy, dammit. This is why I got to talk to you; if you’ll slack off a minute—I don’t want you shoveling him in your mouth an’ half gumming him to death before you catch on he ain’t a pork chop. Now listen. He’ll be in in a jiffy. But before he is let’s get some things straight. Sit back down.” I reach out and ease him back down and straddle a chair myself. “And forchrissakes take that bone outa your face. And look here.” Lee turned his head, mechanically. Beyond the yard a pen of pigs worked the ground like quarrelsome grubs. Farther still a grove¹² of runty fruit trees offered shriveled apples to the sun. And beyond this hung the vast green curtain of forest, woven from fern and berry and pine and fir, a flat drop of forest scenery furled down from the clouds to the earth below. These hokey sets went out with “The Girl of The Golden West”; what audience still attends such period pieces? What actors still act in them?) That green curtain had been one edge of Lee’s childhood world; that steel-plated river, the other. Two walls, running parallel. Lee’s mother had striven to make him as conscious of these two imprisoning¹³ walls as she was. He was never, she intoned, to go up into that forest, and above all never to go near the edge of that river. He was to consider those mountains and that river as walls, did he understand? Yes, Mother. Was he sure? Yes. Was he sure? Yes; the mountains and the river were walls. Very well then, run on out and play ...and watch out. But what of the other walls? The east and west walls that should have been joined the southern wall of the forest and the northern wall of the river to form a completed cell? What about up river, Mother, where there were slick and mossy rocks perfect for the breaking of clumsy bones? or down river, where the rusty¹⁴ guts¹⁵ of an abandoned sawmill threatened blood-poisoning at every turn and a herd¹⁶ of marauding hogs¹⁷ ate men whole... what about that? No; only the forest and the river. Her cell had only two walls; his cell needed but two walls. She had been sentenced at conception to life imprisonment¹⁸ between parallel lines. Or not quite parallel. For one day they had crossed. But who chopped that firewood and slopped those pigs and raised those apples from the crippled earth? And what kind of freak of optics lets a man see that spare star of trillium beside a silver-gray step of fir, and not see the fly agaric growing there? How could one look at the dusty rose sun shining off the river and not see the slabful of gore¹⁹ with a tag still tied to her toe? “Look at the sunset my eye!” (And dammit the thing is when I finally do get the old fart to get the bone out of his mouth and get him settled across the table from me with a streak²⁰ of pork gravy²¹ running into his eyebrows²², waiting for me to say what’s on my mind, I realize I can’t say what’s on my mind. “Look here,” I say, “It’s just that . . . well, Christ, Henry, for one thing it’s probably been a long hard old trip on him. He told me he’d come all the way on the bus. That right there’s enough to make him green around the gills . . .”—can’t say it on account I don’t want the old man to get all fired up and go to asking all the questions I’m thinking . . .) Over his shoulder Lee saw the stricken sun drowning in a putrescent mire²³, and its icy cries sank deep into his flesh. He shivered and walked on up the path to the front door and stepped inside. Whoever had redecorated the exterior²⁴ of the old house had stopped there; the inside was even more cluttered²⁵ and unsightly than he remembered it: guns, paperback²⁶ Westerns, beer cans, ash trays overflowing²⁷ with orange peels and candy wrappers; greasy parts of invalid²⁸ machinery²⁹ convalescing³⁰ on coffee tables . . . Coke bottles, milk bottles, wine bottles—all spread so evenly about the room that it almost looked as though an effort had been made for uniform distribution. The Northwestern trend in interior furnishing, Lee concluded, trying to smile: the junk motif³¹. I can see it: “I think this side of the room is overbalanced by that; get some more bottles scattered³² around here ...” Who scattered this junk? Not much had changed: decades of muddy boots had deepened the dark path from the front door across the still unfinished floor to the center of the room where gray-yellow socks still hung, still steaming, from crisscrossing wires strung above the great iron woodstove that still smoked where the stovepipe was still ill-fitted into the chimney. The big door swung shut of its own weight. The junk vanished. Lee found he was alone in the lofty, soot-colored room. Just he and the old stove moaning and sighing like an obese³³ robot as it gawked at him with its glowing quartz³⁴-glass eye. Hank’s wet tracks led dimly across the floor, beneath the closed kitchen door where Lee could hear the murmured reaction to his arrival. He couldn’t make out what was being said but he knew they would soon all descend³⁵ on him along that stripe of light that was drawn³⁶ from the edge of the door across the room. He hoped they waited. He wished they would give him a little time, just a little bit of time to reorient himself with the terrain³⁷. He stood still. WATCH OUT. Perhaps they hadn’t heard him come in yet. If he kept still they might not be aware of his presence. WATCH OUT NOW . . . Breathing as silently as possible, he began to move his head about in an attempt to see through the gloom. The three small windows of the room, composed of many panes³⁸ held in place with lead stripping, afforded a rather morose³⁹ and sanguine⁴⁰ illumination. Some of the panes were colored. And even the clear panes were so old and of such a poor-quality glass that what light they allowed in had a green undersea tint⁴¹. This phlegmatic⁴² luminance seemed to impair⁴³ rather than aid vision. The room was filled with shifting clouds of iridescent⁴⁴ gas. Had it not been for the stove, seeing would have been practically impossible; the firelight flickering⁴⁵ through the quartz kept the objects of the room pinned squirming in their proper places. Who is so square any more as to use such Gothic trappings? What collection of chain-rattlers feeds that ruminating⁴⁶ stove and breathes these pastel gases? He wished for more light but didn’t dare risk tiptoeing across to the lamp. He’d have to be satisfied with the fire pulsing and winking⁴⁷ from the round eye of that stove. The light darted⁴⁸ softly about the room, touching⁴⁹ one object after another ...a gaily⁵⁰ bedecked pair of French royalty⁵¹ dancing a ceramic⁵² minuet in a bric-a-brac ballroom⁵³; an antler-handled hunting knife skinning buckskin wallpaper from a wall; a full battalion⁵⁴ of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books marching in close order across an L-braced plank⁵⁵; hassocks crouching⁵⁶; shades breathing; stools walking long-legged along a web of shadows . . . and where are the real denizens⁵⁷? (“Listen.” I take a scan of the yard through the kitchen window. “I think he’s out there now in the front room,” I whisper to the old man. “He must’ve come on in the house and’s just standin’ out there.” “All by himself?” Old Henry whispers too, not even knowing it, like you whisper in a library or a whorehouse. “What in hell’s wrong with him?” “Nothing’s wrong with him, I told you. I just said he looked a little fuzzy at the edges.” “Then why don’t he come on here in the kitchen an’ get a bite to eat if he’s out there if nothin’s wrong with him? I swear I don’t know what’s happening here—” “Shush, Henry,” Joe Ben says. All his kids are sitting still at their plates, eyes big as dollars, like Jan’s. “It’s just that Hank thinks the boy’s wore out from the trip.” “I know that; we talked about that!” “Shush now.” “All this shushin’...my god, you’d think we was hiding from him. He’s my son, dammit. I want to know why on earth—” “Pa,” I say, “all I ask is give him a second before you go roaring out there asking all kinds of things.” “All kinds of things like what?” “Christ, you know.” “Well, I like that. What’d you think I’d be asking? About his mom? About who pushed her or something like that? By god, I ain’t a complete boob, I don’t care what you sonsabitches think, I beg your pardon, Jan, for my language, but these two sonsabitches seem to think—” “Okay, Henry, okay ...” “I mean what the hell? Ain’t he my own flesh-and-blood son? I might look like it but I ain’t turned to rock yet.” “All right, Henry, I just didn’t want—” “So if it is okay by you . . .” He pushes himself standing⁵⁸. I see it won’t do no good talking to him. He teeters a moment with one gnarled hand on the formica top of that new chrome dinette set that is always tripping him up because the legs don’t go straight down to the floor like you’d expect but sort of flare⁵⁹ out, and I make a little jump to catch him. But he holds up his hand, wagging a finger back and forth⁶⁰. He stands there, balanced, in top shape, perfect control, no sweat, and looks all of us over for a good long pause, then ruffles⁶¹ the hair of little John, who’s been kind of scared by it all, and says, “So. If it is okay ...I just believe I’ll mosey on out yonder and say hello to my son. I may be mistook, but I think I’m up to that much.” And pivots⁶² on his cast and goes rocking off. “I believe I am up to handling at least that much . . .”) The stove hummed and moaned, brooding insolently⁶³ on its four bowed legs. Lee stood before it with one finger lifted pensively⁶⁴ to the corner of his lips as he gazed about him at the display of trivia collected by years of living: satin pillows from the San Francisco Exposition; a framed testimonial making Henry Stamper a charter member of the Muscle Monkeys of Wakonda County; a quiver of arrows and a bow stalking knotholes; picture postcards tacked to a two-by-four; a sprig of mistletoe lurking⁶⁵ near the ceiling; a plastic pull-toy duck with rolling eyes for a nearby Teddy bear reclining in provocative⁶⁶ position; photos of fish held hip⁶⁷ high; photos of bears with dogs sniffing⁶⁸; photos of cousins and nephews and nieces—all inscribed⁶⁹ with the date of capture. Who snapped those shots and inked those dates and bought that atrocious collection of Chinatown plates? (I come out and watch. The old man stops at the hall door in front of the stairs.

1 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

2 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

3 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

4 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

5 muskrat   

n.麝香鼠

参考例句：

• Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
• I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。

6 stiffened   

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。

7 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

8 greasy   

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。

9 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

10 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

11 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

12 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。

13 imprisoning   

v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Afwerki may disgust his compatriots by torturing and imprisoning his critics. Afwerki总统拷打和监禁他的反对者已经使的国人生厌。 来自互联网
• Proud and intelligent, it takes great pleasure and imprisoning enemies through psionic exploitation. 它骄傲并狡猾，非常喜欢囚禁敌人并剥夺他们的智力。 来自互联网

14 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

15 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

17 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

18 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

19 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

20 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

21 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

22 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

23 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

24 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

25 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。

27 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

28 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

29 machinery   

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。

30 convalescing   

v.康复( convalesce的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She is convalescing at home after her operation. 手术后她正在家休养康复。
• The patient is convalescing nicely. 病人正在顺利地康复。 来自辞典例句

31 motif   

n.(图案的)基本花纹，(衣服的)花边；主题

参考例句：

• Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
• The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。

32 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

33 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

34 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

35 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

36 drawn   

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。

37 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

38 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

39 morose   

adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的

参考例句：

• He was silent and morose.他沉默寡言、郁郁寡欢。
• The publicity didn't make him morose or unhappy?公开以后，没有让他郁闷或者不开心吗？

40 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

41 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

42 phlegmatic   

adj.冷静的，冷淡的，冷漠的，无活力的

参考例句：

• Commuting in the rush-hour requires a phlegmatic temperament.在上下班交通高峰期间乘坐通勤车要有安之若素的心境。
• The british character is often said to be phlegmatic.英国人的性格常说成是冷漠的。

43 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

44 iridescent   

adj.彩虹色的，闪色的

参考例句：

• The iridescent bubbles were beautiful.这些闪着彩虹般颜色的大气泡很美。
• Male peacocks display their iridescent feathers for prospective female mates.雄性孔雀为了吸引雌性伴侣而展现了他们彩虹色的羽毛。

45 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

46 ruminating   

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》

47 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

48 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

49 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

50 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

51 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

52 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

53 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

54 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

55 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

56 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

57 denizens   

n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• polar bears, denizens of the frozen north 北极熊，在冰天雪地的北方生活的动物
• At length these denizens of the swamps disappeared in their turn. 到了后来，连这些沼泽国的居民们也不见了。 来自辞典例句

58 standing   

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。

59 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

60 forth   

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。

61 ruffles   

褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You will need 12 yards of ribbon facing for the ruffles. 你将需要12码丝带为衣服镶边之用。
• It is impossible to live without some daily ruffles to our composure. 我们日常的平静生活免不了会遇到一些波折。

62 pivots   

n.枢( pivot的名词复数 )；最重要的人（或事物）；中心；核心v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的第三人称单数 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad. 这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The novel pivots around a long conversation between two characters. 这部小说是以两个人物的对话为中心展开的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

63 insolently   

adv.自豪地，自傲地

参考例句：

• No does not respect, speak insolently,satire, etc for TT management team member. 不得发表对TT管理层人员不尊重、出言不逊、讽刺等等的帖子。 来自互联网
• He had replied insolently to his superiors. 他傲慢地回答了他上司的问题。 来自互联网

64 pensively   

adv.沉思地，焦虑地

参考例句：

• Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
• "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉，真的，"嘉莉幽幽地说，"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

65 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

66 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

67 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

68 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

69 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》