Chapter 38

 He sat at the motor, grim and trembling. No one spoke¹, no eyes looked. And for a third time I experienced that feeling of combative² elation³ that a long-shot challenger must feel when he notices a small but decided⁴ limp in his massive opponent’s seven-league stride. (The whole blamed trip. Just sitting there like a lump, trying to find the toehold to start with, trying to figure some way of working up to all the things I got to say, all the things I got to ask. But I can’t make it. I introduce him to John when we pick him up in front of his shack⁶, and John’s able to get a hell of a lot more going with him than me. It seems they’re both big on Seven Crown. John offers him a slash⁷ from the Thermos⁸ of the stuff he always carries, and they talk about how it is with a little coffee added. They got a common ground. Even Orland’s three boys do better than me. When I wake them up from the rear end of the crummy truck and introduce them to Lee they’re able to shoot the bull a few minutes, asking him questions about New York and what’s it like, before they go back to sleep. Even them lugs⁹. sometimes a great notion I pour it to that old rattletrap. We’re running a little late, what with waiting breakfast on the kid. The sun’s already coming through the trees. We head out up Blueclay Road toward the North Spur of Breakneck, where the show is, and after about a half-hour bouncing and bumping and nobody saying word one to nobody else we get up to the site. The slashing¹⁰ piles are still smoking from yesterday’s burning, and the sun’s rose out of the branches and is promising¹¹ to make a long hot sticky sonofabitch of a day of it. I slide out from behind the wheel and go around and open the door and stand there stretching and scratching my belly¹² while the truck empties, kind of not looking at him. “What do you think?” I ask Joe Ben. “Did we or did we not come up with a fine day to welcome old Leland Stanford home to the woods?” Joe, he tips an eye up for a check with his Big Time Weatherman just to be sure and says, “Oh yeah! Maybe get a little on the toasty side before the sun sets, but the way I look at it all the signs point to a day with a heart of gold. Ain’t that the way you read it, Leland?” The boy is shaking like a dog shitting peach pits, still cold from the river ride. He frowns over at Joe like he isn’t sure whether he’s being spoofed or not, then he grins and says, “I’m afraid I failed to take any courses on astrological signs, Joe; I’ll have to trust to your interpretation¹³.” This tickles¹⁴ Joe to pieces. Joe digs big words, especially when they’re aimed at him. He giggles¹⁵ and spits and goes to hauling out all the paraphernalia¹⁶ for the day—maps and hard hats and “Boy, be sure an’ take these gloves!” and candy bars and snuff cans and pocket knives, and, naturally, the little transistor¹⁷ radio he keeps near him all day—passing them around like a munitions¹⁸ officer issuing arms before a big battle. He hands Lee his hard hat and goes prancing¹⁹ around, tilting²⁰ his head this way and that to get a good look at the way it sits, saying “Um . . . oh yeah ...say there... wait ...here we go,” and fooling with it till he gets it settled the way he wants it. Then he starts giving Lee a rundown on what to expect and what’s happening and what to look out for working the woods. “The main thing,” Joe says, “oh yeah, the mainest thing . . . is, when you fall, fall in the direction of your work. Conserve²¹ 200 ken²² kesey yourself.” He demonstrates how to conserve yourself by doing a couple of nose dives as we amble²³ along. “The whole notion of loggin’ is very simple if you get onto it. It comes to this: the idea is to make a tree into a log and a log into a plank²⁴. Now, when it’s standin’ up vertical²⁵ it’s a tree, and when it’s laid down it’s a felled tree. And then we buck²⁶ it into lengths of thirty-two feet an’ them lengths are logs. Then we drag them logs acrost to where the truck is and lift ’em up onto the truck an’ then the truck drives ’em down to the bridge at Swedesgap where the government scalers cheat us an’ then we take ’em on down to our mill an’ dump ’em into the water. When we get enough of ’em in the water we drag ’em up into the mill and we cut ’em up an’ we got planks²⁷, lumber²⁸.” He stops to twiddle with the dial of his transistor, trying to pick up one of the Eugene stations. “Or, sometimes, instead of cuttin’, we just sell the logs outright²⁹.” I look over at him to see how he means that, but he’s holding the radio to his ear. “Ah. Now it’s comin’ through. Oh man, Lee, you ever see the beat of one of these little outfits³¹? Listen to that tone.” He shakes his head at his little radio and twists the dial loud as it’ll go. The tinny screech³² of some awful Western is squeezed out into the forest. “Makes the day a joy,” he says, grinning till you’d think he’d pop; a little thing like that radio could give Joe Ben a thousand dollars’ worth of kicks, just about any little thing could. You broke my heart an’ tol’ me lies, Left me cold without good-bys; Oh, your frosty eyes . . . We stop walking right near where Andy’s starting his chain saw. The saw chokes and barks and dies and barks again with a rising snarl³³. Andy grins over at us and hollers, “Commencin’!” cocks an eye up above for widow-makers, then touches the saw’s blurred³⁴ teeth against the flank of a big fir. A fountain of white fir sparks spew against the sun. We stand and watch him make his undercut and sight the tree. He’s made it a little too much sloped, so he cuts him a dutchman and slides it in to account for the extra inch or so, and goes around to the other side sometimes a great notion and goes at it with the saw again. When the tree creaks and tips and goes whooshing³⁵ down I glance over to check the boy and see he’s impressed by it. That makes me feel better. I’d begun to wonder if it’s possible at all to talk with him; I’d begun to wonder if maybe what a man learns over twelve years in a world so different is like a foreign language that uses some of the words from our world but not enough to be familiar to us, not enough so we can talk. But when I see him watch that tree come down I think, There’s that; just like any man I ever knew, he likes to see a tree felled. There is that, by Christ. “Well,” I say, “we ain’t makin’ anything but shadows. Let’s get hold of it.” And we start walking again. Joby leaves to fire up the donkey. Lee follows me across a clearing toward the edge of the woods. At the edge of a pile of slashing and dozed³⁶ berry vine the clearing quits and the trees plunge³⁷ into the sky. It’s the part of the show I like best, this edge, where the cutting stops and the forest starts. I’m always reminded of the edge of a grain field where the reaper³⁸ has stopped. Behind us the donkey engine begins wheezing³⁹ and gagging. I see Joe sitting like a twisted bird high up in his spiny⁴⁰ nest of levers and cables and wires, grabbing at the throttle⁴¹. The radio sits in front of him, sometimes carrying across to us, sometimes swallowed up by the noise. A ball of blue smoke explodes from the exhaust and I think the whole machine is going to shake itself to death. “That goddamned outfit³⁰ should of been retired⁴² with the old man,” I say. The boy doesn’t say anything. We start walking again. Somewhere I hear the knock of an ax where John is chopping off branches. Like a wooden bell ringing. And that squeal⁴³ of Joe’s radio coming and going on little breezes. All these things, the way a day gets going, the sound and all, and seeing Lee dig that tree falling, make me feel a whole lot better. I decide maybe it’s not going to be such a bear as I thought. Overhead the highlines that swoop⁴⁴ to the spar tree are commencing to bob and jiggle and strum the air. I point up at them. “That’s your row to hoe, bub, that line. I aim to see if you can stand up under the strain of setting choker, by god, so just resign 202 ken kesey your ass⁵ to your fate.” I’m meaning to rib⁴⁵ him a little.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

3 elation   

n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意

参考例句：

• She showed her elation at having finally achieved her ambition.最终实现了抱负，她显得十分高兴。
• His supporters have reacted to the news with elation.他的支持者听到那条消息后兴高采烈。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

6 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

7 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

8 thermos   

n.保湿瓶，热水瓶

参考例句：

• Can I borrow your thermos?我可以借用你的暖水瓶吗？
• It's handy to have the thermos here.暖瓶放在这儿好拿。

9 lugs   

钎柄

参考例句：

• "They put on a lot of lugs here, don't they?" “这里的人的架子可不小，是不是？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• In this department, hydro-set plates are assembled and joined together at the plate lugs. 在这个工段，组装脱水固化的极板并通过极板耳连在一起。 来自辞典例句

10 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

12 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 tickles   

（使）发痒( tickle的第三人称单数 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• My foot [nose] tickles. 我的脚[鼻子]痒。
• My nose tickles from the dust and I want to scratch it. 我的鼻子受灰尘的刺激发痒，很想搔它。

15 giggles   

n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间，以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句

16 paraphernalia   

n.装备；随身用品

参考例句：

• Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗？
• All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。

17 transistor   

n.晶体管，晶体管收音机

参考例句：

• This make of transistor radio is small and beautifully designed.这半导体收音机小巧玲珑。
• Every transistor has at least three electrodes.每个晶体管至少有三个电极。

18 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

19 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

20 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

21 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

22 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

23 amble   

vi.缓行，漫步

参考例句：

• The horse is walking at an amble.这匹马正在溜蹄行走。
• Every evening,they amble along the bank. 每天晚上，他们都沿着江边悠闲地散步。

24 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。

25 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

26 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

27 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

28 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

29 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

30 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

31 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

32 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

33 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

34 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 whooshing   

v.（使）飞快移动( whoosh的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. 我喜欢最后期待。我尤其喜欢它们飞驰而过时发出的嗖嗖声。 来自互联网
• The constant whooshing of the wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. 不断跑车疾速的风雨整个屋顶不会褪色的背景。 来自互联网

36 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

37 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

38 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

39 wheezing   

v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣

参考例句：

• He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。
• A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

40 spiny   

adj.多刺的，刺状的；n.多刺的东西

参考例句：

• This is the Asiatic ornamental shrub with spiny branches and pink blossoms.这就是亚洲的一种观赏灌木，具有多刺的枝和粉红色的花。
• Stay away from a spiny cactus.远离多刺仙人掌。

41 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

42 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

43 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

44 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

45 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。