Chapter 39

“Course, I don’t expect you to last out the morning, but we got a stretcher handy.” I grin over at him. “That boy of Orland’s is handlin’ the other line...he can take over when you fall behind.” He looks like he’s being ordered up to the front lines, standing¹ all at attention and his jaw² set. I’m intending to kind of kid him but, try as I may, I can hear myself sounding just exactly like old Henry doing some first-rate ass-chewing, and I know I couldn’t pick a worse way to talk to Lee. But I’m damned if I can stop it.) “You ain’t gonna like it at first. As a matter of fact you’re gonna think I’m givin’ you the dirtiest end of the dirtiest stick on the whole operation.” (And he wouldn’t of been far from the truth.) “But it can’t be helped. The easier jobs, the machinery³ jobs, it’d take too long to teach you and they’re risky⁴ even when a guy knows what he’s about. Besides, we’re hurting for time. . . .” (And maybe that right there is why I couldn’t help sounding angry, because of knowing just how tough setting choker was going to be on a tenderfoot. Maybe I really was trying to be extra tough and was hacked⁵ at myself for loading him with it. I do that sometimes . . .) “But one thing: it’ll make a man of you.” (I just don’t know. All I know is I thought I was relaxing a little around him, then tied up, the same as I tied up trying to talk with Viv the night before, explaining our deal with Wakonda Pacific. Same as I tie up with anybody except Joe Ben; and me and him didn’t really have to talk a whole lot . . .) “If you can make it through the first few days you’ll have it whipped; if you can’t, well, you just can’t is all. There’s lots of other niggers can’t cut it neither and they ain’t all in Dixie.” (I’ve always had a tough time trying to talk to others without barking. With, say, Viv, I’d start out trying to sound like Charles Boyer or somebody and come off, every time, sounding like the old man telling Sheriff Layton how to deal with the boogin’ Reds in this country, how to take care of them Commy bustards right! And believe me, sounding like that is sounding pretty damn hard. When old Henry got going on the Reds he could really come on fierce . . .)  “But all I ask is you give it a fair go for a while.” (Because Henry always claimed he was convinced that the only thing worse than Reds was Jews, and the only thing worse than Jews was high-and-mighty niggers, and the only thing worse than the whole lot of them was them goddamned hardheaded southern bigots he was always reading about. “Oughta poison everybody south of the Mason-Dixon line...’stead sending Northern tax money down to feed ’em . . .”) “So if you’re ready, grab hold of that piece of cable and drag it here. I’ll show you how to look for a choker hole. C’mon, snap out of it. Bend down here an’ watch . . .” (I wouldn’t argue much with the old man myself, mainly because I didn’t know Reds here in America, and didn’t feel much one way or the other about uppity jigs⁶, and was just a little vague about what a bigot was...but I tell you, for a while him and Viv used to really lock horns about just that very subject, that race business. Really get into it. I remember... well, let me recall the thing that stopped the whole business. Let’s see . . .) “Okay, now, you watch this.” Lee stands with his hands in his pockets while Hank explains the job with the slow patience of a man who is explaining something once and it had better be picked up because it isn’t about to be repeated. He shows Lee how to loop the length of cable over a fallen and bucked⁷ log and how to hook the cable to the big line that runs in a circle from the pulley at the anchor stump⁸ to the rigging at the top of the spar. “. . . and when you get it hooked you’ll have to be your own whistle-punk till things level out. We’re too short-handed for such luxuries. You savvy⁹?” I nodded and Hank went on outlining my duties for the day. “Okay, listen.” Hank gives the cable a kick to make sure it is secure, then leads Lee up the slope to a high stump where a small wire runs in a gleaming arch to the donkey puffing¹¹ and clanging seventy-five yards away. “One jerk means take ’er away.” He pulls the wire. A shrill¹² peep from a compressed-air whistle on the donkey sets the tiny figure of Joe Ben into action. The cable tightens¹³ with a deep twanging. The donkey engine strains; an outraged¹⁴ roar; the log lurches out of its groove¹⁵ and goes bumping up the hill toward the yarder. When the log reaches the spar they watch Joe Ben leap from the donkey cab and scuttle¹⁶ over the pile of logs to unhook the choker. Then one of Orland’s boys creaks the neck of the yarder forward, like the skeleton of some prehistoric¹⁷ reptile¹⁸ painted yellow and brought fleshless to life; Joe Ben gouges¹⁹ the tongs²⁰ into each side of the log and jumps clear as he waves to the boy in the yarder cab. Again the gigantic piece of wood lurches and is jerked into the air as Joe Ben hustles²¹ back to the donkey controls. “Joe’s bein’ his own chaser. It’s tough on him, but like I said, it can’t be helped.” By the time the yarder has pivoted²² and swung the log onto the bed of the truck and nudged it into place, Joe Ben is back in the donkey and the cable is reeling back out again. It comes snaking through the brush and torn earth toward the place where Lee and Hank stand waiting. I listened, hoping Hank would explain more about the task, cursing him for presuming he needed to explain as much as he had. We were standing alongside each other at the “show,” going through last minute instructions before my big First Day . . . (Viv, see, spends a lot of her time reading and is up on a lot of things—that’s trouble right there, because there’s nothing in the whole world makes old Henry madder than somebody, especially some woman, having the common gall²³ to be up on a lot of things he’s already got opinions on . . . so, anyhow, this once, they got into it about what the Bible of all things says about this race business . . .) They watch the cable draw nearer. “Then, you see, when the choker gets close to where you want it, give her two jerks.” The whistle peeps twice. The highline stops. The choker cable hangs shuddering²⁴ in its own dust. “Okay, watch now; I’ll set it one more time for you.” (The old man, see, was claiming the Bible said the spooks were born to be bondservants because their blood was black like the blood of Satan. Viv disagreed a while, then got up, walked to the gun case where we keep the big family Bible with the birthdays in it, and went to flipping²⁵ through with Henry just aglowering . . .) When Hank has repeated the procedure he turns to Lee . . . “You got it now?” I nodded, determined²⁶ and dubious²⁷. Brother Hank then took a wristwatch from his pocket and looked at it, wound it, and returned to the same pocket. “I’ll check with you when I can,” he told me. “I got to see about rigging a spar on that peak yonder this morning because we’ll have to move the yarding and loading later this afternoon or tomorrow. You sure you got it now?” Lee nods again, his mouth tight. Hank says, “Okeedoke, then,” and goes crashing off through the vine and brush toward the crummy truck. “Hey.” A few yards away he stops and turns . . . “I bet you didn’t think to bring those gloves, did you? No, I mighta known. Here. Use mine.” Lee catches the wadded gloves and mutters, “Thanks, thanks ever so much.” Hank resumes his crashing through the brush... (When Viv found what she’s after in that big Bible she read, “The blood of all men is as one,” and shut the Bible. And I tell you: that pissed the old man so ...that I don’t know if he would of ever spoke²⁸ to her again, not another word ever, if it hadn’t been for the lunches she started packing for us to take to work....) Lee holds the gloves one in each hand, burning with frustrated²⁹ and confused anger as his brother walks away: You prick³⁰, he calls wordlessly after Hank, you pompous³¹ prick! Use mine, huh, as though he was giving me his right arm. Why I’ll wager³² every nickel I can lay my hands on that he has at the very least a dozen such pairs in that truck! Hank finished his instructions and walked away, leaving me to have at it. I looked after him stomping³³ off through brush and brambles, then looked at the cable he had left with me, then at the nearest log, and, fired by that long-shot challenger’s elation³⁴ that I had experienced earlier, pulled on my gloves and had at it ... As soon as Hank is gone Lee curses again and jerks on the first of the gloves in a stylized parody³⁵ of drawing-room fury, but the elegance³⁶ of his style is marred³⁷ when he is forced to inspect the second glove, and the fury turns abruptly³⁸ back on itself when he withdraws from the last two fingers the dirty, sweat-packed cotton padding Hank uses to protect the ends of his tender stumps³⁹ . . . The job was actually simple enough—on the surface— simple, backbreaking labor⁴⁰. But if there is one thing you learn in college it is that the first snowstorm is the most important— score high in your first test and you can coast out the rest of the term. So I had at it that first day with a will, dreaming that I might snow Brother Hank fast and measure up early and be finished with the whole ridiculous business before it broke my back . . . The first log he chooses lies at the top of a small knoll⁴¹, in a patch of firecracker weed. He heads toward it; the little red flowers with sulphur-yellow tips seem to part to make way for him and the cable. He throws the bell around the end of the log that is lifted free of the earth where the knoll drops sharply toward the canyon⁴², then secures it in its hook. He steps back to examine the job, a little puzzled: “There doesn’t seem anything so difficult about this. . . .” and walks back to the jerk-wire. The whistle on the donkey peeps. The log tips and heads for the spar tree. “Nothing so very difficult . . .” He turns to see if Hank has been watching and sees his brother just disappearing over another ridge⁴³ where a second line leads from the spar tree. “Where is he going?” He glances around, deciding quickly on the next log he will hook. “Is he going to that other cable over there?” (Yeah, it was the lunches that Viv packed . . .) Hank passes the boy at the other anchor stump, telling him he’d better get it in gear, “Lee’s already tooted one in” and continues on into the woods . . . (Lunches, see, are about twice as big a deal in the woods as at home, because you get terrible hungry by noon; and the way the old man appreciates eating anyhow, they are like a Major League event. So when Viv took over the lunchbag packing from Jan—on account of Jan being pregnant, was Viv’s story, but I’ve always suspected it was more to get back in the old man’s good graces—well, Henry just somehow forgot all about Bibles and black blood. Not that Jan’s lunches weren’t all right, because they were; but that’s all they were. Viv’s lunches were always all right and then a good deal more than all right to boot. They were a goddamned feast sometimes. But more than there just being plenty, there was generally something special about them . . .) The second log goes as easy as the first. And as it is being unhooked he looks back toward the other anchor stump some hundred yards away on that other ridge. There still has been no whistle signal. As he watches he sees a figure struggling through a thicket⁴⁴ of red alder⁴⁵, the cable still over his shoulder. Though the figure is not even wearing the same color sweat shirt, Lee is suddenly certain that it is Hank, “Taking over the other choker job!” The line above his head strums and with rising excitement he looks and sees his second log is unhooked and his cable is scrambling⁴⁶ back to him. He takes it up before it has completely stopped and jogs, dragging the heavy cable as fast as he can, toward the next log, not even taking time to glance at the progress of the figure he supposes to be his brother . . . (Something special and different in her lunches—something other than sandwiches, cookies, and an apple; something you could strut⁴⁷ and brag⁴⁸ about when you were sitting with a bunch of jacks⁴⁹ eating out of their ordinary old nosebags—but, mostly, it was that Viv’s lunches gave you a little piece of the day to look forward to in the morning and think back on in the afternoon. . . .) The cable snags briefly⁵⁰, but he wrenches⁵¹ it loose. A berry vine trips him and he falls to his knees, grinning as he recalls Joe Ben’s advice, but he is still able to secure the log and jerk the take-it-away signal just seconds before the second signal comes from the other ridge. In the distance Joe Ben’s head swings back in surprise: he has been sitting, his hands already on the levers controlling the cables running to that southern ridge, not expecting a call so soon from Lee. “That boy is really humping it.” Joe changes levers. Lee holds his panting, then sees the highline above him tauten⁵² and his log jump out of the vines: he is a log ahead, two if you count that first one! How about that, Hank? (Her lunches sure changed the old man’s point of view . . .) Two logs ahead! The next log has fallen on a clear, almost perfectly⁵³ level piece of ground. Unhampered by vines or brush, Lee reaches the log easily, noticing with elation that he is gaining on the other figure, who is fighting through the red alder again. But the very flatness of the ground beneath Lee’s log presents a problem; how do you get the cable under it? Lee hurries along the length of the big stick of wood all the way to its stump, then crosses and hurries puffing back, bent⁵⁴ at the waist as he tries to peer through the tangle⁵⁵ of limbs lining¹⁰ its length where Andy’s saw has stripped them from the trunk ...but there is no hole to be found: the tree has fallen evenly, sinking a few inches into the stony⁵⁶ earth from its butt⁵⁷ to its peak. Lee chooses a likely place and falls to his knees and begins pawing at the ground beneath the bark, like a dog after a gopher.

1 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。

2 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

3 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。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

6 jigs   

n.快步舞（曲）极快地( jig的名词复数 )；夹具v.（使）上下急动( jig的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The simplest method for small volume production requires a number of jigs. 对于小规模生产，最简单方法需要几个装配架。 来自辞典例句
• So the old witch was forced to dance a jigs. 老女巫也只好跳起快步舞来。 来自辞典例句

7 bucked   

adj.快v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的过去式和过去分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• When he tried to ride the horse, it bucked wildly. 当他试图骑上这匹马时，它突然狂暴地跃了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The plane bucked a strong head wind. 飞机顶着强烈的逆风飞行。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 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。

9 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

10 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

11 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

13 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

14 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

15 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

16 scuttle   

v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗

参考例句：

• There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了，人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
• The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。

17 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

18 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

19 gouges   

n.凿( gouge的名词复数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…v.凿( gouge的第三人称单数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Clegg and Rollins indicate that nonwrinkleresistant cotton fibers often exhibIt'surface gouges and fibrillation. 克莱格和罗林斯指出，未经防皱处理的棉纤维表面，通常有凿槽和微纤化现象发生。 来自辞典例句
• She didn't mind that we banged into the walls and put gouges in the door jambs. 她一点也不介意我们撞坏墙或是把门框碰出小坑来。 来自互联网

20 tongs   

n.钳；夹子

参考例句：

• She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。
• He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。

21 hustles   

忙碌，奔忙( hustle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He often hustles on the streets to pay for drugs. 为弄到钱买毒品，他常在街上行骗。
• Ken ves bartender off and hustles Joe out of the bar. 肯恩走开挥舞酒保而且离开酒吧乱挤活动乔。

22 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

23 gall   

v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难

参考例句：

• It galled him to have to ask for a loan.必须向人借钱使他感到难堪。
• No gall,no glory.没有磨难，何来荣耀。

24 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

25 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

26 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

27 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

28 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。

29 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

31 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

32 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

33 stomping   

v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He looked funny stomping round the dance floor. 他在舞池里跺着舞步，样子很可笑。 来自辞典例句
• Chelsea substitution Wright-Phillips for Robben. Wrighty back on his old stomping to a mixed reception. 77分–切尔西换人：赖特．菲利普斯入替罗本。小赖特在主场球迷混杂的欢迎下，重返他的老地方。 来自互联网

34 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。

35 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

36 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

37 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

38 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

39 stumps   

（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。

40 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

41 knoll   

n.小山，小丘

参考例句：

• Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说，爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
• He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘，看了看周围的地形。

42 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

43 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

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

44 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

45 alder   

n.赤杨树

参考例句：

• He gave john some alder bark.他给了约翰一些桤木树皮。
• Several coppice plantations have been seeded with poplar,willow,and alder.好几个灌木林场都种上了白杨、柳树和赤杨。

46 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

47 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

48 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

49 jacks   

n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃

参考例句：

• Hydraulic jacks under the machine produce the movement. 是机器下面的液压千斤顶造成的移动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front end is equipped with hydraulic jacks used for grade adjustment. 前瑞安装有液压千斤顶用来调整坡度。 来自辞典例句

50 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

51 wrenches   

n.一拧( wrench的名词复数 )；（身体关节的）扭伤；扳手；（尤指离别的）悲痛v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的第三人称单数 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• NEVER use wrenches or other persuaders to operate the valve. 禁止使用扳手或其它强制性工具来操作阀门。 来自互联网
• Thus, torque wrenches should be used for tightening DISS connections. 因此，应该使用转矩扳手来上紧DISS接头。 来自互联网

52 tauten   

vt.& vi.（使某物）变紧；拉紧；绷紧；紧张

参考例句：

• There are exercises that tauten facial muscles. 有些练习动作可以让面部肌肉紧绷起来。 来自辞典例句
• She had cosmetic surgery to tauten her drooping breasts. 她动美容外科手术，使下垂的乳房坚挺起来。 来自互联网

53 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

54 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

55 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

56 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

57 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。