Chapter 45

He tickled¹ the wood with a glistening² blade. “Was a pretty nice funeral, I bet?” “Very nice, very nice,” I allowed, watching the knife. “Considering.” “Good.” Thhht thhht. “I’m glad.” Curlicues of barbered pine fell like trimmed tresses at his feet. Viv wriggled³ herself deeper into the cushions, and I drank again from the gallon of the old man’s blackberry wine. The liquid had been aprickle with thorns at the top of the bottle, lumpy with seeds at the shoulder, now, halfway⁴ down, it had smoothed out soft as cotton. We waited for each other, wondering what on earth had prompted us to risk our cool by straying so far into long-forbidden territory, wondering if we dared throw caution to the winds and go even farther. Finally Hank turned the stick over. “Yeah, well, like I said, I was really sorry to hear about her.” I still felt a little of that first anger. “Yeah,” I said. Meaning: You should have been, you cad, after the way you— “Huh?” The knife ceased its whispering, half a curl of pine lifting unfinished from the stick. I held my breath; had he heard the thought behind the words? WATCH OUT, Old Reliable warned, HE’S GOT A SHIV! But the knife moved again on the wood; the curl looped complete and fell with the others; my breath drifted out of my nostrils⁶ in a swirl⁷ of relief and disappointment. Blank expectations (what had I imagined he would do?) remained blank. The earth turned again (what had I imagined I would do?), continuing its falling circle. The curlicues curled. I sipped⁸ again of Henry’s homemade wine. I was sorry for my anger; I was glad he’d chosen to ignore it. “Sack time.” He folded the knife and with a woolen⁹ sweep of his stockinged foot swept the curls into a neat pile. He bent¹⁰ and cupped the pile and dropped it into the woodbox: tomorrow morning’s kindling¹¹. He flapped his hands free of sawdust and sentiment, calluses husking against each other like wood against wood. “I believe I’ll see if I can catch a few Z’s; I told Joe I’d give him a hand at his place in the morning. Viv? Kitten?” He shook her shoulder; she yawned, showing a rose-petal tongue over bright white pips of teeth. “Let’s head up to the sack, okay? You might as well make it too, bub.” I shrugged¹². Viv slipped past, dragging the sheepskin robe and smiling sleepily. At the foot of the stairs Hank stopped; his eyes lifted to mine for an instant—“Uh . . . Lee . . .” bright, green as glass, pleading for something, before they dropped to study a broken thumbnail. “I wish I could of been there.” I didn’t say anything; in that quick click-and-glitter of lifted eyes I saw a hint of more than guilt¹³, more than contrition¹⁴. “I really wisht there’d been something I could of done.” Meaning: Was there? “I don’t know, Hank.” Meaning: You did enough. “I always worried about her.” Meaning: Was I partially¹⁵ to blame? “Yeah.” Meaning: We were all to blame. “Yeah, well,”—looking down at the destroyed thumbnail, wanting to say more, ask more, hear more, unable to—“I guess I’ll hit the hay.” “Yeah,”—wanting everything he wanted—“me too.” “G’night, Lee,” Viv murmured from the top of the stairs. “Good night, Viv.” “Night, bub.” “Hank.” Meaning: Good night but stay. Viv, silent and slim as a shaft¹⁶ of sleepy light, stay, talk more to me with your articulate eyes. Hank, forget my words behind my words, stay, say some more. This is our chance. This is my chance. Say enough more for love or hate, enough more to make me sure of one or the other. Please stay, please stay . . . But they left me alone. They frightened, tantalized¹⁷, excited me with contact, then left me alone. And confused. I think we approached each other that night and muffed it. He didn’t venture further, and I couldn’t. I look back on that evening through a film of mashed¹⁸ blackberries, trickling¹⁹ juices spiny²⁰ and sour, as my brother and his wife fade out up the stairs, into personal realities, to dream dreams, and I think, We almost made it that time. A little courage on someone’s part and we might have made it. We were swollen²¹ and ripe for an instant together, ready for picking, offering our store to each other’s hesitant fingers ...a little tender courage at that rare right instant, and things might well have turned out differently.... But the breath of memory still plucks such instants, setting the whole web shaking. People fade up the stairs, but to dream of each other’s dreams; of days coming gone and nights past coming; of hard sun-rods crisscrossing back and forward across outspreading circles of water, meaningless-seeming. . . . From the dappled surface of the river a red-gilled, blue-greenstriped steelhead salmon²² explodes in a shimmering²³ dance, gyrating wild in glistening suspension, falls back on its side with a blistering²⁴ crack, and jumps again and falls, and jumps again—as though trying to escape some terror pursuing it beneath the water. And falls and this time darts²⁵ to the bottom to lie behind a rock, with its stomach resting exhausted²⁶ on the sand and the sea-lice still gnawing²⁷ its fin⁵ and gills in spite of its efforts. Swarms²⁸ of black, squawking crows harass²⁹ a herd³⁰ of hogs³¹. Green beer sloughs³² in the throbbing³³ stovelight. Indian Jenny’s old man rises, disgusted, and tries to clear up “The Sheriff of Cochise.” Molly watches her life pumping from her in clouds of white frost. Floyd Evenwrite curses himself for not having made a better impression on Jonathan B. Draeger, and curses Draeger for being so goddamned biggity and making him feel like he had to make a good impression, and curses himself for letting Draeger be so goddamned biggity as to make him feel like he had to make a good impression. . . . Willard Eggleston hopes. Simone prays. Willard Eggleston despairs. And a Diesel³⁴ freight running empty to Wakonda for the last of Wakonda Pacific’s stockpiled lumber³⁵ at the Cascade³⁶ Pacific yards honks³⁷ for a crossing, low and obscene, like the rutting call of a mechanical dragon . . . At a scarred tabletop near the front door of the Snag, sitting with a cluster of cronies who are obviously more interested in his free beer than in his talk, old Henry jiggles his ill-fitting dentures in his cheeks and draws a deep breath. He takes another swallow from the pitcher³⁸, holding it by the handle as though it were a giant mug; whenever he filled a glass, he has noticed, one of the audience at his table drank it, so he has resigned himself to the pitcher. He is relaxed, glowing, feeling his swelling³⁹ belly⁴⁰ push for another notch⁴¹ in his belt. For the first time in his life the old man finds the time to pursue his pitifully neglected social obligations. Almost every afternoon since his accident he has propped⁴² his plaster frame against the same beam near the Snag’s front door, where he drinks, rambles⁴³ about old times, argues with Boney Stokes, and studies the way the big iridescent-green river-flies electrocute themselves on the charged screen door. “Hsst! Listen. I hear one—” Teddy’s electric killing⁴⁴ device holds a great fascination⁴⁵ for Henry; during some gusty⁴⁶ preamble—eyes half closed, smile nostalgic with mellow⁴⁷ reminiscence—he will suddenly freeze in midword. “Hsst! Hsst! Listen now . . .” He cocks a white-fuzzed ear toward the grid⁴⁸ as some yet unseen victim buzzes closer. “Listen...Listen...” There is a sizzling spurt⁴⁹ of blue. The parched⁵⁰ carcass falls to join its predecessors⁵¹ on the doorstep. Henry cracks the tabletop with his cane⁵². “Son of a gun! You see that? Got a nother one, didn’t it? Lord, lord, if they don’t make some foxy outfits⁵³ these days then I’ll eat your goddam hat. Modrun scientific technologee: that’s the ticket. I said so all along; ever since I seen the first winch an’ cable rigged to snake out spruce I been saying so. Ah, I tell you we come a long ways. I can recall—an’ I swear this is the truth— but you know it’s goddam hard to believe the way it was sometimes, because things changing so all the time, every day ...I still say we’ll whip it Boney, you old sobersides—anyhow, let me think, it was durin’ Coolidge, I think . . .” A young Henry with a fashionable black mustache skitters nimble as a squirrel up the trunk of a log lodged⁵⁵ against a steep hill, and with hands like flickering⁵⁶ steel frees drunk cousin Lari-more from the tangle⁵⁷ of oxen reins⁵⁸. A swift, grim, taciturn young Henry, carrying a compass in every pocket of his trousers and a boning knife in a scabbard on his boot . . . “Listen! Don’t you hear? Ah . . . ahh . . . bing! There. Son of a gun, ain’t that somethin’? Got a nother one.” At the back of the bar Ray and Rod, the Saturday Night Dance Band, dressed now in weekday Levis and work shirts, sit across from each other, writing letters to a girl in Astoria. “How do you spell ‘disparaging⁵⁹’?” Ray asks. “Spell what...?” “ ‘Disparaging,’ for the luvachrist; ‘dis-paraging’! Don’t you know shit? Dis-paraging, like, say for an instance: ‘I get a definite feeling he is writing you disparaging lies and remarks about me.’ ” “Hold on a minute.” Rod makes a grab for Ray’s letter. “Who are you writing? Come on, give, give.” “Watch it, Jack⁶⁰. Just cool it with the hands. Just cool it, all right? Because I’ll write to whoever I—” “You’re writing to Rhonda Ann Northrup!” “—to who-goddam-ever I take a notion that—” “Are you? Because the fur is really gonna fly if I find out.” “Now is that a fact.” “The shit is really gonna hit the fan.” “Is that the truth now.” “You better believe that’s the truth.” They go back to their writing. It has been the same ever since they teamed up to play small-town dance bars eight years ago, fighting, bickering⁶¹ over the same woman, each confiding⁶² in her that before long he aims to split from that ginhead who’s been holding him back, leave this mud wallow and make it big with Decca or Capitol or maybe even TV ...at odds⁶³ with each other eternally, yet eternally bound by failure and the need for some excuse for that failure. “If it wasn’t for that danged tin-eared square holdin’ me back, honey, I’d be long gone from this pest-hole.” They write laboriously⁶⁴ with a grinding of teeth. After a moment Ray looks toward the other end of the bar, where old Henry is pounding home a dramatic point in his story by striking a chair with his cane; he spits between his teeth to the floor. “Will you listen to that old fool carry on up there? You’d think he’s deef, wouldn’t you? Loud as he talks? He rides right over anything anybody else might say, just like a deef man.” “Maybe he is. He’s old enough to be deef.” But at the other end of the bar the old man’s interest in the fate of certain flies shows a nearly superhuman acuteness of ear. “Listen! Hear him? Hear him? Assssh bingo!” “Jee-zus Christ! Let me have a dime⁶⁵ and I’ll see if I can drown him out.” The jukebox whirs, caressing⁶⁶ its coin, throbbing light and mechanical sound. Ray returns to this seat, whistling a memorized steel guitar intro between his big teeth: A jewel here on earth, a jew-wul in heaven, She’s one of the diamonds around God’s great throne. . . . He is pleased with his tone. I’ll be up there someday, he tells himself. “Grand Ol’ Opry.” Memphis, Tennessee. I’ll make it. My day is coming. Leave these squares. Dust ’em all. Rod, old buddy⁶⁷, face it, your beat is beginning to drag like your butt⁶⁸. And Rhonda Ann, you’re a pretty fair punch but nothing to write home to mother about . . . “You boys mark it down,” Henry exclaimed at the other end of the bar. “We are gonna whip it, we by god are gonna!” What it was that Henry was going to whip no one ever knew for certain, but of his convictions there could be no doubt. “All this new equipment, new methods . . . we are gonna lay it low!” “How do you spell ‘recently’?” Rod was now having trouble. “The same as I did a while back,” Ray told him. “A-yuk a-yuk.” Yes sir man, dust ’em all. Memphis, Tennessee, make way for me! “Our day is coming,” Henry announced. “No. Oh no no no.” Boney Stokes, searching out tragedy the way a brush bear searches out garbage cans, found reason to rejoice his own way in spite of the rampant⁶⁹ optimism. “No, we are old, Henry. Our day is ending, our skies are turning black.” Henry whooped⁷⁰ his derision. “Bosh! Black? Just you look out yonder at that glow-rus sunset, does that look black to you?” Oregon October, when the fields of timothy and rye-grass stubble are being burned, the sky itself catches fire. Flocks of wrens⁷¹ rush up from the red alder⁷² thickets⁷³ like sparks kicked from a campfire, the salmon jumps again, and the river rolls molten and slow . . . Down river, from Andy’s Landing, a burned-off cedar⁷⁴ snag held the sun spitted like an apple, hissing⁷⁵ and dripping juices against a grill⁷⁶ of Indian Summer clouds. All the hillside, all the drying Himalaya vine that lined the big river, and the sugar-maple trees farther up, burned a dark brick and over-lit red. The river split for the jump of a red-gilled silver salmon, then circled to mark the spot where it fell. Spoonbills shoveled⁷⁷ at the crimson⁷⁸ mud in the shallows, and dowitchers jumped from cattail to cattail, frantically⁷⁹ crying “Kleek! Kleek!” as though the thin reeds were as hot as the pokers⁸⁰ they resembled. Canvasback and brant flew south in small, fiery⁸¹, faraway flocks. And in the shabby ruin of broken cornfields rooster ringnecks clashed together in battle so bright, so gleaming polished-copper bright, that the fields seemed to ring with their fighting. This is Hank’s bell. He and Lee and Joe Ben watched the sinking sun as the boat rocked down the big river. It was the first evening in all the weeks Lee had been working that they’d run the river home with the sun still up to light their way. This is Hank’s bell ringing. “We’ve been lucky,” Hank said. “You know that? We’ve had enough fall this year to make up for the last three early winters.” Joe Ben nodded avidly⁸². “Oh yeah, oh boy yeah. Didn’t I tell you it was gonna be that way? Oh yeah, we’re in the good Lord’s pocket. Lots of good log-cutting weather ...say, didn’t I say so this morning? Was gonna be a bountiful day, a blessful day.” The little man thrashed ecstatically about the front of the boat, jerking his torn face from side to side in a frenzied⁸³ attempt to miss nothing. Hank and Lee turned to share a brief grin of amusement behind his knotted back. And also shared, in spite of themselves, some of the very enthusiasm they were smiling about. For it had been a blessful day, the blessfullest day, Lee had to admit, since he’d returned to Oregon. The day had started blessful, with the filbert- and blackberry-filled coffee cake Viv had baked for breakfast, and had seemed to get better as it went along; the air that greeted them in the yard was cold and sour with the smell of apples turning to vinegar beneath the trees; the sky was clear but it threatened none of the previous week’s stinging heat; the tide was coming in perfect and carried them up river at top speed ...then—and perhaps best, Lee thought, perhaps the true beginning of the blessful day came when they had given Les Gibbons his usual free ferry-ride  across and deposited him, still jabbering⁸⁴, on the bank near his car; he had turned to call over his shoulder just how he wanted once more to say thanks and how he wanted them to know he sure did hate bein’ beholden an’ sure did hay-ay-ate!—had slipped, with his lips trailing the last word, scrambling⁸⁵ like a drunken ape, back down the bank into the icy water beside the boat. Hank and Joe Ben howled with laughter as he surfaced, blowing and cursing, and Les’s phony good-fellowship shattered under the laughter. He clung dripping to the side of the boat and screamed in unleashed⁸⁶ fury that he hoped the whole motherjumpin’ Stamper brood o’ them was drownt! The whole horselaughin’ brood was wrecked⁸⁷ and killed and drownt! And good motherjumpin’ riddance to bad motherjumpin’ rubbish—! Lee had smiled at the man’s uncontrolled frustration⁸⁸ and then had laughed out loud at the cool and Christian⁸⁹ way his big brother had fished him back into the boat and asked sympathetically, as a patient policeman might question a hysterical⁹⁰ child, did Leslie want to go wet into town like a rat fished from the well? Or did he want to be toted back across for a change into different clothes? “Because we’ll sure wait on you, Les, if you want to go back up to your place and get into a dry outfit⁵⁴; whatever you say....” Les swallowed, and swallowed again. He pulled his blue lips back from his chattering⁹¹ teeth in a grotesque⁹² attempt to smile. “Ah, Hank, naw, naw I c-couldn’t put you boys out th-ththataway.” Hank shrugged. “Whatever you say, Les old buddy.” Then with heavy concern Hank stepped out of the boat to lead the shivering man up the bank by the hand.

1 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

2 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

3 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

5 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

6 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

7 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

8 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

9 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

10 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。

11 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

12 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

14 contrition   

n.悔罪，痛悔

参考例句：

• The next day he'd be full of contrition,weeping and begging forgiveness.第二天，他就会懊悔不已，哭着乞求原谅。
• She forgave him because his contrition was real.她原谅了他是由于他的懊悔是真心的。

15 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

16 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

17 tantalized   

v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The delicious smell tantalized us. 香味逗引我们。 来自辞典例句
• It tantalized him that she should have such a loathing for him. 她竟会这么厌恶他，这倒使他心里直纳闷。 来自辞典例句

18 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

19 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

22 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

23 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

24 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

25 darts   

n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• His darts trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece. 他将掷镖奖杯放在壁炉顶上最显著的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I never saw so many darts in a bodice! 我从没见过紧身胸衣上纳了这么多的缝褶！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

27 gnawing   

a.痛苦的，折磨人的

参考例句：

• The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
• These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。

28 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

29 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

30 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。

31 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

32 sloughs   

n.沼泽( slough的名词复数 )；苦难的深渊；难以改变的不良心情；斯劳(Slough)v.使蜕下或脱落( slough的第三人称单数 )；舍弃；除掉；摒弃

参考例句：

• Later, the frozen tissue dies, sloughs off and passes out with the urine. 不久，冷冻的组织会死亡，脱落并随尿排出。 来自辞典例句
• Every spring this snake sloughs off its old skin. 每年春天，蛇蜕去皮。 来自互联网

33 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

34 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

35 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。

36 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

37 honks   

n.雁叫声( honk的名词复数 )；汽车的喇叭声v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the fall we sometimes hear honks as a flock of geese flies south. 到了秋天，有时我们能听到南飞雁群的叫声。 来自辞典例句
• A wild- goose honks. 雁鸣。 来自互联网

38 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

39 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

40 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。

41 notch   

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。

42 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

43 rambles   

（无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论

参考例句：

• He rambles in his talk. 他谈话时漫无中心。
• You will have such nice rambles on the moors. 你可以在旷野里好好地溜达溜达。

44 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

45 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

46 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

47 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

48 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

49 spurt   

v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆

参考例句：

• He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
• After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。

50 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

51 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

52 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

53 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

54 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。

55 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

56 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。

57 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。

58 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

59 disparaging   

adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• Halliday's comments grew daily more and more sparklingly disagreeable and disparaging. 一天天过去，哈里代的评论越来越肆无忌惮，越来越讨人嫌，越来越阴损了。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• Even with favorable items they would usually add some disparaging comments. 即使对好消息，他们也往往要加上几句诋毁的评语。 来自互联网

60 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

61 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

62 confiding   

adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句

63 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

64 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

65 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

66 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

67 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

68 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。

69 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

70 whooped   

叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 )； 高声说； 唤起

参考例句：

• The bill whooped through both houses. 此提案在一片支持的欢呼声中由两院匆匆通过。
• The captive was whooped and jeered. 俘虏被叱责讥笑。

71 wrens   

n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Other songbirds, such as wrens, have hundreds of songs. 有的鸣鸟，例如鹪鹩，会唱几百只歌。 来自辞典例句

72 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。

73 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

74 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

75 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

76 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

77 shoveled   

vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The hungry man greedily shoveled the food into his mouth. 那个饥饿的人贪婪地、大口大口地吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They shoveled a path through the snow. 他们在雪中铲出一条小路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

78 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

79 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

80 pokers   

n.拨火铁棒( poker的名词复数 )；纸牌；扑克；（通常指人）（坐或站得）直挺挺的

参考例句：

• Does excellent 54 pokers printing plate a look at the Japan AV daughter knowing several? 日本AV女优54张扑克牌版看看认识几个？ 来自互联网

81 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

82 avidly   

adv.渴望地，热心地

参考例句：

• She read avidly from an early age—books, magazines, anything. 她从小就酷爱阅读——书籍、杂志，无不涉猎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her melancholy eyes avidly scanned his smiling face. 她说话时两只忧郁的眼睛呆呆地望着他的带笑的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

83 frenzied   

a.激怒的；疯狂的

参考例句：

• Will this push him too far and lead to a frenzied attack? 这会不会逼他太甚，导致他进行疯狂的进攻？
• Two teenagers carried out a frenzied attack on a local shopkeeper. 两名十几岁的少年对当地的一个店主进行了疯狂的袭击。

84 jabbering   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴

参考例句：

• What is he jabbering about now? 他在叽里咕噜地说什么呢？
• He was jabbering away in Russian. 他叽里咕噜地说着俄语。 来自《简明英汉词典》

85 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》

86 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

87 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

88 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

89 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

90 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

91 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

92 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。