Chapter 87

Maybe I don’t hear so good no more, but I can still keep up appearances. Jenny, she takes the glass Teddy brought but she don’t let it soothe¹ her down none. She sucks it down without taking her eyes offn me. Seems to me she’s awful caught up in something don’t have any bearing on her. But then, she’s never gone overboard for me. When she’s done with her whisky she sets down the glass and says, “Anyhow, you can’t make delivery anyhow. Not by Thanksgiving. Nobody can.” 550 ken² kesey I just grin at her and shrug³ like I ain’t got no more idee than a duck what she means about Thanksgiving. Wondering what’s eating at her, by god. Maybe without a little cash floating around and niggers here not able to get drunk, she’s been having a tough time getting victims. Could be. This business is affecting everybody, I reckon. Maybe the way it’s affecting Jenny is giving her the hot britches. She keeps glaring at me; then she says nobody can make it by Thanksgiving and I tell her I am awful sorry but I just cannot make out what she is driving at. She tips her glass again and puts it back on the counter. And then says again, “No, you won’t make it.” This time in a spooky goddam fashion that someway bothers me, by god. Enough I have to ask, “What you mean I won’t make it? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, what’s to stop me?” And she says, “I get my revenge on you, Henry Stamper ...I been working with bat bones all week. . . .” “So bat bones is gonna stop me? Boy howdy, and you Indians—” “No. Not just bat bones, not only. . . .” “What else, then?” I ask, getting peeved⁴ a little. “What is this thing you got workin’ for you so fierce?” “The moon,” is all she says, “the moon,” and walks back in the direction of the women’s toilet, leaving me standing⁶ there studying that one over . . . The other citizens in the bar went disappointedly back to their drinks and their conversations; they had thought for a minute that Jenny might really light into the old turtle. But no, they decided⁸, when she’d left, just more of her bull about the moon and the stars. . . . So they dismissed her and drew finger patterns on the formica tabletops with the condensate from their drinks and wished something would happen. Only Henry, with his lean, slanting⁹ back to the room, gave serious thought to Jenny’s words. The moon? He finished his drink slowly....“The moon, huh?” he said again to himself, frowning. Then, slowly, reached for the wallet from his pocket. “What if . . . ?” He took a tiny book from one of the wallet’s compartments¹⁰ and riffled through the pages, stopping, running a cracked black nail down a list of tiny numbers. “Let’s see. sometimes a great notion November; what if—” Then abruptly¹³ shoved wallet and book into his pocket, lurched out through the door to the pick-up. “Christ . . . what if she hadn’t said something?” He drove east, out of town, without pausing for stop signs or even considering going back to the doctor’s office for Lee. When he passed the mill he swung off to the side of the highway and called out to Andy, “How they doin’ up there?” Andy was dragging a huge log into place with a peavey pole; the small motorboat he was using to retrieve¹⁴ the logs as they showed up in the river chugged through the opening in a boom. “Pretty good,” the boy called back. “About ten. An’ bigger’n any I ever see before.” “How’s the river mark? Up, ain’t it?” “Up a scosh, yeah; why? It ain’t up much, not near enough to trouble us. . . .” “But it’s still ebbing¹⁵ fast, ain’t it? While it’s rising? Ain’t that right, it’s ebbing.” Before Andy answered he stood up in the boat bottom to look across the surface of the water; chunks¹⁶ of bark and debris¹⁷ were indeed still moving rapidly down river toward the sea. Slightly confounded now, he turned the boat and putted to check the marker on one of the check-pilings to be sure he hadn’t misread the depth. No; he’d been right. It was rising, and at a fair clip, though the river was still ebbing fast. “Yeah,” he called slowly over his shoulder, “it’s running out an’ rising at the same time. Uncle Henry, what you make of that? The water coming up while the river’s running down?” But the old man had already thrown the pick-up back into gear and was picking up speed on the highway up river. The moon. The moon, huh? Well, maybe so the moon. Well, okay, the moon. But I can whup it too. I by god can whup the moon too. ... When the Amazon in the nurse’s uniform finally led me to the doctor’s office for examination, the doctor wasn’t even concerned enough over my pitiful fever-racked frame to be present; in fact, it was the Amazon that ministered to me, and I didn’t see the good doctor himself until she had completed my treatment and showed me to another office where a mountain of 552 ken kesey flesh trapped within a white smock whistled and sighed from an ancient swivel chair. “Leland Stamper? I’m Doctor Layton. You got a minute? Sit down.” “I have a minute, probably more, in fact; I’m waiting for my father to return for me, but if it’s all the same to you, I think I shall continue to stand. I’m paying homage¹⁸ to the penicillin¹⁹ shot.” The doctor grinned at me through his purple jowls and held out a gold cigarette case. “Smoke?” I took one and thanked him. While I lit the cigarette he leaned torturously²⁰ back in his chair and regarded me with that look generally reserved by deans for wayward sophomores²¹. I waited for him to get into whatever it was he was planning to lecture about, wondering if he didn’t have better things to do with his valuable time than to waste it on a young stranger bent²² on adultery. He ponderously²³ lit his own cigarette, then leaned back like a white blimp exhaling²⁴ smoke. I tried putting on my best look of annoyed impatience²⁵, but something in his manner, in the way he relished²⁶ the pause, turned my impatience to discomfort²⁷. I naturally assumed he had called me in to make a citizen’s appeal to brother Hank through me, as most of the rest of the strikebound town had been doing to every available Stamper, but he took his cigarette from his fat red butt²⁸ of mouth and said instead, “I just wanted to have a look at your face was all. Because your posterior has a certain nostalgic significance; your posterior happened to be one of the very first in a long line of posteriors that I had the opportunity to whack²⁹. You were born my first year practicing, you see.” I told him he could have seen the article itself a moment ago if he’d been on his toes. “Oh, posteriors don’t change much. Not like faces. How’s your mom, by the way? I certainly hated to see you two leave here when—” “She’s dead,” I said flatly. “You hadn’t heard? Not quite a year. Now, if there’s nothing else?” The chair squeaked³¹ and complained as he leaned back forward. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, tapping the ash into the sometimes a great notion wastepaper basket. “No, that’s all.” He looked at the chart the nurse had given him. “Just come back in three days for a follow-up. And watch out. Oh, and say hello to Hank for me when you—” “Watch out?” I stared at him. The fat face underwent an abrupt¹² transition before my eyes, from clod of a doctor to arch-criminal in white. “Watch out?” “Yes, you know,” he said; then, after a knowing wink³³, added, “for exhaustion³⁴, cold, et cetera.” He coughed, frowned at the cigarette, tossed it in the basket with the ashes, as I tried to fathom³⁵ just how deep the knowing went beneath that wink. “Yes, you can lick this thing,” he said with heavy overtones, “if you don’t let it catch you with your pants down.” “What thing?” “This Asian flu bug³⁶, what did you think I meant?” He regarded me innocently from beneath eyelids³⁷ bloated and positively³⁸ drooping³⁹ with wickedness. I was suddenly certain that he knew everything, the whole plan, the entire intended vengeance⁴⁰, everything! In some diabolic Sydney Greenstreet fashion, he had amassed⁴¹ a complete brochure of all my activities. . . . “Maybe we could have a chat the next time you come in, huh?” he purred, lips dripping innuendoes⁴². “Until then, like I said, watch out.” Terrified, I hurried out to the waiting room, with his echo pursuing me like a hound baying watch OUT...OUT ... OUT . . . What was happening? I wrung⁴³ my hands. What had gone wrong? How had he known? And where was my father...? On the slope Hank stopped the shriek⁴⁴ of his saw and tilted⁴⁵ the metal brim of his hat back to watch the lean, stiff-moving figure of old Henry work its way down a switchback deer trail, curious and amused (but, as a matter of fact, none too surprised that the old man had come back out. I had been halfway⁴⁶ suspecting as much since I’d saw him look over the set-up and watch Joe unload the old-time equipment. I’d halfway figured he’d get into town and get a little juiced and decide to come back out and show us how it used to be done. But, as he got closer, I noticed he looked pretty sober, like there was more on 554 ken kesey his mind than just futzing around shooting the bull and getting in everybody’s way. There was something about the way he moved that I recognized as special, about the way he hustled— a mixture of worry and joy and excitement as he jerked his neck and tossed the white shock of hair around where it kept getting washed down in his eyes. It called to my mind the kind of grim giddiness that I hadn’t seen in him in god knows how long, years and years, but that I recognized right off, even fifty yards off and him in a leg cast. I stopped my cutting. I laid my saw down, lit a fresh cigarette off my stub, and watched him come...scrabbling, grabbing vines and roots as he heaved that stiff leg before him—heave, then lurching forward, pole-vaulting forward almost over that muddied cast, finding a foothold with the one good, cork-booted leg, then throwing that cast ahead of him again— relentless⁴⁸ and grim and comical all at once. “Whoa back a little,” I hollered up the hill at him. “You’ll pop a gasket, you old fool. Slow down. Nobody’s after you.” He didn’t answer back. I hadn’t expected that he would, puffing⁴⁹ and panting like he was. Where’s the kid? But he didn’t slow down, either. What’s he done with the kid? “Lee up in the pick-up?” I called again and started angling toward him. “Or was he so goddam sick he couldn’t even make the ride back with half a dozen cotter pins?” “Left ’im,” he said, short of breath. “Town.” He didn’t say anything again until he reached the log I had been bucking⁵⁰ and leaned his hip⁵¹ up against it for a rest. “Ah, lor’,” he gasped⁵². “Ah, lor’.” For a minute I was worried: his eyes were rolling; his face was as white as his hair; his throat seemed clogged⁵³ . . . he tipped his pink old toothless mouth up to the rain, sucking in great breaths of the wet air. “Ah, lor’ almighty,” he said, finally getting a good breath. He ran a tongue around his lips that looked like a tongue out of a boot. “Shoo! Took ’er faster’n I planned. Shooee!” “Well, Jesus H. Christ I hope to shout,” I said, relieved as well as a little hacked⁵⁴ off at being so worried. “What the shit do you mean, come ball-assin’ down that hill like a wild stallion? I’m damned if I want you poppin’ some gasket where I sometimes a great notion have to tote you back up to that pick-up. You’d be heavy with that load you got on.” I could see he’d had him a couple by the way he was colored up, but he was a long way from drunk. “Lef ’ the boy in town,” he said, standing up and looking around him. “Where’s Joe Benjamin? Get him over here.” “He’s the other side of those outcroppin’s—what the hell’s wrong with you, anyhow?” I saw he was steamed up with more than Teddy’s whisky. “What happened back there in town?” “Give Joe Ben a whistle,” he told me. He walked a few steps from the log, surveying the lay of the land. After looking it over he says, “You workin’ land too level. No good now. Too much effort to get the bastards⁵⁵ moving. We’ll move on, down yonder past that little swale, where it’s steeper. It’s dangerous, but we’re in kind of a bind⁵⁶. Where the hell’s Joe Ben!” I gave Joe another whistle. “Now cool off and tell me what you’re so steamed up about.” “Let’s wait,” he says. He was still puffing pretty bad. “Till Joe Ben gets here. Here’s the pins. I left in a hurry. I didn’t have time to pick up the boy. Whooee. My lungs ain’t so good any more. . . .” And I saw there wasn’t any sense doing anything but wait. . . .) After another hour spent in that pungent⁵⁷ waiting room, an hour of pure terror and paranoia⁵⁸ spent pretending to read back issues of McCall’s and True Romance under the nurse’s supervision⁵⁹ and wondering just how much that devil of a doctor knew, I resigned myself to admitting that the old man wasn’t coming back for me and that perhaps the doctor didn’t know anything. I faked a yawn. I stood up and blew my nose loudly on a handkerchief so overused that the Amazon winced⁶¹ with disgust at the nasty old thing. “Could get yourself some paper from the john,” she advised me over the top of her magazine, “ ’n’ throw that unsanitary thing away.” A dozen parting replies passed through my mind as I pulled on my jacket, but I was still too cowed by my recent experience with the woman and her needle to be able to voice them. Instead I paused at the door and meekly⁶³ announced I was going to walk downtown. “If my father comes back, could you please tell him I’ll probably be at Grissom’s?” 556 ken kesey I waited for an answer. She did not seem to have heard at first. Her face did not rise from the book, but as I stood there, like a schoolboy waiting to be excused, the curl of her slurring⁶⁴ voice traced the curl of her lip perfectly⁶⁵. “You right sure you can make it without fainting again?” She licked her thumb to flip⁶⁶ a page. “And don’t let the door slam.” Between my clenched⁶⁷ teeth I cursed her soundly, as well as the hypodermic, the doctor, and my thoughtless father, cursed them all and threatened dire⁵ revenge for each and every one in his turn ...and closed the door behind me with a coward’s care. In the puddled walk outside the clinic I stood wondering what to do, feeling completely foiled. My chances to get Viv alone seemed to grow slimmer and slimmer. How would I get back out there unless old Henry came back? And yet, without thinking of it, when I started for town I avoided the only street on which he might drive if he came to look for me, taking instead, “for old time’s sake,” the old broken walk that would take me past the schoolhouse . . . “in case that doctor comes looking.” Sulking, furtive⁶⁸, alert—hands hanging cold and cocked at my sides instead of warm in my pockets—I advanced cautiously through billowing rain down a long row of memories, ready for anything. The rickety, slithery wooden walk took me past forlorn fishermen’s shacks⁷⁰ ominous⁷¹ and smoky and quilted with assorted⁷² patches made from snuff-can lids and flattened⁷³ Prince Albert tins: There the Mad Scandinavian lives; “a baby-eater,” my schoolmates used to claim as they tossed apples at his windows; “you skeered, Leland?” ...past the cottage where the janitor⁷⁴ had lived with all the rumors⁷⁵ that janitors⁷⁶ always live with, past the squat⁷⁷ brick furnace building that heated the school, past the shaggy wall of stacked waste lumber⁷⁸ that fired the furnace ...and, strangely, I didn’t relax my caution most of the long walk. Then, when almost at once my groundless fears did leave me—why so scared? How stupid I had been, thinking that jowly fool knew anything; what a stupid worry!—I realized that I was standing in front of the schoolhouse, my age-old citadel⁷⁹ of Learning, of Truth, and my sanctuary⁸⁰. But fear was not replaced by peace: as I strolled along the sometimes a great notion walk edging my sanctuary’s play yard, my alert pose turned to one of slouching dejection and remorse⁸¹ as I trailed my knuckles⁸² along the cyclone-fence enclosure past a school I’d never belonged to, past a playground loud with lunch-hour memories of teams I’d never played on. Through the fence, I saw I was passing the baseball diamond. Where the “big kids” had played when I was a first-grader; where the “little kids” played after I reached grade four . . . “Little kids?” Hank once asked. “Yeah, you know, the dumb kids, the stupes who couldn’t enjoy a book in all their lives.” Now this old rationalization seemed pitifully thin to me; big kid or little, first grade or fourth, Leland, old chap, you know you would have given your whole collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs to have joined that noisy, disorganized group. Isn’t that so? Isn’t it! As I looked through the dripping crisscross of wire to the runneling field I found myself wryly⁸³ asking When do I get to play, fellers, when do I get chosen? Everybody’s had a turn but me. Come on. Choose me for a change. The fellers hung back. No nine-year-old demagogue of the diamond rushed forward, freckled⁸⁴ with good old American sandlot sunshine, to point with the greasy⁸⁵ finger of a fielder’s mitt⁶⁰ and say, “I choose you for my team.” Nobody shouted, “You’re needed, Leland, you’ll come through strong in a clutch.” But fellers, I pleaded into the whorled ear of rain, fair’s fair, now, isn’t it? Fair’s fair? Yet, even in the face of that time-revered truth, the phantoms⁸⁷ hung back; fair might be fair and all, they couldn’t argue with that, but when it came to first basemen—or second or third— they wanted a cool head and a brave heart, not some dang punk who throws his fist up in front of his specs every time he sees a fast one skipping in his general direction. But guys . . . Not some dang sissy who falters⁸⁸, fidgets, and finally faints dead away and wakes up five minutes later with his trousers around his ankles and an ammonia capsule under his nose—just because a nurse pricked⁹⁰ him from behind with a little penicillin. Wait, fellers; it wasn’t just a prick⁸⁹. The needle was this long! 558 ken kesey This long, the sissy says. This long. Willya listen at him. It was so! Please, fellers...maybe home base? Home base. Willya just listen at the pantywaist....C’mon; let’s get at it . . . They shifted back into time and I walked on again, past the ball-field while the wind booed and the rain hissed⁹¹ through the chicken-wire backstop and the regular team held down sodden⁹² home plate against all comers. I turned toward town, away from the school where I had received straight A’s in everything but recess⁹³. Some sanctuary. Oh, sure, my fear had been pacified⁹⁴ by the sight of that institute of learning—at least I no longer expected the doctor to swoop⁹⁵ down on me like a fat vampire⁹⁶; for, like a church, the school served as my defense⁹⁷ against such demons⁹⁸—but in the demon’s place grew a terrible emptiness, a great malignant⁹⁹ vacuum. No demons, but no teammates either. Seemed it was always like that. A person might almost think they were one and the same. . . . On the slope Hank smoked in patient silence beside his father while he heard the dissonant¹⁰⁰ squeak³² of Joe Ben’s little radio draw closer through the dripping firs. (The old man still stood leaned up against the log, working his jaw¹⁰¹ in thought; his white hair was plastered to his bony skull¹⁰² now and hung streaming from the back of his head, sort of like wet cobwebs. “Steeper land like that over yonder,” he kept mumbling¹⁰³. “Hm. Yeah. Over there like that. We can get half again the cutting. Uhuh. I bet we can. . . .” I was a little awed¹⁰⁴ by the change that had come over the old coon; it seemed that the cast had broken to reveal a younger and at the same time more mature person. I watched old Henry appraise¹⁰⁵ the land and announce which trees we was gonna cut, how, in what order, and so forth¹⁰⁶...and I got to feeling like I was seeing a once-familiar but almost-forgotten man. I mean...this wasn’t the old yarn-spinning, bullshitting character that had been thundering damn near unnoticed through the house and the local bars for the last six months. Not the noisy joke of a year before either. No, I realized gradually, this is the boomer I used to follow on cruising walks twenty years before, the calm, stubborn, confident rock of a man who had taught sometimes a great notion me how to tie a bowline with one hand and how to place a dutchman block in an undercut so’s the tree would fall so cunthair perfect that he could put a stake where he aimed for it to fall, then by god drive that stake into the ground with the trunk! I kept still, looking at him. Like I was scared if I said something this phantom⁸⁶ might disappear. And as Henry talked— haltingly, yet deliberate and certain all the same—I felt myself commence to relax. Like I’d had a couple quarts of beer. I let my lungs pull deep and easy and felt a kind of repose¹⁰⁷, almost like sleep, go running through me. It felt good. It was the first time, I realized, that I’d felt relaxed in—oh, Christ, except for last night with Viv rubbing my back—in what seemed years and years. Hot damn, I figured; the old old Henry is back; let him hold the handles a spell while I take a breather. So I didn’t say anything until Joby was almost there. I let him carry on for a while with his instructions before I reminded him that that slope me and Joby’d been working was exactly the one he’d pointed⁷ out for us to work that morning. “Remember?” I grinned at him. “You said just down from that outcropping?” “That’s all right, that’s all right,” he says, not the least concerned, and went on to say, “But I said that account of this place was safest. An’ that was this morning. We ain’t got time for that, not no more, not now. Down yonder she’ll be a little trickier¹⁰⁸, but we can fall half again the bastards we can fall up here. Anyhow I’ll tell you when Joe gets up here. Now hush¹⁰⁹ and let me think a minute.” So I hushed and let him think, wondering how long it had been since I’d been able to do that . . .) I left the school and playground and spent most of the rest of that lonely morn over dreary¹¹⁰ cups of drugstore coffee brought me by a dour¹¹¹ Grissom who seemed to hold me solely¹¹² responsible for his lack of business. During this time I revised and revamped my demon-teammate theory—improving on symbolism, sharpening the effect, stretching it to cover all possible woes¹¹³. ...I could stretch it far beyond grammar school. All through prep school I avoided that playground, all through college I had stayed safely in the classroom, secure behind a 560 ken kesey bastion of books, and played no base at all on the field outside. Not first or second, not third. Certainly not home. Secure but homeless. Homeless even in the town of my home-town team, with no base to play. No arms in all the wet world to enfold me, no armchair by the cozy¹¹⁴ fire to hold me. And, now, on top of it all, I was deserted¹¹⁵, deserted at the hospital, left to the merciless hoofs¹¹⁶ of galloping¹¹⁷ pneumonia¹¹⁸, by my own pitiless father. Oh, Father, Father, where can you be...? (“Gettin’ drownt,” I tell Hank. “Out in the weather thisaway, I should of brung more better gear.” I lean my bum¹¹⁹ hip against the log again to take the weight offn the cast and I take me a little knit cap from my pocket and pull it on. It ain’t gonna keep my head dry none, but it’ll soak up enough rain to keep it from running into my eyes. Joe Ben, he comes scrambling¹²⁰ up the hill practically on all fours, looking like some kinda animal scared outa the ground. “What’s up? What’s up?” He looks from Hank to me, then settles himself on the log and looks down the direction we’re looking. He’s itching¹²² to pieces to know what’s up but he knows he’ll get told when I’m ready to tell him, so he don’t ask again. “Well sir.” I pat my old cap into place and spit. “We got to finish our cuttin’,” I tell them, “an’ finish it today.” Just like that. Hank and Joe Ben light up cigarettes and wait to see what it’s all about. I say, “It’s full moon, an’ a poor time for it. I bet this mornin’ was a good minus-one-five or minus-two tide. Real low. When we left the house this mornin’ the river shoulda been low enough to show barnacles on the pilings, ain’t that so? With a tide so low? Huh? But did we see any barnacles? Or did anybody look . . . ?” I look right at Hank. “Did you check the marker at the house this mornin’ against the tide chart?” He shakes his head. I spit and look disgusted at him. Joe says, “What’s it mean, anyway?” “What it means,” I tell them, “is the game is all, is jick, jack⁶², joker, and the game for Evenwrite and Draeger an’ that bunch of goddam feather-beddin’ so-slists is eg-zactly what it means! Unless we really get in high gear. What it means...is there must be damn heavy rain up country; there’s more water comin’ out’n the upper branches’n anybody figured. We’re in for maybe one sonofabitch of a flood! sometimes a great notion Not tonight, probably, no, I doubt it tonight. Unless she really cuts loose a storm. And she could, but let’s say not. Let’s say it keeps on like it’s goin’. By tomorrow or the next day nobody’ll be able to hang onto a boom of logs, not us nor WP. So we got to deliver before it crests¹²³. Now. Let’s say, oh, say, it’s about ten-thirty now, so that means eleven, twelve, one, two . . . so let’s say we get two of the bastards an hour, pushin’ it, two of these. . . .” I take me a look up one of the firs standing there. She’s a good one. Like they used to be. “At seventeen board feet, times two, times—what did I figure? five hours’ cuttin’?— times five hours, say six hours; we can have Andy to stay up all night at the mill with a boat and spotlight¹²⁴ watchin’ for the latecomers... yeah, we can do that. So. Anyhow. Figuring six real highballin’ hours of cutting, nothin’ goes wrong, we—let’s see now...hum ...” The old man talked on, darting¹²⁵ the brown tip of his tongue over his lips and occasionally pausing to spit, speaking more to himself than to the others. Hank finished his cigarette and lit another, nodding now and then as he listened (content to let the old guy call the shots and run the show. Damned content, to be honest with you. Henry kept rambling¹²¹ on. After telling Joe and me all the details and outlining to us all the dangers and doubts, he finally got around to allowing, “But, yessir, we can hack³⁰ it,” like I knew he would. “With even a little margin¹²⁶, if we hump our tails. ’N’ then tomorrow we got to rent a tug¹²⁷ an’ ran the booms down to Wakonda Pacific, quicker the better. Not wait for Thanksgivin’. Get ’em off our hands before we lose ’em. Well ...be tight, but we can whup it.” “You bet!” Joe said. “Oh yeah!” Business like this was right up Joby’s alley¹²⁸. “So . . . ?” the old man said, talking straight ahead. “What do you say?” I knew it was me he was asking. “Be tough,” I tell him, “with Orland and Layton and the others buffaloed by Even-write and the rest of the town. I mean, it’ll be tough making a drive on that high a river, with that many booms and us so shorthanded. . . .” 562 ken kesey “I know it’ll be tough, goddammit! That ain’t what I asked. . . .” “Hey!” Joby snaps his fingers: “I know: we can get some of the Wakonda Pacific foremen!” He’s excited and chomping¹²⁹ at the bit. “See, they got to help us, don’t you see? They don’t want to lose their winter millwork. With Mama Olson’s tug, and some of them WP bosses, we’ll be pretty as you please, right in the good Lord’s warm little fist.” “We’ll take that jump,” the old man says, pushing himself up from the log, “when it comes up. Right now I’m sayin’ can we cut our quota¹³⁰ today? All of it. Just us three?” “Sure! Sure we can, oh yeah, there ain’t nothing—” “I was askin’ you, Hank. . . .” I knew he was. I squinted¹³¹ through the blue film of cigarette smoke, out across the fern and salal and blackberry, through the brute¹³² black straight trunks of those trees down to the river, trying to ask myself, Can we or can’t we? But I didn’t know; I just couldn’t tell. The three of us he said. Meaning two and one old man. Two tired jacks¹³³ and one old crippled man. It’s crazy, and I said to myself, and I knew I should say Nothing doing to the old man, say it’s too risky¹³⁴, forget it, flick¹³⁵ it. . . . But some way he didn’t seem like an old crippled man to me then. It wasn’t like I was standing there talking with the wild and woolly town character any more, but with some fierce young jack who had just walked up out of the years ready to spit on his palms and take over again. I looked at him, waiting there. What could I tell him? If he says we can whip it, all right, maybe he knows, let him take over. “I’m askin’ you, boy....” Because all I know is that the only way you can keep this jack from out of the past from trying to whip it was with a club and a rope, so I say all right. “All right, Henry, let’s try it.” You probably know more about this kind of logging than me and Joby put together. So all right, head out. You run it. I’m tired rassling it. I got other things on my mind. You take it. Me, just turn me on and aim me. That’s how I’d like it, anyhow. I’m tired, but I’ll work. If you take over. If you just turn me on and aim me it’s fine and dandy with this boy . . .) After Grissom had the effrontery¹³⁶ to ask me to pay for the sometimes a great notion magazine I spilled coffee on, I decided to go mope elsewhere. I crossed the street and entered the Sea Breeze Cafe and Grill¹³⁷, the very apotheosis¹³⁸ of short-order America: two waitresses in wilted¹³⁹ uniforms chatting at the cash register; lipstick¹⁴⁰ stain on coffee mugs; bleak¹⁴¹ array of candy; insomniac¹⁴² flies waiting out the rain; a plastic penful of doughnuts; and, on the wall above the Coca-Cola calendar, the methodical creaking creep of a bent second hand across a Dr. Pepper clock ...the perfect place for a man to sit and commune with nature. I climbed onto one of the leatherette stools, ordered coffee, and purchased freedom for one of the penned-up doughnuts. The shortest of the waitresses brought my order, took my money, made my change, and returned to the cash register to play her accordion¹⁴³ of neck to her bored companion ...never really acknowledging my presence to herself. I ate the doughnut and reiterated¹⁴⁴ my woes with fresh coffee, trying not to think ahead, trying not to ask myself, What am I waiting for? The second hand creaked a meaningless dirge¹⁴⁵. An ancient refrigerator complained in the cluttered¹⁴⁶ kitchen, and the second hand cranked out a dreary fare of short-order time—tepid seconds, stale minutes, the drab diet that He Who Hesitates must always be satisfied with... As the rain quickened on the slopes the three men set about work. Hank jerked the starter rope on his saw and wondered why the saw should feel so feather-light ( just take it over and it’s dandy with me. . . .) when his arms felt so heavy. Henry walked the length of the log, looking for a place to set a check, and wished he’d brought a plastic bag or some damn thing to wrap around his cast so’s it wouldn’t soak up water and weigh him down even worse than ordinary. On the other hand Joe Ben, leaping back downhill to the log he had been working on when interrupted by Hank’s whistle, felt as though the mud caking his boots was actually becoming lighter¹⁴⁷. He felt even more nimble and buoyant than usual. Everything was going fine. He’d been worried over something earlier that morning— can’t even remember now—but everything was turning out just the way he liked it: old Henry’s dramatic arrival, the news of the tides, the planning in terse¹⁴⁸, muted voices, that brass-band 564 ken kesey feeling rising among them, beating out we got to make that first down, we got to, and you block for me, Joby, and I’ll tear ’em apart! Yeah boy! That brassy beat of high-school idealism and determination that he liked best of all: beating out we got, got to, got to! over and over until the words became we will, we will, we will!—and when I put my hand on the log and vault⁴⁷ over it I feel like if I don’t hold back I’ll just sail right off in the sky—the log’s ready to go—it was ready when Hank whistled—all the dickens needs now’s a good shove to get it over the rock it’s hung against. Let’s see here ... Joe circled the end of the log and looked at the jack. It was screwed out to its maximum length, with one end anchored against a rock and the other biting into the bark of the log. To unscrew it meant that the log would fall back a few inches while he anchored the jack against another rock. “Bug that,” he said aloud, laughing, and told himself, “Don’t give a inch!”He wedged his compact little body in on top of the jack, with his shoulders against the rock and his boots against the log. I give a yeah-h-h shovebethou you dickens cast into the uh uh sea! Yeah! She teeters over the rock, rolls against a stump¹⁴⁹ picking up speed, spins off the stump, and slides straight as an arrow whew down the hill to within a bare half-yard of the river! Good deal, I’d say. “Hey . . .” Joe stood up and shouted over his shoulder at Hank and old Henry, watching him. “See that? Oh man; no sense messin’ around, the way I see it. Now, you fellas want me to kick that one downhill and save you the effort?” Laughing, he skidded¹⁵⁰ down the slope with the jack light under his arm and his boots flying. And the little transistor¹⁵¹ bumping and squeaking¹⁵² against his neck . . . I know you love me An’ happy we could be If some folks would leave us alone. . . . All righty now—I screw the jack short again and wedge it under the log and twist! He watched the butt of it bite the juicy bark. The wooden screw of the implement¹⁵³ lengthened¹⁵⁴ out with his cranking. The log rolled a few feet, paused—this time she sometimes a great notion pitches crashing through shredding¹⁵⁵ fern blackberry vines and into the river. Yes sir, all righty, there! He picked up his jack, slung¹⁵⁶ it across his shoulder by the strap¹⁵⁷, and swarmed¹⁵⁸ up the hill on all fours—who-so-ever!—snorting and whooping¹⁵⁹ as he came, like a water spider fleeing to high ground. His face was scratched and red when he reached the second log, where Hank worked the saw. “Hankus, ain’t you finished bucking this thing yet? Henry, it looks like me’n you have to carry our load an’ then some to make up for this loafer!” Then vaulted¹⁶⁰ over the log, the mud on his boots turning to wings: and whosoever shall not doubt in his heart, he will, by golly, he will ...! In her shack⁶⁹ Indian Jenny hummed over an astrologer’s chart that was patterned mysteriously with glass rings interlacing! Lee sipped¹⁶¹ coffee at the Sea Breeze. At the house Viv finished up the last of the dishes and wondered what to start on next. With Jan and the kids staying at the new place, there’s not so much rush. And it’s nice to set my own pace. I enjoy Jan and the kids here, and I’ll miss them when they move into the other place, but it’s nice to be here and set my own pace. Boy oh boy, is it quiet just here alone... Standing in the center of the big living room, watching the river, feeling distracted and flushed, anxious almost . . . like I’m expecting something to happen. One of the kids to holler, I guess. I know what’ll calm me down; take a nice long hot soak in the tub. Aren’t you the Miss Lazy Britches? But gee¹⁶², is it still and quiet... Hank wiped his nose on the wet cuff¹⁶³ of his sweat shirt sticking from his poncho¹⁶⁴, then grabbed the saw again and dug into the trunk of the tree before him, feeling the relaxation¹⁶⁵ of labor¹⁶⁶, of simple uncomplicated labor, run through his body like a warm liquid. . . . (Like a sleep, sort of. More relaxing than some sleeps a guy could name. I never minded work so much. I could of got along right well just doing a plain eight-to-five with the bull telling what to do and where to do it. If he had been a decent bull and fairly reasonable about that what and where. Yes I could of. . . .) Everything was going pretty good. The logs fell good and the wind stayed down. Henry helped 566 ken kesey where he was able, picking the trees, figuring the troughs, arranging the screwjacks in place, using his experience instead of bones he knew were brittle¹⁶⁷ as chalk ...wheezing¹⁶⁸, spitting, thinking a man can whup it, even he don’t have nothin’ but knowhow left, even his legs like butter and his arms and hands like cracking glass and he don’t have nothin’ but his knowhow left—he can still help whup it! Downhill Joe Ben paced off twenty-five steps and cut through his log, feeling the screaming vibration¹⁶⁹ of the chain saw tingle¹⁷⁰ up his arms and accumulate in his back muscles like a charge of electrical power... building, yeah, rising oh yeah and a little more and I’ll just grab this log up and bust¹⁷¹ it over my knee! Watch if I don’t. . . . On the counter of the Sea Breeze Cafe and Grill was a selection box for our youth’s music. To pass the wait (I told myself I was waiting for my father to show up at the Snag across the street) I took a survey of what Young America was singing these days. Let’s see . . . we’ve got Terry Keller “Coming with Summer”—very neat—a “Stranger on the Shore” called— s’help me—Mister Acker Bilk. Earl Grant “Swinging Gently”; Sam Cook “Twistin’ the Night Away”; Kingston Trio “Jane Jane Janing”...Brothers Four ...Highwaymen (singing “Birdman of Alcatraz,” a ballad¹⁷², based on the movie, that is based on the book, that is based on the life of a lifer who has probably never even heard of the Highwaymen . . .) the Skyliners . . . Joey Dee and the Starlighters...Pete Hanly doing “Dardanella” (how did that slip in?), Clyde McSomebody asking “Let’s Forget about the Past” ...and currently number one, at least in the Sea Breeze Cafe and Grill, a waitress with three pounds of nose under thirty ounces of powder accompanying herself on a tub of dishes while she sings “Why Hang Around?” I muttered in my coffee cup. “Because I’m waiting for my daddy to come get me.” Which convinced no one. . . . The hillside rang with the tight whine¹⁷³ of cutting; the sound of work in the woods was like insects in the walls. Numb¹¹ clubs of feet registered the blow against the cold earth only by the pained jarring in the bones. Henry dragged a screwjack to a new log. Joe Ben sang along with his radio: sometimes a great notion “Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms . . .” The forest fought against the attack on its age-old domain¹⁷⁴ with all the age-old weapons nature could muster¹⁷⁵: blackberries strung out barbed barricades¹⁷⁶; the wind shook widow-makers crashing down from high rotted snags; boulders¹⁷⁷ reared silently from the ground to block slides that had looked smooth and clear a moment before; streams turned solid trails into creeping ruts of icy brown lava¹⁷⁸. ...And in the tops of the huge trees, the very rain seemed to work at fixing the trees standing, threading the million green needles in an attempt to stitch the trees upright against the sky. But the trees continued to fall, gasping¹⁷⁹ long sighs and kawhumping against the spongy earth. To be trimmed and bucked¹⁸⁰ into logs. To be coaxed¹⁸¹ and cajoled downhill into the river with unflagging regularity¹⁸². In spite of all nature could do to stop it. Leaning on the ev-ver-last-ting arms. As the trees fell and the hours passed, the three men grew accustomed to one another’s abilities and drawbacks. Few words actually passed between them; they communicated with the unspoken language of labor toward a shared end, becoming more and more an efficient, skilled team as they worked their way across the steep slopes; becoming almost one man, one worker who knew his body and his skill and knew how to use them without waste or overlap¹⁸³. Henry chose the trees, picked the troughs where they would fall, placed the jacks where they would do the most good. And stepped back out of the way. Here she slides! See? A man can whup it goddammit with nothin’ but his experience an’ stickto-’
er, goddam if he can’t. ...Hank did the falling and trimming, wielding¹⁸⁴ the cumbersome¹⁸⁵ chain saw tirelessly in his long, cable-strong arms, as relentless as a machine; working not fast but steadily¹⁸⁶, mechanically, and certainly far past the point where other fallers would have rested, pausing only to refuel 568 ken kesey the saw or to place a new cigarette in the corner of his mouth when his lips felt the old one burning near—taking the pack from the pouch¹⁸⁷ of his sweat shirt, shaking a cigarette into view, withdrawing it with his lips ...touching¹⁸⁸ the old butt for the first time with his muddy gloves when he removed it to light the new smoke. Such pauses were brief and widely separated in the terrible labor, yet he almost enjoyed returning to work, getting back in the groove¹⁸⁹, not thinking, just doing the work just like it was eight to five and none of that other crap to worry about, just letting somebody turn me on and aim me at what and where is just the way I like it. The way it used to be.

1 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

2 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.

3 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。

4 peeved   

adj.恼怒的，不高兴的v.（使）气恼，（使）焦躁，（使）愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sounded peeved about not being told. 没人通知他，为此他气哼哼的。
• She was very peeved about being left out. 她为被遗漏而恼怒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 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。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 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。

9 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

10 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

12 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

13 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。

14 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

15 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

16 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

17 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

18 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

19 penicillin   

n.青霉素，盘尼西林

参考例句：

• I should have asked him for a shot of penicillin.我应当让他给我打一针青霉素的。
• Penicillin was an extremely significant medical discovery.青霉素是极其重要的医学发现。

20 torturously   

参考例句：

• So you have the option to torturously pursue everything – if you don't understand Me. 所以你有痛苦地追求一切事物的选择---如果你不明白我。 来自互联网
• The pilgrimage to the destiny is in itself torturously unending and heroically rewarding. 希望能在此遇到更多志同道合，热爱教育的朋友们。 来自互联网

21 sophomores   

n.（中等、专科学校或大学的）二年级学生( sophomore的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over half the students in the course are sophomores. 听这门课的一大半是二年级学生。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 ponderously   

参考例句：

• He turns and marches away ponderously to the right. 他转过身，迈着沉重的步子向右边行进。 来自互联网
• The play was staged with ponderously realistic sets. 演出的舞台以现实环境为背景，很没意思。 来自互联网

24 exhaling   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的现在分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• Take a deep breath inhaling slowly and exhaling slowly. 深呼吸，慢慢吸进，慢慢呼出。 来自互联网
• Unclasp your hands and return to the original position while exhaling. 呼气并松开双手恢复到原位。 来自互联网

25 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

26 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

27 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

28 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。

29 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

30 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

31 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

32 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

33 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

34 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

35 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

36 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

37 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

39 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

40 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

41 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 innuendoes   

n.影射的话( innuendo的名词复数 )；讽刺的话；含沙射影；暗讽

参考例句：

• innuendoes about her private life 对她私生活含沙射影的指责
• I'm sure he thinks I stole the money—he kept making innuendoes about my \"new-found-wealth\". 我确信他一定以为钱是我偷的，因为他不断含沙射影地说我“新近发了财”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

43 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

44 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

45 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

46 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。

47 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

48 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

49 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》

50 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

51 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。

52 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

53 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

54 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。

55 bastards   

私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙

参考例句：

• Those bastards don't care a damn about the welfare of the factory! 这批狗养的，不顾大局！ 来自子夜部分
• Let the first bastards to find out be the goddam Germans. 就让那些混账的德国佬去做最先发现的倒霉鬼吧。 来自演讲部分

56 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

57 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

58 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

59 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

60 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

61 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

62 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。

63 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

64 slurring   

含糊地说出( slur的现在分词 )； 含糊地发…的声； 侮辱； 连唱

参考例句：

• She was slumped in the saddle and slurring her words. 她从马鞍上掉了下去，嘴里含糊不清地说着什么。
• Your comments are slurring your co-workers. 你的话诋毁了你的同事。

65 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。

66 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

67 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

68 furtive   

adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• The teacher was suspicious of the student's furtive behaviour during the exam.老师怀疑这个学生在考试时有偷偷摸摸的行为。
• His furtive behaviour aroused our suspicion.他鬼鬼祟祟的行为引起了我们的怀疑。

69 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。

70 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

71 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

72 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

73 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

74 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

75 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

76 janitors   

n.看门人( janitor的名词复数 )；看管房屋的人；锅炉工

参考例句：

• The janitors were always kicking us out. 守卫总是将～踢出去。 来自互联网
• My aim is to be one of the best janitors in the world. 我的目标是要成为全世界最好的守门人。 来自互联网

77 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

78 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。

79 citadel   

n.城堡；堡垒；避难所

参考例句：

• The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。
• This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。

80 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

81 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

82 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

83 wryly   

adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着，一句话也没说。
• He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声，就闭了眼睛，咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分

84 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

85 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。

86 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

87 phantoms   

n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They vanished down the stairs like two phantoms. 他们像两个幽灵似的消失在了楼下。 来自辞典例句
• The horrible night that he had passed had left phantoms behind it. 他刚才度过的恐布之夜留下了种种错觉。 来自辞典例句

88 falters   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。
• The plan never falters; the design never changes. It is all ordered. 大自然从不步履蹒跚，从不三心二意，一切都是有条不紊。

89 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。

90 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

91 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

92 sodden   

adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑

参考例句：

• We stripped off our sodden clothes.我们扒下了湿透的衣服。
• The cardboard was sodden and fell apart in his hands.纸板潮得都发酥了，手一捏就碎。

93 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

94 pacified   

使（某人）安静( pacify的过去式和过去分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• The baby could not be pacified. 怎么也止不住婴儿的哭声。
• She shrieked again, refusing to be pacified. 她又尖叫了，无法使她平静下来。

95 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。

96 vampire   

n.吸血鬼

参考例句：

• It wasn't a wife waiting there for him but a blood sucking vampire!家里的不是个老婆，而是个吸人血的妖精！
• Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampire.由于听过许多有关吸血鬼的传说，孩子们晚上不敢去睡觉。

97 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

98 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

99 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

100 dissonant   

adj.不和谐的；不悦耳的

参考例句：

• His voice is drowned by the dissonant scream of a siren outside.她的声音被外面杂乱刺耳的警报声吞没了。
• They chose to include all of these dissonant voices together.他们把那些不和谐的声音也放在了里面

101 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。

102 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

103 mumbling   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

104 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

105 appraise   

v.估价，评价，鉴定

参考例句：

• An expert came to appraise the value of my antiques.一位专家来对我的古玩作了估价。
• It is very high that people appraise to his thesis.人们对他的论文评价很高。

106 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。

107 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

108 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

109 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

110 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

111 dour   

adj.冷酷的，严厉的；（岩石）嶙峋的；顽强不屈

参考例句：

• They were exposed to dour resistance.他们遭受到顽强的抵抗。
• She always pretends to be dour,in fact,she's not.她总表现的不爱讲话，事实却相反。

112 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

113 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

114 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

115 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

116 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

117 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

118 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

119 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

120 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》

121 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

122 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

123 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

124 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

125 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

126 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

127 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

128 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

129 chomping   

v.切齿，格格地咬牙，咬响牙齿( chomp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Elizabeth and Lawrence are chomping at the bit to go on vacation. 伊莉莎白和劳伦斯迫不及待要去度假了。 来自互联网
• She was chomping away on a bagel. 她在嘎蹦嘎嘣地啃着一个硬面包圈。 来自互联网

130 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

131 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

132 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

133 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

134 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。

135 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

136 effrontery   

n.厚颜无耻

参考例句：

• This is a despicable fraud . Just imagine that he has the effrontery to say it.这是一个可耻的骗局. 他竟然有脸说这样的话。
• One could only gasp at the sheer effrontery of the man.那人十足的厚颜无耻让人们吃惊得无话可说。

137 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。

138 apotheosis   

n.神圣之理想；美化；颂扬

参考例句：

• The legend of king arthur represent the apotheosis of chivalry.亚瑟王的传说代表骑士精神的顶峰。
• The Oriental in Bangkok is the apotheosis of the grand hotel.曼谷的东方饭店是豪华饭店的典范。

139 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

140 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

141 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

142 insomniac   

n.失眠症患者

参考例句：

• She's an insomniac ; she only sleeps for two or three hours a night. 她患失眠症，每晚只睡两三个小时。 来自辞典例句
• The insomniac is habitually afflicted with wakefulness at times when he wishes to sleep. 失眠症患者，这种病人在他想睡觉时经常特别清醒。 来自互联网

143 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。

144 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

145 dirge   

n.哀乐，挽歌，庄重悲哀的乐曲

参考例句：

• She threw down her basket and intoned a peasant dirge.她撂下菜篮，唱起庄稼人的哀歌。
• The stranger,after listening for a moment,joined in the mournful dirge.听了一会儿后这个陌生人也跟著唱起了悲哀的挽歌。

146 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》

147 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

148 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

149 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。

150 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

151 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。

152 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

153 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

154 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

155 shredding   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的现在分词 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Like the Tehran experience, the shredding may be all for naught. 如同德黑兰事件中的情况一样，切碎文件可能是徒劳的。 来自时文部分
• How shredding began is subject to some guesswork. 粉碎处理行业的起源是个有争议的问题。 来自时文部分

156 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

157 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

158 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

159 whooping   

发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的

参考例句：

• Whooping cough is very prevalent just now. 百日咳正在广泛流行。
• Have you had your child vaccinated against whooping cough? 你给你的孩子打过百日咳疫苗了吗？

160 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

161 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

162 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

163 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

164 poncho   

n.斗篷，雨衣

参考例句：

• He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠，把身子再蜷拢点儿，往雨披里缩了缩。
• The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。

165 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

166 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。

167 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

168 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》

169 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

170 tingle   

vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动

参考例句：

• The music made my blood tingle.那音乐使我热血沸腾。
• The cold caused a tingle in my fingers.严寒使我的手指有刺痛感。

171 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

172 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

173 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

174 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

175 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

176 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

177 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

178 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

179 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

180 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》

181 coaxed   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱

参考例句：

• She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
• I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

182 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

183 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

184 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

185 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

186 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

187 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

188 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。

189 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。