Chapter 93

 My sentinel ears no longer pricked¹ outward to catch warning snap of the telltale twig², turning instead inward to the dull murmur³ of introspection. My sense of touch was disconnected by the cold. My taste buds atrophied⁴. My keen nose, that had but a few days previous run silently ahead gleaning⁵ the shadows for the scent⁶ of danger, now only ran, not at all silently . . . For the hunt was done, the danger past, the demon⁷ defeated ...and what’s left for a nose to keep keen for? “We must learn to accept the change,” I tried to advise us. “We survived the slaughter⁸ of God and all his Heavenly Host quite handily; why, then, should we get so hung up over doing in the devil?” But this advice served not at all to tighten⁹ my low string. Seemed to make it lower, if anything. There was nothing left. I was finished. Hardly caring, I realized at last that here was the thing Old Reliable had warned me to watch out for—the post-duel depression; my revenge against Brother Hank completed, what was left but the trip back East? A dreary¹⁰ journey at best, especially when made alone. How much less dreary, I couldn’t help thinking, the trip would be, were one accompanied by a congenial travel companion—how much more pleasant . . . So, for three days, since our night together, I had put off leaving and hid out in a three-dollar no-bath room, waiting and hoping that this companion would come seeking me. For three days and three nights. But I would wait no longer; my last three dollars were slept up, I badly needed a bath, and I think I had known all along that my hoping was hopeless; deep inside, I sometimes a great notion had known Viv would not come seeking me—I had seen to that—and I couldn’t bring myself to go after her . . . While I might be fearless and all that, what with the devil done in, I still hadn’t reached the point of being able to go out to the devil’s house for no other reason than to ask his wife to come away with me. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets as I approached the hospital, low-strung and wishing that I had either more courage to go with my fearlessness, or a good cowardly excuse for returning to the old house just one more time... Viv washes off her toothbrush and returns it to the rack; and, holding her hair back with one hand, bends to the faucet¹¹ to rinse¹² her mouth out. She brushes with salt, to keep her teeth bright. She washes out the taste and straightens back up and faces her image in the medicine-cabinet mirror. She frowns: what is it? What she sees—or doesn’t see—in the face makes her uncomfortable; it isn’t age; the moist Oregon climate keeps the skin quite young, without cracking and lining¹³. Skinny, but no, it isn’t the lack of flesh, either; she has always liked her rather underfed look. So ...something else . . . that she doesn’t yet understand. She tries to smile at the face. “Say, little girl . . .” she whispers out loud, “how have you been?” But the expression that answers is as abstruse¹⁴ to her as to others who constantly try to plumb¹⁵ its mystery. What is it ...? She can brush with salt to keep the smile gleaming, but she is unable to reach behind the gleam... “Foofawraw,” she says and switches out the bathroom light. “That’s the sort of thinking that leads a girl to drink.” She closes the door behind her and goes downstairs to sit on the arm of Hank’s chair and squeeze his hand tightly while the TV set booms “GO! GO! GO!” “Be half time here in a minute,” Hank says. “What about a egg sandwich or something?” (I was watching the Thanksgiving Day Classic when Viv came in ...Missouri and Oklahoma, still nothing to nothing at the end of the second quarter with less than five minutes to play . . .) “How about turkey-noodle soup instead, honey? I can open a can and heat it?” 666 ken¹⁷ kesey “Fine Anything, I don’t care... just so’s we can finish it during the half. And a beer if we got one.” “Not a sign,” she said. “Didn’t you hang out the beer flag for Stokes?” “Stokes doesn’t deliver any more, remember? Up this far...?” “Okay, okay . . .” (It was past noon and I’d laid in the sack till game time with a heat pad on my lower back, hadn’t had any breakfast and was hungry. Viv got up and slipped off to the kitchen, barely making a sound in her tennis shoes. The house was damn quiet with just the two of us. Even with the TV turned way up, the house was too quiet for my liking¹⁸. That lonely, killing¹⁹ quiet of nobody talking with anybody, of no kids squealing²⁰ and giggling²¹, no Joby coming on with some wild notion, no old Henry helling around...and the little times when Viv and I said something to each other, it seemed like it was quieter than ever. Because we were just talking, not with anybody at all. I hadn’t really noticed the silence till then—I guess I’d been too busy with the funeral and what all to notice—and I hadn’t really started to appreciate what a thorough goddam job the kid had made of it till I got the chance to notice this silence, and to wonder if Viv and me’d ever be able to talk with each other again. Yeah, you had to give the kid credit . . .) Through the heavy glass door of the hospital I pushed, to a welcoming of warm air and the same old Amazon in white reading the same movie magazine. “You must live here,” I remarked, trying to be friendly. “Days, nights, and Thanksgivings.” “Mr. Stamper?” she asked with a good deal of suspicion. She then leaned nervously²² toward me. “You...are you feeling woozy, Mr. Stamper?” “It’s woozy weather,” I reminded her with some hesitation²³. “I mean feelin’ bad?” She rose from her magazine, eyeing me warily²⁴. “I mean I know you been under an enormous strain . . .” “Your sympathy is very much appreciated,” I told her, becoming more puzzled, “but I don’t think I’m going to faint again, if that’s what you’re concerned about.” sometimes a great notion “Faint? Yes ...maybe you can sit down while... I’ll just whisk off an’ fetch the doctor. You wait here, now, hear me ...?” Before I could reply she had whisked off in a cloud of starch²⁵ dust that hung in her wake like exhaust. I stared after her, perplexed²⁶ by her sprinting²⁷ departure. Certainly a change from our last encounter. What scared her? I wondered for a few moments, then concluded it was my new look. “The new presence of black disdain²⁸ in my features . . . that’s what.” I curled my lip coldly. “Threw a bit of fright into the poor drudge²⁹ is what, to come face to chilling face with the Total Absence of Fear...” Then I bent³⁰ to place a quarter in the cigarette machine and, in the mirror, caught sight of the visage that had sent her scurrying—a chiller all right: not quite so much a look of black disdain, I conceded, studying an unkempt, unshaven wastepaper basket of a face that peered back at me with red-rimmed and terror-filled eyes, as a look of bleak³¹ destruction. But a chiller, nevertheless. I was a sight. Along with no bath there had been no mirror in my hotel room and I had not been witness to the decay. It had come with the insidious³² stealth of mildew³³; just as the wallpaper had become tracked overnight with the little delicate footprints of gray blight³⁴, my face had been marked by the passage of neglect. No wonder the Mad Scandinavian had chosen to cower³⁵ behind his bolted door! After three days of cigarettes, private eyes, and mildew, mine was not exactly the face at which anyone—regardless of humor or nationality—would rush forth³⁶ armed only with a fish. The nurse returned with the bulky doctor in tow. Even this archfiend’s filthy- and fat-minded good fellowship was intimidated³⁸ by my appearance: he was unable to think of a single insinuation, he was so overcome. “Good lord, boy, you look just awful!” “Thank you. I cultivated the look especially for the visit. I didn’t want my poor father to think I was ridiculing³⁹ his present condition by showing up looking all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” “I don’t believe you have to worry about what old Henry’s thinking these days,” the doctor said. 668 ken kesey “Pretty bad?” He nodded. “Far too bad to give a hang if anybody’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed or not. You should have come earlier; as it is now, you might be disappointed in his reaction to your— what’d you call it?—‘cultivated look’?” “Perhaps,” I said, noticing that the good doctor was getting his old snide equilibrium⁴⁰ back. “Shall we see?” “Take it easy; you don’t look capable of walking that far.” After a pulse check convinced him I was in no immediate⁴¹ danger, he allowed me to have a look at the shredded⁴² remnants of my illustrious sire. Not a very pleasant experience ...The room smelled of urine; the air was warm and hothouse moist; the bed had side-guards. The old man’s hardened grin had cracked in his baking nightmares, and a thin thread of red ran from his lips down his whiskered chin to his neck, like a lorgnette string attached to a wire-rimmed plaster smile. I stood looking down at him for as long as I was able—I’ve no idea if it was seconds or minutes—while the old fellow clacked and clattered⁴³ against sleep with a bony tongue. One time he went so far as to open a matted eye to look at me and command, “Wag it an’ shake it. Suck yer gut⁴⁴ in an’ git goddammit to affairs!” But ere I could comment, the eye closed, the tongue stopped, and the conversation was terminated. I followed the doctor’s broad backside down the corridor away from the old man’s room, wishing that, just once, just this one time, my father had been more explicit⁴⁵ about these affairs that I had been so long trying to git goddammit to... On the pillowcase before her, Jenny sees a nebulous mouth forming; she has a quick sip⁴⁶ from her glass, wipes her lips on the rough forearm of her sweater, scoops⁴⁷ up the shells, and casts again, very hungry and very tired, but sensing the approach of something too big and too wonderful to risk missing in sleep ...Teddy unlocks the door of the Snag and steps into air set like gelatin with stale smoke and flat beer and wild-cherry toilet disinfectant; it is early, much earlier than he usually opens, and his eyes are puffier than usual from his interrupted sleep, but, like Jenny, he anticipates the approach of something too big to sleep through. sometimes a great notion Unlike Jenny, however, Teddy doesn’t feel that he has had any part in bringing it about; he is only an observer, a spectator—content to just open up the arena⁴⁸ and let other forces and bigger men cast the shells . . . Jonathan Bailey Draeger wakes in his motel in Eugene, checks his watch, and reaches to the desk beside the bed for his notepad. He finds the appointment and reads it again to be sure: well ...he isn’t due at Evenwrite’s to eat for three hours; one hour to get dressed, one to drive over...and one to put off the ordeal⁴⁹ at the Evenwrite household . . . Actually, he isn’t feeling that much distaste for the prospect⁵⁰. Be a nice concluding episode. He lies back against the pillow, holding the notepad in one hand, and, smiling to himself, at the picture Evenwrite’s name summons up, writes: “Status does not automatically generate aspirations⁵¹ to rise, just as food does not necessarily stimulate⁵² hunger ...but a man seeing another in a position superior to his, eating food higher off the hog⁵³, so to speak . . . will go through heaven and hell to sup at the same table with the superior even if he has to provide the hog.” And adds: “Or the turkey.” And Floyd Evenwrite, stepping from the tub, calls to his wife to ask how long it will be before their guest arrives. “Three hours,” she calls back from the kitchen. “Time enough for you to get you some rest before he gets here ...out all night, for goodness’ sakes, what kind of ‘business’ could be so important to keep you out all night?” He doesn’t answer. He pulls on his trousers and shirt and carries his shoes into the living room. “Three hours,” he says aloud, sitting down to wait. “Three by god hours. Time enough for Hank to stand up an’ shake hisself . . .” (Viv came back in with soup and sandwiches and we set up the TV trays to eat off of while we watched the bands and the twirlers parade around; we spoke⁵⁴ about every five minutes, and then it was something like “She’s good, that one in spangles . . .” “Yeah, she is, isn’t she? Real good.” I was just beginning to appreciate what a thorough job the kid had done...) In the doctor’s office once again I took his offered cigarette, 670 ken kesey and this time sat down. I felt myself no longer vulnerable to the scurrilous⁵⁵ comments and cattities. “I warned you”—he grinned—“that you might be a little disappointed.” “Disappointed? With his little phrases of advice and endearment⁵⁶? Doctor, I’m overjoyed. I can recall periods when that statement would have seemed like an hour’s chat.” “That’s funny. You two never talked much? Old Henry always made out he was a great one for talking. Maybe, would you say, you just didn’t care to hear what the old boy was talking about?” “Whatever do you mean, Doctor? My daddy and I might never have said much, but we kept no secrets from each other.” He gave me his most knowing of smiles. “Not even you from him? The tiniest secret?” “Nope.” He leaned back, creaking and wheezing⁵⁷ in the swivel chair, and fixed⁵⁸ his eyes on the past in rotund reverie. “Seems, though, that people were always keeping one thing or another from Henry Stamper,” he recalled. “I’m sure you don’t remember, Leland, but some years ago there was a story circulating around town”—he shot a quick look at me to make sure I did remember—“about Hank and his relationship with a—” “Doctor, we aren’t a nosy⁵⁹ family,” I instructed him. “Our relationships are not always posted on the family bulletin board...” “Still—oh yes, I didn’t mean to imply ...But still, the point I was making is that the whole town was aware of this story— true or not—while old Henry seemed completely ignorant.” I felt myself becoming more and more irritated by the man, less, I think, by his insinuations than I was by his attack on my helpless father. “I’m sure you don’t remember, Doctor,” I said coldly, “that while old Henry quite often seemed completely ignorant, he nevertheless succeeded in besting all the rest of the sharpies in this town in some business deal, time after time after time.” “Oh, you misunderstand . . . I’m not disparaging⁶⁰ your father’s judgment⁶¹ . . .” sometimes a great notion “I know you aren’t, Doctor.” “I was merely—” He halted, flustered⁶², finding me a little harder to intimidate³⁷ than last time. He filled his cheeks to start again, but there was a knock on the door. The nurse opened it to advise him that Boney Stokes was here again. “Tell him to stop in a moment, Miss Mahone. Fine old fellow, Leland; he’s been here, faithful as a clock, ever since— Say...! Boney, come on in a minute...you know young Leland Stamper?” I started to stand to give the old skeleton my chair, but he put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head soulfully. “Don’t get up, son. I’m going right on down to see your poor father. Terrible thing,” he said in a voice dripping grief. “Terrible terrible terrible thing.” The hand held me in the chair as though I were a wedding guest; I muttered a hello, while fighting back the urge to cry out, “Unhand me, graybeard loon⁶³!” Stokes and the doctor spoke a moment about old Henry’s deteriorating⁶⁴ condition, and I tried once more to stand. “Wait, son.” The hand tightened⁶⁵. “Mightn’t you tell me how things are at the house, so I could pass it on, say just perchance Henry should come to for a bit? How is Viv? And Hank? My, you’ve no idea how heartsore I was hearing how the poor boy had lost his closest companion. ‘A good friend gone,’ my daddy used to say, ‘is a shadow across the sun.’ How’s he taking it all?” I told them I hadn’t seen my brother since the day of the accident; they were both openly shocked and disappointed. “But you’ll be seeing him today, won’t you? Thanksgiving Day?” I told them I saw no reason to trouble the poor boy, and that I was planning to leave on the bus to Eugene this afternoon. “Going back East? So soon? My, my . . .” I told the old man I was packed and ready. “My, my is right,” the doctor echoed, and went on to ask, “And what do you imagine you’ll do, Leland...now?” I thought at once of the letters I had sent to Peters, because the skillful emphasis placed on the “Now” at the end of his question made me momentarily think—as I’m sure he hoped it would—that this gossip glutton⁶⁶ knew more than he was saying; 672 ken kesey perhaps he had somehow captured the letters and was onto the whole plot from beginning to end! “What I mean”—the good doctor probed onward⁶⁷, sensing that he was near a nerve—“do you plan to return to college? Or teach, maybe? Or is there a woman...?” “I haven’t exactly made plans,” I answered lamely⁶⁸. They leaned down on me; I stalled for time with an old psychiatrist’s trick. “Why do you ask, Doctor?” “Why? Well, I’m interested, as I told you before . . . in all of my people. Back East to teaching, huh? I suppose is what it will be? English? Drama?” “No, I’m not finished with—” “Ah, then back to school?” I shrugged⁶⁹, feeling more and more like a sophomore⁷⁰ in the dean’s office with his counselor⁷¹. “Perhaps back to school. As I say, I haven’t made any plans. The work here looks like it’s finished . . .” “Yes, looks like. So you say perhaps back to school?” They continued to pin me against the chair, one with his eyes, one with a hand like a pitchfork. “Why do you hesitate?” “I don’t know what I’ll do for the money . . . it’s too late to apply for a grant—” “Say!” the doctor interrupted, snapping his fingers. “You know, don’t you, that that old man in there is just as dead as if he was in the ground?” “Amen, Lord.” Boney nodded. “You realize that, don’t you?” Taken aback by his gratuitously⁷² frank statement, I waited for him to continue, feeling less like a sophomore than like a suspect. When were they going to bring in the spotlights⁷³? “Maybe your father won’t be declared legally dead for a week, or two weeks, who can say? Maybe a month, because he’s stubborn enough. But stubborn or not, Leland, Henry Stamper’s a dead man, you can bet money on it.” “Wait a minute. Are you accusing me of something?” “Accusing you?” He fairly beamed at the idea. “Of what?” “Of having something to do with that accident up—” “Good gosh, no.” He laughed. “You hear that, Boney?” sometimes a great notion They both laughed. “Accusing you, that’s something . . .” I tried a laugh myself, but it came out sounding like Boney’s cough. “All I was saying, son”—he gave Boney a broad wink— “is that, if you’re interested, you come in for about five thousand dollars when he is finally declared dead. Five grand.” “That’s true, very true,” Boney intoned. “I had not thought about that, but it’s true.” “Why is it true? Is there a will?” “No,” Boney said. “A life-insurance policy.” “I happen to know about it, Leland, because I help Boney here—and myself, o’ course; the doctor must have his ‘cut,’ as they say—by directing potential clients to his agency—” “Daddy started it,” Boney informed me proudly. “Nineteenand-ten. Coastal⁷⁵ Life and Accident.” “And some ten years ago Henry Stamper came in here for a physical, not particularly thinking about insurance, and I directed him—” I held up my hand, feeling a little dizzy. “Wait just a moment. Are you asking me to believe that Henry Stamper has been making payments on a policy naming as beneficiary a person he hasn’t seen in twelve years?” “It’s all very true, son . . .” “And didn’t look at a half-dozen times in the twelve years prior to that? A person to whom his last words were ‘suck in yer gut’? Doctor, there is a limit to human credulity . . .” “Say now, there’s your reason,” Boney exclaimed, shaking my shoulder slightly, “for going back to the house. You must get that policy, you see. To return to school.” His enthusiasm brought on a slow, dawning suspicion; “Just why”—I looked up the length of that stick arm—“is it I need a reason to go back to that house?” “And when you see Hank”—the doctor overrode⁷⁶ my question—“tell him we are all . . . thinking of him.” I turned from the stick figure to the lard man. “Why are you all thinking of him?” “Lord, aren’t we all old friends of the family, all of us? Say, I tell you what: My grandkid drove me here. He’s sitting this very minute out in the sitting room. While I’m visiting Henry, the 674 ken kesey grandkid can drive you out in his automobile⁷⁷.” They worked like a team. I was no longer a sophomore, or a wedding guest, but a suspect in the hands of two Kafkaesque interrogators skilled at keeping their victim from getting any idea what he was about. “How ’bout it?” Boney asked. The doctor rose, blowing and wheezing, from his chair to answer for me. “Can’t beat that kind of service, can you?” He circled the desk at me; I felt trapped by the pressure of his juggernaut advance. “Wait a minute, now; what is it with you people?” I demanded, fighting my way to my feet. “What skin is it off your nose whether I see my brother again or not? What is it you are pushing?” They were both genuinely innocent and astounded⁷⁸ by my question. “As a doctor, I merely—” “Say, I tell you what.” Boney’s hand snagged me once more. “When you see Hank you reckon you could tell him—and the wife—that our grocery truck’s gonna be coming out that way again. Tell him we will be more than happy to start up delivery again now that the truck’s making that loop. Tell him to signal what he needs on the flagpole just like always. Would you do that for me?” I finally gave up seeking a reason for their grasping pressure; I just wanted out from under it. I would leave pressure to Hank; he was more accustomed to it. I told Stokes I would give Hank the message, then tried to move toward the door; his old white thorns of fingers hung on and the two of them followed me into the waiting room, reluctant to let me get away now that they had set me moving. “Maybe,” the doctor said, “say, Boney, maybe Hank’d like a turkey for the day. I’d bet money that with the excitement these last few days they didn’t think to buy a turkey.” He fished under his smock for his wallet. “Here, I’ll just pay for a bird for Hank, how’s that?” “That’s a very Christian⁷⁹ gesture,” Boney agreed solemnly. “Don’t you thing it is, son? Thanksgiving dinner without a old roasted gobbler just ain’t Thanksgiving dinner, is it?” I told them I shared their feelings about Thanksgiving exactly sometimes a great notion and again tried to make a break for the glass door, but again that spiny⁸⁰ hand detained me and, moreover, I saw that the pimply⁸¹ Adonis who had stolen the Hershey bar from the café blocked my way. “This is the grandkid,” Boney informed me. “Larkin. Larkin, this is Leland Stamper. You’re going to give him a ride out to the Stamper house while I have my visit out with old Henry.” The grandkid scowled⁸², snuffed, shrugged, and began zipping up his Jimmy Dean jacket, giving no indication that he remembered our previous meeting. “Yes, now that I think about it”—the doctor still toyed with his wallet—“I bet money there’s a lot of people in town would chip in to buy old Hank a Thanksgiving dinner . . .” “We’ll get a basket!” Boney exclaimed. I started to say that I doubted that Hank was in such dire⁷⁴ straits just yet, when I realized that they weren’t offering him the charity because he needed it—“Cranberry preserves, too, son, yams, mincemeat . . . whatever else he needs, you have him just phone me, won’t you? We’ll take care of it.”—but because they needed to offer it. “Larkin, you just drop Mr. Stamper off and hurry right back for me. We got things need attending to...” But needed it for what? was the hanger⁸³. What and why? This overblown offering wasn’t like Les Gibbons’ need to drag the champ down off the throne. Because the champ was already down. So now why all this need to bug⁸⁴ him with their benevolence⁸⁵? And not just these two clowns, but seemingly much of the rest of the town felt the same need. “What is it,” I asked the grandkid as I followed him across the parking lot through the blowing rain, “that they want from my brother, do you know? bestowing⁸⁶ all this bounty⁸⁷ on him. What do they need?” “Who knows?” he replied sullenly⁸⁸, opening the door to the same hotrod that had kicked gravel⁸⁹ in my face a few days before. “Who cares?” he said as he slipped in behind the wheel; and, as I circled the car to the other door I heard him wonder, “Or who gives a big rosy⁹⁰ rat’s ass¹⁶?” Precisely⁹¹, I thought, closing the door behind me; before I gave these other weighty questions the attention they deserve I 676 ken kesey should ask myself if I gave a big rosy rat’s ass about the quaint⁹² and curious needs of the quaint and curious little town of Wakonda-by-the-sea. None whatsoever⁹³. Not any colored ass from any sized rat. Unless, of course, by some chance, some obscure chance, some of the town’s quaint needs happened to correspond in some curious way with my own . . . “Frig.” The grandkid deftly⁹⁴ snapped the car into gear and went screeching⁹⁵ across the puddled parking lot. “I oughta be home inna whirlpool,” he informed me, to keep the subject of candy bars from coming up. “ ‘Stead of runnin’ round gettin’ stiff.” “Absolutely,” I agreed. “We had our last game of the season last night. With the Black Tornadoes⁹⁶ of North Bend. I got a knee racked up the third quarter.” “Is that why it was the last game?” “No, I ain’t but third string. That’s why I oughta be home inna whirlpool, though . . .” “Because you ain’t but third string?” “Naw, because I got my knee racked up. Say, does your brother know we was puttin’ his pitcher⁹⁷ on the blockin’ dummies⁹⁸ for a while?” “I couldn’t say,” I told him, feigning⁹⁹ interest in his sports activities while I tried to formulate¹⁰⁰ some feelings about my own. “But I’ll pass the information on to him when I get to the house ...along with the free turkey and cranberries¹⁰¹.” It shouldn’t be so complicated; I had my reasons for going out to the house: I was going out to try to get an insurance policy—I could tell Hank—and to try to acquire a traveling companion— I could tell Viv ...Now; I should be able to come up with a story to tell myself . . . “Damn right,” the grandkid mused¹⁰², “on the blockin’ dummies an’ the tackling dummy¹⁰³ too. Hank Stamper’s pitcher. Damn right! That was before the Skagit game. We was really choice before that game. We creamed Skagit. We was ahead thirty points in the third quarter, an’ I got to play all the fourth quarter.” “Is that why you got in the game last night?” sometimes a great notion “No,” he said reluctantly, “I got in because we was twenty-six points behind is why. They creamed us, forty-four to fourteen, our only loss of the season since Eugene.” Then he added, almost questioningly, “But North Bend wasn’t that good! They’d of never even touched us if we’d been as choice as with Skagit!” I didn’t comment; I leaned back, planning ahead, thinking that there wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t give myself the same story that I gave Viv. Because I honestly did want her to come away East with me... “No. They wasn’t that tough,” my driver went on to himself. “We was just off, that’s all; I know that’s all there is to the story...” And, listening to him give himself his reasons while I gave myself mine, I began to suspect that there might be a whole lot more to it than either of us knew.... The rain drizzles¹⁰⁴ down. The sand-buggy bumps over the railroad tracks at the end of Main, turning up river. Draeger drives out of the motel yard, looking around for a restaurant where he can have a cup of coffee. Evenwrite sits beside his telephone, smelling of menthol, soap, and, ever so slightly, gasoline. Viv runs water over the empty soup dishes in the kitchen sink. Out the window, only inches above the river, two mergansers fly past wing to wing, flying frantically¹⁰⁵ but barely moving ...as though the current beneath them extended in a force field beyond its own surface, striking them head-on. Their struggle is strange, agonizing¹⁰⁶, and Viv feels her arms ache for them as she watches. She has always been possessed¹⁰⁷ of great empathy for other creatures. Or possessed by it. “But say ...I know about the ducks.” Her reflection is there again. “How do you feel?” Before the dim image in the kitchen window can be expected to respond, a car stops across the way at the landing. A figure steps out and walks toward the dock, cupping his hands to call . . . (When I seen Viv come hightailing out of the kitchen, drying her hands on the apron¹⁰⁸, I knew what she’d seen before I heard him holler. “Somebody at the landing,” she said, going past to the front-door hall. “I’ll go and get him. You aren’t dressed.” 678 ken kesey “Who is it?” I asked her. “Anybody we know?” “I couldn’t tell,” she said. “He was all bundled up and it’s raining hard.” She was out of sight a second, climbing into the big oilskin poncho¹⁰⁹. “But it looked like Joe Ben’s old mackinaw. I’ll be right back, honey . . .” She swung the big door booming shut behind her. I’m glad she said that about the mackinaw, I thought; I’m glad she gives me credit for having some eyes in my wooden head...) Viv answered my call for a boat. I watched her hurry from the house down through the milling dogs, tugging¹¹⁰ a voluminous parka about her head in an effort to keep dry. When she swung the boat in alongside the landing where I waited I saw that she hadn’t had much success. “Your hair is sopping¹¹¹. I’m sorry to get you out in this.” “That’s okay. I was needing to get out of the house anyway.” I stepped into the boat while she steadied it idling against a piling. “Our premature¹¹² spring was short-lived,” I said. “They always are. Where have you been? We’ve been worried.” “At the hotel in town.” She gunned the motor and swung the bow banking¹¹³ into the current. I was grateful to her for not asking why I had spent the last three days in solitary¹¹⁴. “How is Hank? Still under the weather? Is that why you are ferryman today?” “Well, he isn’t too bad. He’s downstairs now, watching the game, but then he’s never so sick but what he can’t watch a football game. I just didn’t think he was up to coming out in the wet. I don’t mind.” “I’m glad you did. I’ve never been much of a swimmer.” I saw her wince¹¹⁵ and tried to cover it over. “Especially with the water so high. You think it’ll flood?” She didn’t answer. She angled the boat slightly when she reached midstream to allow for the current, and concentrated on the navigating¹¹⁶. After a stretch of silence I told her that I had been in to see the old man. “How is he? I haven’t been able to get away ...to see him.” “Not so good. Delirious¹¹⁷. The doctor thinks it’s just a matter of time.” sometimes a great notion “That’s what I heard from Elizabeth Pringle. It’s too bad.” “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty seeing him that way.” “I guess not.” We concentrated again on the boatride. Viv fretted¹¹⁸ at her sopping hair, trying to tuck it into the poncho. “I was surprised to see you,” she said. “I thought you had gone. Back East.” “I plan to. A new semester will be starting soon . . . I’d like to make it.” Without taking her eyes from the water ahead she nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. You should finish your schooling¹¹⁹.” “Yeah . . .” Then more riding; more silence . . . while our hearts screamed for us to stop and say something! “Yeah ...I’m looking forward to showing off my callused hands in various coffee houses in the Village. I’ve some friends who will be astonished to discover the word applies to the physical as well as the spiritual.” “What word is that?” “The word ‘callous.’ ” “Oh, I see.” She smiled. I went on matter-of-factly. “Then too, a cross-country bus trip should be something in the middle of winter. I anticipate snowstorms, hailstorms, perhaps even to be trapped overnight by a blizzard¹²⁰ of terrible magnitude. I can see it clearly: the bus motor idling away, precious fuel used to keep the heater going; a little old lady rationing¹²¹ out her sack of cookies and tuna-fish sandwiches; a Boy Scout¹²² leader keeping the morale¹²³ high by leading us in camp songs. It could be quite a trip, Viv—” “Lee . . .” she said without for an instant diverting her attention from the gray swirl¹²⁴ of water in front of the boat, “I can’t come with you.” “Why?” I couldn’t help asking. “Why can’t you come?” “I just can’t, Lee. There’s nothing else to say.” And we rode on, with nothing else to say, it seemed, except that. We reached the dock and I helped her secure the boat and throw a covering over the motor. We walked in silence, side by side, down the dock, up the slick plank¹²⁵ incline and across the 680 ken kesey yard to the door. Before she opened the door I touched her arm to speak again, but she turned to me, shaking her head no before the words could start. I sighed, surrendering speech, but held on to her arm. “Viv . . . ?”

1 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。

2 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

3 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

4 atrophied   

adj.萎缩的，衰退的v.（使）萎缩，（使）虚脱，（使）衰退( atrophy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Patients exercised their atrophied limbs in the swimming pool. 病人们在泳池里锻炼萎缩的四肢。 来自辞典例句
• Method: Using microwave tissue thermocoaqulation to make chronic tonsillitis coagulated and atrophied. 方法：采用微波热凝方法使慢性扁桃体炎组织凝固、萎缩。 来自互联网

5 gleaning   

n.拾落穗，拾遗，落穗v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的现在分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• At present we're gleaning information from all sources. 目前，我们正从各种渠道收集信息。 来自辞典例句
• His pale gray eyes were gleaning with ferocity and triumph. 他那淡灰色的眼睛里闪着残忍和胜利的光芒。 来自辞典例句

6 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

7 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

8 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

9 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

10 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。

11 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

12 rinse   

v.用清水漂洗，用清水冲洗

参考例句：

• Give the cup a rinse.冲洗一下杯子。
• Don't just rinse the bottles. Wash them out carefully.别只涮涮瓶子，要仔细地洗洗里面。

13 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

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

14 abstruse   

adj.深奥的，难解的

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory of relativity is very abstruse.爱因斯坦的相对论非常难懂。
• The professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.该教授的课程太深奥了，学生们纷纷躲避他的课。

15 plumb   

adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深

参考例句：

• No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
• It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。

16 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

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

17 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.

18 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

19 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。

20 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

21 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

23 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

24 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

25 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

26 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

27 sprinting   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步长和步频是短跑最重要的因素。 来自互联网
• Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在学校运动会上夺得了短跑金牌。 来自互联网

28 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

29 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

30 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。

31 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。

32 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

33 mildew   

n.发霉；v.（使）发霉

参考例句：

• The interior was dark and smelled of mildew.里面光线很暗，霉味扑鼻。
• Mildew may form in this weather.这种天气有可能发霉。

34 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

35 cower   

v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩

参考例句：

• I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.我决不会在任何一位大师面前发抖，也不会为任何恐吓所屈服。
• Will the Chinese cower before difficulties when they are not afraid even of death?中国人死都不怕，还怕困难吗？

36 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。

37 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

38 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

39 ridiculing   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Proxmire has made himself quite a reputation out of ridiculing government expenditure he disagrees with. 普罗克斯迈尔对于他不同意花的政府开支总要取笑一番，他因此而名声大振。 来自辞典例句
• The demonstrators put on skits ridiculing the aggressors. 游行的人上演了活报剧来讽刺侵略者。 来自互联网

40 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

41 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

42 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

43 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

44 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

45 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

46 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

47 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

48 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

49 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

50 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

51 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

52 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

53 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

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

54 spoke   

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

参考例句：

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

55 scurrilous   

adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的

参考例句：

• Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
• She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。

56 endearment   

n.表示亲爱的行为

参考例句：

• This endearment indicated the highest degree of delight in the old cooper.这个称呼是老箍桶匠快乐到了极点的表示。
• To every endearment and attention he continued listless.对于每一种亲爱的表示和每一种的照顾，他一直漫不在意。

57 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》

58 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

59 nosy   

adj.鼻子大的，好管闲事的，爱追问的；n.大鼻者

参考例句：

• Our nosy neighbours are always looking in through our windows.好管闲事的邻居总是从我们的窗口望进来。
• My landlord is so nosy.He comes by twice a month to inspect my apartment.我的房东很烦人，他每个月都要到我公寓视察两次。

60 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

61 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

62 flustered   

adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

63 loon   

n.狂人

参考例句：

• That guy's a real loon.那个人是个真正的疯子。
• Everyone thought he was a loon.每个人都骂他神经。

64 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

65 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

66 glutton   

n.贪食者，好食者

参考例句：

• She's a glutton for work.She stays late every evening.她是个工作狂，每天都很晚才下班。
• He is just a glutton.He is addicted to excessive eating.他就是个老饕，贪吃成性。

67 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

68 lamely   

一瘸一拐地，不完全地

参考例句：

• I replied lamely that I hope to justify his confidence. 我漫不经心地回答说，我希望我能不辜负他对我的信任。
• The wolf leaped lamely back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. 那只狼一跛一跛地跳回去，它因为身体虚弱，一失足摔了一跤。

69 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》

70 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

71 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

72 gratuitously   

平白

参考例句：

• They rebuild their houses for them gratuitously when they are ruined. 如果他们的房屋要坍了，就会有人替他们重盖，不要工资。 来自互联网
• He insulted us gratuitously. 他在毫无理由的情况下侮辱了我们。 来自互联网

73 spotlights   

n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The room was lit by spotlights. 房间被聚光灯照亮。
• The dazzle of the spotlights made him ill at ease. 聚光灯的耀眼强光使他局促不安。 来自辞典例句

74 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。

75 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

76 overrode   

越控( override的过去式 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要

参考例句：

• The chairman overrode the committee's objections and signed the agreement. 主席不顾委员会的反对，径行签署了协议。
• The Congress overrode the President's objection and passed the law. 国会不顾总统的反对，通过了那项法令。

77 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

78 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

79 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。

80 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。

81 pimply   

adj.肿泡的；有疙瘩的；多粉刺的；有丘疹的

参考例句：

• Now, we won't submit to impertinence from these pimply, tipsy virgins. 现在我们决不能忍受这群长着脓包、喝醉了的小兔崽子们的无礼举动。 来自辞典例句
• A head stuck out cautiously-a square, pimply, purplish face with thick eyebrows and round eyes. 车厢里先探出一个头来，紫酱色的一张方脸，浓眉毛，圆眼睛，脸上有许多小疱。 来自互联网

82 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

83 hanger   

n.吊架，吊轴承；挂钩

参考例句：

• I hung my coat up on a hanger.我把外衣挂在挂钩上。
• The ship is fitted with a large helicopter hanger and flight deck.这艘船配备有一个较大的直升飞机悬挂装置和飞行甲板。

84 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。

85 benevolence   

n.慈悲，捐助

参考例句：

• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries.我们对反动派决不施仁政。
• He did it out of pure benevolence. 他做那件事完全出于善意。

86 bestowing   

砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖

参考例句：

• Apollo, you see, is bestowing the razor on the Triptolemus of our craft. 你瞧，阿波罗正在把剃刀赠给我们这项手艺的特里泼托勒默斯。
• What thanks do we not owe to Heaven for thus bestowing tranquillity, health and competence! 我们要谢谢上苍，赐我们的安乐、健康和饱暖。

87 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

88 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

89 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

90 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

91 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

92 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

93 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

94 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

95 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

96 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

97 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。

98 dummies   

n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 )；橡皮奶头；笨蛋；假传球

参考例句：

• If he dummies up, just try a little persuasion. 如果他不说话，稍微劝劝他就是了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All the articles in the window are dummies. 橱窗里的全部物品都是仿制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

99 feigning   

假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等）

参考例句：

• He survived the massacre by feigning death. 他装死才在大屠杀中死里逃生。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。

100 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

101 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

102 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

103 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

104 drizzles   

蒙蒙细雨，毛毛雨( drizzle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• "Grain lain" day-bringing gentle drizzles-was not far off. “谷雨”节一天近一天了。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
• It drizzles sometimes, moistening the thirsty fields lightly and selflessly. 它大多是毛毛细雨，轻柔而又无私地滋润着干涸的大地。

105 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。

106 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

107 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

108 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

109 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。

110 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

111 sopping   

adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• We are sopping with rain. 我们被雨淋湿了。
• His hair under his straw hat was sopping wet. 隔着草帽，他的头发已经全湿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

112 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

113 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

114 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

115 wince   

n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• His smile soon modified to a wince.他的微笑很快就成了脸部肌肉的抽搐。

116 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

117 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

118 fretted   

焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的

参考例句：

• The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学
• The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

119 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

120 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

121 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

122 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

123 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

124 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。

125 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

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