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LEAVING
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Tally1 left at midnight.
Dr. Cable had demanded that no one be told about hermission, even the dorm minders. It was fine if Peris spreadrumors—no one believed the gossip of new pretties, anyway.
But not even her parents would be officially informedthat Tally had been forced to run away. Except for her littleheart pendant, she was on her own.
She slipped out the usual way, out the window and downbehind the recycler. Her interface2 ring remained on the bedsidetable, and Tally carried nothing but the survival knapsackand Shay’s note. She almost forgot her belly3 sensor4, butclipped it on just before she left. The moon was about half-fulland growing. At least she’d have some light as she traveled.
A special long-range hoverboard was waiting under thedam. It hardly moved when she stepped on. Most boardsgave a little as they adjusted to a rider’s weight, bouncinglike a diving board, but this one was absolutely firm. Shesnapped her fingers, and it rose under her, steady as concreteunder her feet.
“Not bad,” she said, then bit her lip. Since Shay had runaway5 ten days ago, she’d started talking to herself. Thatwasn’t a good sign. She was going to be completely alonefor at least a few days now, and the last thing she neededwas more imaginary conversations.
The board eased forward smoothly6, climbing theembankment to the top of the dam. Once on the river, Tallypushed it faster, leaning forward until the river was a shiningblur beneath her feet. The board didn’t seem to have aspeed governor—no safety warning sounded. Perhaps itsonly limits were the open space in front of her, metal in theground below, and Tally’s feet staying on board.
Speed was everything if she was going to make up forthe last four days in limbo7. If Tally showed up too long afterher birthday, Shay might realize that her operation hadbeen delayed. From there, she might guess that Tally wasn’tan ordinary runaway.
The river passed beneath her faster and faster, and shereached the rapids in record time. Drops of spray stung likehailstones when she hit the first falls, and Tally leaned backto slow herself a bit. Still, she was taking the rapids fasterthan she ever had before.
Tally realized that this hoverboard was no ugly toy. Itwas the real thing. On its front end a half circle of lightsglowed, giving feedback from the board’s metal detector8,which constantly searched ahead to see if there was enoughiron in the ground to stay aloft. The lights stayed on solidly140 Scott Westerfeldas she climbed the rapids, and Tally hoped that Shay wasright about metal deposits being found in every river.
Otherwise, this could be a very long trip.
Of course, at this speed she wouldn’t have time to stopif the lights suddenly went out. Which would make it avery short trip.
But the lights stayed on, and Tally’s nerves weresoothed by the roar of white water, the cold slap of spray inher face, the thrill of bending her body through curve aftercurve in the moon-speckled darkness. The board wassmarter than her old one, learning her moves in a matter ofminutes. It was like graduating from a tricycle to a motorbike:
scary, but thrilling.
Tally wondered if the route to the Smoke had a lot ofrapids to ride. Maybe this really would be an adventure. Ofcourse, at the end of the journey there would only bebetrayal. Or worse, she would discover that Shay’s trust inDavid had been misplaced, which could mean . . . anything.
Probably something horrible.
She shivered, deciding not to think about that possibilityagain.
When Tally reached the turnoff, she slowed and turnedthe board around, taking a last look at the city. It shone brilliantlyin the dark valley, so distant that she could blot9 it outwith one hand. In the clear night air, Tally could make outindividual fireworks unfolding like bright flowers, everythingin perfect miniature. The wild around her seemed soUGLIES 141much larger, the churning river full of power, the foresthuge with the secrets hidden in its black depths.
She allowed herself a long stare at the city lights beforeshe stepped onto shore, wondering when she would see herhome again.
On the trail, Tally wondered how often she’d have to walk.
The trip up the rapids had been the fastest she had everflown, even quicker than the Special Circumstances hovercardodging through city traffic. After that rush of speed,carrying the knapsack and board felt like being turned intoa slug.
But soon enough the Rusty10 Ruins appeared below, andthe board’s metal detector guided Tally to the natural veinof iron. She rode it down toward the crumbling11 towers, hernerves growing jumpy as the ruins rose up to blot outthe half-moon. The broken buildings surrounded her, thescorched and silent cars passing below. Peering through theempty windows made her feel how alone she was, a solitarywanderer in an empty city.
“Take the coaster straight past the gap,” she said aloud,an incantation to keep away any Rusty ghosts. At least thatmuch of the note was crystal clear: The “coaster” had to bethe roller coaster.
When the towering ruins gave way to flatter ground,Tally opened up the hoverboard. Reaching the roller coaster,she took the entire circuit at full speed. Maybe “straight past142 Scott Westerfeldthe gap” was the only important part of the clue, but Tallyhad decided12 to treat the note like a magic spell. Leaving outany part might make the whole thing meaningless.
And it felt good to ride fast and hard again, leaving theghosts of the Rusty Ruins behind. As she whipped aroundtight turns and down steep descents, the world whirlingaround her, Tally felt like something caught in the wind,not knowing which direction the journey would ultimatelytake her.
A few seconds before she took the jump across the gap,the metal-detector lights winked13 out. The board droppedaway, and her stomach seemed to go with it, leaving a hollowfeeling inside. Her suspicion had proved right—at topspeed, there hadn’t been much warning.
Tally flew through the air in the silent darkness, therush of her passage the only sound. She remembered herfirst time across the gap, how angry she’d been. A few dayslater it had turned into a joke between them, typical uglystuff. But now Shay had done it again, disappearing like thetrack below, leaving Tally in free fall.
A count of five later, the lights flickered14 on, and thecrash bracelets15 steadied her as the board reactivated, risingsmoothly up under her feet with reassuring16 solidness. Atthe bottom of the hill the track turned, climbing into asteep corkscrew of turns. But Tally slowed and kept goingahead, murmuring, “straight past the gap.”
The ruins continued under her feet. Out here they wereUGLIES 143almost completely submerged, only a few shapeless massesrising through the grasp of vegetation. But the Rusties hadbuilt solidly, in love with their wasteful17 skeletons of metal.
The lights on the front of her board stayed bright.
“Until you find one that’s long and flat,” Tally said toherself. She had memorized the note backward and forward,but repeating the words hadn’t made their meaningany clearer.
“One what?” was the question. A roller coaster? A gap?
The first would be silly. Where would be the point of a long,flat roller coaster? A long, flat gap? Maybe that woulddescribe a canyon18, complete with a handy river at the bottom.
But how could a canyon be flat?
Maybe “one” meant a one, like the number. Should shebe looking for something that looked like a one? But a onewas just a straight line, anyway, kind of long and flatalready. So was I, the Roman numeral for one, except for thecrossbars on top and bottom. Or the dot on the top if it wasa small i.
“Thanks for the great clue, Shay,” Tally said aloud.
Talking to herself didn’t seem like such a bad idea there in theouter ruins, where the relics19 of the Rusties struggled againstthe grip of creeping plants. Anything was better than ghostlysilence. She passed concrete plains, vast expanses cracked bythrusting grasses. The windows of fallen walls stared up ather, sprouting20 weeds as if the earth had grown eyes.
She scanned the horizon, looking for clues. There was144 Scott Westerfeldnothing long and flat that she could see. Peering down atthe ground passing below, Tally could hardly make out anythingin the weed-choked darkness. She might zoom21 rightpast whatever the clue referred to and not even know it,and have to retrace22 her path in daylight. But how wouldshe know when she’d gone too far? “Thanks, Shay,” sherepeated.
Then she spotted23 something on the ground, andstopped.
Through the shroud24 of weeds and rubble25, geometricalshapes had appeared—a series of rectangles in a line. Shelowered the board and saw that below her was a track withmetal rails and wooden crossbars—like the roller coaster,but much bigger. And it went in a straight line, as far as shecould see.
“Take the coaster straight past the gap, until you findone that’s long and flat.”
This thing was a roller coaster, but long and flat.
“But what’s it for?” she wondered aloud. What fun wasa roller coaster without any turns or climbs?
She shrugged26. However the Rusties got their kicks, thiswas perfect for a hoverboard. The track stretched off in twodirections, but it was easy enough to tell which one to take.
One led back the way she’d come, toward the center of theruins. The other headed outward, northward27 and anglingtoward the sea.
“Cold is the sea,” she quoted from the next line ofUGLIES 145Shay’s note, and wondered how far north she was going.
Tally brought the hoverboard up to speed, pleased thatshe’d found the answer. If all of Shay’s little riddles28 were thiseasy to solve, this whole trip was going to a breeze.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tally Gg1yq     
n.计数器,记分,一致,测量;vt.计算,记录,使一致;vi.计算,记分,一致
参考例句:
  • Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
  • The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。
2 interface e5Wx1     
n.接合部位,分界面;v.(使)互相联系
参考例句:
  • My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
  • This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了,适用范围广。
3 belly QyKzLi     
n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛
参考例句:
  • The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
  • His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。
4 sensor sz7we     
n.传感器,探测设备,感觉器(官)
参考例句:
  • The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
  • He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。
5 runaway jD4y5     
n.逃走的人,逃亡,亡命者;adj.逃亡的,逃走的
参考例句:
  • The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
  • He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
6 smoothly iiUzLG     
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
参考例句:
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
7 limbo Z06xz     
n.地狱的边缘;监狱
参考例句:
  • His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地,进退两难。
  • I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死,感觉自己茫然无措。
8 detector svnxk     
n.发觉者,探测器
参考例句:
  • The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
  • Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。
9 blot wtbzA     
vt.弄脏(用吸墨纸)吸干;n.污点,污渍
参考例句:
  • That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
  • The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。
10 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
11 crumbling Pyaxy     
adj.摇摇欲坠的
参考例句:
  • an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
  • The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。
12 decided lvqzZd     
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。
13 winked af6ada503978fa80fce7e5d109333278     
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一样。
  • He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
14 flickered 93ec527d68268e88777d6ca26683cc82     
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
15 bracelets 58df124ddcdc646ef29c1c5054d8043d     
n.手镯,臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 reassuring vkbzHi     
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的
参考例句:
  • He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
  • With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。
17 wasteful ogdwu     
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的
参考例句:
  • It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
  • Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源,任务已经重新分派。
18 canyon 4TYya     
n.峡谷,溪谷
参考例句:
  • The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
  • The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。
19 relics UkMzSr     
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸
参考例句:
  • The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
  • Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。
20 sprouting c8222ee91acc6d4059c7ab09c0d8d74e     
v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 );抽芽;出现;(使)涌现出
参考例句:
  • new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
  • They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分
21 zoom VenzWT     
n.急速上升;v.突然扩大,急速上升
参考例句:
  • The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
  • I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近,昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。
22 retrace VjUzyj     
v.折回;追溯,探源
参考例句:
  • He retraced his steps to the spot where he'd left the case.他折回到他丢下箱子的地方。
  • You must retrace your steps.你必须折回原来走过的路。
23 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
参考例句:
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
24 shroud OEMya     
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏
参考例句:
  • His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
  • How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下,我该怎么做呢?
25 rubble 8XjxP     
n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后,花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
  • After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。
26 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
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》
27 northward YHexe     
adv.向北;n.北方的地区
参考例句:
  • He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
  • I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。
28 riddles 77f3ceed32609b0d80430e545f553e31     
n.谜(语)( riddle的名词复数 );猜不透的难题,难解之谜
参考例句:
  • Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看,口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句


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