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BUG EYES
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They pulled her to the shore and out of the water, haulingher to the flying machine.
Tally1’s lungs felt full of water and smoke. She couldhardly take a breath without a wracking cough shaking herwhole body.
“Put her down!”
“Where the hell did she come from?”
“Give her some oh-two.”
They flopped2 Tally onto her back on the ground, whichwas thick with the white foam3. The one who’d carried herpulled off his bug-eyed mask, and Tally blinked.
He was a pretty. A new pretty, every bit as beautiful asPeris.
The man plunged4 the mask over her face. Tally foughtweakly for a moment, but then cold, pure air surged intoher lungs. Her head grew light as she gratefully sucked itdown.
He pulled the mask off. “Not too much. You’ll hyperventilate.”
She tried to speak but could only cough.
“It’s getting bad,” another figure said. “Jenks wants totake her back up.”
“Jenks can wait.”
Tally cleared her throat. “My board.”
The man smiled beautifully and glanced up. “It’sheaded over. Hey! Somebody stick that thing to the chopper!
What’s your name, kid?”
“Tally.” Cough.
“Well, Tally, are you ready to move? The fire won’t wait.”
She cleared her throat and coughed again. “I guess so.”
“Okay, come on.” The man helped her up and pulledher toward the machine. She found herself pushed inside,where the noise was much less, crowded into the back withthree others in bug-eyed masks. A door slammed shut.
The machine rumbled5, and then Tally felt it lift fromthe ground. “My board!”
“Relax, kid. We got it.” The woman pulled her mask off.
She was another young pretty.
Tally wondered if these were the people in the clue.
The “fire-bug eyes.” Was she supposed to be looking forthem?
“Is she going to make it?” a voice popped through thecabin.
“She’ll live, Jenks. Make the usual detour6, and work thefire a little on the way home.”
Tally looked down as the machine climbed. Their flightUGLIES 179followed the course of the river, and she saw the firesspreading across to the other shore, driven by the wind ofits passage. Occasionally, the craft would shoot out a goutof flame.
She looked at the faces of the crew. For new pretties,they seemed so determined7, so focused on their task. Buttheir actions were madness. “What are you guys doing?”
she said.
“A little burning.”
“I can see that. But why?”
“To save the world, kid. But hey, we’re real sorry aboutyour getting in the way.”
They called themselves rangers9.
The one who’d pulled her from the river was calledTonk. They all spoke10 with an accent, and came from a cityTally had never heard of.
“It’s not too far from here,” Tonk said. “But we rangersspend most of our time out in the wild. The fire helicoptersare based in the mountains.”
“The fire whats?”
“Helicopters. That’s what you’re sitting in.”
She looked around at the rattling11 machine, and shoutedover the noise, “It’s so Rusty12!”
“Yeah. Vintage stuff, a few pieces of it are almost twohundred years old. We copy the parts as they wear out.”
“But why?”
180 Scott Westerfeld“You can fly it anywhere, with or without a magneticgrid. And it’s the perfect thing for spreading fires. TheRusties sure knew how to make a mess.”
Tally shook her head. “And you spread fires because . . .”
He smiled and lifted one of her shoes, pulling a crushedbut unburned flower from the sole. “Because of phragmipediumpanthera,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“This flower used to be one of the rarest plants in theworld. A white tiger orchid13. In Rusty days, a single bulbwas worth more than a house.”
“A house? But there’s zillions of them.”
“You noticed?” He held up the flower, staring into itsdelicate mouth. “About three hundred years ago, someRusty figured a way to engineer the species to adapt towider conditions. She messed with the genes14 to make thempropagate more easily.”
“Why?”
“The usual. To trade them for lots of stuff. But she succeededa little too well. Look down.”
Tally peered out the window. The machine had gainedaltitude and left the firestorm behind. Below were endlessfields of white, interrupted only by a few barren patches.
“Looks like she did a good job. So what? They’re nice.”
“One of the most beautiful plants in the world. But toosuccessful. They turned into the ultimate weed. What wecall a monoculture. They crowd out every other species,UGLIES 181choke trees and grass, and nothing eats them except onespecies of hummingbird15, which feeds on their nectar. Butthe hummingbirds16 nest in trees.”
“There aren’t any trees down there,” Tally said. “Just theorchids.”
“Exactly. That’s what monoculture means: Everythingthe same. After enough orchids17 build up in an area, therearen’t enough hummingbirds to pollinate them. You know,to spread the seeds.”
“Yeah,” Tally said. “I know about the birds and the bees.”
“Sure you do, kid. So the orchids eventually die out,victims of their own success, leaving a wasteland behind.
Biological zero. We rangers try to keep them from spreading.
We’ve tried poison, engineered diseases, predators18 totarget the hummingbirds . . . but fire is the only thing thatreally works.” He turned the orchid over in his hand andheld up a firestarter, letting the flame lick into its mouth.
“Have to be careful, you know?”
Tally noticed the other rangers were cleaning theirboots and uniforms, searching for any trace of the flowersamong the mud and foam. She looked down at the endlesswhite. “And you’ve been doing this for . . .”
“Almost three hundred years. The Rusties started thejob, after they figured out what they’d done. But we’ll neverwin. All we can hope to do is contain the weed.”
Tally sat back, shaking her head, coughing once more.
The flowers were so beautiful, so delicate and unthreaten-182 Scott Westerfelding, but they choked everything around them.
The ranger8 leaned forward, handing her his canteen.
She took it and drank gratefully.
“You’re headed to the Smoke, aren’t you?”
Tally swallowed some water the wrong way and sputtered19.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Come on. An ugly waiting around in the flowers witha hoverboard and a survival kit20?”
“Oh, yeah.” Tally remembered the clue: “Look in theflowers for fire-bug eyes.” They must have seen ugliesbefore.
“We help the Smokies out, and they help us out,” Tonksaid. “They’re crazy, if you ask me—living rough and stayingugly. But they know more about the wild than most citypretties. It’s kind of admirable, really.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I guess so.”
He frowned. “You guess so? But you’re headed there.
Aren’t you sure?”
Tally realized that this was where the lies started. Shecould hardly tell the rangers the truth: that she was a spy,an infiltrator21. “Of course I’m sure.”
“Well, we’ll be setting you down soon.”
“In the Smoke?”
He frowned again. “Don’t you know? The location’s a bigsecret. Smokies don’t trust pretties. Not even us rangers. We’lltake you to the usual spot, and you know the rest, right?”
She nodded. “Sure. Just testing you.”
UGLIES 183F F FThe helicopter landed in a swirl22 of dust, the white flowersbending in a wide circle around the touchdown spot.
“Thanks for the ride,” Tally said.
“Good luck,” Tonk said. “Hope you like the Smoke.”
“Me too.”
“But if you change your mind, Tally, we’re always lookingfor volunteers in the rangers.”
Tally frowned. “What’s a volunteer?”
The ranger smiled. “That’s when you pick your own job.”
“Oh, right.” Tally had heard you could do that in somecities. “Maybe. In the meantime, keep up the good work.
Speaking of which, you’re not setting any fires around here,are you?”
The rangers laughed, and Tonk said, “We just work theedges of the infestation23, to keep the flowers from spreading.
This spot is right smack24 in the middle. No hope left.”
Tally looked around. There wasn’t a glimpse of anycolor but white as far as she could see. The sun had set anhour ago, but the orchids glowed like ghosts in the moonlight.
Now that she knew what they were, the sight chilledTally. What had he called it? Biological zero.
“Great.”
She jumped out of the helicopter and yanked her hoverboardfrom the magnetic rack next to the door. She backedaway, careful to crouch25 as the rangers had warned her to.
The machine whined26 back to life, and she peered upward184 Scott Westerfeldinto the shimmering27 disk. Tonk had explained that a pair ofthin blades, spinning so quickly that you couldn’t see them,carried the craft through the air. She wondered if he’d beenkidding. It just looked like a typical force field to her.
The wind grew crazed again as the machine reared up,and she held on to her board tightly, waving until the aircraftdisappeared into the dark sky. She sighed.
Alone again.
Looking around, she wondered how she could find theSmokies in this featureless desert of orchids.
“Then wait on the bald head until it’s light,” was the lastline of Shay’s note. Tally scanned the horizon, and a relievedsmile broke onto her face.
A tall, round hill rose up not far away. It must havebeen one of the places where the engineered flowers hadfirst taken root. The top half of the hill was dying, nothingleft but bare soil, ruined by the orchids.
The cleared area looked just like a bald head.
She reached the bald hilltop in a few hours.
Her hoverboard was useless there, but the hiking waseasy in the new shoes the rangers had given her, her own soburned that they had fallen apart in the helicopter. Tonkhad also filled her purifier with water.
The ride in the helicopter had begun to dry out Tally’sclothing, and the hike had done the rest. Her knapsack hadsurvived the dunking, even the SpagBol remaining dry inUGLIES 185its waterproof28 bag. The only thing lost to the river wasShay’s note, reduced to a soggy wad of paper in her pocket.
But she had almost made it. As she looked out from thehilltop, Tally realized that, except for the burn blisters29 onher hands and feet, some bruises30 on her knees, and a fewlocks of hair that had gone up in smoke, she had prettymuch survived. As long as the Smokies knew where to findher, and believed her story that she was an ugly coming tojoin them, and didn’t figure out that she was actually a spy,then everything was just great.
She waited on the hill, exhausted31 but unable to sleep,wondering if she could really do what Dr. Cable wanted. Thependant around her neck had also survived the ordeal32. Tallydoubted a little water would have ruined the device, but shewouldn’t know until she reached the Smoke and activated33 it.
She hoped for a moment that the pendant wouldn’twork. Maybe one of the bumps along the way had brokenits little eye-reader and it would never send its messageback to Dr. Cable. But that was hardly worth hoping for.
Without the pendant, Tally was stuck out here in the wildforever. Ugly for life.
Her only way home was to betray her friend.

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 flopped e5b342a0b376036c32e5cd7aa560c15e     
v.(指书、戏剧等)彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 );(因疲惫而)猛然坐下;(笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下;砸锅
参考例句:
  • Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽,一屁股坐到椅子上。
  • It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地,出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
4 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
5 rumbled e155775f10a34eef1cb1235a085c6253     
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
参考例句:
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
6 detour blSzz     
n.绕行的路,迂回路;v.迂回,绕道
参考例句:
  • We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走,避开繁忙的交通。
  • He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家,而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。
7 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
8 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
9 rangers f306109e6f069bca5191deb9b03359e2     
护林者( ranger的名词复数 ); 突击队员
参考例句:
  • Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗? 来自超越目标英语 第3册
  • Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者,所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
10 spoke XryyC     
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。
11 rattling 7b0e25ab43c3cc912945aafbb80e7dfd     
adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词
参考例句:
  • This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
  • At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时,一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来,把窗玻璃震得当当地响。
12 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。
13 orchid b02yP     
n.兰花,淡紫色
参考例句:
  • The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
  • There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。
14 genes 01914f8eac35d7e14afa065217edd8c0     
n.基因( gene的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因,所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪
15 hummingbird BcjxW     
n.蜂鸟
参考例句:
  • The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
  • The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。
16 hummingbirds 86894f7ac4de81bc2d81331e9759a43b     
n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
  • Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨?
17 orchids 8f804ec07c1f943ef9230929314bd063     
n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
19 sputtered 96f0fd50429fb7be8aafa0ca161be0b6     
v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 );发劈啪声;喷出;飞溅出
参考例句:
  • The candle sputtered out. 蜡烛噼啪爆响着熄灭了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The balky engine sputtered and stopped. 不听使唤的发动机劈啪作响地停了下来。 来自辞典例句
20 kit D2Rxp     
n.用具包,成套工具;随身携带物
参考例句:
  • The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
  • The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。
21 infiltrator 4001613d852800cfbfa07d2c0ca72812     
n.渗透者,渗入者
参考例句:
  • Infiltrator(#): Careful team, I hear something. 妙手:且慢!似乎有东西正在靠近。 来自互联网
  • Radio: The Infiltrator (#) can open locked doors like this one for the squad. 讯息:妙手的解锁技能一流。 来自互联网
22 swirl cgcyu     
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。
23 infestation infestation     
n.侵扰,蔓延
参考例句:
  • The premises were treated for cockroach infestation.因蟑螂成灾,这些房屋集中进行了灭蟑活动。
  • Parts of California are suffering from an infestation of oriental fruit flies.加利福尼亚的部分地区正遭受东方果蝇的大肆侵袭。
24 smack XEqzV     
vt.拍,打,掴;咂嘴;vi.含有…意味;n.拍
参考例句:
  • She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
  • I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。
25 crouch Oz4xX     
v.蹲伏,蜷缩,低头弯腰;n.蹲伏
参考例句:
  • I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
  • He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。
26 whined cb507de8567f4d63145f632630148984     
v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 );哀诉,诉怨
参考例句:
  • The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句
27 shimmering 0a3bf9e89a4f6639d4583ea76519339e     
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
  • The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句
28 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
参考例句:
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
29 blisters 8df7f04e28aff1a621b60569ee816a0f     
n.水疱( blister的名词复数 );水肿;气泡
参考例句:
  • My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 bruises bruises     
n.瘀伤,伤痕,擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来,摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
31 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
32 ordeal B4Pzs     
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。
33 activated c3905c37f4127686d512a7665206852e     
adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。


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