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Chapter 12
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This chapter is dedicated1 to Forbidden Planet, the British chain of sci-ence fiction and fantasy books, comics, toys and videos. Forbidden Plan-et has stores up and down the UK, and also sports outposts in Manhat-tan and Dublin, Ireland. It's dangerous to set foot in a Forbidden Planet— rarely do I escape with my wallet intact. Forbidden Planet reallyleads the pack in bringing the gigantic audience for TV and movie sci-ence fiction into contact with science fiction books — something that'sabsolutely critical to the future of the field.
Forbidden Planet, UK, Dublin and New York CityMs Galvez's smile was wide.
"Does anyone know what that comes from?"A bunch of people chorused, "The Declaration of Independence."I nodded.
"Why did you read that to us, Marcus?""Because it seems to me that the founders2 of this country said that gov-ernments should only last for so long as we believe that they're workingfor us, and if we stop believing in them, we should overthrow3 them.
That's what it says, right?"Charles shook his head. "That was hundreds of years ago!" he said.
"Things are different now!""What's different?""Well, for one thing, we don't have a king anymore. They were talkingabout a government that existed because some old jerk's great-great-great-grandfather believed that God put him in charge and killed every-one who disagreed with him. We have a democratically electedgovernment —""I didn't vote for them," I said.
154"So that gives you the right to blow up a building?""What? Who said anything about blowing up a building? The Yippiesand hippies and all those people believed that the government no longerlistened to them — look at the way people who tried to sign up voters inthe South were treated! They were beaten up, arrested —""Some of them were killed," Ms Galvez said. She held up her handsand waited for Charles and me to sit down. "We're almost out of time fortoday, but I want to commend you all on one of the most interestingclasses I've ever taught. This has been an excellent discussion and I'velearned much from you all. I hope you've learned from each other, too.
Thank you all for your contributions.
"I have an extra-credit assignment for those of you who want a littlechallenge. I'd like you to write up a paper comparing the political re-sponse to the anti-war and civil rights movements in the Bay Area to thepresent day civil rights responses to the War on Terror. Three pages min-imum, but take as long as you'd like. I'm interested to see what you comeup with."The bell rang a moment later and everyone filed out of the class. Ihung back and waited for Ms Galvez to notice me.
"Yes, Marcus?""That was amazing," I said. "I never knew all that stuff about thesixties.""The seventies, too. This place has always been an exciting place to livein politically charged times. I really liked your reference to the Declara-tion — that was very clever.""Thanks," I said. "It just came to me. I never really appreciated whatthose words all meant before today.""Well, those are the words every teacher loves to hear, Marcus," shesaid, and shook my hand. "I can't wait to read your paper."I bought the Emma Goldman poster on the way home and stuck it upover my desk, tacked4 over a vintage black-light poster. I also bought aNEVER TRUST t-shirt that had a photoshop of Grover and Elmo kickingthe grownups Gordon and Susan off Sesame Street. It made me laugh. Ilater found out that there had already been about six photoshop contestsfor the slogan online in places like Fark and Worth1000 and B3ta andthere were hundreds of ready-made pics floating around to go onwhatever merch someone churned out.
155Mom raised an eyebrow5 at the shirt, and Dad shook his head and lec-tured me about not looking for trouble. I felt a little vindicated6 by hisreaction.
Ange found me online again and we IM-flirted until late at nightagain. The white van with the antennas7 came back and I switched off myXbox until it had passed. We'd all gotten used to doing that.
Ange was really excited by this party. It looked like it was going to bemonster. There were so many bands signed up they were talking aboutsetting up a B-stage for the secondary acts.
>
How'd they get a permit to blast sound all night in that park? There'shouses all around there>
Per-mit? What is "per-mit"? Tell me more of your hu-man per-mit.
>
Woah, it's illegal?
>
Um, hello? You're worried about breaking the law?
>
Fair point>
LOLI felt a little premonition of nervousness though. I mean, I was takingthis perfectly8 awesome9 girl out on a date that weekend — well, she wastaking me, technically10 — to an illegal rave11 being held in the middle of abusy neighborhood.
It was bound to be interesting at least.
Interesting.
People started to drift into Dolores Park through the long Saturday af-ternoon, showing up among the ultimate frisbee12 players and the dog-walkers. Some of them played frisbee or walked dogs. It wasn't reallyclear how the concert was going to work, but there were a lot of cops andundercovers hanging around. You could tell the undercovers because,like Zit and Booger, they had Castro haircuts and Nebraska physiques:
tubby guys with short hair and untidy mustaches. They drifted around,156looking awkward and uncomfortable in their giant shorts and loose-fit-ting shirts that no-doubt hung down to cover the chandelier of gearhung around their midriffs.
Dolores Park is pretty and sunny, with palm trees, tennis courts, andlots of hills and regular trees to run around on, or hang out on. Homelesspeople sleep there at night, but that's true everywhere in San Francisco.
I met Ange down the street, at the anarchist13 bookstore. That had beenmy suggestion. In hindsight, it was a totally transparent14 move to seemcool and edgy15 to this girl, but at the time I would have sworn that Ipicked it because it was a convenient place to meet up. She was readinga book called Up Against the Wall Motherfucker when I got there.
"Nice," I said. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?""Your mama don't complain," she said. "Actually, it's a history of agroup of people like the Yippies, but from New York. They all used thatword as their last names, like 'Ben M-F.' The idea was to have a groupout there, making news, but with a totally unprintable name. Just toscrew around with the news-media. Pretty funny, really." She put thebook back on the shelf and now I wondered if I should hug her. Peoplein California hug to say hello and goodbye all the time. Except whenthey don't. And sometimes they kiss on the cheek. It's all very confusing.
She settled it for me by grabbing me in a hug and tugging16 my headdown to her, kissing me hard on the cheek, then blowing a fart on myneck. I laughed and pushed her away.
"You want a burrito?" I asked.
"Is that a question or a statement of the obvious?""Neither. It's an order."I bought some funny stickers that said THIS PHONE IS TAPPEDwhich were the right size to put on the receivers on the pay phones thatstill lined the streets of the Mission, it being the kind of neighborhoodwhere you got people who couldn't necessarily afford a cellphone.
We walked out into the night air. I told Ange about the scene at thepark when I left.
"I bet they have a hundred of those trucks parked around the block,"she said. "The better to bust17 you with.""Um." I looked around. "I sort of hoped that you would say somethinglike, 'Aw, there's no chance they'll do anything about it.'"157"I don't think that's really the idea. The idea is to put a lot of civiliansin a position where the cops have to decide, are we going to treat theseordinary people like terrorists? It's a little like the jamming, but with mu-sic instead of gadgets18. You jam, right?"Sometimes I forget that all my friends don't know that Marcus andM1k3y are the same person. "Yeah, a little," I said.
"This is like jamming with a bunch of awesome bands.""I see."Mission burritos are an institution. They are cheap, giant and deli-cious. Imagine a tube the size of a bazooka shell, filled with spicy19 grilledmeat, guacamole, salsa, tomatoes, refried beans, rice, onions and cilantro.
It has the same relationship to Taco Bell that a Lamborghini has to a HotWheels car.
There are about two hundred Mission burrito joints20. They're all heroic-ally ugly, with uncomfortable seats, minimal21 decor — faded Mexicantourist office posters and electrified22 framed Jesus and Mary holograms— and loud mariachi music. The thing that distinguishes them, mostly,is what kind of exotic meat they fill their wares23 with. The really authenticplaces have brains and tongue, which I never order, but it's nice to knowit's there.
The place we went to had both brains and tongue, which we didn't or-der. I got carne asada and she got shredded24 chicken and we each got abig cup of horchata.
As soon as we sat down, she unrolled her burrito and took a littlebottle out of her purse. It was a little stainless-steel aerosol25 canister thatlooked for all the world like a pepper-spray self-defense unit. She aimedit at her burrito's exposed guts26 and misted them with a fine red oilyspray. I caught a whiff of it and my throat closed and my eyes watered.
"What the hell are you doing to that poor, defenseless burrito?"She gave me a wicked smile. "I'm a spicy food addict," she said. "Thisis capsaicin oil in a mister.""Capsaicin —""Yeah, the stuff in pepper spray. This is like pepper spray but slightlymore dilute27. And way more delicious. Think of it as Spicy Cajun Visine ifit helps."My eyes burned just thinking of it.
"You're kidding," I said. "You are so not going to eat that."158Her eyebrows28 shot up. "That sounds like a challenge, sonny. You justwatch me."She rolled the burrito up as carefully as a stoner rolling up a joint,tucking the ends in, then re-wrapping it in tinfoil29. She peeled off one endand brought it up to her mouth, poised30 with it just before her lips.
Right up to the time she bit into it, I couldn't believe that she was go-ing to do it. I mean, that was basically an anti-personnel weapon she'djust slathered on her dinner.
She bit into it. Chewed. Swallowed. Gave every impression of having adelicious dinner.
"Want a bite?" she said, innocently.
"Yeah," I said. I like spicy food. I always order the curries31 with fourchilies next to them on the menu at the Pakistani places.
I peeled back more foil and took a big bite.
Big mistake.
You know that feeling you get when you take a big bite of horseradishor wasabi or whatever, and it feels like your sinuses are closing at thesame time as your windpipe, filling your head with trapped, nuclear-hotair that tries to batter32 its way out through your watering eyes and nos-trils? That feeling like steam is about to pour out of your ears like a car-toon character?
This was a lot worse.
This was like putting your hand on a hot stove, only it's not yourhand, it's the entire inside of your head, and your esophagus all the waydown to your stomach. My entire body sprang out in a sweat and Ichoked and choked.
Wordlessly, she passed me my horchata and I managed to get thestraw into my mouth and suck hard on it, gulping33 down half of it in onego.
"So there's a scale, the Scoville scale, that we chili-fanciers use to talkabout how spicy a pepper is. Pure capsaicin is about 15 million Scovilles.
Tabasco is about 2,500. Pepper spray is a healthy three million. This stuffis a puny34 100,000, about as hot as a mild Scotch35 Bonnet36 Pepper. I workedup to it in about a year. Some of the real hardcore can get up to a halfmillion or so, two hundred times hotter than Tabasco. That's prettyfreaking hot. At Scoville temperatures like that, your brain gets totally159awash in endorphins. It's a better body-stone than hash. And it's goodfor you."I was getting my sinuses back now, able to breathe without gasping38.
"Of course, you get a ferocious39 ring of fire when you go to the john,"she said, winking40 at me.
Yowch.
"You are insane," I said.
"Fine talk from a man whose hobby is building and smashing laptops,"she said.
"Touche," I said and touched my forehead.
"Want some?" She held out her mister.
"Pass," I said, quickly enough that we both laughed.
When we left the restaurant and headed for Dolores park, she put herarm around my waist and I found that she was just the right height forme to put my arm around her shoulders. That was new. I'd never been atall guy, and the girls I'd dated had all been my height — teenaged girlsgrow faster than guys, which is a cruel trick of nature. It was nice. It feltnice.
We turned the corner on 20th Street and walked up toward Dolores.
Before we'd taken a single step, we could feel the buzz. It was like thehum of a million bees. There were lots of people streaming toward thepark, and when I looked toward it, I saw that it was about a hundredtimes more crowded than it had been when I went to meet Ange.
That sight made my blood run hot. It was a beautiful cool night andwe were about to party, really party, party like there was no tomorrow.
"Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."Without saying anything we both broke into a trot41. There were lots ofcops, with tense faces, but what the hell were they going to do? Therewere a lot of people in the park. I'm not so good at counting crowds. Thepapers later quoted organizers as saying there were 20,000 people; thecops said 5,000. Maybe that means there were 12,500.
Whatever. It was more people than I'd ever stood among, as part of anunscheduled, unsanctioned, illegal event.
We were among them in an instant. I can't swear to it, but I don't thinkthere was anyone over 25 in that press of bodies. Everyone was smiling.
Some young kids were there, 10 or 12, and that made me feel better. Noone would do anything too stupid with kids that little in the crowd. No160one wanted to see little kids get hurt. This was just going to be a gloriousspring night of celebration.
I figured the thing to do was push in towards the tennis courts. Wethreaded our way through the crowd, and to stay together we took eachother's hands. Only staying together didn't require us to intertwine fin-gers. That was strictly42 for pleasure. It was very pleasurable.
The bands were all inside the tennis courts, with their guitars and mix-ers and keyboards and even a drum kit43. Later, on Xnet, I found a Flickrstream of them smuggling44 all this stuff in, piece by piece, in gym bagsand under their coats. Along with it all were huge speakers, the kind yousee in automotive supply places, and among them, a stack of… car bat-teries. I laughed. Genius! That was how they were going to power theirstacks. From where I stood, I could see that they were cells from a hybridcar, a Prius. Someone had gutted45 an eco-mobile to power the night's en-tertainment. The batteries continued outside the courts, stacked upagainst the fence, tethered to the main stack by wires threaded throughthe chain-link. I counted — 200 batteries! Christ! Those things weighed aton, too.
There's no way they organized this without email and wikis and mail-ing lists. And there's no way people this smart would have done that onthe public Internet. This had all taken place on the Xnet, I'd bet my bootson it.
We just kind of bounced around in the crowd for a while as the bandstuned up and conferred with one another. I saw Trudy Doo from a dis-tance, in the tennis courts. She looked like she was in a cage, like a prowrestler. She was wearing a torn wife-beater and her hair was in long,fluorescent pink dreads46 down to her waist. She was wearing army cam-ouflage pants and giant gothy boots with steel over-toes. As I watched,she picked up a heavy motorcycle jacket, worn as a catcher's mitt47, andput it on like armor. It probably was armor, I realized.
I tried to wave to her, to impress Ange I guess, but she didn't see meand I kind of looked like a spazz so I stopped. The energy in the crowdwas amazing. You hear people talk about "vibes" and "energy" for biggroups of people, but until you've experienced it, you probably think it'sjust a figure of speech.
It's not. It's the smiles, infectious and big as watermelons, on everyface. Everyone bopping a little to an unheard rhythm, shoulders rocking.
Rolling walks. Jokes and laughs. The tone of every voice tight and161excited, like a firework about to go off. And you can't help but be a partof it. Because you are.
By the time the bands kicked off, I was utterly48 stoned on crowd-vibe.
The opening act was some kind of Serbian turbo-folk, which I couldn'tfigure out how to dance to. I know how to dance to exactly two kinds ofmusic: trance (shuffle around and let the music move you) and punk(bash around and mosh until you get hurt or exhausted49 or both). Thenext act was Oakland hip-hoppers, backed by a thrash metal band,which is better than it sounds. Then some bubble-gum pop. Then Speed-whores took the stage, and Trudy Doo stepped up to the mic.
"My name is Trudy Doo and you're an idiot if you trust me. I'm thirtytwo and it's too late for me. I'm lost. I'm stuck in the old way of thinking.
I still take my freedom for granted and let other people take it away fromme. You're the first generation to grow up in Gulag America, and youknow what your freedom is worth to the last goddamned cent!"The crowd roared. She was playing fast little skittery nervous chordson her guitar and her bass50 player, a huge fat girl with a dykey51 haircutand even bigger boots and a smile you could open beer bottles with waslaying it down fast and hard already. I wanted to bounce. I bounced.
Ange bounced with me. We were sweating freely in the evening, whichreeked of perspiration52 and pot smoke. Warm bodies crushed in on allsides of us. They bounced too.
"Don't trust anyone over 25!" she shouted.
We roared. We were one big animal throat, roaring.
"Don't trust anyone over 25!""Don't trust anyone over 25!""Don't trust anyone over 25!""Don't trust anyone over 25!""Don't trust anyone over 25!""Don't trust anyone over 25!"She banged some hard chords on her guitar and the other guitarist, alittle pixie of a girl whose face bristled53 with piercings, jammed in, goingwheedle-dee-wheedle-dee-dee up high, past the twelfth fret54.
"It's our goddamned city! It's our goddamned country. No terrorist cantake it from us for so long as we're free. Once we're not free, the terroristswin! Take it back! Take it back! You're young enough and stupid enough162not to know that you can't possibly win, so you're the only ones who canlead us to victory! Take it back!""TAKE IT BACK!" we roared. She jammed down hard on her guitar.
We roared the note back and then it got really really LOUD.
I danced until I was so tired I couldn't dance another step. Angedanced alongside of me. Technically, we were rubbing our sweaty bod-ies against each other for several hours, but believe it or not, I totallywasn't being a horn-dog about it. We were dancing, lost in the godbeatand the thrash and the screaming — TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK!
When I couldn't dance anymore, I grabbed her hand and she squeezedmine like I was keeping her from falling off a building. She dragged metoward the edge of the crowd, where it got thinner and cooler. Out there,on the edge of Dolores Park, we were in the cool air and the sweat on ourbodies went instantly icy. We shivered and she threw her arms aroundmy waist. "Warm me," she commanded. I didn't need a hint. I huggedher back. Her heart was an echo of the fast beats from the stage — break-beats now, fast and furious and wordless.
She smelled of sweat, a sharp tang that smelled great. I knew I smelledof sweat too. My nose was pointed55 into the top of her head, and her facewas right at my collarbone. She moved her hands to my neck andtugged.
"Get down here, I didn't bring a stepladder," is what she said and Itried to smile, but it's hard to smile when you're kissing.
Like I said, I'd kissed three girls in my life. Two of them had neverkissed anyone before. One had been dating since she was 12. She hadissues.
None of them kissed like Ange. She made her whole mouth soft, likethe inside of a ripe piece of fruit, and she didn't jam her tongue in mymouth, but slid it in there, and sucked my lips into her mouth at thesame time, so it was like my mouth and hers were merging56. I heard my-self moan and I grabbed her and squeezed her harder.
Slowly, gently, we lowered ourselves to the grass. We lay on our sidesand clutched each other, kissing and kissing. The world disappeared sothere was only the kiss.
My hands found her butt57, her waist. The edge of her t-shirt. Her warmtummy, her soft navel. They inched higher. She moaned too.
163"Not here," she said. "Let's move over there." She pointed across thestreet at the big white church that gives Mission Dolores Park and theMission its name. Holding hands, moving quickly, we crossed to thechurch. It had big pillars in front of it. She put my back up against one ofthem and pulled my face down her hers again. My hands went quicklyand boldly back to her shirt. I slipped them up her front.
"It undoes58 in the back," she whispered into my mouth. I had a bonerthat could cut glass. I moved my hands around to her back, which wasstrong and broad, and found the hook with my fingers, which weretrembling. I fumbled59 for a while, thinking of all those jokes about howbad guys are at undoing60 bras. I was bad at it. Then the hook sprang free.
She gasped61 into my mouth. I slipped my hands around, feeling the wet-ness of her armpits — which was sexy and not at all gross for some reas-on — and then brushed the sides of her breasts.
That's when the sirens started.
They were louder than anything I'd ever heard. A sound like a physic-al sensation, like something blowing you off your feet. A sound as loudas your ears could process, and then louder.
"DISPERSE62 IMMEDIATELY," a voice said, like God rattling63 in myskull.
"THIS IS AN ILLEGAL GATHERING64. DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY."The band had stopped playing. The noise of the crowd across thestreet changed. It got scared. Angry.
I heard a click as the PA system of car-speakers and car-batteries in thetennis courts powered up.
"TAKE IT BACK!"It was a defiant65 yell, like a sound shouted into the surf or screamed offa cliff.
"TAKE IT BACK!"The crowd growled66, a sound that made the hairs on the back of myneck stand up.
"TAKE IT BACK!" they chanted. "TAKE IT BACK TAKE IT BACKTAKE IT BACK!"The police moved in in lines, carrying plastic shields, wearing DarthVader helmets that covered their faces. Each one had a black truncheonand infra-red goggles67. They looked like soldiers out of some futuristicwar movie. They took a step forward in unison68 and every one of them164banged his truncheon on his shield, a cracking noise like the earth split-ting. Another step, another crack. They were all around the park andclosing in now.
"DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY," the voice of God said again. There werehelicopters overhead now. No floodlights, though. The infrared69 goggles,right. Of course. They'd have infrared scopes in the sky, too. I pulledAnge back against the doorway70 of the church, tucking us back from thecops and the choppers.
"TAKE IT BACK!" the PA roared. It was Trudy Doo's rebel yell and Iheard her guitar thrash out some chords, then her drummer playing,then that big deep bass.
"TAKE IT BACK!" the crowd answered, and they boiled out of thepark at the police lines.
I've never been in a war, but now I think I know what it must be like.
What it must be like when scared kids charge across a field at an oppos-ing force, knowing what's coming, running anyway, screaming,hollering.
"DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY," the voice of God said. It was comingfrom trucks parked all around the park, trucks that had swung into placein the last few seconds.
That's when the mist fell. It came out of the choppers, and we justcaught the edge of it. It made the top of my head feel like it was going tocome off. It made my sinuses feel like they were being punctured71 withice-picks. It made my eyes swell72 and water, and my throat close.
Pepper spray. Not 100 thousand Scovilles. A million and a half. They'dgassed the crowd.
I didn't see what happened next, but I heard it, over the sound of bothme and Ange choking and holding each other. First the choking, retchingsounds. The guitar and drums and bass crashed to a halt. Thencoughing.
Then screaming.
The screaming went on for a long time. When I could see again, thecops had their scopes up on their foreheads and the choppers wereflooding Dolores Park with so much light it looked like daylight. Every-one was looking at the Park, which was good news, because when thelights went up like that, we were totally visible.
"What do we do?" Ange said. Her voice was tight, scared. I didn't trustmyself to speak for a moment. I swallowed a few times.
165"We walk away," I said. "That's all we can do. Walk away. Like wewere just passing by. Down to Dolores and turn left and up towards 16thStreet. Like we're just passing by. Like this is none of our business.""That'll never work," she said.
"It's all I've got.""You don't think we should try to run for it?""No," I said. "If we run, they'll chase us. Maybe if we walk, they'll fig-ure we haven't done anything and let us alone. They have a lot of arreststo make. They'll be busy for a long time."The park was rolling with bodies, people and adults clawing at theirfaces and gasping. The cops dragged them by the armpits, then lashedtheir wrists with plastic cuffs73 and tossed them into the trucks like rag-dolls.
"OK?" I said.
"OK," she said.
And that's just what we did. Walked, holding hands, quickly andbusiness-like, like two people wanting to avoid whatever troublesomeone else was making. The kind of walk you adopt when you wantto pretend you can't see a panhandler, or don't want to get involved in astreet-fight.
It worked.
We reached the corner and turned and kept going. Neither of us daredto speak for two blocks. Then I let out a gasp37 of air I hadn't know I'dbeen holding in.
We came to 16th Street and turned down toward Mission Street.
Normally that's a pretty scary neighborhood at 2AM on a Saturdaynight. That night it was a relief — same old druggies and hookers anddealers and drunks. No cops with truncheons, no gas.
"Um," I said as we breathed in the night air. "Coffee?""Home," she said. "I think home for now. Coffee later.""Yeah," I agreed. She lived up in Hayes Valley. I spotted74 a taxi rollingby and I hailed it. That was a small miracle — there are hardly any cabswhen you need them in San Francisco.
"Have you got cabfare home?""Yeah," she said. The cab-driver looked at us through his window. Iopened the back door so he wouldn't take off.
166"Good night," I said.
She put her hands behind my head and pulled my face toward her.
She kissed me hard on the mouth, nothing sexual in it, but somehowmore intimate for that.
"Good night," she whispered in my ear, and slipped into the taxi.
Head swimming, eyes running, a burning shame for having left allthose Xnetters to the tender mercies of the DHS and the SFPD, I set offfor home.
Monday morning, Fred Benson was standing75 behind Ms Galvez'sdesk.
"Ms Galvez will no longer be teaching this class," he said, once we'dtaken our seats. He had a self-satisfied note that I recognized immedi-ately. On a hunch76, I checked out Charles. He was smiling like it was hisbirthday and he'd been given the best present in the world.
I put my hand up.
"Why not?""It's Board policy not to discuss employee matters with anyone exceptthe employee and the disciplinary committee," he said, without evenbothering to hide how much he enjoyed saying it.
"We'll be beginning a new unit today, on national security. YourSchoolBooks have the new texts. Please open them and turn to the firstscreen."The opening screen was emblazoned with a DHS logo and the title:
WHAT EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HOMELANDSECURITY.
I wanted to throw my SchoolBook on the floor.
I'd made arrangements to meet Ange at a cafe in her neighborhoodafter school. I jumped on the BART and found myself sitting behind twoguys in suits. They were looking at the San Francisco Chronicle, whichfeatured a full-page post-mortem on the "youth riot" in Mission DoloresPark. They were tutting and clucking over it. Then one said to the other,"It's like they're brainwashed or something. Christ, were we ever thatstupid?"I got up and moved to another seat.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
2 founders 863257b2606659efe292a0bf3114782c     
n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
  • The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句
3 overthrow PKDxo     
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆
参考例句:
  • After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后,这个国家处于混乱中。
  • The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。
4 tacked d6b486b3f9966de864e3b4d2aa518abc     
用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 ); 附加,增补; 帆船抢风行驶,用粗线脚缝
参考例句:
  • He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
  • The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。
5 eyebrow vlOxk     
n.眉毛,眉
参考例句:
  • Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
  • With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬,似乎既感到吃惊,又觉有趣。
6 vindicated e1cc348063d17c5a30190771ac141bed     
v.澄清(某人/某事物)受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 );表明或证明(所争辩的事物)属实、正当、有效等;维护
参考例句:
  • I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
  • Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 antennas 69d2181fbb4566604480c825f4e01d29     
[生] 触角,触须(antenna的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • Marconi tied several antennas to kites. 马可尼在风筝上系了几根天线。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
  • Radio astronomy today is armed with the largest antennas in the world. 射电天文学拥有世界上最大的天线。
8 perfectly 8Mzxb     
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。
9 awesome CyCzdV     
adj.令人惊叹的,难得吓人的,很好的
参考例句:
  • The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
  • That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.
10 technically wqYwV     
adv.专门地,技术上地
参考例句:
  • Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说,这是最先进的设备。
  • The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
11 rave MA8z9     
vi.胡言乱语;热衷谈论;n.热情赞扬
参考例句:
  • The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
  • Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。
12 frisbee pzrz1     
n.飞盘(塑料玩具)
参考例句:
  • We always go to the park on weekends and play Frisbee.我们每个周末都会到公园玩飞盘。
  • The frisbee is a light plastic disc,shaped like a plate.飞盘是一种碟形塑料盘。
13 anarchist Ww4zk     
n.无政府主义者
参考例句:
  • You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
  • I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。
14 transparent Smhwx     
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的
参考例句:
  • The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明,可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
  • The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。
15 edgy FuMzWT     
adj.不安的;易怒的
参考例句:
  • She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果,所以最近有些焦躁不安。
  • He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安,还在一根接一根地抽着烟。
16 tugging 1b03c4e07db34ec7462f2931af418753     
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
17 bust WszzB     
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。
18 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械,小器具( gadget的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置,做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
19 spicy zhvzrC     
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的
参考例句:
  • The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
  • Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。
20 joints d97dcffd67eca7255ca514e4084b746e     
接头( joint的名词复数 ); 关节; 公共场所(尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所) (非正式); 一块烤肉 (英式英语)
参考例句:
  • Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
  • Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。
21 minimal ODjx6     
adj.尽可能少的,最小的
参考例句:
  • They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
  • I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家,所以我的花费很小。
22 electrified 00d93691727e26ff4104e0c16b9bb258     
v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 );使兴奋
参考例句:
  • The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
  • The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 wares 2eqzkk     
n. 货物, 商品
参考例句:
  • They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
  • The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。
24 shredded d51bccc81979c227d80aa796078813ac     
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》
25 aerosol WfAyF     
n.悬浮尘粒,气溶胶,烟雾剂,喷雾器
参考例句:
  • They sprayed aerosol insect repellent into the faces of police.他们将喷雾驱虫剂喷在了警察的脸上。
  • Aerosol particles affect visibility,climate,and our health and quality of life.气溶胶对大气能见度、气候变化以及人类健康等有重要影响。
26 guts Yraziv     
v.狼吞虎咽,贪婪地吃,飞碟游戏(比赛双方每组5人,相距15码,互相掷接飞碟);毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的第三人称单数 );取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 );内脏;消化道的下段;肠
参考例句:
  • I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净,我只需烧一下即可。
  • Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 dilute FmBya     
vt.稀释,冲淡;adj.稀释的,冲淡的
参考例句:
  • The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
  • Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。
28 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
29 tinfoil JgvzGb     
n.锡纸,锡箔
参考例句:
  • You can wrap it up in tinfoil.你可以用锡箔纸裹住它。
  • Drop by rounded tablespoon onto tinfoil.Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.用大餐勺把刚刚搅拌好的糊糊盛到锡纸上,烘烤9至11分钟,直到变成金黄色。
30 poised SlhzBU     
a.摆好姿势不动的
参考例句:
  • The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋,准备俯冲。
  • Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张,手悬在电话机上。
31 curries d661cd1b7a8812b4f03a5235087b2c42     
n.咖喱食品( curry的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Coconut is a basic ingredient for many curries. 椰子是多种咖喱菜的基本成分。
  • Coriander is used in Indian curries, gin, American cigarettes, and sausage. 胡荽多被用在:印度咖哩粉,杜松子酒,美国香烟,香肠。 来自互联网
32 batter QuazN     
v.接连重击;磨损;n.牛奶面糊;击球员
参考例句:
  • The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
  • Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。
33 gulping 0d120161958caa5168b07053c2b2fd6e     
v.狼吞虎咽地吃,吞咽( gulp的现在分词 );大口地吸(气);哽住
参考例句:
  • She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸,躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • And you'll even feel excited gulping down a glass. 你甚至可以感觉到激动下一杯。 来自互联网
34 puny Bt5y6     
adj.微不足道的,弱小的
参考例句:
  • The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
  • Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙,身体还不壮,还不能干活。
35 scotch ZZ3x8     
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的
参考例句:
  • Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
  • Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景,真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。
36 bonnet AtSzQ     
n.无边女帽;童帽
参考例句:
  • The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光,使之不刺眼。
  • She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽,帽上缀着褪了色的假花。
37 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
38 gasping 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!”
39 ferocious ZkNxc     
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的
参考例句:
  • The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
  • The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。
40 winking b599b2f7a74d5974507152324c7b8979     
n.瞬眼,目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到,简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
41 trot aKBzt     
n.疾走,慢跑;n.老太婆;现成译本;(复数)trots:腹泻(与the 连用);v.小跑,快步走,赶紧
参考例句:
  • They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
  • The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。
42 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
43 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。
44 smuggling xx8wQ     
n.走私
参考例句:
  • Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
  • The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
45 gutted c134ad44a9236700645177c1ee9a895f     
adj.容易消化的v.毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 );取出…的内脏
参考例句:
  • Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望?我是伤心透了!
  • The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
46 dreads db0ee5f32d4e353c1c9df0c82a9c9c2f     
n.恐惧,畏惧( dread的名词复数 );令人恐惧的事物v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火(惊弓之鸟,格外胆小)。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
47 mitt Znszwo     
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。
48 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
49 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。
50 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
51 dykey 8e04d5896e7e91ecd8d7395420057301     
adj.搞女性同性恋的,有搞女性同性恋特征的
参考例句:
52 perspiration c3UzD     
n.汗水;出汗
参考例句:
  • It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了,我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
  • The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。
53 bristled bristled     
adj. 直立的,多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动,他们都怒发冲冠。
  • All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先,大家都气得怒发冲冠。
54 fret wftzl     
v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损
参考例句:
  • Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急,我们能准时到那里。
  • She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.
55 pointed Il8zB4     
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。
56 merging 65cc30ed55db36c739ab349d7c58dfe8     
合并(分类)
参考例句:
  • Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。
57 butt uSjyM     
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。
58 undoes c530e6768a5f61fc848e387b1edf419a     
松开( undo的第三人称单数 ); 解开; 毁灭; 败坏
参考例句:
  • Undoes the last action or a sequence of actions, which are displayed in the Undo list. 撤消上一个操作或者一系列操作,这些操作显示在“撤消”列表中。
59 fumbled 78441379bedbe3ea49c53fb90c34475f     
(笨拙地)摸索或处理(某事物)( fumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 乱摸,笨拙地弄; 使落下
参考例句:
  • She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
  • He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他(瞎)摸着衣兜找票。
60 undoing Ifdz6a     
n.毁灭的原因,祸根;破坏,毁灭
参考例句:
  • That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
  • This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。
61 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
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》
62 disperse ulxzL     
vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散
参考例句:
  • The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
  • The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。
63 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。
64 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
65 defiant 6muzw     
adj.无礼的,挑战的
参考例句:
  • With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时,仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
  • He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。
66 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
67 goggles hsJzYP     
n.护目镜
参考例句:
  • Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
  • My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾,所以我看不见。
68 unison gKCzB     
n.步调一致,行动一致
参考例句:
  • The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
  • My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。
69 infrared dx0yp     
adj./n.红外线(的)
参考例句:
  • Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
  • Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。
70 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
71 punctured 921f9ed30229127d0004d394b2c18311     
v.在(某物)上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 );刺穿(某物);削弱(某人的傲气、信心等);泄某人的气
参考例句:
  • Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
72 swell IHnzB     
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强
参考例句:
  • The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
  • His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。
73 cuffs 4f67c64175ca73d89c78d4bd6a85e3ed     
n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打,拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
  • The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
74 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。
75 standing 2hCzgo     
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。
76 hunch CdVzZ     
n.预感,直觉
参考例句:
  • I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉,他并不真正想去。
  • I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。


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