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Chapter 16
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This chapter is dedicated1 to San Francisco's Booksmith, ensconced in thestoried Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, just a few doors down from theBen and Jerry's at the exact corner of Haight and Ashbury. The Book-smith folks really know how to run an author event — when I lived inSan Francisco, I used to go down all the time to hear incredible writersspeak (William Gibson was unforgettable). They also produce littlebaseball-card-style trading cards for each author — I have two from myown appearances there.
Booksmith: 1644 Haight St. San Francisco CA 94117 USA +1 415 8638688At first Mom looked shocked, then outraged2, and finally she gave upaltogether and just let her jaw3 hang open as I took her through the inter-rogation, pissing myself, the bag over my head, Darryl. I showed her thenote.
"Why —?"In that single syllable4, every recrimination I'd dealt myself in the night,every moment that I'd lacked the bravery to tell the world what it wasreally about, why I was really fighting, what had really inspired theXnet.
I sucked in a breath.
"They told me I'd go to jail if I talked about it. Not just for a few days.
Forever. I was — I was scared."Mom sat with me for a long time, not saying anything. Then, "Whatabout Darryl's father?"She might as well have stuck a knitting needle in my chest. Darryl'sfather. He must have assumed that Darryl was dead, long dead.
And wasn't he? After the DHS has held you illegally for three months,would they ever let you go?
211But Zeb got out. Maybe Darryl would get out. Maybe me and the Xnetcould help get Darryl out.
"I haven't told him," I said.
Now Mom was crying. She didn't cry easily. It was a British thing. Itmade her little hiccoughing sobs5 much worse to hear.
"You will tell him," she managed. "You will.""I will.""But first we have to tell your father."Dad no longer had any regular time when he came home. Between hisconsulting clients — who had lots of work now that the DHS was shop-ping for data-mining startups on the peninsula — and the long commuteto Berkeley, he might get home any time between 6PM and midnight.
Tonight Mom called him and told him he was coming home right now.
He said something and she just repeated it: right now.
When he got there, we had arranged ourselves in the living room withthe note between us on the coffee table.
It was easier to tell, the second time. The secret was getting lighter6. Ididn't embellish7, I didn't hide anything. I came clean.
I'd heard of coming clean before but I'd never understood what itmeant until I did it. Holding in the secret had dirtied me, soiled my spir-it. It had made me afraid and ashamed. It had made me into all thethings that Ange said I was.
Dad sat stiff as a ramrod the whole time, his face carved of stone.
When I handed him the note, he read it twice and then set it downcarefully.
He shook his head and stood up and headed for the front door.
"Where are you going?" Mom asked, alarmed.
"I need a walk," was all he managed to gasp8, his voice breaking.
We stared awkwardly at each other, Mom and me, and waited for himto come home. I tried to imagine what was going on in his head. He'dbeen such a different man after the bombings and I knew from Mom thatwhat had changed him were the days of thinking I was dead. He'd cometo believe that the terrorists had nearly killed his son and it had madehim crazy.
212Crazy enough to do whatever the DHS asked, to line up like a goodlittle sheep and let them control him, drive him.
Now he knew that it was the DHS that had imprisoned9 me, the DHSthat had taken San Francisco's children hostage in Gitmo-by-the-Bay. Itmade perfect sense, now that I thought of it. Of course it had been Treas-ure Island where I'd been kept. Where else was a ten-minute boat-ridefrom San Francisco?
When Dad came back, he looked angrier than he ever had in his life.
"You should have told me!" he roared.
Mom interposed herself between him and me. "You're blaming thewrong person," she said. "It wasn't Marcus who did the kidnapping andthe intimidation10."He shook his head and stamped. "I'm not blaming Marcus. I know ex-actly who's to blame. Me. Me and the stupid DHS. Get your shoes on,grab your coats.""Where are we going?""To see Darryl's father. Then we're going to Barbara Stratford's place."I knew the name Barbara Stratford from somewhere, but I couldn't re-member where. I thought that maybe she was an old friend of my par-ents, but I couldn't exactly place her.
Meantime, I was headed for Darryl's father's place. I'd never really feltcomfortable around the old man, who'd been a Navy radio operator andran his household like a tight ship. He'd taught Darryl Morse code whenhe was a kid, which I'd always thought was cool. It was one of the ways Iknew that I could trust Zeb's letter. But for every cool thing like Morsecode, Darryl's father had some crazy military discipline that seemed tobe for its own sake, like insisting on hospital corners on the beds andshaving twice a day. It drove Darryl up the wall.
Darryl's mother hadn't liked it much either, and had taken off back toher family in Minnesota when Darryl was ten — Darryl spent his sum-mers and Christmases there.
I was sitting in the back of the car, and I could see the back of Dad'shead as he drove. The muscles in his neck were tense and kept jumpingaround as he ground his jaws12.
213Mom kept her hand on his arm, but no one was around to comfort me.
If only I could call Ange. Or Jolu. Or Van. Maybe I would when the daywas done.
"He must have buried his son in his mind," Dad said, as we whippedup through the hairpin13 curves leading up Twin Peaks to the little cottagethat Darryl and his father shared. The fog was on Twin Peaks, the way itoften was at night in San Francisco, making the headlamps reflect backon is. Each time we swung around a corner, I saw the valleys of the citylaid out below us, bowls of twinkling lights that shifted in the mist.
"Is this the one?""Yes," I said. "This is it." I hadn't been to Darryl's in months, but I'dspent enough time here over the years to recognize it right off.
The three of us stood around the car for a long moment, waiting to seewho would go and ring the doorbell. To my surprise, it was me.
I rang it and we all waited in held-breath silence for a minute. I rang itagain. Darryl's father's car was in the driveway, and we'd seen a lightburning in the living room. I was about to ring a third time when thedoor opened.
"Marcus?" Darryl's father wasn't anything like I remembered him. Un-shaven, in a housecoat and bare feet, with long toenails and red eyes.
He'd gained weight, and a soft extra chin wobbled beneath the firm mil-itary jaw. His thin hair was wispy14 and disordered.
"Mr Glover," I said. My parents crowded into the door behind me.
"Hello, Ron," my mother said.
"Ron," my father said.
"You too? What's going on?""Can we come in?"His living room looked like one of those news-segments they showabout abandoned kids who spend a month locked in before they're res-cued by the neighbors: frozen meal boxes, empty beer cans and juicebottles, moldy15 cereal bowls and piles of newspapers. There was a reek16 ofcat piss and litter crunched17 underneath18 our feet. Even without the catpiss, the smell was incredible, like a bus-station toilet.
The couch was made up with a grimy sheet and a couple of greasy19 pil-lows and the cushions had a dented20, much-slept-upon look.
214We all stood there for a long silent moment, embarrassment21 over-whelming every other emotion. Darryl's father looked like he wanted todie.
Slowly, he moved aside the sheets from the sofa and cleared thestacked, greasy food-trays off of a couple of the chairs, carrying them in-to the kitchen, and, from the sound of it, tossing them on the floor.
We sat gingerly in the places he'd cleared, and then he came back andsat down too.
"I'm sorry," he said vaguely22. "I don't really have any coffee to offeryou. I'm having more groceries delivered tomorrow so I'm running low—""Ron," my father said. "Listen to us. We have something to tell you,and it's not going to be easy to hear."He sat like a statue as I talked. He glanced down at the note, read itwithout seeming to understand it, then read it again. He handed it backto me.
He was trembling.
"He's —""Darryl is alive," I said. "Darryl is alive and being held prisoner onTreasure Island."He stuffed his fist in his mouth and made a horrible groaning23 sound.
"We have a friend," my father said. "She writes for the Bay Guardian24.
An investigative reporter."That's where I knew the name from. The free weekly Guardian oftenlost its reporters to bigger daily papers and the Internet, but BarbaraStratford had been there forever. I had a dim memory of having dinnerwith her when I was a kid.
"We're going there now," my mother said. "Will you come with us,Ron? Will you tell her Darryl's story?"He put his face in his hands and breathed deeply. Dad tried to put hishand on his shoulders, but Mr Glover shook it off violently.
"I need to clean myself up," he said. "Give me a minute."Mr Glover came back downstairs a changed man. He'd shaved andgelled his hair back, and had put on a crisp military dress uniform with arow of campaign ribbons on the breast. He stopped at the foot of thestairs and kind of gestured at it.
215"I don't have much clean stuff that's presentable at the moment. Andthis seemed appropriate. You know, if she wanted to take pictures."He and Dad rode up front and I got in the back, behind him. Up close,he smelled a little of beer, like it was coming through his pores.
It was midnight by the time we rolled into Barbara Stratford's drive-way. She lived out of town, down in Mountain View, and as we speddown the 101, none of us said a word. The high-tech25 buildings alongsidethe highway streamed past us.
This was a different Bay Area to the one I lived in, more like the sub-urban America I sometimes saw on TV. Lots of freeways and subdivi-sions of identical houses, towns where there weren't any homelesspeople pushing shopping carts down the sidewalk — there weren't evensidewalks!
Mom had phoned Barbara Stratford while we were waiting for MrGlover to come downstairs. The journalist had been sleeping, but Momhad been so wound up she forgot to be all British and embarrassed aboutwaking her up. Instead, she just told her, tensely, that she had somethingto talk about and that it had to be in person.
When we rolled up to Barbara Stratford's house, my first thought wasof the Brady Bunch place — a low ranch26 house with a brick baffle infront of it and a neat, perfectly27 square lawn. There was a kind of abstracttile pattern on the baffle, and an old-fashioned UHF TV antenna28 risingfrom behind it. We wandered around to the entrance and saw that therewere lights on inside already.
The writer opened the door before we had a chance to ring the bell.
She was about my parents' age, a tall thin woman with a hawk-like noseand shrewd eyes with a lot of laugh-lines. She was wearing a pair ofjeans that were hip11 enough to be seen at one of the boutiques on ValenciaStreet, and a loose Indian cotton blouse that hung down to her thighs29.
She had small round glasses that flashed in her hallway light.
She smiled a tight little smile at us.
"You brought the whole clan30, I see," she said.
Mom nodded. "You'll understand why in a minute," she said. MrGlover stepped from behind Dad.
"And you called in the Navy?""All in good time."216We were introduced one at a time to her. She had a firm handshakeand long fingers.
Her place was furnished in Japanese minimalist style, just a few pre-cisely proportioned, low pieces of furniture, large clay pots of bamboothat brushed the ceiling, and what looked like a large, rusted31 piece of adiesel engine perched on top of a polished marble plinth. I decided32 Iliked it. The floors were old wood, sanded and stained, but not filled, soyou could see cracks and pits underneath the varnish33. I really liked that,especially as I walked over it in my stocking feet.
"I have coffee on," she said. "Who wants some?"We all put up our hands. I glared defiantly34 at my parents.
"Right," she said.
She disappeared into another room and came back a moment laterbearing a rough bamboo tray with a half-gallon thermos35 jug36 and six cupsof precise design but with rough, sloppy37 decorations. I liked those too.
"Now," she said, once she'd poured and served. "It's very good to seeyou all again. Marcus, I think the last time I saw you, you were maybeseven years old. As I recall, you were very excited about your new videogames, which you showed me."I didn't remember it at all, but that sounded like what I'd been into atseven. I guessed it was my Sega Dreamcast.
She produced a tape-recorder and a yellow pad and a pen, and twirledthe pen. "I'm here to listen to whatever you tell me, and I can promiseyou that I'll take it all in confidence. But I can't promise that I'll do any-thing with it, or that it's going to get published." The way she said itmade me realize that my Mom had called in a pretty big favor gettingthis lady out of bed, friend or no friend. It must be kind of a pain in theass to be a big-shot investigative reporter. There were probably a millionpeople who would have liked her to take up her cause.
Mom nodded at me. Even though I'd told the story three times thatnight, I found myself tongue-tied. This was different from telling myparents. Different from telling Darryl's father. This — this would start anew move in the game.
I started slowly, and watched Barbara take notes. I drank a whole cupof coffee just explaining what ARGing was and how I got out of school toplay. Mom and Dad and Mr Glover all listened intently to this part. Ipoured myself another cup and drank it on the way to explaining how217we were taken in. By the time I'd run through the whole story, I'ddrained the pot and I needed a piss like a race-horse.
Her bathroom was just as stark38 as the living-room, with a brown, or-ganic soap that smelled like clean mud. I came back in and found theadults quietly watching me.
Mr Glover told his story next. He didn't have anything to say aboutwhat had happened, but he explained that he was a veteran and that hisson was a good kid. He talked about what it felt like to believe that hisson had died, about how his ex-wife had had a collapse39 when she foundout and ended up in a hospital. He cried a little, unashamed, the tearsstreaming down his lined face and darkening the collar of his dress-uniform.
When it was all done, Barbara went into a different room and cameback with a bottle of Irish whiskey. "It's a Bushmills 15 year old rum-caskaged blend," she said, setting down four small cups. None for me. "Ithasn't been sold in ten years. I think this is probably an appropriate timeto break it out."She poured them each a small glass of the liquor, then raised hers andsipped at it, draining half the glass. The rest of the adults followed suit.
They drank again, and finished the glasses. She poured them new shots.
"All right," she said. "Here's what I can tell you right now. I believeyou. Not just because I know you, Lillian. The story sounds right, and itties in with other rumors41 I've heard. But I'm not going to be able to justtake your word for it. I'm going to have to investigate every aspect ofthis, and every element of your lives and stories. I need to know if there'sanything you're not telling me, anything that could be used to discredityou after this comes to light. I need everything. It could take weeks be-fore I'm ready to publish.
"You also need to think about your safety and this Darryl's safety. Ifhe's really an 'un-person' then bringing pressure to bear on the DHScould cause them to move him somewhere much further away. ThinkSyria. They could also do something much worse." She let that hang inthe air. I knew she meant that they might kill him.
"I'm going to take this letter and scan it now. I want pictures of the twoof you, now and later — we can send out a photographer, but I want todocument this as thoroughly43 as I can tonight, too."I went with her into her office to do the scan. I'd expected a stylish,low-powered computer that fit in with her decor, but instead, her spare-218bedroom/office was crammed44 with top-of-the-line PCs, big flat-panelmonitors, and a scanner big enough to lay a whole sheet of newsprint on.
She was fast with it all, too. I noted45 with some approval that she wasrunning ParanoidLinux. This lady took her job seriously.
The computers' fans set up an effective white-noise shield, but even so,I closed the door and moved in close to her.
"Um, Barbara?""Yes?""About what you said, about what might be used to discredit42 me?""Yes?""What I tell you, you can't be forced to tell anyone else, right?""In theory. Let me put it this way. I've gone to jail twice rather than ratout a source.""OK, OK. Good. Wow. Jail. Wow. OK." I took a deep breath. "You'veheard of Xnet? Of M1k3y?""Yes?""I'm M1k3y.""Oh," she said. She worked the scanner and flipped46 the note over toget the reverse. She was scanning at some unbelievable resolution, 10,000dots per inch or higher, and on-screen it was like the output of anelectron-tunneling microscope.
"Well, that does put a different complexion47 on this.""Yeah," I said. "I guess it does.""Your parents don't know.""Nope. And I don't know if I want them to.""That's something you're going to have to work out. I need to thinkabout this. Can you come by my office? I'd like to talk to you about whatthis means, exactly.""Do you have an Xbox Universal? I could bring over an installer.""Yes, I'm sure that can be arranged. When you come by, tell the recep-tionist that you're Mr Brown, to see me. They know what that means. Nonote will be taken of you coming, and all the security camera footage forthe day will be automatically scrubbed and the cameras deactivated48 untilyou leave.""Wow," I said. "You think like I do."219She smiled and socked me in the shoulder. "Kiddo, I've been at thisgame for a hell of a long time. So far, I've managed to spend more timefree than behind bars. Paranoia49 is my friend."I was like a zombie the next day in school. I'd totaled about threehours of sleep, and even three cups of the Turk's caffeine mud failed tojump-start my brain. The problem with caffeine is that it's too easy to getacclimated to it, so you have to take higher and higher doses just to getabove normal.
I'd spent the night thinking over what I had to do. It was like runninthough a maze50 of twisty little passages, all alike, every one leading to thesame dead end. When I went to Barbara, it would be over for me. Thatwas the outcome, no matter how I thought about it.
By the time the school day was over, all I wanted was to go home andcrawl into bed. But I had an appointment at the Bay Guardian, down onthe waterfront. I kept my eyes on my feet as I wobbled out the gate, andas I turned into 24th Street, another pair of feet fell into step with me. Irecognized the shoes and stopped.
"Ange?"She looked like I felt. Sleep-deprived and raccoon-eyed, with sadbrackets in the corners of her mouth.
"Hi there," she said. "Surprise. I gave myself French Leave from school.
I couldn't concentrate anyway.""Um," I said.
"Shut up and give me a hug, you idiot."I did. It felt good. Better than good. It felt like I'd amputated part ofmyself and it had been reattached.
"I love you, Marcus Yallow.""I love you, Angela Carvelli.""OK," she said breaking it off. "I liked your post about why you're notjamming. I can respect it. What have you done about finding a way tojam them without getting caught?""I'm on my way to meet an investigative journalist who's going to pub-lish a story about how I got sent to jail, how I started Xnet, and howDarryl is being illegally held by the DHS at a secret prison on TreasureIsland."220"Oh." She looked around for a moment. "Couldn't you think of any-thing, you know, ambitious?""Want to come?""I am coming, yes. And I would like you to explain this in detail if youdon't mind."After all the re-tellings, this one, told as we walked to Potrero Avenueand down to 15th Street, was the easiest. She held my hand andsqueezed it often.
We took the stairs up to the Bay Guardian's offices two at a time. Myheart was pounding. I got to the reception desk and told the bored girlbehind it, "I'm here to see Barbara Stratford. My name is Mr Green.""I think you mean Mr Brown?""Yeah," I said, and blushed. "Mr Brown."She did something at her computer, then said, "Have a seat. Barbarawill be out in a minute. Can I get you anything?""Coffee," we both said in unison51. Another reason to love Ange: wewere addicted52 to the same drug.
The receptionist — a pretty latina woman only a few years older thanus, dressed in Gap styles so old they were actually kind of hipster-retro— nodded and stepped out and came back with a couple of cups bearingthe newspaper's masthead.
We sipped40 in silence, watching visitors and reporters come and go.
Finally, Barbara came to get us. She was wearing practically the samething as the night before. It suited her. She quirked an eyebrow53 at mewhen she saw that I'd brought a date.
"Hello," I said. "Um, this is —""Ms Brown," Ange said, extending a hand. Oh, yeah, right, our identit-ies were supposed to be a secret. "I work with Mr Green." She elbowedme lightly.
"Let's go then," Barbara said, and led us back to a board-room withlong glass walls with their blinds drawn54 shut. She set down a tray ofWhole Foods organic Oreo clones, a digital recorder, and another yellowpad.
"Do you want to record this too?" she asked.
Hadn't actually thought of that. I could see why it would be useful if Iwanted to dispute what Barbara printed, though. Still, if I couldn't trusther to do right by me, I was doomed55 anyway.
221"No, that's OK," I said.
"Right, let's go. Young lady, my name is Barbara Stratford and I'm aninvestigative reporter. I gather you know why I'm here, and I'm curiousto know why you're here.""I work with Marcus on the Xnet," she said. "Do you need to know myname?""Not right now, I don't," Barbara said. "You can be anonymous56 if you'dlike. Marcus, I asked you to tell me this story because I need to knowhow it plays with the story you told me about your friend Darryl and thenote you showed me. I can see how it would be a good adjunct; I couldpitch this as the origin of the Xnet. 'They made an enemy they'll neverforget,' that sort of thing. But to be honest, I'd rather not have to tell thatstory if I don't have to.
"I'd rather have a nice clean tale about the secret prison on our door-step, without having to argue about whether the prisoners there are thesort of people likely to walk out the doors and establish an undergroundmovement bent57 on destabilizing the federal government. I'm sure youcan understand that."I did. If the Xnet was part of the story, some people would say, see,they need to put guys like that in jail or they'll start a riot.
"This is your show," I said. "I think you need to tell the world aboutDarryl. When you do that, it's going to tell the DHS that I've gone publicand they're going to go after me. Maybe they'll figure out then that I'minvolved with the Xnet. Maybe they'll connect me to M1k3y. I guesswhat I'm saying is, once you publish about Darryl, it's all over for me nomatter what. I've made my peace with that.""As good be hanged for a sheep as a lamb," she said. "Right. Well,that's settled. I want the two of you to tell me everything you can aboutthe founding and operation of the Xnet, and then I want a demonstra-tion. What do you use it for? Who else uses it? How did it spread? Whowrote the software? Everything.""This'll take a while," Ange said.
"I've got a while," Barbara said. She drank some coffee and ate a fakeOreo. "This could be the most important story of the War on Terror. Thiscould be the story that topples the government. When you have a storylike this, you take it very carefully."

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 outraged VmHz8n     
a.震惊的,义愤填膺的
参考例句:
  • Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
  • He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。
3 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
4 syllable QHezJ     
n.音节;vt.分音节
参考例句:
  • You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
  • The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。
5 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
6 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
7 embellish qPxz1     
v.装饰,布置;给…添加细节,润饰
参考例句:
  • I asked him not to embellish the truth with ideas of his own.我要他不对事实添油加醋。
  • Can you embellish your refusal just a little bit?你可以对你的婉拒之辞略加修饰吗?
8 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。
9 imprisoned bc7d0bcdd0951055b819cfd008ef0d8d     
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁,合并执行。
  • They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。
10 intimidation Yq2zKi     
n.恐吓,威胁
参考例句:
  • The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
  • The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。
11 hip 1dOxX     
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
参考例句:
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
12 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
13 hairpin gryzei     
n.簪,束发夹,夹发针
参考例句:
  • She stuck a small flower onto the front of her hairpin.她在发簪的前端粘了一朵小花。
  • She has no hairpin because her hair is short.因为她头发短,所以没有束发夹。
14 wispy wispy     
adj.模糊的;纤细的
参考例句:
  • Grey wispy hair straggled down to her shoulders.稀疏的灰白头发披散在她肩头。
  • The half moon is hidden behind some wispy clouds.半轮月亮躲在淡淡的云彩之后。
15 moldy Q1gya     
adj.发霉的
参考例句:
  • She chucked the moldy potatoes in the dustbin.她把发霉的土豆扔进垃圾箱。
  • Oranges can be kept for a long time without going moldy.橙子可以存放很长时间而不腐烂。
16 reek 8tcyP     
v.发出臭气;n.恶臭
参考例句:
  • Where there's reek,there's heat.哪里有恶臭,哪里必发热。
  • That reek is from the fox.那股恶臭是狐狸发出的。
17 crunched adc2876f632a087c0c8d7d68ab7543dc     
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 );嘎吱作响;(快速大量地)处理信息;数字捣弄
参考例句:
  • Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头,使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
18 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
19 greasy a64yV     
adj. 多脂的,油脂的
参考例句:
  • He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
  • You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时,你会厌恶油腻的气味。
20 dented dented     
v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 );损害;伤害;挫伤(信心、名誉等)
参考例句:
  • The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
  • I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 embarrassment fj9z8     
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫
参考例句:
  • She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
  • Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。
22 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
23 groaning groaning     
adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
  • The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着,无人救助。
24 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
25 high-tech high-tech     
adj.高科技的
参考例句:
  • The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展,这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
  • The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。
26 ranch dAUzk     
n.大牧场,大农场
参考例句:
  • He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
  • The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。
27 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。
28 antenna QwTzN     
n.触角,触须;天线
参考例句:
  • The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
  • In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里,每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。
29 thighs e4741ffc827755fcb63c8b296150ab4e     
n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿
参考例句:
  • He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 clan Dq5zi     
n.氏族,部落,宗族,家族,宗派
参考例句:
  • She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
  • The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以,中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。
31 rusted 79e453270dbdbb2c5fc11d284e95ff6e     
v.(使)生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝,它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了,需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 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。
33 varnish ni3w7     
n.清漆;v.上清漆;粉饰
参考例句:
  • He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实,但那是徒劳的。
  • He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。
34 defiantly defiantly     
adv.挑战地,大胆对抗地
参考例句:
  • Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
35 thermos TqjyE     
n.保湿瓶,热水瓶
参考例句:
  • Can I borrow your thermos?我可以借用你的暖水瓶吗?
  • It's handy to have the thermos here.暖瓶放在这儿好拿。
36 jug QaNzK     
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂
参考例句:
  • He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐,保持着平衡往前走。
  • She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。
37 sloppy 1E3zO     
adj.邋遢的,不整洁的
参考例句:
  • If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎,我话说在头里,可要给你打不及格了。
  • Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。
38 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
39 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
40 sipped 22d1585d494ccee63c7bff47191289f6     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
  • I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句
41 rumors 2170bcd55c0e3844ecb4ef13fef29b01     
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷
参考例句:
  • Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
42 discredit fu3xX     
vt.使不可置信;n.丧失信义;不信,怀疑
参考例句:
  • Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
  • They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。
43 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
44 crammed e1bc42dc0400ef06f7a53f27695395ce     
adj.塞满的,挤满的;大口地吃;快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满;填入;临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)
参考例句:
  • He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
  • All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。
45 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
46 flipped 5bef9da31993fe26a832c7d4b9630147     
轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 ); 按(开关); 快速翻转; 急挥
参考例句:
  • The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转,撞毁了。
  • The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。
47 complexion IOsz4     
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格
参考例句:
  • Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
  • Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。
48 deactivated 7c04d50ec1496027d0ed6fd0d6f00a85     
v.解除动员( deactivate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;复员;使不活动
参考例句:
  • \"The brain can be deactivated. It can be yours to command.\" “大脑计算机可以被停止。如果你下达命令的话。” 来自互联网
  • He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. 他成功停用一个核反应堆在实验室之前崩溃。 来自互联网
49 paranoia C4rzL     
n.妄想狂,偏执狂;多疑症
参考例句:
  • Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
  • The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。
50 maze F76ze     
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
  • She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时,她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。
51 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。
52 addicted dzizmY     
adj.沉溺于....的,对...上瘾的
参考例句:
  • He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
  • She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。
53 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。
54 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
55 doomed EuuzC1     
命定的
参考例句:
  • The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
  • A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。
56 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
57 bent QQ8yD     
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。


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