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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Boss of Taroomba » CHAPTER XIV THE RAID ON THE STATION
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CHAPTER XIV THE RAID ON THE STATION
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 Those same dark hours of this eventful night were also the slowest and the dreariest1 on record in the mind of Naomi Pryse. She too had waited for the moon. At sundown she had stabled her horse, and left it with a fine feed of chaff2 and oats as priming for the further work she had in view. This done, she had consented, under protest, to eat something herself; but had jumped up early to fill with her own hands a water-bag and a flask3 of which she could have no need for hours. It made no matter. She must be up and doing this or that; it was intolerable sitting still even to eat and drink. Besides, how could she eat, how could she drink, when he who should have shared her meal was perhaps perishing of hunger and thirst in Top Scrubby? It was much more comforting to cut substantial slices of mutton and bread, to put them up in a neat packet, and to set this in readiness alongside the flask and the water-bag. Then came the trouble. There was nothing more to be done.
 
It was barely eight o'clock, and no moon for two hours and a half.
 
Naomi went round to the back veranda4, picked up the book she had been reading the day before, and marched about with it under her arm. She had not the heart to sit down and read. Her restless feet took her many times to the kitchen and Mrs. Potter, who shook her good gray head and remonstrated5 with increasing candor6 and asperity7.
 
"Go to look for him?" she cried at last. "When the time comes for that, you'll be too dead tired to sit in your saddle, miss. If you start before the moon's well up, there'll be no telling a hoof-mark from a foot-print without getting off every time. You've said so yourself, Miss Naomi. Then why not go straight to your bed and lie down for two or three hours? I'll bring you a cup of tea at half-past eleven, and you can be away by twelve."
 
Naomi sighed.
 
"It is so long to wait—doing nothing! He may be dying, poor fellow; and yet what can one do in the dark?"
 
"Lie down and rest," said Mrs. Potter, dryly.
 
"Well, I will try, but not on my bed—on the sitting-room8 sofa, I think. Will you light the lamp there, please? And bring the tea at eleven; I'll start at half-past."
 
Naomi took a short stroll among the darkling pines—the way that she had taken the piano-tuner in the first moments of their swift friendship—the way that he had taken alone last night. She reached the sitting-room with moist, wistful eyes, which startled themselves as she confronted the mirror over the chimney-piece whereon stood the lamp. She stood for a little, however, looking at herself—steadfastly—inquisitively—as though to search out the secrets of her own heart. She gave it up in the end, and turned wearily away. What was the use of peering into her own heart now, when so often aforetime she had seemed to know it, and had not? There was no use; and as it happened, no need. For the first thing her eyes fell upon,[Pg 197] as she turned, was the pile of music lying yet where Engelhardt had placed it, on the stool. The next was his little inscription9 on the uppermost song. She knelt to read it again; when she had done so the two uncertain, left-handed, pencilled lines were wet and blotched with her tears, and she rose up knowing what she had never known before.
 
At eleven-thirty—she had set her heart upon that extra half hour if let alone—Mrs. Potter rattled10 the tea-tray against the sitting-room door and entered next moment. She found her mistress on the sofa certainly, but lying on her back and staring straight at the ceiling. Her face was very white and still, but she moved it a little as the door opened. She had not slept? Not a wink11. Her book was lying in her lap; it had never been opened. Mrs. Potter was not slow to exhibit her disappointment, not to say her disgust. But Naomi sprang up with every sign of energy, and finished her tea in five minutes. In ten she had her horse saddled. In twelve she had cantered back to the veranda, and was receiving from Mrs. Potter the water-bag, the flask, and the packet of bread and meat.
 
"Have his room nice and ready for him," said the girl, excitedly, "and the kettle boiling, so that we may both have breakfast the instant we get in. It will be a pretty early breakfast, you'll see! Do you think you can do without sleep as long as I can?"
 
"Well, I know I sha'n't lie down while you're gone, miss."
 
"Then I'll be tremendously quick, I will indeed. I only wish I'd started long ago. The moon is splendid now. You can see miles——"
 
"Then look there, Miss Naomi!"
 
"Where?"
 
"Past the stables—across the paddock—toward the fence."
 
Naomi looked. A black figure was running toward them in the moonlight.
 
"Who can it be, Mrs. Potter? Not Mr. Engelhardt——"
 
"Who else?"
 
"But he is reeling and staggering! Could it be some drunken roustabout? And yet that's just his height—it must be—it is—thank God!"
 
Her curiosity first, and then her amazement12, kept Naomi seated immovable in her saddle. She wondered later why she had not cantered to meet him. She did not stir even when his stertorous13 breathing came painfully to her ears. It was only when the quivering, spent, and speechless young man threw his arms across the withers14 of her horse, and his white face fell forward upon the mane, that Naomi silently detached the water-bag which she had strapped15 to her saddle, and held it to his lips with a trembling hand. At first he shook his head. Then he raised his wild eyes to hers with a piteously anxious expression.
 
"You have heard—that they are coming?"
 
"No—who?"
 
"You have heard, or why are you on horseback?"
 
"To look for you. I was on the point of starting. I made sure you must be bushed16."
 
"I was. But I got to a camp. They looked after me; I am all right. And now they are coming in here—they're probably on their way!" Each little sentence came in a fresh gasp17 from his parched18 throat.
 
"But who?"
 
"Those two tramps who came the other day, and Simons, the ringer of the shed. Villains—villains every one!"
 
"Ah! And what do they want?"
 
"Can't you guess? The silver! The silver! That fat brute19 who insulted you so, who do you suppose he is? Tigerskin's[Pg 200] mate—just out of prison—the man whose finger your father shot off ten years ago! You remember how he kept his hands in his pockets the other day? Well, that was the reason. Now there isn't a moment to lose. I listened to their plans. Half an hour ago—or it may be an hour—they lay down for a spell. They were drunk, but not very. They only meant to rest for a bit; then they're coming straight here. They left me tied up—they were going to bring me with them—I'll tell you afterward20 how I got loose. I daren't stop a moment, even to cut adrift their horses. I just bolted for the moon—I'd heard them say the station lay due east—and here I am. Thank God I've found you up and mounted! It couldn't have been better; it's providential. Now you mustn't get off at all; you must just ride right on to the shed."
 
"Must I?" said Naomi, with a tight lip and a keen eye, but a touch of the old banter21 in her tone.
 
"We could follow on foot. Meanwhile you would rouse them out at the shed——"
 
"And my silver?"
 
Engelhardt was silent. The girl leant forward in her saddle, and laid a hand upon his shoulder.
 
"No, no, Mr. Engelhardt! Captains don't quit their ships in such a hurry as all that. I'm captain here, and I'll stick to mine. It isn't only the silver. Still my father smelt22 powder for that silver, and the least I can do is to follow his lead."
 
She slid to the ground as she spoke23.
 
"You will barricade24 yourself in the store?" said Engelhardt.
 
"Exactly. It was fixed25 up for this very kind of thing, after the first fuss with Tigerskin. They'll never get in."
 
"And you mean to stick to your guns inside?"
 
"To such as I have—most certainly."
 
"Then I mean to stick to you."
 
"Very well."
 
"But think—think before it's too late! They are devils, Miss Pryse—beasts! I have seen them and heard them. Better a hundred times be dead than at their mercy. For God's sake, take the horse before they are upon us!"
 
"I stop here," said Naomi, decidedly.
 
"Yet Mrs. Potter and I could hold the store as easily as you could. They shall not get your silver while I'm alive."
 
"My mind is made up," said the girl, in a voice which silenced his remonstrances26; "but I agree with you that somebody ought to start off for the shed. I think that you should, Mr. Engelhardt, if you feel equal to it."
 
"Equal to it! It's so likely I would ride off and leave two women to the mercy of those brutes27! If it really must be so, then I think the sooner we all three get into the store——"
 
It was Mrs. Potter who here put in her amazing word. While the young people stood and argued, her eyes had travelled over every point of the saddled horse. And now she proposed that she should be the one to ride to the shed for help.
 
"You!" the two cried in one breath, as they gazed at her ample figure.
 
"And why not?" said the hardy29 woman. "Wasn't I born and bred in the bush? Couldn't I ride—bareback, too—before either of you was born? I'm not so light as I used to be, and I haven't the nerve either; but what I have is all there in the hour of need, Miss Naomi. Let me go now. I'm ready this minute."
 
Naomi had seemed lost in thought.
 
"Very well!" cried she, whipping her eyes from the ground. "But you don't know the way to the shed, and I must make[Pg 203] your directions pretty plain. Run to the back of the kitchen, Mr. Engelhardt, you'll see a lot of clothes-props30. Bring as many as you can to the store veranda."
 
Engelhardt darted31 off upon his errand. Already they had wasted too many minutes in words. His brain was ablaze32 with lurid33 visions of the loathsome34 crew in Top Scrubby; of the murderous irruption imminent35 at any moment; of the unspeakable treatment to be suffered at those blood-stained hands—not only by himself—that mattered little—but by a woman—by Naomi of all women in the world. God help them both if the gang arrived before they were safe inside the store! But until the worst happened she need not know, nor should she guess, how bad that worst might be. Poor Rowntree's fate, and even his own ill-usage by those masterless men, were things which Engelhardt was not the man to tell to women in the hour of alarm. He was clear enough as to that; and having done up to this point all that a man could do, he jumped at the simple task imposed by Naomi, and threw himself into it with immense vigor36 and a lightened heart. As he dropped his first clothes-prop28 in the store veranda, Naomi and the housekeeper37 were still talking, though the latter was already huddled38 up in the saddle. When he got back with a second, both women were gone; with a third, Naomi was unlocking the store door; with the fourth and last, she had lit a candle inside, and was sawing one of the other props in two.
 
"That'll do," she said, as her saw ran through the wood. "Now hold this one up for me."
 
She pointed39 to another of the stout40 poles. She made him hold it with one end inside, and the other protruding41 through the opening. Then she made a mark on the prop at the level of the door, sawed it through at her mark, and cut down the other two in the same fashion. In less than five minutes the four poles had become eight, which cumbered the floor within. Then Naomi rose from her knees, flung the saw back into the tool-box, and made a final survey with the candle. A few flakes42 of sawdust lay about the shallow veranda. She fetched a broom from a corner of the store and whisked them away. Then she removed the key to the inside, and was about to lock the door upon herself and Engelhardt when he suddenly stopped her.
 
"Hold on!" he cried. "I want your boots."
 
 
"My boots?"
 
"Yes, those you've got on—with the dust on 'em, just as they are. They must be left outside your door, and your door must be locked; you must keep the key."
 
Naomi gave him a grateful, an admiring smile.
 
"That is a happy thought. I'll get it myself. While I'm gone you might fetch in the axe43 from the wood-heap; I'd almost forgotten it."
 
They ran off in different directions. Next minute they were both back in the store, Engelhardt with the axe. Naomi took it from him, and set it aside without a word. Her face was blanched44.
 
"I heard something," she whispered. "I heard a cry. Oh, if they've seen me!"
 
"We'll lock the door as quietly as possible."
 
This was done.
 
"Now the props," said Naomi.
 
Engelhardt had guessed what they were for. He helped her to fix them, with one wedged between floor and counter, and the other pressing the heavy woodwork of the door. It now appeared how craftily45 Naomi had cut her timbers. They met the door, two at the top, two at the bottom, and four about the centre. Still the brave engineer was distressed46.
 
"I meant to hammer them down," she murmured. "Now I daren't."
 
"We'll put all our weight on them instead," said Engelhardt. They did so with a will, until each prop had creaked in turn. Then they listened.
 
"Out with the light," said Naomi. "There are no windows to give us away—but still!"
 
He blew it out. As yet his own ears had heard nothing, and he was beginning to wonder whether Naomi had been deceived. They listened a little longer. Then she said:
 
"We're provisioned for a siege. Did you see the flask and things on the counter?"
 
"I did. How in the world did you find time to get them ready?"
 
"I had them ready before you came. They were for you."
 
The two were crouching47 close together between the props. It was a natural though not a necessary attitude. The moon was shining through the skylight upon one of the walls; the multifarious tins and bottles on the shelves made the most of the white light; and faint reflections reached the faces of Naomi and the piano-tuner—so close to each other, so pale, so determined49, and withal so wistful as their eyes met. Engelhardt first looked his thanks, and then stammered50 them out in a broken whisper. Even as he did so the girl raised a finger to her lips.
 
"Hark! There they are."
 
"Yes, I hear them. They won't hear us yet a bit."
 
"They mustn't hear us at all; but off with your boots—we may have to move about."
 
She had already kicked off her shoes, and now, because he had only one of his own, she pulled off his boots with her two hands.
 
"You should not have done that!"
 
"Why not?"
 
"It's dreadful! Just as though you were my servant."
 
"Mr. Engelhardt, we must be everything to each other——"
 
She shot up her hand and ceased. The voices without were now distinguishable.
 
"To-night!" he muttered, bitterly, before heeding51 them.
 
Naomi, on the other hand, was at the last pitch of attention; but not to him. She inclined her head as she knelt to hear the better. The voices were approaching from one side.
 
"Ay, that's where he dropped—just there!" said one. It was Tigerskin's mate, Bill.
 
"Take the key from the door!" Engelhardt whispered to Naomi, who was the nearer it. They had forgotten to do this. For one wild moment the girl hesitated, then she cautiously reached out her hand and withdrew the key without a scratch.
 
"So this is the crib!" they heard Bo's'n say.
 
"The same old crib," said Bill. "Same as it was ten years ago, only plastered up a bit. I suppose it is locked, mate?"
 
The handle was tried. The door shook ever so little. The two inside gazed at the props and held their breath. If one of them should be shaken down!
 
"Ay, it's locked all right; and I reckon it's true enough about the girl sleeping with the key under her pillow, and all."
 
"Blast your reckonings!" said Bill. "Make sure the key ain't in the door on t'other side."
 
The thimbleful of starlit sky which Naomi had been watching for the last minute and a half was suddenly wiped away. She[Pg 209] heard Bo's'n breathing hard as he stooped and peered. The key grew colder in her hand.
 
"No, there ain't no key, Bill."
 
"That's all right. They're both in their beds then, and that little suck-o'-my-thumb hasn't got here yet. When he does, God 'elp him!"
 
The voices were those of Bill and Bo's'n. For the moment these two seemed to be alone together.
 
"Ay, ay, we'd string the beggar up fast enough another time!"
 
"String him up? Yes, by his heels, and shoot holes through him while he dangled52."
 
"Beginning where you don't kill. Holy smoke! but I wish he'd turn up now."
 
"So do I—the swine! But here comes the ringer. What cheer, matey?"
 
"It's right," said Simons. "The little devil's locked her door; but there are her boots outside, same as if she was stoppin' at a blessed 'otel. A fat lot she cared whether her precious pal48 was bushed or whether he wasn't! We thought you was telling us lies, mother, but, by cripes, you wasn't!"
 
"I should think not!" said a fourth voice. "She wouldn't believe he was lost, but I knew he was; so I just saddled the[Pg 210] night-horse after she was in bed and asleep, and was going straight to the shed to raise a search-party!"
 
The pair within were staring at each other in dumb horror. That fourth voice was but too well known to them both. It was Mrs. Potter's.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dreariest ae6a8f9fd106491c408172ddf833bb48     
使人闷闷不乐或沮丧的( dreary的最高级 ); 阴沉的; 令人厌烦的; 单调的
参考例句:
  • It was the dreariest job I had ever done. 那是我所做过的最沉闷的工作。
2 chaff HUGy5     
v.取笑,嘲笑;n.谷壳
参考例句:
  • I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
  • Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。
3 flask Egxz8     
n.瓶,火药筒,砂箱
参考例句:
  • There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
  • He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。
4 veranda XfczWG     
n.走廊;阳台
参考例句:
  • She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
  • They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。
5 remonstrated a6eda3fe26f748a6164faa22a84ba112     
v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 );告诫
参考例句:
  • They remonstrated with the official about the decision. 他们就这一决定向这位官员提出了抗议。
  • We remonstrated against the ill-treatment of prisoners of war. 我们对虐待战俘之事提出抗议。 来自辞典例句
6 candor CN8zZ     
n.坦白,率真
参考例句:
  • He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
  • He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率,已使婚姻奄奄一息。
7 asperity rN6yY     
n.粗鲁,艰苦
参考例句:
  • He spoke to the boy with asperity.他严厉地对那男孩讲话。
  • The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning for spring.严冬之苦让每个人都渴望春天。
8 sitting-room sitting-room     
n.(BrE)客厅,起居室
参考例句:
  • The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
  • Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。
9 inscription l4ZyO     
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文
参考例句:
  • The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损,无法辨认了。
  • He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。
10 rattled b4606e4247aadf3467575ffedf66305b     
慌乱的,恼火的
参考例句:
  • The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
  • Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里,窗户都格格作响。
11 wink 4MGz3     
n.眨眼,使眼色,瞬间;v.眨眼,使眼色,闪烁
参考例句:
  • He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
  • The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间,那颗卫星就消失了。
12 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
13 stertorous UuuwF     
adj.打鼾的
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Tremaine grew more and more worried at his pallid face and stertorous breathing.屈里曼太太看他那苍白的脸色和急促的喘气,倒越来越担心。
  • Her breathing became loud and stertorous.她的呼吸变成很响的呼噜声。
14 withers e30bf7b384bb09fe0dc96663bb9cde0b     
马肩隆
参考例句:
  • The girl's pitiful history would wring one's withers. 这女孩子的经历令人心碎。
  • "I will be there to show you," and so Mr. Withers withdrew. “我会等在那里,领你去看房间的,"威瑟斯先生这样说着,退了出去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
15 strapped ec484d13545e19c0939d46e2d1eb24bc     
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 bushed wxUzEx     
adj.疲倦的
参考例句:
  • I'm bushed.Let's call it a day.我很疲倦,今天到此为止吧!
  • I'm bushed.I'm going to bed.我太累了,我要睡觉了。
17 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。
18 parched 2mbzMK     
adj.焦干的;极渴的;v.(使)焦干
参考例句:
  • Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
  • The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。
19 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
20 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
21 banter muwzE     
n.嘲弄,戏谑;v.取笑,逗弄,开玩笑
参考例句:
  • The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
  • She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。
22 smelt tiuzKF     
v.熔解,熔炼;n.银白鱼,胡瓜鱼
参考例句:
  • Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
  • Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法,他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼,而改用焦炭。
23 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。
24 barricade NufzI     
n.路障,栅栏,障碍;vt.设路障挡住
参考例句:
  • The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
  • It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。
25 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
26 remonstrances 301b8575ed3ab77ec9d2aa78dbe326fc     
n.抱怨,抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There were remonstrances, but he persisted notwithstanding. 虽遭抗议,他仍然坚持下去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Mr. Archibald did not give himself the trouble of making many remonstrances. 阿奇博尔德先生似乎不想自找麻烦多方规劝。 来自辞典例句
27 brutes 580ab57d96366c5593ed705424e15ffa     
兽( brute的名词复数 ); 畜生; 残酷无情的人; 兽性
参考例句:
  • They're not like dogs; they're hideous brutes. 它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
  • Suddenly the foul musty odour of the brutes struck his nostrils. 突然,他的鼻尖闻到了老鼠的霉臭味。 来自英汉文学
28 prop qR2xi     
vt.支撑;n.支柱,支撑物;支持者,靠山
参考例句:
  • A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
  • The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。
29 hardy EenxM     
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的
参考例句:
  • The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
  • He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。
30 props 50fe03ab7bf37089a7e88da9b31ffb3b     
小道具; 支柱( prop的名词复数 ); 支持者; 道具; (橄榄球中的)支柱前锋
参考例句:
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。
31 darted d83f9716cd75da6af48046d29f4dd248     
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔
参考例句:
  • The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
32 ablaze 1yMz5     
adj.着火的,燃烧的;闪耀的,灯火辉煌的
参考例句:
  • The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上,那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
  • Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。
33 lurid 9Atxh     
adj.可怕的;血红的;苍白的
参考例句:
  • The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
  • The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。
34 loathsome Vx5yX     
adj.讨厌的,令人厌恶的
参考例句:
  • The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
  • Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。
35 imminent zc9z2     
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的
参考例句:
  • The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
  • The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。
36 vigor yLHz0     
n.活力,精力,元气
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在,她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。
37 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
38 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
39 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。
40     
参考例句:
41 protruding e7480908ef1e5355b3418870e3d0812f     
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸
参考例句:
  • He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
  • There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句
42 flakes d80cf306deb4a89b84c9efdce8809c78     
小薄片( flake的名词复数 ); (尤指)碎片; 雪花; 古怪的人
参考例句:
  • It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
  • It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。
43 axe 2oVyI     
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减
参考例句:
  • Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利,你要当心。
  • The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。
44 blanched 86df425770f6f770efe32857bbb4db42     
v.使变白( blanch的过去式 );使(植物)不见阳光而变白;酸洗(金属)使有光泽;用沸水烫(杏仁等)以便去皮
参考例句:
  • The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊(向她)走来,吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》
45 craftily d64e795384853d0165c9ff452a9d786b     
狡猾地,狡诈地
参考例句:
  • He craftily arranged to be there when the decision was announced. 在决议宣布之时,他狡猾地赶到了那里。
  • Strengthen basic training of calculation, get the kids to grasp the radical calculating ability craftily. 加强计算基本训练,通过分、小、百互化口算的练习,使学生熟练地掌握基本的计算技能。
46 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
47 crouching crouching     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
  • A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
48 pal j4Fz4     
n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友
参考例句:
  • He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
  • Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着,小子,我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。
49 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。
50 stammered 76088bc9384c91d5745fd550a9d81721     
v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠,结结巴巴地说,“你是什么意思?” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
51 heeding e57191803bfd489e6afea326171fe444     
v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • This come of heeding people who say one thing and mean another! 有些人嘴里一回事,心里又是一回事,今天这个下场都是听信了这种人的话的结果。 来自辞典例句
  • Her dwarfish spouse still smoked his cigar and drank his rum without heeding her. 她那矮老公还在吸他的雪茄,喝他的蔗酒,睬也不睬她。 来自辞典例句
52 dangled 52e4f94459442522b9888158698b7623     
悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口
参考例句:
  • Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
  • It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。


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