小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Riddle Of The Sands沙岸之谜 » CHAPTER VIII. The Theory
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER VIII. The Theory
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 Davies leaned back and gave a deep sigh, as though he still felt the relief from some tension. I did the same, and felt the same relief. The chart, freed from the pressure of our fingers, rolled up with a flip1, as though to say, “What do you think of that?” I have straightened out his sentences a little, for in the excitement of his story they had grown more and more jerky and elliptical.
 
“What about Dollmann?” I asked.
 
“Of course,” said Davies, “what about him? I didn’t get at much that night. It was all so sudden. The only thing I could have sworn to from the first was that he had purposely left me in the lurch2 that day. I pieced out the rest in the next few days, which I’ll just finish with as shortly as I can. Bartels came aboard next morning, and though it was blowing hard still we managed to shift the Dulcibella to a place where she dried safely at the midday low water, and we could get at her rudder. The lower screw-plate on the stern post had wrenched3 out, and we botched it up roughly as a makeshift. There were other little breakages, but nothing to matter, and the loss of the jib was nothing, as I had two spare ones. The dinghy was past repair just then, and I lashed4 it on deck.
 
“It turned out that Bartels was carrying apples from Bremen to Kappeln (in this fiord), and had run into that channel in the sands for shelter from the weather. To-day he was bound for the Eider River, whence, as I told you, you can get through (by river and canal) into the Baltic. Of course the Elbe route, by the new Kaiser Wilhelm ship canal, is the shortest. The Eider route is the old one, but he hoped to get rid of some of his apples at Tönning, the town at its mouth. Both routes touch the Baltic at Kiel. As you know, I had been running for the Elbe, but yesterday’s muck-up put me off, and I changed my mind—I’ll tell you why presently—and decided5 to sail to the Eider along with the Johannes and get through that way. It cleared from the east next day, and I raced him there, winning hands down, left him at Tönning, and in three days was in the Baltic. It was just a week after I ran ashore6 that I wired to you. You see, I had come to the conclusion that that chap was a spy.”
 
In the end it came out quite quietly and suddenly, and left me in profound amazement7. “I wired to you—that chap was a spy.” It was the close association of these two ideas that hit me hardest at the moment. For a second I was back in the dreary8 splendour of the London club-room, spelling out that crabbed9 scrawl10 from Davies, and fastidiously criticising its proposal in the light of a holiday. Holiday! What was to be its issue? Chilling and opaque11 as the fog that filtered through the skylight there flooded my imagination a mist of doubt and fear.
 
“A spy!” I repeated blankly. “What do you mean? Why did you wire to me? A spy of what—of whom?”
 
“I’ll tell you how I worked it out,” said Davies. “I don’t think ‘spy’ is the right word; but I mean something pretty bad.
 
“He purposely put me ashore. I don’t think I’m suspicious by nature, but I know something about boats and the sea. I know he could have kept close to me if he had chosen, and I saw the whole place at low water when we left those sands on the second day. Look at the chart again. Here’s the Hohenhörn bank that I showed you as blocking the road. [See Chart A] It’s in two pieces—first the west and then the east. You see the Telte channel dividing into two branches and curving round it. Both branches are broad and deep, as channels go in those waters. Now, in sailing in I was nowhere near either of them. When I last saw Dollmann he must have been steering13 straight for the bank itself, at a point somewhere here, quite a mile from the northern arm of the channel, and two from the southern. I followed by compass, as you know, and found nothing but breakers ahead. How did I get through? That’s where the luck came in. I spoke14 of only two channels, that is, round the bank—one to the north, the other to the south. But look closely and you’ll see that right through the centre of the West Hohenhörn runs another, a very narrow and winding15 one, so small that I hadn’t even noticed it the night before, when I was going over the chart. That was the one I stumbled into in that tailor’s fashion, as I was groping along the edge of the surf in a desperate effort to gain time. I bolted down it blindly, came out into this strip of open water, crossed that aimlessly, and brought up on the edge of the East Hohenhörn, here. It was more than I deserved. I can see now that it was a hundred to one in favour of my striking on a bad place outside, where I should have gone to pieces in three minutes.”
 
“And how did Dollmann go?” I asked.
 
“It’s as clear as possible,” Davies answered. “He doubled back into the northern channel when he had misled me enough. Do you remember my saying that when I last saw him I thought he had luffed and showed his broadside? I had another bit of luck in that. He was luffing towards the north—so it struck me through the blur—and when I in my turn came up to the bank, and had to turn one way or the other to avoid it, I think I should naturally have turned north too, as he had done. In that case I should have been done for, for I should have had a mile of the bank to skirt before reaching the north channel, and should have driven ashore long before I got there. But as a matter of fact I turned south.”
 
“Why?”
 
“Couldn’t help it. I was running on the starboard tack—boom over to port; to turn north would have meant a jibe16, and as things were I couldn’t risk one. It was blowing like fits; if anything had carried away I should have been on shore in a jiffy. I scarcely thought about it at all, but put the helm down and turned her south. Though I knew nothing about it, that little central channel was now on my port hand, distant about two cables. The whole thing was luck from beginning to end.”
 
Helped by pluck, I thought to myself, as I tried with my landsman’s fancy to conjure17 up that perilous18 scene. As to the truth of the affair, the chart and Davies’s version were easy enough to follow, but I felt only half convinced. The “spy”, as Davies strangely called his pilot, might have honestly mistaken the course himself, outstripped19 his convoy20 inadvertently, and escaped disaster as narrowly as she did. I suggested this on the spur of the moment, but Davies was impatient.
 
“Wait till you hear the whole thing,” he said. “I must go back to when I first met him. I told you that on that first evening he began by being as rude as a bear and as cold as stone, and then became suddenly friendly. I can see now that in the talk that followed he was pumping me hard. It was an easy game to play, for I hadn’t seen a gentleman since Morrison left me, I was tremendously keen about my voyage, and I thought the chap was a good sportsman, even if he was a bit dark about the ducks. I talked quite freely—at least, as freely as I could with my bad German—about my last fortnight’s sailing; how I had been smelling out all the channels in and out of the islands, how interested I had been in the whole business, puzzling out the effect of the winds on the tides, the set of the currents, and so on. I talked about my difficulties, too; the changes in the buoys21, the prehistoric22 rottenness of the English charts. He drew me out as much as he could, and in the light of what followed I can see the point of scores of his questions.
 
“The next day and the next I saw a good deal of him, and the same thing went on. And then there were my plans for the future. My idea was, as I told you, to go on exploring the German coast just as I had the Dutch. His idea—Heavens, how plainly I see it now!—was to choke me off, get me to clear out altogether from that part of the coast. That was why he said there were no ducks. That was why he cracked up the Baltic as a cruising-ground and shooting-ground. And that was why he broached23 and stuck to that plan of sailing in company direct to the Elbe. It was to see me clear.
 
“He improved on that.”
 
“Yes, but after that, it’s guess-work. I mean that I can’t tell when he first decided to go one better and drown me. He couldn’t count for certain on bad weather, though he held my nose to it when it came. But, granted that he wanted to get rid of me altogether, he got a magnificent chance on that trip to the Elbe lightship. I expect it struck him suddenly, and he acted on the impulse. Left to myself I was all right; but the short cut was a grand idea of his. Everything was in its favour—wind, sea, sand, tide. He thinks I’m dead.”
 
“But the crew?” I said; “what about the crew?”
 
“That’s another thing. When he first hove to, waiting for me, of course they were on deck (two of them, I think) hauling at sheets. But by the time I had drawn24 up level the Medusa had worn round again on her course, and no one was on deck but Dollmann at the wheel. No one overheard what he said.”
 
“Wouldn’t they have seen you again?”
 
“Very likely not; the weather was very thick, and the Dulce is very small.”
 
The incongruity25 of the whole business was striking me. Why should anyone want to kill Davies, and why should Davies, the soul of modesty26 and simplicity27, imagine that anyone wanted to kill him? He must have cogent28 reasons, for he was the last man to give way to a morbid29 fancy.
 
“Go on,” I said. “What was his motive30? A German finds an Englishman exploring a bit of German coast, determines to stop him, and even to get rid of him. It looks so far as if you were thought to be the spy.
 
Davies winced31. “But he’s not a German,” he said, hotly. “He’s an Englishman.”
 
“An Englishman?”
 
“Yes, I’m sure of it. Not that I’ve much to go on. He professed32 to know very little English, and never spoke it, except a word or two now and then to help me out of a sentence; and as to his German, he seemed to me to speak it like a native; but, of course, I’m no judge.” Davies sighed. “That’s where I wanted someone like you. You would have spotted33 him at once, if he wasn’t German. I go more by a—what do you call it?—a——”
 
“General impression,” I suggested.
 
“Yes, that’s what I mean. It was something in his looks and manner; you know how different we are from foreigners. And it wasn’t only himself, it was the way he talked—I mean about cruising and the sea, especially. It’s true he let me do most of the talking; but, all the same—how can I explain it? I felt we understood one another, in a way that two foreigners wouldn’t.
 
“He pretended to think me a bit crazy for coming so far in a small boat, but I could swear he knew as much about the game as I did; for lots of little questions he asked had the right ring in them. Mind you, all this is an afterthought. I should never have bothered about it—I’m not cut out for a Sherlock Holmes—if it hadn’t been for what followed.”
 
“It’s rather vague,” I said. “Have you no more definite reason for thinking him English?”
 
“There were one or two things rather more definite,” said Davies, slowly. “You know when he hove to and hailed me, proposing the short cut, I told you roughly what he said. I forget the exact words, but ‘abschneiden’ came in—‘durch Watten’ and ‘abschneiden’ (they call the banks ‘watts’, you know); they were simple words, and he shouted them loud, so as to carry through the wind. I understood what he meant, but, as I told you, I hesitated before consenting. I suppose he thought I didn’t understand, for just as he was drawing ahead again he pointed34 to the suth’ard, and then shouted through his hands as a trumpet35 ‘Verstehen Sie? short-cut through sands: follow me!’ the last two sentences in downright English. I can hear those words now, and I’ll swear they were in his native tongue. Of course I thought nothing of it at the time. I was quite aware that he knew a few English words, though he had always mispronounced them; an easy trick when your hearer suspects nothing. But I needn’t say that just then I was observant of trifles. I don’t pretend to be able to unravel36 a plot and steer12 a small boat before a heavy sea at the same moment.”
 
“And if he was piloting you into the next world he could afford to commit himself before you parted! Was there anything else? By the way, how did the daughter strike you? Did she look English too?”
 
Two men cannot discuss a woman freely without a deep foundation of intimacy37, and, until this day, the subject had never arisen between us in any form. It was the last that was likely to, for I could have divined that Davies would have met it with an armour38 of reserve. He was busy putting on this armour now; yet I could not help feeling a little brutal39 as I saw how badly he jointed40 his clumsy suit of mail. Our ages were the same, but I laugh now to think how old and blasé I felt as the flush warmed his brown skin, and he slowly propounded41 the verdict, “Yes, I think she did.”
 
“She talked nothing but German, I suppose?”
 
“Oh, of course.”
 
“Did you see much of her?”
 
“A good deal.”
 
“Was she——,” (how frame it?) “Did she want you to sail to the Elbe with them?”
 
“She seemed to,” admitted Davies, reluctantly, clutching at his ally, the match-box. “But, hang it, don’t dream that she knew what was coming,” he added, with sudden fire.
 
I pondered and wondered, shrinking from further inquisition, easy as it would have been with so truthful42 a victim, and banishing43 all thought of ill-timed chaff44. There was a cross-current in this strange affair, whose depth and strength I was beginning to gauge45 with increasing seriousness. I did not know my man yet, and I did not know myself. A conviction that events in the near future would force us into complete mutual46 confidence withheld47 me from pressing him too far. I returned to the main question; who was Dollmann, and what was his motive? Davies struggled out of his armour.
 
“I’m convinced,” he said, “that he’s an Englishman in German service. He must be in German service, for he had evidently been in those waters a long time, and knew every inch of them; of course, it’s a very lonely part of the world, but he has a house on Norderney Island; and he, and all about him, must be well known to a certain number of people. One of his friends I happened to meet; what do you think he was? A naval48 officer. It was on the afternoon of the third day, and we were having coffee on the deck of the Medusa, and talking about next day’s trip, when a little launch came buzzing up from seaward, drew alongside, and this chap I’m speaking of came on board, shook hands with Dollmann, and stared hard at me. Dollmann introduced us, calling him Commander von Brüning, in command of the torpedo49 gunboat Blitz. He pointed towards Norderney, and I saw her—a low, grey rat of a vessel—anchored in the Roads about two miles away. It turned out that she was doing the work of fishery guardship on that part of the coast.
 
“I must say I took to him at once. He looked a real good sort, and a splendid officer, too—just the sort of chap I should have liked to be. You know I always wanted—but that’s an old story, and can wait. I had some talk with him, and we got on capitally as far as we went, but that wasn’t far, for I left pretty soon, guessing that they wanted to be alone.”
 
“Were they alone then?” I asked, innocently.
 
“Oh, Fräulein Dollmann was there, of course,” explained Davies, feeling for his armour again.
 
“Did he seem to know them well?” I pursued, inconsequently.
 
“Oh, yes, very well.”
 
Scenting50 a faint clue, I felt the need of feminine weapons for my sensitive antagonist51. But the opportunity passed.
 
“That was the last I saw of him,” he said. “We sailed, as I told you, at daybreak next morning. Now, have you got any idea what I’m driving at?”
 
“A rough idea,” I answered. “Go ahead.”
 
Davies sat up to the table, unrolled the chart with a vigorous sweep of his two hands, and took up his parable52 with new zest53.
 
“I start with two certainties,” he said. “One is that I was ‘moved on’ from that coast, because I was too inquisitive54. The other is that Dollmann is at some devil’s work there which is worth finding out. Now”—he paused in a gasping55 effort to be logical and articulate. “Now—well, look at the chart. No, better still, look first at this map of Germany. It’s on a small scale, and you can see the whole thing.” He snatched down a pocket-map from the shelf and unfolded it. [See Map A] “Here’s this huge empire, stretching half over central Europe—an empire growing like wildfire, I believe, in people, and wealth, and everything. They’ve licked the French, and the Austrians, and are the greatest military power in Europe. I wish I knew more about all that, but what I’m concerned with is their sea-power. It’s a new thing with them, but it’s going strong, and that Emperor of theirs is running it for all it’s worth. He’s a splendid chap, and anyone can see he’s right. They’ve got no colonies to speak of, and must have them, like us. They can’t get them and keep them, and they can’t protect their huge commerce without naval strength. The command of the sea is the thing nowadays, isn’t it? I say, don’t think these are my ideas,” he added, naïvely. “It’s all out of Mahan and those fellows. Well, the Germans have got a small fleet at present, but it’s a thundering good one, and they’re building hard. There’s the——and the——.” He broke off into a digression on armaments and speeds in which I could not follow him. He seemed to know every ship by heart. I had to recall him to the point. “Well, think of Germany as a new sea-power,” he resumed. “The next thing is, what is her coast-line? It’s a very queer one, as you know, split clean in two by Denmark, most of it lying east of that and looking on the Baltic, which is practically an inland sea, with its entrance blocked by Danish islands. It was to evade56 that block that William built the ship canal from Kiel to the Elbe, but that could be easily smashed in war-time. Far the most important bit of coast-line is that which lies west of Denmark and looks on the North Sea. It’s there that Germany gets her head out into the open, so to speak. It’s there that she fronts us and France, the two great sea-powers of Western Europe, and it’s there that her greatest ports are and her richest commerce.
 
“Now it must strike you at once that it’s ridiculously short compared with the huge country behind it. From Borkum to the Elbe, as the crow flies, is only seventy miles. Add to that the west coast of Schleswig, say 120 miles. Total, say, two hundred. Compare that with the seaboard of France and England. Doesn’t it stand to reason that every inch of it is important? Now what sort of coast is it? Even on this small map you can see at once, by all those wavy57 lines, shoals and sand everywhere, blocking nine-tenths of the land altogether, and doing their best to block the other tenth where the great rivers run in. Now let’s take it bit by bit. You see it divides itself into three. Beginning from the west the first piece is from Borkum to Wangeroog—fifty odd miles. What’s that like? A string of sandy islands backed by sand; the Ems river at the western end, on the Dutch border, leading to Emden—not much of a place. Otherwise, no coast towns at all. Second piece: a deep sort of bay consisting of the three great estuaries58—the Jade59, the Weser and the Elbe—leading to Wilhelmshaven (their North Sea naval base), Bremen, and Hamburg; total breadth of bay, twenty odd miles only; sandbanks littered about all through it. Third piece: the Schleswig coast, hopelessly fenced in behind a six to eight mile fringe of sand. No big towns; one moderate river, the Eider. Let’s leave that third piece aside. I may be wrong, but, in thinking this business out, I’ve pegged60 away chiefly at the other two, the seventy-mile stretch from Borkum to the Elbe—half of it estuaries, and half islands. It was there that I found the Medusa, and it’s that stretch that, thanks to him, I missed exploring.”
 
I made an obvious conjecture61. “I suppose there are forts and coast defences? Perhaps he thought you would see too much. By the way, he saw your naval books, of course?”
 
“Exactly. Of course that was my first idea; but it can’t be that. It doesn’t explain things in the least. To begin with, there are no forts and can be none in that first division, where the islands are. There might be something on Borkum to defend the Ems; but it’s very unlikely, and, anyway, I had passed Borkum and was at Norderney. There’s nothing else to defend. Of course it’s different in the second division, where the big rivers are. There are probably hosts of forts and mines round Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven, and at Cuxhaven just at the mouth of the Elbe. Not that I should ever dream of bothering about them; every steamer that goes in would see as much as me. Personally, I much prefer to stay on board, and don’t often go on shore. And, good Heavens!” (Davies leant back and laughed joyously) “do I look like that kind of spy?”
 
I figured to myself one of those romantic gentlemen that one reads of in sixpenny magazines, with a Kodak in his tie-pin, a sketch-book in the lining62 of his coat, and a selection of disguises in his hand luggage. Little disposed for merriment as I was, I could not help smiling, too.
 
“About this coast,” resumed Davies. “In the event of war it seems to me that every inch of it would be important, sand and all. Take the big estuaries first, which, of course, might be attacked or blockaded by an enemy. At first sight you would say that their main channels were the only things that mattered. Now, in time of peace there’s no secrecy63 about the navigation of these. They’re buoyed64 and lighted like streets, open to the whole world, and taking an immense traffic; well charted, too, as millions of pounds in commerce depend on them. But now look at the sands they run through, intersected, as I showed you, by threads of channels, tidal for the most part, and probably only known to smacks65 and shallow coasters, like that galliot of Bartels.
 
“It strikes me that in a war a lot might depend on these, both in defence and attack, for there’s plenty of water in them at the right tide for patrol-boats and small torpedo craft, though I can see they take a lot of knowing. Now, say we were at war with Germany—both sides could use them as lines between the three estuaries; and to take our own case, a small torpedo-boat (not a destroyer, mind you) could on a dark night cut clean through from the Jade to the Elbe and play the deuce with the shipping66 there. But the trouble is that I doubt if there’s a soul in our fleet who knows those channels. We haven’t coasters there; and, as to yachts, it’s a most unlikely game for an English yacht to play at; but it does so happen that I have a fancy for that sort of thing and would have explored those channels in the ordinary course.” I began to see his drift.
 
“Now for the islands. I was rather stumped67 there at first, I grant, because, though there are lashings of sand behind them, and the same sort of intersecting channels, yet there seems nothing important to guard or attack.
 
“Why shouldn’t a stranger ramble68 as he pleases through them? Still Dollmann had his headquarters there, and I was sure that had some meaning. Then it struck me that the same point held good, for that strip of Frisian coast adjoins the estuaries, and would also form a splendid base for raiding midgets, which could travel unseen right through from the Ems to the Jade, and so to the Elbe, as by a covered way between a line of forts.
 
“Now here again it’s an unknown land to us. Plenty of local galliots travel it, but strangers never, I should say. Perhaps at the most an occasional foreign yacht gropes in at one of the gaps between the islands for shelter from bad weather, and is precious lucky to get in safe. Once again, it was my fad69 to like such places, and Dollmann cleared me out. He’s not a German, but he’s in with Germans, and naval Germans too. He’s established on that coast, and knows it by heart. And he tried to drown me. Now what do you think?” He gazed at me long and anxiously.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 flip Vjwx6     
vt.快速翻动;轻抛;轻拍;n.轻抛;adj.轻浮的
参考例句:
  • I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书,看来似乎很有趣。
  • Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。
2 lurch QR8z9     
n.突然向前或旁边倒;v.蹒跚而行
参考例句:
  • It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
  • He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。
3 wrenched c171af0af094a9c29fad8d3390564401     
v.(猛力地)扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 );扭伤;使感到痛苦;使悲痛
参考例句:
  • The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
  • He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 lashed 4385e23a53a7428fb973b929eed1bce6     
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥
参考例句:
  • The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
  • The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 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。
6 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸
参考例句:
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前,孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
7 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。
8 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。
9 crabbed Svnz6M     
adj.脾气坏的;易怒的;(指字迹)难辨认的;(字迹等)难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • His mature composi tions are generally considered the more cerebral and crabbed. 他成熟的作品一般被认为是触动理智的和难于理解的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He met a crabbed, cantankerous director. 他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。 来自辞典例句
10 scrawl asRyE     
vt.潦草地书写;n.潦草的笔记,涂写
参考例句:
  • His signature was an illegible scrawl.他的签名潦草难以辨认。
  • Your beautiful handwriting puts my untidy scrawl to shame.你漂亮的字体把我的潦草字迹比得见不得人。
11 opaque jvhy1     
adj.不透光的;不反光的,不传导的;晦涩的
参考例句:
  • The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
  • Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。
12 steer 5u5w3     
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶
参考例句:
  • If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车,我就来驾车。
  • It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。
13 steering 3hRzbi     
n.操舵装置
参考例句:
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
  • Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。
14 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。
15 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
16 jibe raBz0     
v.嘲笑,与...一致,使转向;n.嘲笑,嘲弄
参考例句:
  • Perhaps I should withdraw my jibe about hot air.或许我应当收回对热火朝天的嘲笑。
  • What he says does not jibe with what others say.他所说的与其他人说的不一致。
17 conjure tnRyN     
v.恳求,祈求;变魔术,变戏法
参考例句:
  • I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
  • I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。
18 perilous E3xz6     
adj.危险的,冒险的
参考例句:
  • The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
  • We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机,我们如今已安然无恙。
19 outstripped a0f484b2f20edcad2242f1d8b1f23c25     
v.做得比…更好,(在赛跑等中)超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句
20 convoy do6zu     
vt.护送,护卫,护航;n.护送;护送队
参考例句:
  • The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
  • Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。
21 buoys fc4788789ca537c33a2d5ad4b7a567db     
n.浮标( buoy的名词复数 );航标;救生圈;救生衣v.使浮起( buoy的第三人称单数 );支持;为…设浮标;振奋…的精神
参考例句:
  • The channel is marked by buoys. 航道有浮标表示。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Often they mark the path with buoys. 他们常常用浮标作为航道的标志。 来自辞典例句
22 prehistoric sPVxQ     
adj.(有记载的)历史以前的,史前的,古老的
参考例句:
  • They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
  • It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。
23 broached 6e5998583239ddcf6fbeee2824e41081     
v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 );打开并开始用;用凿子扩大(或修光);(在桶上)钻孔取液体
参考例句:
  • She broached the subject of a picnic to her mother. 她向母亲提起野餐的问题。 来自辞典例句
  • He broached the subject to the stranger. 他对陌生人提起那话题。 来自辞典例句
24 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。
25 incongruity R8Bxo     
n.不协调,不一致
参考例句:
  • She smiled at the incongruity of the question.面对这样突兀的问题,她笑了。
  • When the particular outstrips the general,we are faced with an incongruity.当特别是超过了总的来讲,我们正面临着一个不协调。
26 modesty REmxo     
n.谦逊,虚心,端庄,稳重,羞怯,朴素
参考例句:
  • Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
  • As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后,谦虚使人进步。
27 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
28 cogent hnuyD     
adj.强有力的,有说服力的
参考例句:
  • The result is a cogent explanation of inflation.结果令人信服地解释了通货膨胀问题。
  • He produced cogent reasons for the change of policy.他对改变政策提出了充分的理由。
29 morbid u6qz3     
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的
参考例句:
  • Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。
30 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
31 winced 7be9a27cb0995f7f6019956af354c6e4     
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子,疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
  • He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。
32 professed 7151fdd4a4d35a0f09eaf7f0f3faf295     
公开声称的,伪称的,已立誓信教的
参考例句:
  • These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
  • Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。
33 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。
34 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。
35 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
36 unravel Ajzwo     
v.弄清楚(秘密);拆开,解开,松开
参考例句:
  • He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧,其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线,他都能解开。
  • This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。
37 intimacy z4Vxx     
n.熟悉,亲密,密切关系,亲昵的言行
参考例句:
  • His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切,这有点言过其实。
  • I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。
38 armour gySzuh     
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队
参考例句:
  • His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
  • Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。
39 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
40 jointed 0e57ef22df02be1a8b7c6abdfd98c54f     
有接缝的
参考例句:
  • To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她,那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
  • It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。
41 propounded 3fbf8014080aca42e6c965ec77e23826     
v.提出(问题、计划等)供考虑[讨论],提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • the theory of natural selection, first propounded by Charles Darwin 查尔斯∙达尔文首先提出的物竞天择理论
  • Indeed it was first propounded by the ubiquitous Thomas Young. 实际上,它是由尽人皆知的杨氏首先提出来的。 来自辞典例句
42 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
43 banishing 359bf2285192b48a299687d5082c4aed     
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • And he breathes out fast, like a king banishing a servant. 他呼气则非常迅速,像一个国王驱逐自己的奴仆。 来自互联网
  • Banishing genetic disability must therefore be our primary concern. 消除基因缺陷是我们的首要之急。 来自互联网
44 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。
45 gauge 2gMxz     
v.精确计量;估计;n.标准度量;计量器
参考例句:
  • Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗?
  • It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。
46 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
47 withheld f9d7381abd94e53d1fbd8a4e53915ec8     
withhold过去式及过去分词
参考例句:
  • I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后,我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意,学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
48 naval h1lyU     
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的
参考例句:
  • He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
  • The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
49 torpedo RJNzd     
n.水雷,地雷;v.用鱼雷破坏
参考例句:
  • His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
  • Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。
50 scenting 163c6ec33148fedfedca27cbb3a29280     
vt.闻到(scent的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Soames, scenting the approach of a jest, closed up. 索来斯觉察出有点调侃的味儿来了,赶快把话打断。 来自辞典例句
  • The pale woodbines and the dog-roses were scenting the hedgerows. 金银花和野蔷薇把道旁的树也薰香了。 来自辞典例句
51 antagonist vwXzM     
n.敌人,对抗者,对手
参考例句:
  • His antagonist in the debate was quicker than he.在辩论中他的对手比他反应快。
  • The thing is to know the nature of your antagonist.要紧的是要了解你的对手的特性。
52 parable R4hzI     
n.寓言,比喻
参考例句:
  • This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
  • The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。
53 zest vMizT     
n.乐趣;滋味,风味;兴趣
参考例句:
  • He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
  • He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。
54 inquisitive s64xi     
adj.求知欲强的,好奇的,好寻根究底的
参考例句:
  • Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
  • A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。
55 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!”
56 evade evade     
vt.逃避,回避;避开,躲避
参考例句:
  • He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
  • You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人,你怎么能对这个问题不置可否?
57 wavy 7gFyX     
adj.有波浪的,多浪的,波浪状的,波动的,不稳定的
参考例句:
  • She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
  • His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了,正好垂在他的眉毛下。
58 estuaries 60f47b2d23159196be8449188dca90a4     
(江河入海的)河口,河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
  • Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。
59 jade i3Pxo     
n.玉石;碧玉;翡翠
参考例句:
  • The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
  • He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。
60 pegged eb18fad4b804ac8ec6deaf528b06e18b     
v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 );使固定在某水平
参考例句:
  • They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
61 conjecture 3p8z4     
n./v.推测,猜测
参考例句:
  • She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
  • This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。
62 lining kpgzTO     
n.衬里,衬料
参考例句:
  • The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
  • Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。
63 secrecy NZbxH     
n.秘密,保密,隐蔽
参考例句:
  • All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
  • Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。
64 buoyed 7da50152a46b3edf3164b6a7f21be885     
v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 );支持;为…设浮标;振奋…的精神
参考例句:
  • Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下,该队有信心再次获胜。
  • His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
65 smacks e38ec3a6f4260031cc2f6544eec9331e     
掌掴(声)( smack的名词复数 ); 海洛因; (打的)一拳; 打巴掌
参考例句:
  • His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
  • It was a fishing town, and the sea was dotted with smacks. 这是个渔业城镇,海面上可看到渔帆点点。
66 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
67 stumped bf2a34ab92a06b6878a74288580b8031     
僵直地行走,跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 ); 把(某人)难住; 使为难; (选举前)在某一地区作政治性巡回演说
参考例句:
  • Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活,然后很艰难地走出房间。
  • He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌,半天说不出话来。
68 ramble DAszo     
v.漫步,漫谈,漫游;n.漫步,闲谈,蔓延
参考例句:
  • This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
  • I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。
69 fad phyzL     
n.时尚;一时流行的狂热;一时的爱好
参考例句:
  • His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
  • A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533