CHAPTER XLV THE OAK FALLS

An hour later he was certain of the fact.

 

Sitting in the hall with Lady Mary he saw the clouds covering the sky. Black, ominous¹, they rolled swiftly up, blown, it would appear, before a strong wind. Down below the air was breathless. There was a curious feeling of suspense² in the atmosphere.

 

“There’s going to be a heavy storm,” said Lady Mary, following the direction of his eyes.

 

“Well, I’m thinking there’ll be a—” he began. And then he stopped. A heavy rumble³ had broken the stillness.

 

“It’s coming,” said Lady Mary. And she got up, crossing to the window.

 

“Glory be to God!” muttered Father Maloney watching her.

 

Once more came the growl⁴, like the low roar of [Pg 324]some angry beast. There was a pause. And then in one sudden flash the gloom of the hall was turned to a blinding white light, a light appalling⁵, terrible. It was followed by a thunderous crash, a crash that shook the whole place, echoing and reverberating⁶ in the distance.

 

Lady Mary turned a white face from the window.

 

Then came a sound of steps in the gallery overhead, the steps descended⁷ the stairs. Biddy appeared, white and shaking.

 

“My Lady,” she stammered⁸, “’tis the great oak is struck. I saw it fall from the nursery window. And the child—” She broke off. Her face was working.

 

“Tut, tut, tut,” said Father Maloney.

 

1 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

2 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

3 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

4 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

5 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

6 reverberating   

回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• The words are still ringing [reverberating] in one's ears. 言犹在耳。
• I heard a voice reverberating: "Crawl out! I give you liberty!" 我听到一个声音在回荡：“爬出来吧，我给你自由！”

7 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

8 stammered   

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