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Chapter 4
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The day she discovered the third letter, she had of course expected nothing unusual. It was a typical midsummer day in Boston-hot, humid, with the same news that usually accompanied such weather-a few assaults brought on by aggravated1 tensions and two early afternoon murders by people who had taken it too far.

Theresa was in the newsroom, researching a topic on autistic children. The Boston Times had an excellent database of articles published in previous years from a variety of magazines. Through her computer she could also access the library at Harvard University or Boston University, and the addition of literally2 hundreds of thousands of articles they had at their disposal made any search much easier and less time-consuming than it had been even a few years ago. In a couple of hours she had been able to find almost thirty articles written in the last three years that had been published in journals she had never heard of, and six of the titles looked interesting enough to possibly use. Since she would be passing by Harvard on the way home, she decided3 to pick them up then.

As she was about to turn off her computer, a thought suddenly crossed her mind and she stopped. Why not? she asked herself. It's a long shot, but what can I lose? She sat down at her desk, accessed the database at Harvard again, and typed in the words

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Because articles in the library system were indexed by subject or headline, she chose to scan by headlines to speed up the search. Subject searches usually produced more articles, but weeding through them was a laborious4 process, and she didn't have time to do it now. After hitting the return key, she leaned back and waited for the computer to retrieve5 the information she requested.

The response surprised her-a dozen different articles had been written on the subject in the last few years. Most of those were published by scientific journals, and their titles seemed to suggest that bottles were being used in various endeavors to learn about ocean currents.

Three articles seemed interesting, though, and she jotted6 down the titles, deciding to pick those up as well.

Traffic was heavy and slow, and it took longer than she thought it would to get to the library and copy the nine articles she was looking for. She got home late, and after ordering in from the local Chinese restaurant, she sat on the couch with the three articles on messages in bottles in front of her.

An article published in Yankee magazine in March of the previous year was the first one she picked up. It related some history about messages in bottles and chronicled stories about bottles that had washed up in New England over the past few years. Some of the letters that had been found were truly memorable7. She especially enjoyed reading about Paolina and Ake Viking.

Paolina's father had found a message in a bottle that had been sent by Ake, a young Swedish sailor. Ake, who had grown bored during one of his many trips at sea, asked for any pretty woman who found it to write back. The father gave it to Paolina, who in turn wrote to Ake. One letter led to another, and when Ake finally traveled to Sicily to meet her, they realized how much they were in love. They married soon after.

Toward the end of the article, she came across two paragraphs that told of yet another message that had washed up on the beaches of Long Island:

 

Most messages sent by bottle usually ask the finder to respond once with little hope of a lifelong correspondence. Sometimes, however, the senders do not want a response. One such letter, a moving tribute to a lost love, was discovered washed up on Long Island last year. In part it read:

 

"Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face-I know it is an impossibility, but I cannot help myself. My search for you is a never-ending quest that is doomed8 to fail. You and I had talked about what would happen if we were forced apart by circumstance, but I cannot keep the promise I made to you that night. I am sorry, my darling, but there will never be another to replace you. The words I whispered to you were folly9, and I should have realized it then. You-and you alone-have always been the only thing I wanted, and now that you are gone, I have no desire to find another. Till death do us part, we whispered in the church, and I've come to believe that the words will ring true until the day finally comes when I, too, am taken from this world."

She stopped eating and abruptly10 put down her fork.

It can't be! She found herself staring at the words. It's simply not possible. . . .

But . . .

but . . . who else could it be?

She wiped her brow, aware that her hands were suddenly shaking. Another letter? She flipped11 to the front of the article and looked at the author's name. It had been written by Arthur Shendakin, Ph.D., a professor of history at Boston College, meaning . . .

he must live in the area.

She jumped up and retrieved12 the phone book on the stand near the dining room table. She thumbed through it, looking for the name. There were fewer than a dozen Shendakins listed, although only two seemed like a possibility. Both had "A" listed as the first initial, and she checked her watch before dialing. Nine-thirty. Late, but not too late. She punched in the numbers. The first call was answered by a woman who said she had the wrong number, and when she put down the phone, she noticed her throat had gone dry. She went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. After taking a long drink, she took a deep breath and went back to the phone.

She made sure she dialed the correct number and waited as the phone started to ring.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

On the fourth ring she began to lose hope, but on the fifth ring she heard the other line pick up.

"Hello," a man said. By the sound of his voice, she thought he must be in his sixties.

She cleared her throat.

"Hello, this is Theresa Osborne of the Boston Times. Is this Arthur Shendakin?"

"Yes, it is," he answered, sounding surprised.

Keep calm, she told herself.

"Oh, hi. I was just calling to find out if this is the same Arthur Shendakin who had an article published last year in Yankee magazine about messages in bottles."

"Yes, I wrote that. How can I help you?"

Her hands felt sweaty on the receiver. "I was curious about one of the messages you said had washed up on Long Island. Do you remember which letter I'm talking about?"

"Can I ask why you're interested?"

"Well," she began, "the Times is thinking of doing an article on the same topic, and we were interested in obtaining a copy of the letter."

She winced13 at her own lie, but telling the truth seemed worse. How would that have sounded? Oh, hi, I'm infatuated with a mysterious man who sends messages in bottles, and I'm wondering if the letter that you found was written by him as well. . . .

He answered slowly. "Well, I don't know. That was the letter that inspired me to write the articles . . . I'd have to think about it."

Theresa's throat tightened14. "So, you have the letter?"

"Yes. I found it a couple of years ago."

"Mr. Shendakin, I know this is an unusual request, but I can tell you that if you let us use the letter, we'd be happy to pay you a small sum. And we don't need the actual letter. A copy of it will do, so you really wouldn't be giving anything up."

She could tell the request surprised him.

"How much are we talking about?"

I don't know, I'm making all this up on the fly. How much do you want?

"We're willing to offer three hundred dollars, and of course, you'll be properly credited as the person who found it."

He paused for a moment, considering. Theresa chimed back in before he could formulate15 a rejection16.

"Mr. Shendakin, I'm sure there's a part of you that's worried about the similarity between your article and what the newspaper intends to print. I can assure you that they will be very different. The article that we're doing is mainly about the direction that bottles travel-you know, ocean currents and all that. We just want some actual letters that will provide some sort of human interest to our readers."

Where did that come from?

"Well . . ."

"Please, Mr. Shendakin. It would really mean a lot to me."

He was silent for a moment.

"Just a copy?"

Yes!

"Yes, of course. I can give you a fax number, or you can send it. Should I make the check out to you?"

He paused again before answering. "I . . . I suppose so." He sounded as though he'd been somehow maneuvered17 into a corner and didn't know how to get out.

"Thanks, Mr. Shendakin." Before he could change his mind, Theresa gave him the fax number, took his address, and made a note to pick up a money order the following day. She thought it might look suspicious if she sent one of her personal checks.

*  *  *

The next day, after calling the professor's office at Boston College to leave a message for him that the payment had been sent, she went to work with her head spinning. The possible existence of a third letter made it difficult to think of anything else. True, there still wasn't any guarantee that the letter was from the same person, but if it was, she didn't know what she would do. She'd thought about Garrett almost all night, trying to picture what he looked like, imagining things he liked to do. She didn't understand quite what she was feeling, but in the end she finally decided to let the letter decide things. If it wasn't from Garrett, she would end all this now. She wouldn't use her computer to search for him, she wouldn't look for evidence of any other letters. And if she found herself continuing to obsess18, she would throw the two letters away. Curiosity was fine as long as it didn't take over your life-and she wouldn't let that happen.

But, on the other hand, if the letter was from Garrett . . .

She still didn't know what she would do then. Part of her hoped it wouldn't be, so she wouldn't have to make that decision.

When she got to her desk, she purposely waited before going to the fax machine. She turned on her computer, called two physicians she needed to speak with about the column she was writing, and jotted a few notes on possible other topics. By the time she had finished her busywork, she had almost convinced herself that the letter wouldn't be from him. There are probably thousands of letters floating around in the ocean, she told herself. Odds19 are it's someone else.

She finally went to the fax machine when she couldn't think of anything else to do and began to look through the stack. It hadn't been sorted yet, and there were a few dozen pages addressed to various people. In the middle of the stack, she found a cover letter addressed to her. With it were two more pages, and when she looked more closely at them, the first thing she noticed-as she had with the other two letters-was the sailing ship embossed in the upper right corner. But this one was shorter than the other letters, and she read it before she got back to her desk. The final paragraph was the one she had seen in Arthur Shendakin's article.

 

September 25, 1995

Dear Catherine,

A month has passed since I've written, but it has seemed to pass much more slowly. Life passes by now like the scenery outside a car window. I breathe and eat and sleep as I always did, but there seems to be no great purpose in my life that requires active participation20 on my part. I simply drift along like the messages I write you. I do not know where I am going or when I will get there.

Even work does not take the pain away. I may be diving for my own pleasure or showing others how to do so, but when I return to the shop, it seems empty without you. I stock and order as I always did, but even now, I sometimes glance over my shoulder without thinking and call for you. As I write this note to you, I wonder when, or if, things like that will ever stop.

Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face-I know it is an impossibility, but I cannot help myself. My search for you is a never-ending quest that is doomed to fail. You and I had talked about what would happen if we were forced apart by circumstance, but I cannot keep the promise I made to you that night. I am sorry, my darling, but there will never be another to replace you. The words I whispered to you were folly, and I should have realized it then. You-and you alone-have always been the only thing I wanted, and now that you are gone, I have no desire to find another. Till death do us part, we whispered in the church, and I've come to believe that the words will ring true until the day finally comes when I, too, am taken from this world.

Garrett

 

"Deanna, do you have a minute? I need to talk to you."

Deanna looked up from her computer and took off her reading glasses. "Of course I do. What's up?"

Theresa laid the three letters on Deanna's desk without speaking. Deanna picked them up one by one, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Where did you get these other two letters?"

Theresa explained how she'd come across them. When she finished her story, Deanna read the letters in silence. Theresa sat in the chair opposite her.

"Well," she said, putting down the last letter, "you've certainly been keeping a secret, haven't you?"

Theresa shrugged21, and Deanna went on. "But there's more to this than just finding the letters, isn't there?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Deanna said with a sly smile, "you didn't come in here because you found the letters. You came in here because you're interested in this Garrett fellow."

Theresa's mouth opened, and Deanna laughed.

"Don't look so surprised, Theresa. I'm not complete idiot. I knew something was going on these last few days. You've been so distracted around here-it's like you've been a hundred miles away. I was going to ask you about it, but I figured you'd talk to me when you were ready."

"I thought I was keeping things under control."

"Perhaps for other people. But I've known you long enough to know when something's up with you." She smiled again. "So tell me, what's going on?"

Theresa thought for a moment.

"It's been really strange. I mean, I can't stop thinking about him, and I don't know why. It's like I'm in high school again and I have a crush on someone I've never met. Only this is worse-not only have we never spoken, but I've never even seen him. For all I know, he could be a seventy-year-old man."

Deanna leaned back in her chair and nodded thoughtfully. "That's true . . . but you don't think that's the case, do you?"

Theresa slowly shook her head. "No, not really."

"Neither do I," Deanna said as she picked up the letters again. "He talks about how they fell in love when they were young, he hasn't mentioned any children, he teaches diving, and writes about Catherine as if he had only been married a few years. I doubt if he's that old."

"That's what I thought, too."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"Absolutely."

Deanna spoke22 the words carefully. "I think you should go to Wilmington to try to find Garrett."

"But it seems so . . . so ridiculous, even to me-"

"Why?"

"Because I don't know anything about him."

"Theresa, you know a good deal more about Garrett than I did about Brian before I met him. And besides, I didn't tell you to marry him, I just told you to go find him. You may find out that you don't like him at all, but at least you'll know, won't you? I mean, what can it hurt?"

"What if . . ." She paused, and Deanna finished her statement.

"What if he's not what you imagine? Theresa, I can guarantee he's not what you're imagining already. No one ever is. But to my mind, that shouldn't make any difference in your decision. If you think you want to find out more, just go. The worst thing that can happen is you find out he's not the kind of man you're looking for. And what would you do then? You'd come back to Boston, but you'd come back with your answer. How bad would that be? Probably no worse than what you're going through now."

"You don't think this whole thing is crazy?"

Deanna shook her head thoughtfully. "Theresa, I've wanted you to start looking for another man for a long time. Like I told you when we were on vacation, you deserve to find another person to share your life with. Now, I don't know how this whole thing with Garrett will work out. If I had to bet, I'd say it's probably not going to lead to anything. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. If everyone who thought they might fail didn't even try, where would we be today?"

Theresa was silent for a moment. "You're being much too logical about this whole thing. . . ."

Deanna shrugged off her protests. "I'm older than you, and I've gone through a lot. One of the things I've learned in my life is that sometimes you've got to take a chance. And to me, this one isn't all that large. I mean, you're not leaving your husband and family to go find this person, you're not giving up your job and moving across the country. You're really in a wonderful situation. There's no downside for you to go, so don't blow this out of proportion. If you feel like you should go, go. If you don't want to go, don't. It's really as simple as that. Besides, Kevin isn't around and you have plenty of vacation left this year."

Theresa began twisting a strand23 of hair around her finger.

"And my column?"

"Don't worry about it. We still have the one column you wrote that we didn't use because we published the letter instead. After that, we can run a couple of repeats from past years. Most papers hadn't picked up your column then, so they probably won't know the difference."

"You make this sound so easy."

"It is easy. The hard part is going to be finding him. But I think these letters have some information we can use to help you. What do you say we make a few phone calls and do a little hunting on the computer?"

They were both silent for a long time.

"Okay," Theresa said finally. "But I hope I don't end up regretting this."

*  *  *

"So," Theresa asked Deanna, "where do we begin?"

She pulled her chair around to the other side of Deanna's desk.

"First off," Deanna began, "let's begin with what we're pretty sure about. First, I think it's fair to say that his name actually is Garrett. That's how he signed all the letters, and I don't think he would have bothered using a name other than his own. He might have done so if it was only one letter, but with three letters, I'm fairly confident that it's either his first name, or even his middle name. Either way, it's the name he's called by."

"And," Theresa added, "he's probably in Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach, or another community close by." Deanna nodded. "All his letters talk about the ocean or ocean themes, and of course, that's where he throws the bottles. From the tone of the letters, it sounds like he writes them when he gets lonely or when he's thinking about Catherine."

"That's what I thought. He didn't seem to mention any special occasions in the letters. They talked about his day-to-day life, and what he was going through."

"Okay, good," Deanna said, nodding. She was getting more excited as they went on. "There was a boat that was mentioned . . ."

"Happenstance," Theresa said. "The letter said that they restored the boat and used to sail together. So, it's probably a sailboat."

"Write that down," Deanna said. "We may be able to find out more about that with a couple of calls from here. Maybe there's a place that registers boats by name. I think I can call the paper down there to find out. Was there anything else in the second letter?"

"Not that I can tell. But the third letter has a little bit more information. From what he writes, two things stand out."

Deanna chimed in. "One, that Catherine has indeed passed away."

"And also that it looks like he owns a scuba-diving shop where he and Catherine used to work."

"That's another thing to write down. I think we can find out more about that from up here as well. Anything else?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, it's a good beginning. This might be easier than we think. Let's start making some calls."

The first place Deanna called was the Wilmington Journal, the newspaper that served the area. She identified herself and asked to speak with someone who was familiar with boating. After a couple of transfers, she found herself speaking with Zack Norton, who covered sportfishing and other ocean sports. After explaining that she wanted to know if there was a place that kept a registry of boat names, she was told that there wasn't.

"Boats are registered with an identification number, almost like cars," he said in a slow drawl, "but if you have the name of the person, you might be able to find out the name of the boat on the form if it's listed. It's not a required piece of information, but a lot of people put it down anyway." Deanna scribbled24 the words "Boats not registered by name" on the pad in front of her and showed it to Theresa.

"That was a dead end," Theresa said quietly.

Deanna put her hand over the receiver and whispered, "Maybe, maybe not. Don't give up so easily."

After thanking Zack Norton for his time and hanging up, Deanna looked over the list of clues again. She thought for a moment, then decided to call information for the phone numbers of scuba-diving shops in the Wilmington area. Theresa watched as Deanna wrote down the names and numbers of the eleven shops that were listed. "Is there anything else I can do for you, ma'am?" the operator asked.

"No, you've been more than helpful. Thank you."

She hung up the phone, and Theresa looked at her curiously25. "What are you going to ask them when you call?"

"I'm going to ask for Garrett."

Theresa's heart skipped a beat. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Deanna said, smiling as she dialed. She motioned for Theresa to pick up the other extension, "just in case it's him," and they both waited quietly for someone to answer at Atlantic Adventures, the first name they were given.

When the phone finally picked up, Deanna took a deep breath and asked pleasantly if Garrett was available to teach any classes. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number," the voice said quickly. Deanna apologized and hung up.

They received the same answer on the next five calls. Unswayed, Deanna went down the list to the next name and dialed again. Expecting the same answer, she was surprised when the person on the line hesitated for a moment.

"Are you talking about Garrett Blake?"

Garrett.

Theresa nearly fell from the chair at the sound of his name. Deanna said yes, and the man who answered went on.

"He's with Island Diving. Are you sure we can't help you? We've got some classes starting soon."

Deanna quickly excused herself. "No, I'm sorry. I really need to work with Garrett. I promised him I would." When she put the phone back in the cradle, she was smiling broadly.

"So, we're getting close now."

"I can't believe it was that easy. . . ."

"It wasn't that easy, if you think about it, Theresa. Unless a person found more than one letter, it wouldn't have been possible."

"Do you think it's the same Garrett?"

She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow26. "Don't you?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe."

Deanna shrugged off the reply. "Well, we'll find out soon enough. This is getting fun."

Deanna then called information again and got the number for the ship registry of Wilmington. After dialing, she told the voice on the line who she was and asked for someone who could help her verify some information. "My husband and I were vacationing down there," she told the woman who answered the phone, "when our boat broke down. This nice gentleman found us and helped us get back to shore. His name was Garrett Blake, and I think the name of his boat was Happenstance, but I want to be sure when I write the story."

Deanna went on, refusing to let the woman get a word in edgewise. She told her how scared she had been and how much it had meant when Garrett had come to their rescue. Then, after flattering the woman about how nice people were in the South and Wilmington in particular and how she wanted to do a story on southern hospitality and the kindness of strangers, the woman was more than willing to help. "Since you're just verifying the information and not asking for anything you don't know, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Hold on for a second."

Deanna drummed her fingers on the desk while the sounds of Barry Manilow wafted27 through the receiver. The woman picked up again.

"Okay. Let's see now . . ." Deanna heard tapping on a keyboard, then a strange beep. After a moment, the woman said the words that both Deanna and Theresa hoped she would.

"Yes, here it is. Garrett Blake. Um . . . you got the name right, at least according to the information we have. It says here that the boat is named Happenstance."

Deanna thanked her profusely28 and asked for the lady's name, "so she could write about another person who epitomized hospitality." After spelling it back to the woman, she hung up the phone, beaming.

"Garrett Blake," she said with a victorious29 smile. "Our mysterious writer is named Garrett Blake."

"I can't believe you found him."

Deanna nodded as if she'd accomplished30 something even she doubted she could do. "Believe it. This old woman still knows how to research information."

"That you do."

"Anything else that you want to know more about?"

Theresa thought for a moment. "Can you find out anything about Catherine?"

Deanna shrugged and readied herself for the task. "I don't know, but we can give it a try. Let's call the paper to see if anything is in their records. If the death was accidental, it may have been written up."

Again, Deanna called the paper and asked for the news department. Unfortunately, after speaking with a couple of people, she was told that newspapers from a few years back were recorded on microfiche and couldn't be accessed easily without a specific date. Deanna asked for and received a name that Theresa should contact when she got down there, in case she wanted to look up the information on her own.

"I think that's about all we can do from here. The rest is up to you, Theresa. But at least you know where to find him."

Deanna held out the slip of paper with the name. Theresa hesitated. Deanna looked at her for a moment, then set the paper on the desk. She picked up the phone one more time.

"Now who're you calling?"

"My travel agency. You're going to need a flight and a place to stay."

"I haven't even said I was going yet."

"Oh, you're going."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm not going to have you sitting around the newsroom for the next year wondering what might have been. You don't work well when you're distracted."

"Deanna . . ."

"Don't 'Deanna' me. You know the curiosity would drive you crazy. It's already driving me crazy."

"But-"

"But nothing." She paused for a moment, and her words came softer. "Theresa, remember-you've got nothing to lose. The worst that could possibly happen is that you fly home in a couple of days. That's all. You're not going on a quest to search for a tribe of cannibals. You're just going to find out if your curiosity was warranted."

They were both silent as they stared at each other. Deanna had a slight smirk31 on her face, and Theresa felt her pulse quicken as the finality of the decision hit her. My God, I'm actually going to do this. I can't believe I'm going along with this.

Still, she gave one last halfhearted attempt at denial.

"I don't even know what I would say if I finally met him. . . ."

"I'm sure you'll think of something. Now, let me take care of this call. Go get your purse. I'm going to need a credit card number."

Theresa's mind was a whirl as she started back to her desk. Garrett Blake. Wilmington. Diving. Happenstance. The words kept rolling through her head, as if she were rehearsing for a part in a play.

She unlocked the bottom drawer where she kept her purse and paused for a second before going back. But something else had taken hold of her, and in the end she handed Deanna a credit card. The following evening she would leave for Wilmington, North Carolina.

Deanna told her to take the rest of that day and the following off, and on her way out of the office, Theresa sort of felt as if she had been cornered into something in the same way she had cornered old Mr. Shendakin.

But unlike Mr. Shendakin, deep down she was pleased about it, and when the plane touched down in Wilmington the following day, Theresa Osborne checked into a hotel, wondering where all this would lead.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aggravated d0aec1b8bb810b0e260cb2aa0ff9c2ed     
使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 ); 使更严重; 激怒; 使恼火
参考例句:
  • If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我,我就要揍他。
  • Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳,反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。
2 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
3 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。
4 laborious VxoyD     
adj.吃力的,努力的,不流畅
参考例句:
  • They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
  • Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。
5 retrieve ZsYyp     
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
参考例句:
  • He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
  • The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
6 jotted 501a1ce22e59ebb1f3016af077784ebd     
v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 );草草记下,匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • I jotted down her name. 我匆忙记下了她的名字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The policeman jotted down my address. 警察匆匆地将我的地址记下。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
7 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
8 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。
9 folly QgOzL     
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话
参考例句:
  • Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
  • Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
10 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
11 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。
12 retrieved 1f81ff822b0877397035890c32e35843     
v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 );恢复;寻回;检索(储存的信息)
参考例句:
  • Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句
13 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。
14 tightened bd3d8363419d9ff838bae0ba51722ee9     
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧
参考例句:
  • The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
  • His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机,然后又松开了。
15 formulate L66yt     
v.用公式表示;规划;设计;系统地阐述
参考例句:
  • He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌,清楚地做了回答。
  • I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。
16 rejection FVpxp     
n.拒绝,被拒,抛弃,被弃
参考例句:
  • He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
  • The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。
17 maneuvered 7d19f91478ac481ffdfcbdf37b4eb25d     
v.移动,用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 );操纵
参考例句:
  • I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行,来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
  • The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句
18 obsess QITxu     
vt.使着迷,使心神不定,(恶魔)困扰
参考例句:
  • I must admit that maps obsess me.我得承认我对地图十分着迷。
  • A string of scandals is obsessing America.美国正被一系列丑闻所困扰。
19 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
20 participation KS9zu     
n.参与,参加,分享
参考例句:
  • Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
  • The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。
21 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 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。
23 strand 7GAzH     
vt.使(船)搁浅,使(某人)困于(某地)
参考例句:
  • She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
  • The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。
24 scribbled de374a2e21876e209006cd3e9a90c01b     
v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
  • He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前,他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。
25 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
26 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。
27 wafted 67ba6873c287bf9bad4179385ab4d457     
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
  • A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 profusely 12a581fe24557b55ae5601d069cb463c     
ad.abundantly
参考例句:
  • We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力,累得大汗淋漓。
  • He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活,身上大汗淋漓的。
29 victorious hhjwv     
adj.胜利的,得胜的
参考例句:
  • We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
  • The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。
30 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
31 smirk GE8zY     
n.得意地笑;v.傻笑;假笑着说
参考例句:
  • He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
  • She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。


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