Chapter 85

Once there was lightning. The sky was so black, day lookedlike night. The downpour was heavy. I heard thunder far away.
I thought it would stay at that. But a wind came up, throwingthe rain this way and that. Right after, a white splinter camecrashing down from the sky, puncturing¹ the water. It wassome distance from the lifeboat, but the effect was perfectlyvisible. The water was shot through with what looked like whiteroots; briefly², a great celestial³ tree stood in the ocean. I hadnever imagined such a thing possible, lightning striking the sea.
The clap of thunder was tremendous. The flash of light wasincredibly vivid.
I turned to Richard Parker and said, "Look, Richard Parker,a bolt of lightning." I saw how he felt about it. He was flat onthe floor of the boat, limbs splayed and visibly trembling.
The effect on me was completely the opposite. It wassomething to pull me out of my limited mortal ways and thrustme into a state of exalted⁴ wonder.
Suddenly a bolt struck much closer. Perhaps it was meantfor us: we had just fallen off the crest⁵ of a swell⁶ and weresinking down its back when its top was hit. There was anexplosion of hot air and hot water. For two, perhaps threeseconds, a gigantic, blinding white shard⁷ of glass from a brokencosmic window danced in the sky, insubstantial yetoverwhelmingly powerful. Ten thousand trumpets⁸ and twentythousand drums could not have made as much noise as thatbolt of lightning; it was positively⁹ deafening¹⁰. The sea turnedwhite and all colour disappeared. Everything was either purewhite light or pure black shadow. The light did not seem toilluminate so much as to penetrate¹¹. As quickly as it hadappeared, the bolt vanished – the spray of hot water had notfinished landing upon us and already it was gone. Thepunished swell returned to black and rolled on indifferently.
I was dazed, thunderstruck – nearly in the true sense of theword. But not afraid.
"Praise be to Allah, Lord of All Worlds, the Compassionate,the Merciful, Ruler of Judgment¹² Day!" I muttered. To RichardParker I shouted, "Stop your trembling! This is miracle. This isan outbreak of divinity. This is… this is…" I could not find whatit was, this thing so vast and fantastic. I was breathless andwordless. I lay back on the tarpaulin¹³, arms and legs spreadwide. The rain chilled me to the bone. But I was smiling. Iremember that close encounter with electrocution andthird-degree burns as one of the few times during my ordealwhen I felt genuine happiness.
At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, toentertain thoughts that span the universe, that capture boththunder and tinkle¹⁴, thick and thin, the near and the far.

1 puncturing   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的现在分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Complement enzymes attack antigens by puncturing the cell membrane. 补体酶通过刺穿细胞膜来攻击抗原。 来自互联网
• Purpose:Re-modifying the method of DSA puncturing arteria cerebri through arteria carotis communis. 目的 ：对经颈总动脉穿刺行脑动脉DSA的方法进行再次改良。 来自互联网

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

4 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

5 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

6 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

7 shard   

n.（陶瓷器、瓦等的）破片，碎片

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air.目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。
• That's the same stuff we found in the shard.那与我们发现的碎片在材质上一样。

8 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

9 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

10 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

11 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。

14 tinkle   

vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声

参考例句：

• The wine glass dropped to the floor with a tinkle.酒杯丁零一声掉在地上。
• Give me a tinkle and let me know what time the show starts.给我打个电话，告诉我演出什么时候开始。