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Chapter 13 The Edge of the Envelope
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In which we learn the Theory of Baize-Space — Devious1 Collabone - The

Grand Trunk Burns — So Sharp You’ll Cut Yourself— Finding Miss

Dearheart - A Theory of Disguise - Igor Moveth On - ‘Let This

Moment Never End’ - A Brush with the Trunk - The big sail unfurls -

The Message is Received

 

Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor of Unseen University, levelled his cue and took careful aim.

The white ball hit a red ball, which rolled gently into a pocket. This was harder than it looked because more than half of the snooker table served as the Archchancellor’s filing system,* and indeed to get to the hole the ball had to pass through several piles of paperwork, a tankard, a skull3 with a dribbly4 candle on it and a lot of pipe ash. It did so.

 

* Ridcully practised the First Available Surface method of filing.

 

‘Well done, Mr Stibbons,’ said Ridcully.

‘I call it baize-space,’ said Ponder Stibbons proudly.

Every organization needs at least one person who knows what’s going on and why it’s happening and who’s doing it, and at UU this role was filled by Stibbons, who often wished it wasn’t. Right now he was present in his position as Head of Inadvisably Applied5 Magic, and his long-term purpose was to see that his department’s budget went through on the nod. To this end, therefore, a bundle of thick pipes led from under the heavy old billiard table, out through a hole in the wall and across the lawn into the High Energy Magic building, where - he sighed - this little trick was taking up 40 per cent of the rune-time of Hex, the University’s thinking engine.

‘Good name,’ said Ridcully, lining7 up another shot.

‘As in phase-space?’ said Ponder, hopefully. ‘When a ball is just about to encounter an obstacle that is not another ball, you see, Hex moves it into a theoretical parallel dimension where there is unoccupied flat surface and maintains speed and drag until it can be brought back to this one. It really is a most difficult and intricate piece of unreal-time spell casting—’

‘Yes, yes, very good,’ said Ridcully. ‘Was there something else, Mr Stibbons?’

Ponder looked at his clipboard. ‘There’s a polite letter from Lord Vetinari asking on behalf of the city whether the University might consider including in its intake8, oh, twenty-five per cent of less able students, sir?’

Ridcully potted the black, through a heap of university directives.

‘Can’t have a bunch of grocers and butchers telling a university how to run itself, Stibbons!’ he said firmly, lining up on a red. ‘Thank them for their interest and tell them we’ll continue to take one hundred per cent of complete and utter dullards, as usual. Take ‘em in dull, turn ‘em out sparklin’, that’s always been the UU way! Anythin’ else?’

‘Just this message for the big race tonight, Archchancellor.’

‘Oh, yes, that thing. What should I do, Mr Stibbons? I hear there’s heavy betting on the Post Office.’

‘Yes, Archchancellor. People say the gods are on the side of Mr Lipwig.’

‘Are they betting?’ said Ridcully, watching with satisfaction as the ball rematerialized on the other side of a neglected ham sandwich.

‘I don’t think so, sir. He can’t possibly win.’

‘Was he the fella who rescued the cat?’

‘That was him, sir, yes,’ said Ponder.

‘Good chap. What do we think of the Grand Trunk? Bunch of bean-crushers, I heard. Been killin’ people on those towers of theirs. Man in the pub told me he’d heard the ghosts of dead signallers haunt the Trunk. I’ll try for the pink.’

‘Yes, I’ve heard that, sir. I think it’s an urban myth,’ said Ponder.

‘They travel from one end of the Trunk to the other, he said. Not a bad way to spend eternity9, mark you. There’s some splendid scenery up in the mountains.’ The Archchancellor paused, and his big face screwed up in thought. ‘Haruspex’s Big Directory of Varying Dimensions,’ he said at last.

‘Pardon, Archchancellor?’

‘That’s the message,’ said Ridcully. ‘No one said it had to be a letter, eh?’ He waved a hand over the tip of the cue, which grew a powdering of fresh chalk. ‘Give them a copy each of the new edition. Send ‘em to our man in Genua . . . what’s his name, thingummy, got a funny name . . . show him the old Alma Pater is thinkin’ of him.’

‘That’s Devious Collabone, sir. He’s out studying Oyster10 Communications in a Low Intensity11 Magical Field for his B.Thau.’

‘Good gods, can they communicate?’ said Ridcully.

‘Apparently, Archchancellor, although thus far they’re refusing to talk to him.’

‘Why’d we send him all the way out there?’

‘Devious H. Collabone, Archchancellor?’ Ponder prompted. ‘Remember? With the terrible halitosis?’

‘Oh, you mean Dragonbreath Collabone?’ said Ridcully, as realization12 dawned. ‘The one who could blow a hole in a silver plate?’

‘Yes, Archchancellor,’ said Ponder patiently. Mustrum Ridcully always liked to triangulate in on new information from several positions. ‘You said that out in the swamps no one would notice? If you remember, we allowed him to take a small omniscope.’

‘Did we? Far-thinking of us. Call him up right now and tell him what’s going on, will you?’

‘Yes, Archchancellor. In fact I’ll leave it a few hours because it’s still night time in Genua.’

‘That’s only their opinion,’ said Ridcully, sighting again. ‘Do it now, man.’

 

Fire from the sky . . .

Everyone knew that the top half of the towers rocked as the messages flew along the Trunk. One day, someone was going to do something about it. And all old signallers knew that if the connecting rod operating the shutters13 on the down-line was pushed up to open them on the same blink as the connecting rod on the up-line was pulled down to close the shutters on the other side of the tower, the tower lurched. It was being pushed from one side and pulled from the other, which would have roughly the same effect as a column of marching soldiers could have on an old bridge. That wasn’t too much of a problem, unless it occurred again and again so that the rocking built up to a dangerous level. But how often would that happen?

Every time the Woodpecker arrived at your tower, that was how often. And it was like an illness that could only attack the weak and sick. It wouldn’t have attacked the old Trunk, because the old Trunk was too full of tower captains who’d shut down instantly and strip the offending message out of the drum, secure in the knowledge that their actions would be judged by superiors who knew how a tower worked and would have done the same thing themselves.

It would work against the new Trunk, because there weren’t enough of those captains now. You did what you were told or you didn’t get paid and if things went wrong it wasn’t your problem. It was the fault of whatever idiot had accepted this message for sending in the first place. No one cared about you, and everyone at headquarters was an idiot. It wasn’t your fault; no one listened to you. Headquarters had even started an Employee of the Month scheme to show how much they cared. That was how much they didn’t care.

And today you’d been told to shift code as fast as possible, and you didn’t want to be the one accused of slowing the system down, so you watched the next tower in line until your eyes watered and you hit keys like a man tapdancing on hot rocks.

One after another, the towers failed. Some burned when the shutter14 boxes broke free and smashed on the cabin roofs, spilling blazing oil. There was no hope of fighting fire in a wooden box sixty feet up in the air; you slid down the suicide line and legged it to a safe distance to watch the show.

Fourteen towers were burning before someone took their hands off the keys. And then what? You’d been given orders. There were to be no, repeat no other messages on the Trunk while this message was being sent. What did you do next?

Moist awoke, the Grand Trunk burning in his head.

The Smoking Gnu wanted to break it down and pick up the pieces, and he could see why. But it wouldn’t work. Somewhere on the line there was going to be one inconvenient16 engineer who’d risk his job to send a message ahead saying: it’s a killer17, shift it slowly. And that would be that. Oh, it might take a day or two to get the thing to Genua, but they had weeks to work with. And someone else, too, would be smart enough to compare the message with what had been sent by the first tower. Gilt18 would wriggle19 out of it - no, he’d storm out of it. The message had been tampered20 with, he’d say, and he’d be right. There had to be another solution.

The Gnu were on to something, though. Changing the message was the answer, if only he could do it in the right way.

Moist opened his eyes. He was at his desk, and someone had put a pillow under his head.

When was the last time he’d slept in a decent bed? Oh, yes, the night Mr Pump had caught him. He’d spent a couple of hours in a rented bed that had a mattress21 which didn’t actually move and wasn’t full of rocks. Bliss22.

His immediate23 past life scampered24 before his eyes. He groaned25.

‘Good Morning, Mr Lipvig,’ said Mr Pump from the corner. ‘Your Razor Is Sharp, The Kettle Is Hot And I Am Sure A Cup Of Tea Is On The Way.’

‘What time is it?’

‘Noon, Mr Lipvig. You Did Not Get In Until Dawn,’ the golem added reproachfully.

Moist groaned again. Six hours to the race. And then so many pigeons would come home to roost it’d be like an eclipse.

‘There Is Much Excitement,’ said the golem, as Moist shaved. ‘It Has Been Agreed That The Starting Line Will Be In Sator Square.’

Moist stared at his reflection, barely listening. He always raised the stakes, automatically. Never promise to do the possible. Anyone could do the possible. You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible.

But he’d gone too far this time. Oh, it’d be no great shame to admit that a coach and horses couldn’t travel at a thousand miles an hour, but Gilt would strut26 about it and the Post Office would remain just a little, old-fashioned thing, behind the times, small, unable to compete. Gilt would find some way to hold on to the Grand Trunk, cutting even more corners, killing27 people out of greed—

‘Are You All Right, Mr Lipvig?’ said the golem behind him.

Moist stared into his own eyes, and what flickered28 in the depths.

Oh, boy.

‘You Have Cut Yourself, Mr Lipvig,’ said Mr Pump. ‘Mr Lipvig?’

Shame I missed my throat, Moist thought. But that was a secondary thought, edging past the big dark one now unfolding in the mirror.

Look into the abyss and you’ll see something growing, reaching towards the light. It whispered: Do this. This will work. Trust me.

Oh, boy. It’s a plan that will work, Moist thought. It’s simple and deadly, like a razor. But it’d need an unprincipled man to even think about it.

No problem there, then.

I’ll kill you, Mr Gilt. I’ll kill you in our special way, the way of the weasel and cheat and liar6. I’ll take away everything but your life. I’ll take away your money, your reputation and your friends. I’ll spin words around you until you’re cocooned29 in them. I’ll leave you nothing, not even hope . . .

He carefully finished shaving, and wiped the remnant of the foam30 off his chin. There was not, in truth, that much blood.

‘I think I could do with a hearty31 breakfast, Mr Pump,’ he said. ‘And then I have a few things to do. In the meantime, can you please find me a broomstick? A proper birch besom? And then paint some stars on the handle?’

 

The makeshift counters were crowded when Moist went down, but the bustle32 stopped when he entered the hall. Then a cheer went up. He nodded and waved cheerfully, and was immediately surrounded by people waving envelopes. He did his best to sign them all.

‘A lot o’ extra mail for Genua, sir!’ Mr Groat exulted34, pushing his way through the crowd. ‘Never seen a day like it, never!’

‘Jolly good, well done,’ Moist murmured.

‘And the mail for the gods has gone right up, too!’ Groat continued.

‘Pleased to hear it, Mr Groat,’ said Moist.

‘We’ve got the first Sto Lat stamps, sir!’ said Stanley, waving a couple of sheets above his head. ‘The early sheets are covered in flaws, sir!’

‘I’m very happy for you,’ said Moist. ‘But I’ve got to go and prepare a few things.’

‘Aha, yes!’ said Mr Groat, winking35.’ “A few things”, eh? Just as you say, sir. Stand aside, please, Postmaster coming through!’

Groat more or less pushed customers out of the way as Moist, trying to avoid the people who wanted him to kiss babies or were trying to grab a scrap36 of his suit for luck, made it out into the fresh air.

Then he kept to the back streets, and found a place that did a very reasonable Double Soss, Egg, Bacon and Fried Slice, in the hope that food could replace sleep.

It was all getting out of hand. People were putting out bunting and setting up stalls in Sator Square. The huge floating crowd that was the street population of Ankh-Morpork ebbed37 and flowed around the city, and tonight it would contract to form a mob in the square, and could be sold things.

Finally he plucked up his courage and headed for the Golem Trust. It was closed. A bit more graffiti had been added to the strata38 that now covered the boarded-up window. It was just above knee-level and said, in crayon: ‘Golms are Made of pOo.’ It was good to see the fine old traditions of idiot bigotry39 being handed down, in a no-good-at-all kind of way.

Dolly Sisters, he thought wildly, staying with an aunt. Did she ever mention the aunt’s name?

He ran in that direction.

Dolly Sisters had once been a village, before the sprawl40 had rolled over it; its residents still considered themselves apart from the rest of the city, with their own customs - Dog Turd Monday, Up Needles All - and almost their own language. Moist didn’t know it at all. He pushed his way through the narrow lanes, looking around desperately41 for— what? A column of smoke?

Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea . . .

He reached the house eight minutes later, and hammered on the door. To his relief, she opened it, and stared at him.

She said: ‘How?’

He said: ‘Tobacconists. Not many women around here have a hundred-a-day habit.’

‘Well, what do you want, Mr Clever?’

‘If you help me, I can take Gilt for everything he’s got,’ said Moist. ‘Help me. Please? On my honour as a totally untrustworthy man?’

That at least got a brief smile, to be replaced almost immediately by the default expression of deep suspicion. Then some inner struggle resolved itself.

‘You’d better come into the parlour,’ she said, opening the door all the way.

That room was small, dark and crowded with respectability. Moist sat on the edge of a chair, trying not to disturb anything, while he strained to hear women’s voices along the hallway. Then Miss Dearheart slipped in and shut the door behind her.

‘I hope this is all right with your family,’ said Moist. ‘I—’

‘I told them we were courting,’ said Miss Dearheart. ‘That’s what parlours are for. The tears of joy and hope in my mother’s eyes were a sight to see. Now, what do you want?’

‘Tell me about your father,’ said Moist. ‘I’ve got to know how the Grand Trunk was taken over. Have you still got any paperwork?’

‘It won’t do any good. A lawyer looked at it and said it would be very hard to make a case—’

‘I intend to appeal to a higher court,’ said Moist.

‘I mean, we can’t prove a lot of things, not actually prove—’ Miss Dearheart protested.

‘I don’t have to,’ said Moist.

‘The lawyer said it would take months and months of work to—’ she went on, determined43 to find a snag.

‘I’ll make someone else pay for it,’ said Moist. ‘Have you got books? Ledgers44? Anything like that?’

‘What are you intending to do?’ Miss Dearheart demanded.

‘It’s better if you don’t know. It really is. I know what I’m doing, Spike45. But you shouldn’t.’

‘Well, there’s a big box of papers,’ said Miss Dearheart uncertainly. ‘I suppose I could just sort of . . . leave it in here while I’m tidying up . . .’

‘Good.’

‘But can I trust you?’

‘On this? My gods, no! Your father trusted Gilt, and look what happened! I wouldn’t trust me if I was you. But I would if I was me.’

‘The funny thing is, Mr Lipwig, that I find myself trusting you all the more when you tell me how untrustworthy you are,’ said Miss Dearheart.

Moist sighed. ‘Yes, I know, Spike. Wretched, isn’t it? It’s a people thing. Could you fetch the box, please?’

She did so, with a puzzled frown.

It took all afternoon and even then Moist wasn’t sure, but he’d filled a small notebook with scribbles46. It was like looking for piranhas in a river choked with weeds. There were a lot of bones on the bottom. But, although sometimes you thought you’d glimpsed a flash of silver, you could never be sure you’d seen a fish. The only way to be certain was to jump in.

By half past four Sator Square was packed.

The wonderful thing about the golden suit and the hat with wings was that, if Moist took them off, he wasn’t him any more. He was just a nondescript person with unmemorable clothes and a face you might vaguely47 think you’d seen before.

He wandered through the crowd, heading towards the Post Office. No one gave him a second glance. Most didn’t bother with a first glance. In a way he’d never realized until now, he was alone. He’d always been alone. It was the only way to be safe.

The trouble was, he missed the golden suit. Everything was an act, really. But the Man in the Golden Suit was a good act. He didn’t want to be a person you forgot, someone who was one step above a shadow. Underneath48 the winged hat, he could do miracles or, at least, make it appear that miracles had been done, which is nearly as good.

He’d have to do one in an hour or two, that was certain.

Oh well . . .

He went round the back of the Post Office, and was about to slip inside when a figure in the shadow said, ‘Pissed!’

‘I suspect you mean Psst?’ said Moist. Sane49 Alex stepped out of the shadows; he was wearing his old Grand Trunk donkey jacket and a huge helmet with horns on.

‘We’re running slow with the canvas—’ he began.

‘Why the helmet?’ said Moist.

‘It’s a disguise,’ said Alex.

‘A big horned helmet?’

‘Yes. It makes me so noticeable that no one will suspect I’m trying not to be noticed, so they won’t bother to notice me.’

‘Only a very intelligent man would think of something like that,’ said Moist carefully. ‘What’s happening?’

‘We need more time,’ said Alex.

‘What? The race starts at six!’

‘It won’t be dark enough. We won’t be able to get the sail up until half past at least. We’ll be spotted50 if we poke51 our heads over the parapet before then.’

‘Oh, come on! The other towers are far too far away!’

‘People on the road aren’t,’ said Alex.

‘Blast!’ Moist had forgotten about the road. All it would take later was someone saying he’d seen people on the old wizarding tower . . .

‘Listen, we’ve got it all ready to raise,’ said Alex, watching his face. ‘We can work fast when we’re up there. We just need half an hour of darkness, maybe a few minutes more.’

Moist bit his lip. ‘Okay. I can do that, I think. Now get back there and help them. But don’t start until I get there, understand? Trust me!’

I’m saying that a lot, he thought after the man had hurried away. I just hope they will.

He went up to his office. The golden suit was on its hanger52. He put it on. There was work to do. It was dull, but it had to be done. So he did it.

At half past five the floorboards creaked as Mr Pump walked into the room, dragging a broomstick behind him.

‘Soon It Will Be Time For The Race, Mr Lipvig,’ he said.

‘I must finish a few things,’ said Moist. ‘There’s letters here from builders and architects, oh, and someone wants me to cure their warts53 . . . I really have to deal with the paperwork, Mr Pump.’

 

In the privacy of Reacher Gilt’s kitchen, Igor very carefully wrote a note. There were niceties to be observed, after all. You didn’t just leg it like a thief in the night. You tidied up, made sure the larder54 was stocked, washed the dishes and took exactly what you were owed from the petty cash box.

Shame, really. It had been a pretty good job. Gilt hadn’t expected him to do much, and Igor had enjoyed terrorizing the other servants. Most of them, anyway.

‘It’s so sad you’re going, Mr Igor,’ said Mrs Glowbury, the cook. She dabbed55 at her eyes with a handkerchief. ‘You’ve been a real breath of fresh air.’

‘Can’t be helped, Mrthth Glowbury,’ said Igor. ‘I thall mith your thteak and kidney pie, and no mithtake. It doth my heart good to thee a woman who can really make thomething out of leftoverth.’

‘I’ve knitted you this, Mr Igor,’ said the cook, hesitantly proffering56 a small soft package. Igor opened it with care, and unfolded a red and white striped balaclava.

‘I thought it would help keep your bolt warm,’ said Mrs Glowbury, blushing.

Igor agonized57 for a moment. He liked and respected the cook. He’d never seen a woman handle sharp knives so skilfully58. Sometimes, you had to forget the Code of the Igors.

‘Mrthth Glowbury, you did thay you had a thithter in Quirm?’ he said.

‘That’s right, Mr Igor.’

‘Now would be a very good time for you to go and vithit her,’ said Igor firmly. ‘Do not athk me why. Goodbye, dear Mrthth Glowbury. I thall remember your liver with fondneth.’

 

Now it was ten minutes to six.

‘If You Leave Now, Mr Lipvig, You Will Be Just In Time For The Race,’ the golem rumbled59, from the corner.

‘This is work of civic60 importance, Mr Pump,’ said Moist severely61, reading another letter. ‘I am showing rectitude and attention to duty.’

‘Yes, Mr Lipvig.’

He let it go on until ten minutes past the hour, because it’d take five minutes to get to the square, at a nonchalant saunter. With the golem lumbering62 beside him, in something approaching the antithesis63 of both nonchalance64 and sauntering, he left the Post Office behind.

The crowd in the square parted at his approach, and there were cheers and some laughter when people saw the broomstick over his shoulder. It had stars painted on it, therefore it must be a magic broomstick. Of such beliefs are fortunes made.

Find The Lady, Find The Lady . . . there was a science to it, in a way. Of course, it helped if you found out how to hold three cards in a loose stack; that was really the key. Moist had learned to be good at that, but he had found mere42 mechanical tricks a bit dull, a bit beneath him. There were other ways, ways to mislead, to distract, to anger. Anger was always good. Angry people made mistakes.

There was a space in the centre of the square, round the stagecoach65 on which Leadpipe Jim sat proudly. The horses gleamed, the coach-work sparkled in the torchlight. But the group standing66 around the coach sparkled rather less.

There were a couple of people from the Trunk, several wizards and, of course, Otto Chriek the iconographer. They turned and welcomed Moist with expressions ranging from relief to deep suspicion.

‘We were considering disqualification, Mr Lipwig,’ said Ridcully, looking severe.

Moist handed the broom to Mr Pump. ‘I do apologize, Arch-chancellor,’ he said. ‘I was checking some stamp designs and completely lost track of time. Oh, good evening, Professor Pelc’

The Professor of Morbid67 Bibliomancy gave him a big grin and held up a jar. ‘And Professor Goitre,’ he said. ‘The old chap thought he’d like to see what all the fuss is about.’

‘And this is Mr Pony68 of the Grand Trunk,’ said Ridcully.

Moist shook hands with the engineer. ‘Mr Gilt not with you?’ he said, winking.

‘He’s, er, watching from his coach,’ said the engineer, looking nervously69 at Moist.

‘Well, since you are both here, Mr Stibbons will hand you each a copy of the message,’ said the Archchancellor. ‘Mr Stibbons?’

Two packages were handed over. Moist undid70 his, and burst out laughing.

‘But it’s a book!’ said Mr Pony. ‘It’ll take all night to code. And there’s diagrams!’

Okay, let’s begin, thought Moist, and moved like a cobra. He snatched the book from the startled Pony, thumbed through it quickly, grabbed a handful of pages and ripped them out, to a gasp71 from the crowd.

‘There you are, sir,’ he said, handing the pages back. ‘There is your message! Pages 79 to 128. We’ll deliver the rest of the book and the recipient72 can put your pages in later, if they arrive!’ He was aware of Professor Pelc glaring at him, and added: ‘And I’m sure it can be repaired very neatly73!’

It was a stupid gesture but it was big and loud and funny and cruel and if Moist didn’t know how to get the attention of a crowd he didn’t know anything. Mr Pony backed away, clutching the stricken chapter.

‘I didn’t mean—’ he tried, but Moist interrupted with: ‘After all, we’ve got a big coach for such a small book.’

‘It’s just that pictures take time to code—’ Mr Pony protested. He wasn’t used to this sort of thing. Machinery74 didn’t answer back.

Moist allowed a look of genuine concern to cross his face. ‘Yes, that does seem unfair,’ he said. He turned to Ponder Stibbons. ‘Don’t you think that’s unfair, Mr Stibbons?’

The wizard looked puzzled. ‘But once they’ve coded it it’ll only take them a couple of hours to get it to Genua!’ he said.

‘Nevertheless, I must insist,’ said Moist. ‘We don’t want an unfair advantage. Stand down, Jim,’ he called up to the coachman. ‘We’re going to give the clacks a head start.’ He turned to Ponder and Mr Pony with an expression of innocent helpfulness. ‘Would an hour be all right, gentlemen?’

The crowd exploded. Gods, I’m good at this, Moist thought. I want this moment to go on for ever . . .

‘Mr Lipwig!’ a voice called out. Moist scanned the faces, and spotted the caller.

‘Ah, Miss Sacharissa. Pencil at the ready?’

‘Are you seriously telling us you’ll wait while the Grand Trunk prepares their message?’ she said. She was laughing.

‘Indeed,’ said Moist, grasping the lapels of his gleaming jacket. ‘We in the Post Office are fair-minded people. May I take this opportunity to tell you about our new Green Cabbage stamp, by the way?’

‘Surely you’re going too far, Mr Lipwig?’

‘All the way to Genua, dear lady! Did I mention the gum is cabbage-flavoured?’

Moist couldn’t have stopped himself now for hard money. This was where his soul lived: dancing on an avalanche75, making the world up as he went along, reaching into people’s ears and changing their minds. For this he offered glass as diamonds, let the Find The Lady cards fly under his fingers, stood smiling in front of clerks examining fake bills. This was the feeling he craved76, the raw naked excitement of pushing the envelope—

Reacher Gilt was moving through the crowd, like a shark among minnows. He gave Moist a carefully neutral look, and turned to Mr Pony.

‘Is there some problem, gentlemen?’ he said. ‘It’s getting late.’

In a silence punctuated77 by chuckles78 from the crowd, Pony tried to explain, in so far as he now had any grip of what was going on.

‘I see,’ said Gilt. ‘You are pleased to make fun of us, Mr Lipwig? Then allow me to say that we of the Grand Trunk will not take it amiss if you should leave now. I think we can spare you a couple of hours, eh?’

‘Oh, certainly,’ said Moist. ‘If it will make you feel any better.’

‘Indeed it will,’ said Gilt gravely. ‘It would be best, Mr Lipwig, if you were a long way away from here.’

Moist heard the tone, because he was expecting it. Gilt was being reasonable and statesmanlike, but his eye was a dark metal ball and there was the harmonic of murder in his voice. And then Gilt said: ‘Is Mr Groat well, Mr Lipwig? I was sorry to hear of the attack.’

‘Attack, Mr Gilt? He was hit by falling timber,’ said Moist. And that question entitles you to no mercy at all, no matter what.

‘Ah? Then I was misinformed,’ said Gilt. ‘I shall know not to listen to rumours79 in future.’

‘I shall pass on your good wishes to Mr Groat,’ said Moist.

Gilt raised his hat. ‘Goodbye, Mr Lipwig. I wish you the best of luck in your gallant80 attempt. There are some dangerous people on the road.’

Moist raised his own hat and said: ‘I intend to leave them behind very soon, Mr Gilt.’

There, he thought. We’ve said it all, and the nice lady from the newspaper thinks we’re good chums or, at least, just business rivals being stiffly polite to each other. Let’s spoil the mood.

‘Goodbye, ladies and gentlemen,’ he said. ‘Mr Pump, be so good as to put the broom on the coach, would you?’

‘Broom?’ said Gilt, looking up sharply. ‘That broom? The one with stars on it? You’re taking a broomstick?’

‘Yes. It will come in handy if we break down,’ said Moist.

‘I protest, Archchancellor!’ said Gilt, spinning round. ‘This man intends to fly to Genua!’

‘I have no such intention!’ said Moist. ‘I resent the allegation!’

‘Is this why you appear so confident?’ snarled82 Gilt. And it was a snarl81, there and then, a little sign of a crack appearing.

A broomstick could travel fast enough to blow your ears off. It wouldn’t need too many towers to break down, and heavens knew they broke down all the time, for a broomstick to beat the clacks to Genua, especially since it could fly direct and wouldn’t have to follow the big dog-leg the coach road and the Grand Trunk took. The Trunk would have to be really unlucky, and the person flying the broom would be really frozen and probably really dead, but a broomstick could fly from Ankh-Morpork to Genua in a day. That might just do it.

Gilt’s face was a mask of glee. Now he knew what Moist intended.

Round and round she goes, and where she stops, nobody knows . . .

It was the heart of any scam or fiddle83. Keep the punter uncertain or, if he is certain, make him certain of the wrong thing.

‘I demand that no broomstick is taken on the coach!’ said Gilt to the Archchancellor, which was not a good move. You didn’t demand anything from wizards. You requested. ‘If Mr Lipwig is not confident in his equipment,’ Gilt went on, ‘I suggest he concedes right now!’

‘We’ll be travelling alone on some dangerous roads,’ said Moist. ‘A broomstick might be essential.’

‘However, I am forced to agree with this . . . gentleman,’ said Ridcully, with some distaste. ‘It would not look right, Mr Lipwig.’

Moist threw up his hands. ‘As you wish, sir, of course. It is a blow. May I request even-handed treatment, though?’

‘Your meaning?’ said the wizard.

‘There is a horse stationed at each tower to be used when the tower breaks down,’ said Moist.

‘That is normal practice!’ snapped Gilt.

‘Only in the mountains,’ said Moist calmly. ‘And even then only at the most isolated84 towers. But today, I suspect, there’s one at every tower. It’s a pony express, Archchancellor, with apologies to Mr Pony. They could easily beat our coach without sending a word of code.’

‘You can’t possibly be suggesting that we’d take the message all the way on horseback!’ said Gilt.

‘You were suggesting I’d fly,’ said Moist. ‘If Mr Gilt is not confident in his equipment, Archchancellor, I suggest he concedes now.’

And there it was, a shadow on Gilt’s face. He was more than just irate85 now; he’d passed into the calm, limpid86 waters of utter, visceral fury.

‘So let’s agree that this isn’t a test of horses against broomsticks,’ said Moist. ‘It’s stagecoach against clacks tower. If the stage breaks down, we repair the stage. If a tower breaks down, you repair the tower.’

‘That seems fair, I must say,’ said Ridcully. ‘And I so rule. However, I must take Mr Lipwig aside to issue a word of warning.’

The Archchancellor put his arm round Moist’s shoulders and led him round the coach. Then he leaned down until their faces were a few inches apart.

‘You are aware, are you, that painting a few stars on a perfectly87 ordinary broomstick doesn’t mean it will get airborne?’ he said.

Moist looked into a pair of milky88 blue eyes that were as innocent as a child’s, particularly a child who is trying hard to look innocent.

‘My goodness, doesn’t it?’ he said.

The wizard patted him on the shoulder. ‘Best to leave things as they are, I feel,’ he said happily.

Gilt smiled at Moist as they returned.

It was just too much to resist, so Moist didn’t. Raise the stakes. Always push your luck, because no one else would push it for you.

“Would you care for a little personal wager89, Mr Gilt?’ he said. ‘Just to make it . . . interesting?’

Gilt handled it well, if you couldn’t read the tells, the little signs . . .

‘Dear me, Mr Lipwig, do the gods approve of gambling90?’ he said, and gave a short laugh.

‘What is life but a lottery91, Mr Gilt?’ said Moist. ‘Shall we say . . . one hundred thousand dollars?’

That did it. That was the last straw. He saw something snap inside Reacher Gilt.

‘One hundred thousand? Where would you lay your hands on that kind of money, Lipwig?’

‘Oh, I just place them together, Mr Gilt. Doesn’t everyone know that?’ said Moist, to general amusement. He gave the chairman his most insolent92 smile. ‘And where will you lay your hands on one hundred thousand dollars?’

‘Hah. I accept the wager! We shall see who laughs tomorrow,’ said Gilt bluntly.

‘I’ll look forward to it,’ said Moist.

And now I have you in the hollow of my hand, he thought to himself. The hollow of my hand. You’re enraged93, now. You’re making wrong decisions. You’re walking the plank94.

He climbed up on to the coach and turned to the crowd. ‘Genua, ladies and gentlemen. Genua or bust33!’

‘Someone will!’ yelled a wag in the crowd. Moist bowed, and, as he straightened up, looked into the face of Adora Belle95 Dearheart.

‘Will you marry me, Miss Dearheart?’ he shouted.

There was an ‘Oooh’ from the crowd, and Sacharissa turned her head like a cat seeking the next mouse. What a shame the paper had only one front page, eh?

Miss Dearheart blew a smoke ring. ‘Not yet,’ she said calmly. This got a mixture of cheers and boos.

Moist waved, jumped down beside the driver and said: ‘Hit it, Jim.’

Jim cracked his whip for the sound of the thing, and the coach moved away amidst cheering. Moist looked back, and made out Mr Pony pushing determinedly96 through the crowd in the direction of the Tump Tower. Then he sat back and looked at the streets, in the light of the coach lamps.

Perhaps it was the gold working its way in from outside. He could feel something filling him, like a mist. When he moved his hand, he was sure that it left a trail of flecks97 in the air. He was still flying.

‘Jim, do I look all right?’ he said.

‘Can’t see much of you in this light, sir,’ said the coachman. ‘Can I ask a question?’

‘Go ahead, please.’

‘Why’d you give those bastards98 just those middle pages?’

‘Two reasons, Jim. It makes us look good and makes them look like whiny99 kids. And the other is, it’s the bit with all the colour illustrations. I hear it takes ages to code one of those.’

‘You’re so sharp you’ll cut yourself, Mr Lipwig! Eh? Damn straight!’

‘Drive like the blazes, Jim!’

‘Oh, I know how to give them a show, sir, you can bank on it! HyahP The whip cracked again, and the sound of hooves bounced off the buildings.

‘Six horses?’ said Moist, as they rattled100 up Broadway.

‘Aye, sir. Might as well make a name for myself, sir,’ said the coachman.

‘Slow down a bit when you get to the old wizard tower, will you? I’ll get off there. Did you get some guards?’

‘Four of them, Mr Lipwig,’ Jim announced. ‘Lying low inside. Men of repute and integrity. Known ‘em since we were lads: Nosher Harry101, Skullbreaker Tapp, Grievous Bodily Harmsworth and Joe “No Nose” Tozer. They’re mates, sir, don’t you worry, and they’re looking forward to a little holiday in Genua.’

‘Yeah, we’ve all got our buckets and spades,’ growled102 a voice from inside.

‘I’d rather have them than a dozen watchmen,’ said Jim happily.

The coach rattled on, leaving the outlying suburbs behind. The road under the wheels became rougher, but the coach swung and danced along on its steel springs.

‘When you’ve dropped me off you can rein103 them in a bit. No need to rush, Jim,’ said Moist, after a while.

In the light of the coach lamps Moist saw Jim’s red face glow with guile104.

‘It’s your Plan, eh, sir?’

‘It’s a wonderful plan, Jim!’ said Moist. And I shall have to make sure it doesn’t work.

 

The lights of the coach disappeared, leaving Moist in chilly105 darkness. In the distance the faintly glowing smokes of Ankh-Morpork made a great trailing mushroom of cloud that blotted106 out the stars. Things rustled107 in the bushes, and a breeze wafted108 the scent109 of cabbages over the endless fields.

Moist waited until he got some night vision. The tower appeared, a column of night without stars. All he had to do was find his way through the dense110, brambly, root-knotted woodland—

He made a noise like an owl15. Since Moist was no ornithologist111, he did this by saying ‘woo woo’.

The woodland exploded with owl hoots112, except that these were owls113 that roosted in the old wizarding tower, which drove you mad in a day. It had no obvious effect on them except that the noises they made resembled every possible sound that could be made by a living or even dying creature. There was definitely some elephant in there, and possibly some hyena114, too, with a hint of bedspring.

When the din2 had died down a voice from a few feet away whispered: ‘All right, Mr Lipwig. It’s me, Adrian. Grab my hand and let’s go before the others start fighting again.’

‘Fighting? What about?’

‘They drive each other up the wall! Feel this rope? Can you feel it? Right. You can move fast. We scouted115 out a trail and strung the rope—’

They hurried through the trees. You had to be really close to the tower to see the glow coming through the ruined doorway116 at the base. Undecided Adrian had fixed117 some of his little cold lights up the inner wall. Stones moved under Moist’s feet as he scrambled118 to the summit. He paid them no attention, but ran up the spiral stair so fast that when he reached the top he spun119.

Mad Al caught him by the shoulders. ‘No rush,’ he said cheerfully. ‘We’ve got ten minutes to go.’

‘We’d have been ready twenty minutes ago if somebody hadn’t lost the hammer,’ muttered Sane Alex, tightening120 a wire.

‘What? I put it in the tool box, didn’t I?’ said Mad Al.

‘In the spanner drawer!’

‘So?’

‘Who in their right mind would look for a hammer in the spanner drawer?’

Down below, the owls started up again.

‘Look,’ said Moist quickly, ‘that’s not important, is it? Right now?’

‘This man,’ said Sane Alex, pointing an accusing wrench121, ‘this man is mad!’

‘Not as mad as someone who keeps his screws neatly by size in jam jars,’ said Mad Al.

‘That counts as sane!’ said Alex hotly.

‘But everyone knows rummaging122 is half the fun! Besides—’

‘It’s done,’ said Undecided Adrian.

Moist looked up. The Gnu’s clacks machine rose up into the night, just as it had done on the Post Office roof. Behind it, in the direction of the city, an H-shaped structure climbed even further. It looked a little like a ship’s mast, an effect maybe caused by the wires that steadied it. They rattled in the faint breeze.

‘You must have upset someone,’ Adrian went on, while the other two settled down a bit. ‘A message was sent through twenty minutes ago, from Gilt himself. He said the big one will go through duplex, great care must be taken not to change it in any way, there is to be no other traffic at all until there’s a restart message from Gilt, and he’ll personally sack the entire staff of any tower that does not strictly123 follow those instructions.’

‘It just goes to show, the Grand Trunk is a people company,’ said Moist.

Undecided Adrian and Mad Al walked over to the big frame and began to unwind some ropes from their cleats.

Oh well, thought Moist, now for it . . .

‘There’s just one alteration124 to the plan,’ he said, and took a breath. ‘We’re not sending the Woodpecker.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Adrian, dropping his rope. ‘That was the plan!’

‘It’ll destroy the Trunk,’ said Moist.

‘Yes, that was the plan, sure enough,’ said Al. ‘Gilt’s as good as painted “kick me” on his pants! Look, it’s falling down of its own accord anyway, okay? It was an experiment in the first place! We can rebuild it faster and better!’

‘How?’ said Moist. ‘Where will the money come from? I know a way to destroy the company but leave the towers standing. They were stolen from the Dearhearts and their partners. I can give them back! But the only way to build a better line of towers is to leave the old ones intact. The Trunk’s got to earn!’

‘That’s the sort of thing Gilt would say!’ snapped Al.

‘And it’s true,’ said Moist. ‘Alex, you’re sane, tell the man! Keep the Trunk operating, replace one tower at a time, never dropping any code!’ He waved a hand towards the darkness. ‘The people out on the towers, they want to be proud of what they do, yes? It’s tough work and they don’t get paid enough but they live to shift code, right? The company’s running them into the ground but they still shift code!’

Adrian tugged125 at his rope. ‘Hey, the canvas is stuck,’ he announced to the tower in general. ‘It must have been caught up when we furled it . . .’

‘Oh, I’m sure the Woodpecker will work,’ said Moist, plunging126 on. ‘It might even damage enough towers for long enough. But Gilt will twist his way out of it. Do you understand? He’ll shout about sabotage127!’

‘So what?’ said Mad Al. ‘We’ll have this lot back on the cart in an hour and no one will know we were ever here!’

‘I’ll climb up and free it, shall I?’ said Undecided Adrian, shaking the canvas.

‘I said it won’t work? said Moist, waving him away. ‘Look, Mr Al, this isn’t going to be settled by fire. It’s going to be settled with words. We’ll tell the world what happened to the Trunk.’

‘You’ve been talking to Killer about that?’ said Alex.

‘Yes,’ said Moist.

‘But you can’t prove anything,’ said Alex. ‘We heard it was all legal.’

‘I doubt it,’ said Moist. ‘But that doesn’t matter. I don’t have to prove anything. I said this is about words, and how you can twist them, and how you can spin them in people’s heads so that they think the way you want them to. We’ll send a message of our own, and do you know what? The boys in the towers will want to send it, and when people know what it says they’ll want to believe it, because they’ll want to live in a world where it’s true. It’s my words against Gilt’s, and I’m better at them than he is. I can take him down with a sentence, Mr Mad, and leave every tower standing. And no one will ever know how it was done—’

There was a brief exclamation128 behind them, and the sound of canvas unrolling quite fast.

‘Trust me,’ said Moist.

‘We’ll never get another chance like this,’ said Mad Al.

‘Exactly!’ said Moist.

‘One man has died for every three towers standing,’ said Mad Al. ‘Did you know that?’

‘You know they’ll never really die while the Trunk is alive,’ said Moist. It was a wild shot, but it hit something, he sensed it. He rushed on: ‘It lives while the code is shifted, and they live with it, always Going Home. Will you stop that? You can’t stop it! I won’t stop it! But I can stop Gilt! Trust me!’

The canvas hung like a sail, if as someone intended to launch the tower. It was eighty feet high and thirty feet wide and moved a little in the wind.

‘Where’s Adrian?’ said Moist.

They looked at the sail. They rushed to the edge of the tower. They looked down into darkness.

‘Adrian?’ said Mad Al uncertainly.

A voice from below said: ‘Yes?’

‘What are you doing?’

‘Just, you know . . . hanging around? And an owl has just landed on my head.’

There was a small tearing noise beside Moist. Sane Alex had cut a hole in the canvas.

‘Here it comes!’ he reported.

‘What?’ said Moist.

‘The message! They’re sending from Tower 2! Take a look,’ Alex said, backing away.

Moist peered through the slit129, back towards the city. In the distance, a tower was sparkling.

Mad Al strode over to the half-sized clacks array and grabbed the handles.

‘All right, Mr Lipwig, let’s hear your plan,’ he said. ‘Alex, give me a hand! Adrian, just . . . hang on, all right?’

‘It’s trying to push a dead mouse in my ear,’ said a reproachful voice from below.

Moist shut his eyes, lined up the thoughts that had been buzzing for hours, and began to speak.

Behind and above him, the huge expanse of canvas was just enough to block the line of sight between the two distant towers. In front of him, the Smoking Gnu’s half-sized tower was just the right size to look, to the next tower in line, like a bigger tower a long way off. At night all you could see were the lights.

The clacks in front of him shook as the shutters rattled. And now a new message was dropping across the sky . . .

It was only a few hundred words. When Moist had finished, the clacks rattled out the last few letters and then fell silent.

After a while Moist said: ‘Will they pass it along?’

‘Oh, yes,’ said Mad Al, in a flat voice. ‘They’ll send it. You’re sitting up in a tower in the mountains and you get a signal like that? You’ll get it away and out of your tower as fast as you can.’

‘I don’t know if we ought to shake your hand or throw you off the tower,’ said Sane Alex sullenly130. ‘That was evil.’

‘What sort of person could dream up something like that?’ said Mad Al.

‘Me. Now let’s pull Adrian up, shall we?’ said Moist quickly. ‘And then I’d better get back to the city . . .’

 

An omniscope is one of the most powerful instruments known to magic, and therefore one of the most useless.

It can see everything, with ease. Getting it to see anything is where wonders have to be performed because there is so much Everything - which is to say, everything that can, will, has, should or might happen in all possible universes - that anything, any previously131 specified132 thing, is very hard to find. Before Hex had evolved the control thaumarhythms, completing in a day a task that would have taken five hundred wizards at least ten years, omniscopes were used purely133 as mirrors because of the wonderful blackness they showed. This, it turned out, is because ‘nothing to see’ is what most of the universe consists of, and many a wizard has peacefully trimmed his beard while gazing into the dark heart of the cosmos134.

There were very few steerable135 omniscopes. They took a long time to make and cost a great deal. And the wizards were not at all keen on making any more. Omniscopes were for them to look at the universe, not for the universe to look back at them.

Besides, the wizards did not believe in making life too easy for people. At least, for people who weren’t wizards. An omniscope was a rare, treasured and delicate thing.

But today was a special occasion, and they had thrown open the doors to the richer, cleaner and more hygienic sections of Ankh-Morpork society. A long table had been set for Second Tea. Nothing too excessive - a few dozen roast fowls136, a couple of cold salmon137, one hundred linear feet of salad bar, a pile of loaves, one or two kegs of beer and, of course, the chutney, pickle138 and relish139 train, one trolley140 not being considered big enough. People had filled their plates and were standing around chatting and, above all, Being There. Moist slipped in unnoticed, for now, because people were watching the University’s biggest omniscope.

Archchancellor Ridcully thumped141 the side of the thing with his hand, causing it to rock.

‘It’s still not working, Mr Stibbons!’ he bellowed142. ‘Here’s that damn enormous fiery143 eye again!’

‘I’m sure we have the right—’ Ponder began, fiddling144 with the rear of the big disc.

‘It’s me, sir, Devious Collabone, sir,’ said a voice from the omniscope. The fiery eye pulled back and was replaced by an enormous fiery nose. ‘I’m here at the terminal tower in Genua, sir. Sorry about the redness, sir. I’ve picked up an allergy145 to seaweed, sir.’

‘Hello, Mr Collabone!’ yelled Ridcully. ‘How are you? How’s the—’

‘—shellfish research—’ murmured Ponder Stibbons.

‘—shellfish research comin’ along?’

‘Not very well, actually, sir. I’ve developed a nasty—’

‘Good, good! Lucky chap!’ Ridcully yelled, cupping his hands to increase the volume. ‘I wouldn’t mind bein’ in Genua myself at this time of year! Sun, sea, surf and sand, eh?’

‘Actually it’s the wet season, sir, and I’m a bit worried about this fungus146 that’s growing on the omni—’

‘Wonderful!’ shouted Ridcully. ‘Well, I can’t stand here and chew your fat all day! Has anything arrived? We are agog147!’

‘Could you just stand back a little bit further, please, Mr Collabone?’ said Ponder. ‘And you don’t really need to speak so . . . loudly, Archchancellor.’

‘Chap’s a long way away, man!’ said Ridcully.

‘Not as such, sir,’ said Ponder, with well-honed patience. ‘Very well, Mr Collabone, you may proceed.’

The crowd behind the Archchancellor pressed forward. Mr Collabone backed away. This was all a bit too much for a man who spent his days with no one to talk to but bivalves.

‘Er, I’ve had a message by clacks, sir, but—’ he began.

‘Nothin’ from the Post Office?’ said Ridcully.

‘No, sir. Nothing, sir.’

There were cheers and boos and general laughter from the crowd. From his shadowy corner, Moist saw Lord Vetinari, right by the Archchancellor. He scanned the rest of the crowd and spotted Readier Gilt, standing off to one side and, surprisingly, not smiling. And Gilt saw him.

One look was enough. The man wasn’t certain. Not totally certain.

Welcome to fear, said Moist to himself. It’s hope, turned inside out. You know it can’t go wrong, you’re sure it can’t go wrong . . .

But it might.

I’ve got you.

Devious Collabone coughed. ‘Er, but I don’t think this is the message Archchancellor Ridcully sent,’ he said, his voice gone squeaky with nervousness.

‘What makes you think that, man?’

‘Because it says it isn’t,’ Collabone quavered. ‘It says it’s from dead people . . .’

‘You mean it’s an old message?’ said Ridcully.

‘Er, no, sir. Er . . . I’d better read it, shall I? Do you want me to read it?’

‘That’s the point, man!’

In the big disc of glass, Collabone cleared his throat.

‘ “Who will listen to the dead? We who died so that words could fly demand justice now. These are the crimes of the Board of the Grand Trunk: theft, embezzlement, breach of trust, corporate murder—” ’


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 devious 2Pdzv     
adj.不坦率的,狡猾的;迂回的,曲折的
参考例句:
  • Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人,我们不能依赖她。
  • He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。
2 din nuIxs     
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声
参考例句:
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深,喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
3 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
4 dribbly 4ea719b2413654ca41642095088a861e     
点滴留下
参考例句:
  • He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin. 他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
  • Dribble the hot mixture slowly into the blender. 将热的混合物慢慢滴入食物搅拌器。
5 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
6 liar V1ixD     
n.说谎的人
参考例句:
  • I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了,一个又偷又骗的家伙!
  • She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。
7 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。
8 intake 44cyQ     
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口
参考例句:
  • Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
  • There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
9 eternity Aiwz7     
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷
参考例句:
  • The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
  • Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞,永世相随。
10 oyster w44z6     
n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人
参考例句:
  • I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
  • I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
11 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
12 realization nTwxS     
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解
参考例句:
  • We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
  • He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。
13 shutters 74d48a88b636ca064333022eb3458e1f     
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
参考例句:
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
14 shutter qEpy6     
n.百叶窗;(照相机)快门;关闭装置
参考例句:
  • The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
  • The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。
15 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰,枭
参考例句:
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。
16 inconvenient m4hy5     
adj.不方便的,令人感到麻烦的
参考例句:
  • You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
  • Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗?
17 killer rpLziK     
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
参考例句:
  • Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
  • The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
18 gilt p6UyB     
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券
参考例句:
  • The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
  • The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。
19 wriggle wf4yr     
v./n.蠕动,扭动;蜿蜒
参考例句:
  • I've got an appointment I can't wriggle out of.我有个推脱不掉的约会。
  • Children wriggle themselves when they are bored.小孩子感到厌烦时就会扭动他们的身体。
20 tampered 07b218b924120d49a725c36b06556000     
v.窜改( tamper的过去式 );篡改;(用不正当手段)影响;瞎摆弄
参考例句:
  • The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
  • The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句
21 mattress Z7wzi     
n.床垫,床褥
参考例句:
  • The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
  • The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。
22 bliss JtXz4     
n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福
参考例句:
  • It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
  • He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴,因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。
23 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
24 scampered fe23b65cda78638ec721dec982b982df     
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
25 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 strut bGWzS     
v.肿胀,鼓起;大摇大摆地走;炫耀;支撑;撑开;n.高视阔步;支柱,撑杆
参考例句:
  • The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
  • Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿,高视阔步地走了。
27 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
28 flickered 93ec527d68268e88777d6ca26683cc82     
(通常指灯光)闪烁,摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
  • These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。
29 cocooned cdac0c6af8a5260ddcdbf56d7280422e     
v.茧,蚕茧( cocoon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The doctors cocooned the patient in blankets. 医生们将病人紧包在毯子里。 来自辞典例句
  • I cocooned in my own kingdom. 我完全沉迷在我自己的王国中。 来自辞典例句
30 foam LjOxI     
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫
参考例句:
  • The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
  • The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。
31 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
32 bustle esazC     
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹
参考例句:
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深,喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。
33 bust WszzB     
vt.打破;vi.爆裂;n.半身像;胸部
参考例句:
  • I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
  • She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。
34 exulted 4b9c48640b5878856e35478d2f1f2046     
狂喜,欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The people exulted at the victory. 人们因胜利而欢腾。
  • The people all over the country exulted in the success in launching a new satellite. 全国人民为成功地发射了一颗新的人造卫星而欢欣鼓舞。
35 winking b599b2f7a74d5974507152324c7b8979     
n.瞬眼,目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮
参考例句:
  • Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到,简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
37 ebbed d477fde4638480e786d6ea4ac2341679     
(指潮水)退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 ); 落; 减少; 衰落
参考例句:
  • But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退,寒战也停止了。
  • But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。
38 strata GUVzv     
n.地层(复数);社会阶层
参考例句:
  • The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
  • They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。
39 bigotry Ethzl     
n.偏见,偏执,持偏见的行为[态度]等
参考例句:
  • She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
  • At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。
40 sprawl 2GZzx     
vi.躺卧,扩张,蔓延;vt.使蔓延;n.躺卧,蔓延
参考例句:
  • In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里,灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
  • He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。
41 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
42 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
43 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。
44 ledgers 73a3b1ea51494741c86cba193a27bb69     
n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The ledgers and account books had all been destroyed. 分类账本和账簿都被销毁了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The ledgers had all been destroyed. 账簿都被销毁了。 来自辞典例句
45 spike lTNzO     
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效
参考例句:
  • The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
  • They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
46 scribbles 31ca66845e0e856584b2b3ad225b47e4     
n.潦草的书写( scribble的名词复数 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下v.潦草的书写( scribble的第三人称单数 );乱画;草草地写;匆匆记下
参考例句:
  • The scribbles on the wall must be the work of those children. 墙壁上的涂鸦准是那几个孩子画的。 来自辞典例句
  • There are scribbles on the wall. 墙上有胡乱涂写的字迹。 来自辞典例句
47 vaguely BfuzOy     
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
参考例句:
  • He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
  • He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
48 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
49 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
50 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。
51 poke 5SFz9     
n.刺,戳,袋;vt.拨开,刺,戳;vi.戳,刺,捅,搜索,伸出,行动散慢
参考例句:
  • We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
  • Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。
52 hanger hanger     
n.吊架,吊轴承;挂钩
参考例句:
  • I hung my coat up on a hanger.我把外衣挂在挂钩上。
  • The ship is fitted with a large helicopter hanger and flight deck.这艘船配备有一个较大的直升飞机悬挂装置和飞行甲板。
53 warts b5d5eab9e823b8f3769fad05f1f2d423     
n.疣( wart的名词复数 );肉赘;树瘤;缺点
参考例句:
  • You agreed to marry me, warts and all! 是你同意和我结婚的,我又没掩饰缺陷。 来自辞典例句
  • Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk-water such a blame fool way as that! 用那样糊涂蛋的方法还谈什么仙水治疣子! 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
54 larder m9tzb     
n.食物贮藏室,食品橱
参考例句:
  • Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
  • They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。
55 dabbed c669891a6c15c8a38e0e41e9d8a2804d     
(用某物)轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 ); 轻而快地擦掉(或抹掉); 快速擦拭; (用某物)轻而快地涂上(或点上)…
参考例句:
  • She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛,擤了擤鼻涕。
  • He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。
56 proffering bb5743f9a89c53e1d4727ba5f1e36dbf     
v.提供,贡献,提出( proffer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
57 agonized Oz5zc6     
v.使(极度)痛苦,折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 );苦斗;苦苦思索;感到极度痛苦
参考例句:
  • All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失,深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句
58 skilfully 5a560b70e7a5ad739d1e69a929fed271     
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地
参考例句:
  • Hall skilfully weaves the historical research into a gripping narrative. 霍尔巧妙地把历史研究揉进了扣人心弦的故事叙述。
  • Enthusiasm alone won't do. You've got to work skilfully. 不能光靠傻劲儿,得找窍门。
59 rumbled e155775f10a34eef1cb1235a085c6253     
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
参考例句:
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
60 civic Fqczn     
adj.城市的,都市的,市民的,公民的
参考例句:
  • I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
  • The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。
61 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
62 lumbering FA7xm     
n.采伐林木
参考例句:
  • Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
  • Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家,伐木业十分重要。
63 antithesis dw6zT     
n.对立;相对
参考例句:
  • The style of his speech was in complete antithesis to mine.他和我的讲话方式完全相反。
  • His creation was an antithesis to academic dogmatism of the time.他的创作与当时学院派的教条相对立。
64 nonchalance a0Zys     
n.冷淡,漠不关心
参考例句:
  • She took her situation with much nonchalance.她对这个处境毫不介意。
  • He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance.他装作若无其事,借以掩饰内心的不安。
65 stagecoach PuQww     
n.公共马车
参考例句:
  • She's getting off the stagecoach.她正在下马车。
  • The stagecoach driver cracked the whip.驿站马车的车夫抽响了鞭子。
66 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
67 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。
68 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
69 nervously tn6zFp     
adv.神情激动地,不安地
参考例句:
  • He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇,努力忍着不哭出来。
  • He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。
70 Undid 596b2322b213e046510e91f0af6a64ad     
v. 解开, 复原
参考例句:
  • The officer undid the flap of his holster and drew his gun. 军官打开枪套盖拔出了手枪。
  • He did wrong, and in the end his wrongs undid him. 行恶者终以其恶毁其身。
71 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。
72 recipient QA8zF     
a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器
参考例句:
  • Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
  • Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。
73 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
74 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
75 avalanche 8ujzl     
n.雪崩,大量涌来
参考例句:
  • They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
  • Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。
76 craved e690825cc0ddd1a25d222b7a89ee7595     
渴望,热望( crave的过去式 ); 恳求,请求
参考例句:
  • She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
  • A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。
77 punctuated 7bd3039c345abccc3ac40a4e434df484     
v.(在文字中)加标点符号,加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 );不时打断某事物
参考例句:
  • Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
  • The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
78 chuckles dbb3c2dbccec4daa8f44238e4cffd25c     
轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Father always chuckles when he reads the funny papers. 父亲在读幽默报纸时总是低声发笑。
  • [Chuckles] You thought he was being poisoned by hemlock? 你觉得他中的会是芹叶钩吻毒吗?
79 rumours ba6e2decd2e28dec9a80f28cb99e131d     
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传
参考例句:
  • The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
  • Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
80 gallant 66Myb     
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句:
  • Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
  • These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。
81 snarl 8FAzv     
v.吼叫,怒骂,纠缠,混乱;n.混乱,缠结,咆哮
参考例句:
  • At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
  • The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。
82 snarled ti3zMA     
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
参考例句:
  • The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
  • As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时,它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
83 fiddle GgYzm     
n.小提琴;vi.拉提琴;不停拨弄,乱动
参考例句:
  • She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
  • Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。
84 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
85 irate na2zo     
adj.发怒的,生气
参考例句:
  • The irate animal made for us,coming at a full jump.那头发怒的动物以最快的速度向我们冲过来。
  • We have received some irate phone calls from customers.我们接到顾客打来的一些愤怒的电话
86 limpid 43FyK     
adj.清澈的,透明的
参考例句:
  • He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。
  • The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。
87 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
88 milky JD0xg     
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的
参考例句:
  • Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
  • I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。
89 wager IH2yT     
n.赌注;vt.押注,打赌
参考例句:
  • They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
  • I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。
90 gambling ch4xH     
n.赌博;投机
参考例句:
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
91 lottery 43MyV     
n.抽彩;碰运气的事,难于算计的事
参考例句:
  • He won no less than £5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
  • They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。
92 insolent AbGzJ     
adj.傲慢的,无理的
参考例句:
  • His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
  • It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇,脸皮真厚。
93 enraged 7f01c0138fa015d429c01106e574231c     
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤
参考例句:
  • I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令,我极为恼火。
  • The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。
94 plank p2CzA     
n.板条,木板,政策要点,政纲条目
参考例句:
  • The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
  • They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。
95 belle MQly5     
n.靓女
参考例句:
  • She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
  • She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。
96 determinedly f36257cec58d5bd4b23fb76b1dd9d64f     
adv.决意地;坚决地,坚定地
参考例句:
  • "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我,"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说,"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他,下巴绷得紧紧的,看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分
97 flecks c7d86ea41777cc9990756f19aa9c3f69     
n.斑点,小点( fleck的名词复数 );癍
参考例句:
  • His hair was dark, with flecks of grey. 他的黑发间有缕缕银丝。
  • I got a few flecks of paint on the window when I was painting the frames. 我在漆窗框时,在窗户上洒了几点油漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》
98 bastards 19876fc50e51ba427418f884ba64c288     
私生子( bastard的名词复数 ); 坏蛋; 讨厌的事物; 麻烦事 (认为别人走运或不幸时说)家伙
参考例句:
  • Those bastards don't care a damn about the welfare of the factory! 这批狗养的,不顾大局! 来自子夜部分
  • Let the first bastards to find out be the goddam Germans. 就让那些混账的德国佬去做最先发现的倒霉鬼吧。 来自演讲部分
99 whiny whiny     
adj. 好发牢骚的, 嘀咕不停的, 烦躁的
参考例句:
  • People get rude and whiny when they are exhausted. 人们在精疲力竭的时候会变得粗野,爱发牢骚。
  • People get rude and whiny and exacting when they are exhausted. 人在筋疲力尽的时候会变得粗暴、爱发牢骚而苛求。
100 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。
101 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
102 growled 65a0c9cac661e85023a63631d6dab8a3     
v.(动物)发狺狺声, (雷)作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 );低声咆哮着说
参考例句:
  • \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道:“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》
103 rein xVsxs     
n.疆绳,统治,支配;vt.以僵绳控制,统治
参考例句:
  • The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
  • He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。
104 guile olNyJ     
n.诈术
参考例句:
  • He is full of guile.他非常狡诈。
  • A swindler uses guile;a robber uses force.骗子用诈术;强盗用武力。
105 chilly pOfzl     
adj.凉快的,寒冷的
参考例句:
  • I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
  • I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后,寒气逼人。
106 blotted 06046c4f802cf2d785ce6e085eb5f0d7     
涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 ); (用吸墨纸)吸干
参考例句:
  • She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
  • The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。
107 rustled f68661cf4ba60e94dc1960741a892551     
v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
108 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》
109 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
110 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
111 ornithologist ornithologist     
n.鸟类学家
参考例句:
  • That area is an ornithologist's paradise.那个地区是鸟类学家的天堂。
  • Now I know how an ornithologist feels.现在我知道做为一个鸟类学家的感受了。
112 hoots 328717a68645f53119dae1aae5c695a9     
咄,啐
参考例句:
  • His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
  • The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。
113 owls 7b4601ac7f6fe54f86669548acc46286     
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋,”我说,“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句
114 hyena k47yz     
n.土狼,鬣狗
参考例句:
  • African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗,以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
  • The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。
115 scouted c2ccb9e441a3696747e3f1fa2d26d0d7     
寻找,侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 ); 物色(优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等)
参考例句:
  • They scouted around for a shop that was open late. 他们四处寻找,看看还有没有夜间营业的商店。
  • They scouted around for a beauty parlour. 他们四处寻找美容院。
116 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
117 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。
118 scrambled 2e4a1c533c25a82f8e80e696225a73f2     
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞
参考例句:
  • Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
119 spun kvjwT     
v.纺,杜撰,急转身
参考例句:
  • His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
  • Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。
120 tightening 19aa014b47fbdfbc013e5abf18b64642     
上紧,固定,紧密
参考例句:
  • Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前,检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
  • It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。
121 wrench FMvzF     
v.猛拧;挣脱;使扭伤;n.扳手;痛苦,难受
参考例句:
  • He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
  • It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。
122 rummaging e9756cfbffcc07d7dc85f4b9eea73897     
翻找,搜寻( rummage的现在分词 ); 海关检查
参考例句:
  • She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys. 她在自己的包里翻来翻去找钥匙。
  • Who's been rummaging through my papers? 谁乱翻我的文件来着?
123 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
124 alteration rxPzO     
n.变更,改变;蚀变
参考例句:
  • The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
  • He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。
125 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
126 plunging 5fe12477bea00d74cd494313d62da074     
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发,生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
127 sabotage 3Tmzz     
n.怠工,破坏活动,破坏;v.从事破坏活动,妨害,破坏
参考例句:
  • They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
  • The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。
128 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
129 slit tE0yW     
n.狭长的切口;裂缝;vt.切开,撕裂
参考例句:
  • The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
  • He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。
130 sullenly f65ccb557a7ca62164b31df638a88a71     
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地
参考例句:
  • 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢?”汤姆绷着脸说。
  • Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完,想不出能找点什么事做,只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。
131 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
132 specified ZhezwZ     
adj.特定的
参考例句:
  • The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
  • It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
133 purely 8Sqxf     
adv.纯粹地,完全地
参考例句:
  • I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
  • This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。
134 cosmos pn2yT     
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐
参考例句:
  • Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
  • Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗?
135 steerable f2df9b4e5557d2b7cf2f951efe659059     
可驾驶的,易操纵的;可控
参考例句:
  • The MBHW04 is the first well using geometry steerable drilling technology in China. 新疆油田MBHW04水平井是国内第一口使用地质导向钻井技术的井。 来自互联网
136 fowls 4f8db97816f2d0cad386a79bb5c17ea4     
鸟( fowl的名词复数 ); 禽肉; 既不是这; 非驴非马
参考例句:
  • A great number of water fowls dwell on the island. 许多水鸟在岛上栖息。
  • We keep a few fowls and some goats. 我们养了几只鸡和一些山羊。
137 salmon pClzB     
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的
参考例句:
  • We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
  • Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗?
138 pickle mSszf     
n.腌汁,泡菜;v.腌,泡
参考例句:
  • Mother used to pickle onions.妈妈过去常腌制洋葱。
  • Meat can be preserved in pickle.肉可以保存在卤水里。
139 relish wBkzs     
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味
参考例句:
  • I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
  • I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。
140 trolley YUjzG     
n.手推车,台车;无轨电车;有轨电车
参考例句:
  • The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
  • In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆,书籍是放在台车上搬动的。
141 thumped 0a7f1b69ec9ae1663cb5ed15c0a62795     
v.重击, (指心脏)急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Dave thumped the table in frustration . 戴夫懊恼得捶打桌子。
  • He thumped the table angrily. 他愤怒地用拳捶击桌子。
142 bellowed fa9ba2065b18298fa17a6311db3246fc     
v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的过去式和过去分词 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫
参考例句:
  • They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
  • He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时,他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
143 fiery ElEye     
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的
参考例句:
  • She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
  • His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。
144 fiddling XtWzRz     
微小的
参考例句:
  • He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
  • All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
145 allergy 8Vpza     
n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症
参考例句:
  • He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
  • The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。
146 fungus gzRyI     
n.真菌,真菌类植物
参考例句:
  • Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
  • This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。
147 agog efayI     
adj.兴奋的,有强烈兴趣的; adv.渴望地
参考例句:
  • The children were all agog to hear the story.孩子们都渴望着要听这个故事。
  • The city was agog with rumors last night that the two had been executed.那两人已被处决的传言昨晚搞得全城沸沸扬扬。


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