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Chapter 28
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Hundreds of people spread out over the hillside putting out the brush fire. Others patrolled the grounds surrounding the generating plant to make certain no sparks were blown in by the wind. Hoses were put into service to wet down the bushes and trees, to soak the roof of the large wooden building. Only when the water pressure failed did anyone realize they had a second serious problem on their hands.

The flow of water in the swift stream that ran the plant had dwindled1 to a trickle2. All over the valley the lights blinked out as the system compensated3 for the sudden loss and diverted the electricity to the laboratory. The auxiliary4 system took over and the lab continued to function, but on reduced power. Everything was turned off except the circuits directly tied into the tanks containing the clones.

Throughout the night the scientists, doctors, and technicians worked to meet the crisis. They had drilled often enough to know exactly what to do in this emergency, and no clones were lost, but the system had been damaged by the uncontrolled stoppage.

Other men began to wade5 upstream to find the cause of the diminished flow of water. In the first light of morning they stumbled upon a landslide6 that had almost dammed the small river, and work was started immediately to clear it.

 

 

“Did you try to burn down the mill?” Barry demanded.

“No. If I wanted to burn it down, I would have lighted a fire at the mill, not in the woods. If I wanted to burn it down, I would burn it down.” Mark stood before Barry’s desk, not defiant7, not frightened. He waited.

“Where were you all night?”

“In the old house. I was reading about Norfolk, studying maps . . .”

“Never mind about that.” Barry drummed his fingers on his desk, pushed back the charts he had been studying, and stood up. “Listen to me, Mark. Some of them think you’re responsible for the fire, the dam, everything. I made the point you just made: if you had tried to burn down the mill, you could have done it easily enough without going through all that. The question is still open. The mill is off limits to you. So is the laboratory, and the boat works. Do you understand?”

Mark nodded. Explosives for river clearing were kept in the boat-works building.

“I was at the old house when the fire started,” Barry said suddenly, and his voice was very cold and hard. “I saw a curious thing. It looked like an eruption8 of some sort. I’ve thought a lot about it. It could have been an explosion, enough to start the landslide. Of course, no one could have seen it from the valley, and whatever noise it made would have been masked if it were underground even a little bit, and by the noise everyone was making fighting the fire.”

“Barry,” Mark said, interrupting him. “A few years ago you said something to me that was very important, and I believed you then and still believe you. You said you wouldn’t hurt me. Do you remember?” Barry nodded, still cold and watchful9. “I say that to you now, Barry. These people are my people too, you know. I promise you I won’t ever try to hurt them. I have never done anything purposely to harm any of them, and I never will. I promise that.”

Barry watched him distrustfully, and Mark smiled softly. “I’ve never lied to you, you know. No matter what I had done, I admitted it if you asked. I’m not lying now.”

Abruptly10 Barry sat down again. “Why were you looking up Norfolk? What is Norfolk?”

“There was a naval11 base there, one of the biggest on the East Coast. When the end was coming, they must have put hundreds of ships into dry dock. The ocean levels have been dropping. Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, it will be low there too, and those ships are high and dry—they called it mothballing them. I began to think of the metal in the ships. Stainless12 steel, copper13, brass14 . . . Some of those ships held crews of a thousand men, with supplies for that many, medicines, test tubes, everything.”

Barry felt the doubts fading, and the nagging15 feeling of something not cleared up vanished as they talked of the possibilities of manning an expedition to Norfolk early in the spring. Only much later did he realize he had not asked the crucial questions: Had Mark started the fire, for whatever reason, and had he blasted loose the rocks that had slid down into the stream, for whatever reason?

And if he had, why had he? They had lost time; it would take several months to clean up the mess completely, but they had planned to discontinue the cloning anyway until they were ready to start the mass production later in the spring. Nothing had been changed in their plans, except that now they would work on the stream, make it failproof, set up a new auxiliary system of generating power and improve everything generally.

Only the human implantations would be delayed beyond the target date already set for them. The preliminary work of cloning the cells, all done in the laboratory, would have to wait until spring when the lab was cleaned, the computer programmed anew . . . Why, then, had Mark been so self-satisfied? Barry couldn’t answer that question, nor could his brothers when they discussed it.

Throughout the winter Mark made his plans for the expedition to the coast. He would not be allowed to take any of the experienced foragers, who were needed to finish clearing out the warehouses16 in Philadelphia. He began training his group of thirty fourteen-year-olds while snow was still on the ground, and by March he said they would be ready to start as soon as the snow melted. He presented his provisions list to Barry for his approval; Barry didn’t even glance at it. The children would carry oversized packs, so that if they found salvageable18 items they could bring back as much as they could carry. Meanwhile, the other, more important forces who were going to Philadelphia were also being readied, and more attention was being paid to their needs than to Mark.

The laboratory was ready to operate again, the computer reprogrammed, when it was discovered the water flowing through the cave was contaminated. Somehow coliform bacteria had infiltrated19 the pure cave water, and its source had to be found before they could start operations.

It had been one thing after another, Barry and Bruce agreed. The fire, the landslide, missing supplies, misplaced drugs, now the contaminated water.

“They aren’t accidents,” Andrew said furiously. “Do you know what people are saying? It’s the work of the forest spirits! Spirits! It’s Mark! I don’t know how or why, but it’s all his doing. You’ll see, as soon as he leaves with his group, it will all stop. And this time when he comes back, if he does, we terminate him!”

Barry didn’t object; he knew it would be useless. They had determined20 that Mark, now a man of twenty, could not be allowed to exert his influence any longer. If he hadn’t come up with his plan to scout21 the shipyards at Norfolk, it would have been done sooner. He was a disturbing element. The young clones followed him blindly, took his orders without question, and looked on him with reverential awe22. Worse, no one could anticipate what he might do, or what might stir him into action of some sort. He was as alien to them as a being of another species; his intelligence was not like theirs, his emotions were not like theirs. He was the only one who had wept over the deaths of the radiation victims, Barry remembered.

Andrew was right, and there was nothing he could do to change that. At least, if Mark was responsible for the series of accidents, they would stop and there would be peace for a while in the valley. But the day Mark led his group out on foot, it was found that the corral had broken down at the far end and the livestock23 had wandered out and scattered24. They were all rounded up except two cows and their calves25 and a few sheep. And then the accidents did stop, exactly as Andrew had predicted.

 

 

The forest became thicker each day, the trees more massive. This had been a park, protected from cutting, Mark knew, but even he was awed26 by the size of the trees, some of them so large that a dozen youngsters grasping hands could hardly reach around them. He named those he knew: white oak, silverbell, maple27, a grove28 of birches . . . The days were warm as they headed south. On the fifth day they turned west by southwest, and no one questioned his directions. They did what they were told to do cheerfully and quickly and asked nothing. They were all strong, but their packs were heavy, and they were very young, and it seemed to Mark they were going at a crawl when he wanted to run, but he didn’t push them too fast. They had to be in good shape when they arrived at their destination. In the middle of the afternoon of the tenth day, he told them to stop, and they looked at him, waiting.

Mark surveyed the wide valley. He had known from studying the maps that it was here, but he hadn’t realized how beautiful it would be. There was a stream, and on either side of it the land rose enough not to be in danger of flooding, but not so steeply that it would be difficult to get water. This was the fringe of the national forest; some of the trees were the giants they had been seeing for days now, others were younger, and would make the logs they would need for their buildings. There was level ground for their crops, grazing ground for the livestock. He sighed, and when he faced his followers29 he was smiling broadly.

That afternoon and the following day he started them building lean-tos for temporary shelter; he laid out the corners of the buildings he ordered them to erect30, tagged the trees they were to cut and use for the buildings and their campfires, paced off the fields they were to clear, and then, content they had enough to keep them busy until he returned, he told them he was leaving and would return in a few days.

“But where are you going?” one of them asked, glancing about now as if questioning for the first time what they were doing.

“It’s a test, isn’t it?” another asked, smiling.

“Yes,” Mark said soberly. “You could call it a test. In survival. Are there any questions about any of my instructions?” There were none. “I’ll return with a surprise for you,” he said, and they were content.

He trotted31 effortlessly through the forest toward the river, and then he followed the river north until he reached the canoe he had hidden in the undergrowth weeks before. In all, it took him four days to return to the valley. He had been gone over two weeks, and he was afraid it might have been too long.

He approached from the hillside above the valley and lay down in some bushes to watch and wait for darkness. Late in the afternoon the paddle wheel came into view, and when it docked people swarmed32 out and lined up shoulder to shoulder to unload the boat, passing the salvage17 from one to the next, onto the shore, and into the boathouse. When lights came on, Mark moved. He started down to the old house, where he had hidden the drugs. Two-thirds of the way down he paused and dropped to his knees. To his right, a hundred yards away, was the cave entrance; the ground had been trampled33, the limestone34 slabs35 had been covered with dirt. They had found his entrance and sealed it off.

He waited until he was certain no one was below him watching the house, and then he cautiously made his way down the rest of the way, bellied36 under the bushes that grew thick about the house, and slid down the coal chute to the basement. He didn’t need a light to find the package, cached behind bricks he had pried37 loose months earlier. There too was the bottle of wine he had hidden. Working quickly, he added the stolen sleeping pills to the wine and shook it vigorously.

It was dark when he climbed the hillside once more and hurried toward the breeders’ quarters. He had to get there after they were in their rooms, but before they were asleep. He crept to the building and watched outside the windows until the night nurse made her rounds with the tray. When she had left the dorm room where Brenda and five other women slept, he tapped lightly on the window.

Brenda grinned when she saw him. She opened the window quickly, and he climbed in and whispered, “Turn off the light. I have wine. We’ll have a party.”

“They’ll have your skin if they catch you,” one of the women said. They were pleased at the prospect38 of a party, and already they were dragging out the mat, and one of them was winding39 her hair up out of the way.

“Where’s Wanda and Dorothy?” Mark asked. “They should be here, and maybe a couple of others. It’s a big bottle of wine.”

“I’ll tell them,” Loretta whispered, stifling40 her laughter.

“Wait until Nurse is out of sight.” She peeked41 out, shut the door, and pressed her finger to her lips. After waiting a moment, she looked again, then slipped out.

“After the party, maybe you and I can get out for a little while?” Brenda said, rubbing her cheek against his.

Mark nodded. “Any glasses in here?”

Someone produced glasses, and he began to pour the wine. Others joined them, and now there were eleven of the younger women on the mat drinking the golden wine, muffling42 giggles43 and laughter. When they began to yawn, they wandered off to their beds, and those who had come from the other room stretched out on the mat. Mark waited until they were all sleeping soundly, then left quietly. He went to the dock, made certain no one had remained aboard the paddle wheel, and then returned and began to carry the women out, one by one, wrapped like cocoons44 in their blankets. On his last trip he gathered as many clothes as he could find, closed the window of the dorm, and, panting with fatigue45, made his way back to the boat.

He untied46 the mooring47 ropes and let the boat glide48 with the current, using a paddle to keep it close to the shore. Downriver, nearly opposite the old house, he snagged a rock and drew the boat into shore and tied it securely. One more thing, he thought, very tired now. One more thing.

He ran to the old house and slid down the chute, then hurried upstairs. He didn’t use a light, but went straight to the paintings and started to pick up the first one. Behind him a match flared49, and he froze.

“Why did you come back?” Barry asked roughly. “Why didn’t you stay out there in the woods where you belong?”

“I came back for my things,” Mark said, and turned. Barry was alone. He was lighting50 the oil lamp. Mark made a motion toward the window, and Barry shook his head.

“It won’t do any good. They wired the stairs. If anyone comes up here, it rings an alarm in Andrew’s room. They’ll be on their way in a minute or two.”

Mark scooped51 up the painting, then another and another. “Why are you here?”

“To warn you.”

“Why? Why did you suspect I’d come back?”

“I don’t know why. I don’t want to know why. I’ve been sleeping downstairs, in the library. You won’t have time to get them all,” he said urgently as Mark picked up more paintings. “They’ll be here fast. They think you tried to burn down the mill, dam the stream, poison the clones in the tanks. They won’t stop to ask any questions this time.”

“I didn’t try to kill the clones,” Mark said, not looking at Barry. “I knew the computer would sound an alarm before the contaminated water was used. How did they find out?”

“They sent some of the boys down into the water, and a couple of them actually managed to swim out the other side, and after that, it wasn’t hard. Four were killed in the attempt,” he said without inflection.

“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “I didn’t want that.”

Barry shrugged52. “You have to go.”

“I’m ready.”

“You’ll die out there,” Barry said, in the same dead voice. “You and those children you took with you. They won’t be able to breed, you know. Maybe one girl, maybe two, but then what?”

“I’ve taken some of the women from the breeders’ compound,” Mark said.

Now Barry registered shock and disbelief. “How?”

“It doesn’t matter how. I have them. And we’ll make it. I planned it very carefully. We’ll make it.”

“That’s what it was all for?” Barry said. “The fire, the dam, the contaminated water, the seed grains you took? That’s what it was all for?” he said again, this time not looking at Mark, but searching the remaining paintings as if they held the answer. “You even have livestock,” he said.

Mark nodded. “They’re safe. I’ll get them in a week or two.”

“They’ll track you down,” Barry said slowly. “They think you’re a menace, they won’t rest until they find you.”

“They can’t find us,” Mark said. “The ones who could are in Philadelphia. By the time they get back there won’t be any signs of us anywhere.”

“Have you thought what it will be like?” Barry cried, suddenly losing the rigid53 control he had achieved. “They’ll fear you and hate you! It isn’t fair to make them all suffer. And they’ll come to hate you for it. They’ll die out there! One by one, and each one will make the survivors54 hate more. In the end you’ll all die mean and miserable55 deaths.

Mark shook his head. “If we don’t make it,” he said, “there won’t be anyone at all left on earth. The pyramid is tilting56. The pressure from the great white wall is bearing down on it, and it cannot stand.”

“And if you make it, you’ll sink back into savagery57. It will be a thousand years, five thousand, before a man can climb out of the pit you’re digging him. They’ll be animals!”

“And you’ll be dead.” Mark glanced swiftly about the room, then hurried to the door. He paused there and looked at Barry steadily58. “You won’t understand this. No one’s alive but me who could understand it. I love you, Barry. You’re strange to me, alien, not human. All of you are. But I didn’t destroy them when I could have and wanted to because I loved you. Good-bye, Barry.”

For a moment they continued to look at each other, and then Mark turned and ran lightly down the stairs. Behind him he heard the sound of something breaking, but he didn’t stop. He left by the back door, and was through the trees and into the field when Andrew and his companions drew near. Mark stopped and listened.

“He’s still up there,” someone said. “I can see him.”

Barry had broken the boards on the window so he could be seen. He was buying time for him, Mark realized, and keeping low, he began to run toward the river.

“That’s what it was all for,” Barry whispered again, and now he addressed himself to the walnut59 head that was Molly. He held the head between his hands and sat down at the exposed window with the lamp behind him. “That’s what it was all for,” he said one more time, and he wondered if Molly had always been smiling. He didn’t look up when flames started to crackle through the house, but he held the carved head tighter against his chest as if to protect it.

Far down the river Mark stood in the paddle wheel watching the flames, and he wept. When the boat bumped a rock, he began to fire the engine and then, under power, continued downriver. When he reached the Shenandoah he turned south and followed it until the big boat could go no farther. It was almost dawn. He sorted the clothes he had gathered together in the women’s quarters and made up packs of the boat’s provisions; they would need everything they could carry.

When the women began to stir, he would give them tea and cornbread, and get them ashore60. He would take the boat out to the middle of the river and let it float downstream again. They would need it back in the valley. Then he and the women would start through the forests toward home.

 

 

Epilogue

 

 

Mark kept behind trees as he approached the ridge61 over the valley once more. Twenty years, he thought. Twenty years since he had seen it. It was possible they had set up an elaborate alarm system, but he thought not. Not up here anyway. From all appearances, the woods up here had not been entered for many years. He ran the last few feet to the ridge, concealed62 himself behind a tangle63 of wild grapes, and looked below. For a long time he didn’t move, hardly breathed, and then he slowly began to walk down the slope.

There was no sign of life. Aspens grew in the fields, willows64 crowded the riverbanks; around the buildings the junipers and pines that had once been kept trimmed now grew high and almost hid the buildings. The rose hedge had become a thicket65. He started and whirled around at a sudden shriek66 that sounded almost human. A dozen large birds launched themselves into the air and flew awkwardly toward the nearest copse. The chickens had gone wild, he thought in wonder. And the livestock? He could see no sign of cattle, but they would be in the woods, along the riverbanks, spreading throughout the region.

He walked on. Again he stopped. One of the dormitories was gone, no trace of it anywhere. A tornado67, he thought, and he saw it now, a line of destruction that time had smoothed over, erased68; a path where there were no buildings, no large trees, only the new growth of alders69 and aspens and grasses that would hold the ground until the spruces made it down the hillside, until the maple and oak seeds could be blown in to land on a hospitable70 site and take root. He followed the swath cut by the tornado, more certain as he moved that that was what had happened. But it couldn’t account for the death of the entire community. Not that alone. Then he saw the ruins of the mill and stopped.

The mill had been destroyed, and only the foundation and rusting71 machinery72 indicated that it had once stood there, the mechanical queen ant of the community, giving all the will to live, the energy, the means to sustain life.

The end would have come quickly without the mill, without the power. He didn’t go any closer to it. He bowed his head and stumbled down toward the river, not wanting to see anything else.

He traveled homeward more slowly than he had come, stopping often to look at the trees, the brilliant green carpet of mosses73, and now and again he watched a glittering locust74 beat heavily through the sunlight, its iridescent75 wings appearing in flashes of color, then disappearing when it changed direction and didn’t catch the light exactly right. The locusts76 had come back; there were wasps77 again, and worms in the ground. He stopped at a mammoth78 white oak that overlooked a valley and thought about the changes the tree had witnessed silently. The leaves rustled79 over him, and he put his cheek against the tree for a moment, then went on.

Sometimes the loneliness had been almost too much, he thought, and always at those times he had found comfort in the woods, where he sought nothing human. He wondered if the others were still lonely; no one spoke80 of it any longer. He smiled as he thought of how the women had wept and screamed and straggled behind him, only to run to catch up once more.

At the top of the hill overlooking his valley he paused, then leaned against a silver maple to watch the activities below. Men and women worked in the fields—weeding the sugar cane81, hoeing corn, picking beans. Others had torn down one wall of the bathhouse and were busy expanding the facilities; more of the fired-clay tiles were being put in, fitted closely around the great fireplace in order to have a constant supply of hot water. Some of the older children were doing something to the water wheel—he couldn’t tell what.

A dozen or more children were picking blackberries along the edges of the fields. They wore long-sleeved shirts and long pants, so they wouldn’t become too scratched. They finished, put down their baskets, and began to pull off the confining clothes. Then, naked, nut-brown, laughing, they started toward the settlement. No two of them were alike.

Five thousand years of savagery, Barry had believed, but that was time measured on the steps of the pyramid, not by those who lived any part of it. Mark had led his people into a timeless period, where the recurring82 seasons and the cycles of the heavens and of life, birth, and death marked their days. Now the joys of men and women, and their agonies, were private affairs that would come and go without a trace. In the timeless period life became the goal, not the re-creation of the past or the elaborate structuring of the future. The fan of possibilities had almost closed, but was opening once more, and each new child widened its spread. More than that couldn’t be asked.

Four canoes came into view on the river; the boys and girls had been out netting fish. Now they raced one another home. Soon, Mark knew, some of them would ask the community’s permission to take the canoes on a trip of exploration, not searching for anything in particular, but out of curiosity about their world. The older adults would be fearful, unwilling83 for them to leave, but Mark would grant permission, and even if he didn’t, they would go. They had to.

Mark pushed himself away from the tree and started down the hill, impatient suddenly to be home again. He was greeted by Linda, who held out her hand to him. She was nineteen, large with child, his child.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Linda said softly. “It has been lonesome.”

“And you’re not lonely now?” he asked, putting his arm about her shoulders.

“No.”

The naked children saw him then and raced toward him, laughing, talking excitedly. Their hands and lips were stained with blackberries. He tightened84 his grip on Linda’s shoulder. She looked at him questioningly, and he loosened his grasp, afraid he had hurt her.

“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked.

“Because I’m happy to be home. I was lonely too,” he said, and it was part of the truth, and the other part he knew he could not explain to her. Because all the children were different.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dwindled b4a0c814a8e67ec80c5f9a6cf7853aab     
v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
  • His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 trickle zm2w8     
vi.淌,滴,流出,慢慢移动,逐渐消散
参考例句:
  • The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
  • The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。
3 compensated 0b0382816fac7dbf94df37906582be8f     
补偿,报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 ); 给(某人)赔偿(或赔款)
参考例句:
  • The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
  • I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。
4 auxiliary RuKzm     
adj.辅助的,备用的
参考例句:
  • I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
  • The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。
5 wade nMgzu     
v.跋涉,涉水;n.跋涉
参考例句:
  • We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
  • We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。
6 landslide XxyyG     
n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票;一面倒的胜利
参考例句:
  • Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
  • An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。
7 defiant 6muzw     
adj.无礼的,挑战的
参考例句:
  • With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时,仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
  • He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。
8 eruption UomxV     
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作
参考例句:
  • The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
  • The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。
9 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
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 naval h1lyU     
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的
参考例句:
  • He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
  • The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
12 stainless kuSwr     
adj.无瑕疵的,不锈的
参考例句:
  • I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
  • Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前,她的名声是无懈可击的。
13 copper HZXyU     
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的
参考例句:
  • The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
  • Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。
14 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
15 nagging be0b69d13a0baed63cc899dc05b36d80     
adj.唠叨的,挑剔的;使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评(某人)( nag的现在分词 );不断地烦扰或伤害(某人);无休止地抱怨;不断指责
参考例句:
  • Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
  • I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 warehouses 544959798565126142ca2820b4f56271     
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
  • Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。
17 salvage ECHzB     
v.救助,营救,援救;n.救助,营救
参考例句:
  • All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
  • The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。
18 salvageable salvageable     
adj. 可抢救的(可打捞的)
参考例句:
  • Tank wrecks found on maps are no longer salvageable. 地图上自带的坦克残骸将不能被轴心国工兵回收。
  • Their marriage was not salvageable. 他们的婚姻已不可挽回。
19 infiltrated ac8114e28673476511d54b771cab25a1     
adj.[医]浸润的v.(使)渗透,(指思想)渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
  • Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
20 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。
21 scout oDGzi     
n.童子军,侦察员;v.侦察,搜索
参考例句:
  • He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵,受了重伤。
  • The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。
22 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
23 livestock c0Wx1     
n.家畜,牲畜
参考例句:
  • Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
  • The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。
24 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
25 calves bb808da8ca944ebdbd9f1d2688237b0b     
n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子,腓;腿肚子( calf的名词复数 );牛犊;腓;小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 );(冰川)崩解;生(小牛等),产(犊);使(冰川)崩解
参考例句:
  • a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
  • The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 awed a0ab9008d911a954b6ce264ddc63f5c8     
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声,人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 maple BBpxj     
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
参考例句:
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
28 grove v5wyy     
n.林子,小树林,园林
参考例句:
  • On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
  • The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。
29 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
30 erect 4iLzm     
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的
参考例句:
  • She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头,把背挺得笔直。
  • Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
31 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
32 swarmed 3f3ff8c8e0f4188f5aa0b8df54637368     
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去
参考例句:
  • When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响,孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
  • When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下,人群就蜂拥回了旅社。
33 trampled 8c4f546db10d3d9e64a5bba8494912e6     
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯
参考例句:
  • He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊,怕他让暴民踩着。
  • People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。
34 limestone w3XyJ     
n.石灰石
参考例句:
  • Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
  • Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。
35 slabs df40a4b047507aa67c09fd288db230ac     
n.厚板,平板,厚片( slab的名词复数 );厚胶片
参考例句:
  • The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块,大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句
36 bellied 85194c6ab27f547eb26489eef21aa432     
adj.有腹的,大肚子的
参考例句:
  • That big-bellied fellow was very cruel and greedy. 那个大腹便便的家伙既贪婪又残恶。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The ship's sails bellied in the wind. 船帆在风中鼓得大大的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
37 pried 4844fa322f3d4b970a4e0727867b0b7f     
v.打听,刺探(他人的私事)( pry的过去式和过去分词 );撬开
参考例句:
  • We pried open the locked door with an iron bar. 我们用铁棍把锁着的门撬开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So Tom pried his mouth open and poured down the Pain-killer. 因此汤姆撬开它的嘴,把止痛药灌下去。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
38 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
39 winding Ue7z09     
n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈
参考例句:
  • A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
  • The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。
40 stifling dhxz7C     
a.令人窒息的
参考例句:
  • The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热,光景是要下雨。
  • We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里,简直透不过气来。
41 peeked c7b2fdc08abef3a4f4992d9023ed9bb8     
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 );偷看;窥视;微露出
参考例句:
  • She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句
42 muffling 2fa2a2f412823aa263383f513c33264f     
v.压抑,捂住( muffle的现在分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己)
参考例句:
  • Muffler is the conventional muffling device in the noise control of compressor. 消声器是压缩机噪声控制中常用的消声装置。 来自互联网
  • A ferocious face and a jet black muzzle, a muffling muzzle of long pistol. 一张狰狞的脸和他手中的乌黑枪口,那是长长的手枪销音器枪口。 来自互联网
43 giggles 0aa08b5c91758a166d13e7cd3f455951     
n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 );傻笑;玩笑;the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Her nervous giggles annoyed me. 她神经质的傻笑把我惹火了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had to rush to the loo to avoid an attack of hysterical giggles. 我不得不冲向卫生间,以免遭到别人的疯狂嘲笑。 来自辞典例句
44 cocoons 5dceb05da0afff0d0dbbf29f10373b59     
n.茧,蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧,蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天,“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
45 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳,劳累
参考例句:
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
46 untied d4a1dd1a28503840144e8098dbf9e40f     
松开,解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 ); 解除,使自由; 解决
参考例句:
  • Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来,我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
  • He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。
47 mooring 39b0ff389b80305f56aa2a4b7d7b4fb3     
n.停泊处;系泊用具,系船具;下锚v.停泊,系泊(船只)(moor的现在分词)
参考例句:
  • However, all the best mooring were occupied by local fishing boats. 凡是可以泊船的地方早已被当地渔船占去了。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
  • Her mind was shaken loose from the little mooring of logic that it had. 就像小船失去了锚,她的思绪毫无逻辑地四处漂浮,一会为这个想法难受,一会为那个念头生气。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
48 glide 2gExT     
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝
参考例句:
  • We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着,眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
  • So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞,宛如滑翔。
49 Flared Flared     
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
  • The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭,但它突然又燃烧起来。
50 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
51 scooped a4cb36a9a46ab2830b09e95772d85c96     
v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等)
参考例句:
  • They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块,在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
52 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》
53 rigid jDPyf     
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的
参考例句:
  • She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
  • The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严,几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。
54 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
55 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
56 tilting f68c899ac9ba435686dcb0f12e2bbb17     
倾斜,倾卸
参考例句:
  • For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他,但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
  • So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以,让我们结束内部间的争吵吧!再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。
57 savagery pCozS     
n.野性
参考例句:
  • The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。
  • They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。
58 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
59 walnut wpTyQ     
n.胡桃,胡桃木,胡桃色,茶色
参考例句:
  • Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
  • The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸,材质分胡桃木和红木两种。
60 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸
参考例句:
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前,孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
61 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
62 concealed 0v3zxG     
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
参考例句:
  • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
  • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
63 tangle yIQzn     
n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱
参考例句:
  • I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
  • If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你,我就不跟他们争吵。
64 willows 79355ee67d20ddbc021d3e9cb3acd236     
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 );柳木
参考例句:
  • The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
65 thicket So0wm     
n.灌木丛,树林
参考例句:
  • A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
  • We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。
66 shriek fEgya     
v./n.尖叫,叫喊
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
  • People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧,气愤或疼痛而尖叫。
67 tornado inowl     
n.飓风,龙卷风
参考例句:
  • A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
68 erased f4adee3fff79c6ddad5b2e45f730006a     
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案,写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义,消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》
69 alders 2fc5019012aa8aa07a18a3db0aa55c4b     
n.桤木( alder的名词复数 )
参考例句:
70 hospitable CcHxA     
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的
参考例句:
  • The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客,无论是他的朋友还是同事,他都盛情接待。
  • The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。
71 rusting 58458e5caedcd1cfd059f818dae47166     
n.生锈v.(使)生锈( rust的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • There was an old rusting bolt on the door. 门上有一个生锈的旧门闩。 来自辞典例句
  • Zinc can be used to cover other metals to stop them rusting. 锌可用来涂在其他金属表面以防锈。 来自辞典例句
72 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。
73 mosses c7366f977619e62b758615914b126fcb     
n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式
参考例句:
  • Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
  • The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。
74 locust m8Dzk     
n.蝗虫;洋槐,刺槐
参考例句:
  • A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
  • This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。
75 iridescent IaGzo     
adj.彩虹色的,闪色的
参考例句:
  • The iridescent bubbles were beautiful.这些闪着彩虹般颜色的大气泡很美。
  • Male peacocks display their iridescent feathers for prospective female mates.雄性孔雀为了吸引雌性伴侣而展现了他们彩虹色的羽毛。
76 locusts 0fe5a4959a3a774517196dcd411abf1e     
n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 );贪吃的人;破坏者;槐树
参考例句:
  • a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
  • In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西,什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
77 wasps fb5b4ba79c574cee74f48a72a48c03ef     
黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 ); 胡蜂; 易动怒的人; 刻毒的人
参考例句:
  • There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
  • We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中,而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中
78 mammoth u2wy8     
n.长毛象;adj.长毛象似的,巨大的
参考例句:
  • You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
  • Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。
79 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》
80 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。
81 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
82 recurring 8kLzK8     
adj.往复的,再次发生的
参考例句:
  • This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
  • For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言,它经过了一个反复考验的时期。
83 unwilling CjpwB     
adj.不情愿的
参考例句:
  • The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
  • His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
84 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。


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