"It's a strange feeling," Jason said. "I've never really seen the perimeter1 from this side before. Ugly is about the only word for it." He lay on his stomach next to Rhes, looking through a screen of leaves, downhill towards the perimeter. They were both wrapped in heavy furs, in spite of the midday heat, with thick leggings and leather gauntlets to protect their hands. The gravity and the heat were already making Jason dizzy, but he forced himself to ignore this. Ahead, on the far side of a burnt corridor, stood the perimeter. A high wall, of varying height and texture2, seemingly made of everything in the world. It was impossible to tell what it had originally been constructed of. Generations of attackers had bruised3, broken, and undermined it. Repairs had been quickly made, patches thrust roughly into place and fixed4 there. Crude masonry5 crumbled6 and gave way to a rat's nest of woven timbers. This overlapped7 a length of pitted metal, large plates riveted8 together. Even this metal had been eaten through and bursting sandbags spilled out of a jagged hole. Over the surface of the wall detector9 wires and charged cables looped and hung. At odd intervals10 automatic flame-throwers thrust their nozzles over the wall above and swept the base of the wall clear of any life that might have come close. "Those flame things can cause us trouble," Rhes said. "That one covers the area where you want to break in." "It'll be no problem," Jason assured him. "It may look like it is firing a random11 pattern, but it's really not. It varies a simple sweep just enough to fool an animal, but was never meant to keep men out. Look for yourself. It fires at regularly repeated two, four, three and one minute intervals." They crawled back to the hollow where Naxa and the others waited for them. There were only thirty men in the party. What they had to do could only be done with a fast, light force. Their strongest weapon was surprise. Once that was gone their other weapons wouldn't hold out for seconds against the city guns. Everyone looked uncomfortable in the fur and leather wrappings, and some of the men had loosened them to cool off. "Wrap up," Jason ordered. "None of you have been this close to the perimeter before and you don't understand how deadly it is here. Naxa is keeping the larger animals away and you all can handle the smaller ones. That isn't the danger. Every thorn is poisoned, and even the blades of grass carry a deadly sting. Watch out for insects of any kind and once we start moving breathe only through the wet cloths." "He's right," Naxa snorted. "N'ver been closer'n this m'self. Death, death up by that wall. Do like 'e says." * * * * * They could only wait then, honing down already needle-sharp crossbow bolts, and glancing up at the slowly moving sun. Only Naxa didn't share the unrest. He sat, eyes unfocused, feeling the movement of animal life in the jungle around them. "On the way," he said. "Biggest thing I 'ver heard. Not a beast 'tween here and the mountains, ain't howlin' 'is lungs out, runnin' towards the city." Jason was aware of part of it. A tension in the air and a wave of intensified12 anger and hatred13. It would work, he knew, if they could only keep the attack confined to a small area. The talkers had seemed sure of it. They had stalked out quietly that morning, a thin line of ragged14 men, moving out in a mental sweep that would round up the Pyrran life and send it charging against the city. "They hit!" Naxa said suddenly. The men were on their feet now, staring in the direction of the city. Jason had felt the twist as the attack had been driven home, and knew that this was it. There was the sound of shots and a heavy booming far away. Thin streamers of smoke began to blow above the treetops. "Let's get into position," Rhes said. Around them the jungle howled with an echo of hatred. The half-sentient plants writhed15 and the air was thick with small flying things. Naxa sweated and mumbled16 as he turned back the animals that crashed towards them. By the time they reached the last screen of foliage17 before the burned-out area, they had lost four men. One had been stung by an insect, Jason got the medikit to him in time, but he was so sick he had to turn back. The other three were bitten or scratched and treatment came too late. Their swollen18, twisted bodies were left behind on the trail. "Dam' beasts hurt m'head," Naxa muttered. "When we go in?" "Not yet," Rhes said. "We wait for the signal." One of the men carried the radio. He sat it down carefully, then threw the aerial over a branch. The set was shielded so no radiation leaked out to give them away. It was turned on, but only a hiss19 of atmospheric20 static came from the speaker. "We could have timed it--" Rhes said. "No we couldn't," Jason told him. "Not accurately21. We want to hit that wall at the height of the attack, when our chances are best. Even if they hear the message it won't mean a thing to them inside. And a few minutes later it won't matter." The sound from the speaker changed. A voice spoke22 a short sentence, then cut off. "Bring me three barrels of flour." "Let's go," Rhes urged as he started forward. "Wait," Jason said, taking him by the arm. "I'm timing23 the flame-thrower. It's due in ... there!" A blast of fire sprayed the ground, then turned off. "We have four minutes to the next one--we hit the long period!" * * * * * They ran, stumbling in the soft ashes, tripping over charred24 bones and rusted25 metal. Two men grabbed Jason under the arm and half-carried him across the ground. It hadn't been planned that way, but it saved precious seconds. They dropped him against the wall and he fumbled26 out the bombs he had made. The charges from Krannon's gun, taken when he was killed, had been hooked together with a firing circuit. All the moves had been rehearsed carefully and they went smoothly27 now. Jason had picked the metal wall as being the best spot to break in. It offered the most resistance to the native life, so the chances were it wouldn't be reinforced with sandbags or fill, the way other parts of the wall were. If he was wrong, they were all dead. The first men had slapped their wads of sticky congealed28 sap against the wall. Jason pressed the charges into them and they stuck, a roughly rectangular pattern as high as a man. While he did this the detonating wire was run out to its length and the raiders pressed back against the base of the wall. Jason stumbled through the ashes to the detonator, fell on it and pressed the switch at the same time. Behind him a thundering bang shook the wall and red flame burst out. Rhes was the first one there, pulling at the twisted and smoking metal with his gloved hands. Others grabbed on and bent29 the jagged pieces aside. The hole was filled with smoke and nothing was visible through it. Jason dived into the opening, rolled on a heap of rubble30 and smacked31 into something solid. When he blinked the smoke from his eyes he looked around him. He was inside the city. The others poured through now, picking him up as they charged in so he wouldn't be trampled32 underfoot. Someone spotted33 the spaceship and they ran that way. A man ran around the corner of a building towards them. His Pyrran reflexes sent him springing into the safety of a doorway34 the same moment he saw the invaders35. But they were Pyrrans, too. The man slumped36 slowly back onto the street, three metal bolts sticking out of his body. They ran on without stopping, running between the low storehouses. The ship stood ahead. Someone had reached it ahead of them, they could see the outer hatch slowly grinding shut. A hail of bolts from the bows crashed into it with no effect. "Keep going!" Jason shouted. "Get next to the hull37 before he reaches the guns." This time three men didn't make it. The rest of them were under the belly38 of the ship when every gun let go at once. Most of them were aimed away from the ship, still the scream of shells and electric discharges was ear-shattering. The three men still in the open dissolved under the fire. Whoever was inside the ship had hit all the gun trips at once, both to knock out the attackers and summon aid. He would be on the screen now, calling for help. Their time was running out. Jason reached up and tried to open the hatch, while the others watched. It was locked from the inside. One of the men brushed him aside and pulled at the inset handle. It broke off in his hand but the hatch remained closed. The big guns had stopped now and they could hear again. "Did anyone get the gun from that dead man?" he asked. "It would blow this thing open." "No," Rhes said, "we didn't stop." Before the words were out of his mouth two men were running back towards the buildings, angling away from each other. The ship's guns roared again, a string of explosions cut across one man. Before they could change direction and find the other man he had reached the buildings. He returned quickly, darting39 into the open to throw the gun to them. Before he could dive back to safety the shells caught him. * * * * * Jason grabbed up the gun as it skidded40 almost to his feet. They heard the sound of wide-open truck turbines screaming towards them as he blasted the lock. The mechanism41 sighed and the hatch sagged42 open. They were all through the air lock before the first truck appeared. Naxa stayed behind with the gun, to hold the lock until they could take the control room. Everyone climbed faster than Jason, once he had pointed43 them the way, so the battle was over when he got there. The single city Pyrran looked like a pin-cushion. One of the techs had found the gun controls and was shooting wildly, the sheer quantity of his fire driving the trucks back. "Someone get on the radio and tell the talkers to call the attack off," Jason said. He found the communications screen and snapped it on. Kerk's wide-eyed face stared at him from the screen. "You!" Kerk said, breathing the word like a curse. "Yes, it's me," Jason answered. He talked without looking up, while his hands were busy at the control board. "Listen to me, Kerk--and don't doubt anything I say. I may not know how to fly one of these ships, but I do know how to blow them up. Do you hear that sound?" He flipped44 over a switch and the faraway whine45 of a pump droned faintly. "That's the main fuel pump. If I let it run--which I won't right now--it could quickly fill the drive chamber46 with raw fuel. Pour in so much that it would run out of the stern tubes. Then what do you think would happen to your one and only spacer if I pressed the firing button? I'm not asking you what would happen to me, since you don't care--but you need this ship the way you need life itself." There was only silence in the cabin now, the men who had won the ship turned to face him. Kerk's voice grated loudly through the room. "What do you want, Jason--what are you trying to do? Why did you lead those animals in here ..." His voice cracked and broke as anger choked him and spilled over. "Watch your tongue, Kerk," Jason said with soft menace. "These men you are talking about are the only ones on Pyrrus who have a spaceship. If you want them to share it with you, you had better learn to talk nicely. Now come over here at once--and bring Brucco and Meta." Jason looked at the older man's florid and swollen face and felt a measure of sympathy. "Don't look so unhappy, it's not the end of the world. In fact, it might be the beginning of one. And another thing, leave this channel open when you go. Have it hooked into every screen in the city so everyone can see what happens here. Make sure it's taped too, for replay." Kerk started to say something, but changed his mind before he did. He left the screen, but the set stayed alive. Carrying the scene in the control room to the entire city.
收听单词发音 |
1
perimeter
|
|
| n.周边，周长，周界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
texture
|
|
| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bruised
|
|
| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
crumbled
|
|
| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
overlapped
|
|
| _adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
riveted
|
|
| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
detector
|
|
| n.发觉者，探测器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
random
|
|
| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
intensified
|
|
| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
writhed
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
foliage
|
|
| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
swollen
|
|
| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hiss
|
|
| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
atmospheric
|
|
| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
accurately
|
|
| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
spoke
|
|
| 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： |
|
|
|
|
23
timing
|
|
| n.时间安排，时间选择 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
charred
|
|
| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
rusted
|
|
| v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
fumbled
|
|
| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
congealed
|
|
| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
rubble
|
|
| n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
smacked
|
|
| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
trampled
|
|
| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
invaders
|
|
| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
slumped
|
|
| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
belly
|
|
| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
skidded
|
|
| v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
sagged
|
|
| 下垂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
flipped
|
|
| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
whine
|
|
| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |