Part 1 Holston 1

Part 1 Holston
1
The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing¹ as only
happy children do. While they thundered about frantically² above, Holston took his time, each step
methodical and ponderous³, as he wound his way around and around the spiral staircase, old boots
ringing out on metal treads.
The treads, like his father’s boots, showed signs of wear. Paint clung to them in feeble chips,
mostly in the corners and undersides, where they were safe. Traffic elsewhere on the staircase sent
dust shivering off in small clouds. Holston could feel the vibrations⁴ in the railing, which was worn
down to the gleaming metal. That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling⁵ feet
could wear down solid steel. One molecule⁶ at a time, he supposed. Each life might wear away a
single layer, even as the silo wore away that life.
Each step was slightly bowed from generations of traffic, the edge rounded down like a pouting⁷
lip. In the center, there was almost no trace of the small diamonds that once gave the treads their grip.
Their absence could only be inferred from the pattern to either side, the small pyramidal bumps rising
from the flat steel with their crisp edges and flecks⁸ of paint.
Holston lifted an old boot to an old step, pressed down, and did it again. He lost himself in what
the untold⁹ years had done, the ablation of molecules¹⁰ and lives, layers and layers ground to fine dust.
And he thought, not for the first time, that neither life nor staircase had been meant for such an
existence. The tight confines of that long spiral, threading through the buried silo like a straw in a
glass, had not been built for such abuse. Like much of their cylindrical¹¹ home, it seemed to have been
made for other purposes, for functions long since forgotten. What was now used as a thoroughfare for
thousands of people, moving up and down in repetitious daily cycles, seemed more apt in Holston’s
view to be used only in emergencies and perhaps by mere¹² dozens.
Another floor went by—a pie-shaped division of dormitories. As Holston ascended¹³ the last few
levels, this last climb he would ever take, the sounds of childlike delight rained down even louder
from above. This was the laughter of youth, of souls who had not yet come to grips with where they
lived, who did not yet feel the press of the earth on all sides, who in their minds were not buried at
all, but alive. Alive and unworn, dripping happy sounds down the stairwell, trills that were
incongruous with Holston’s actions, his decision and determination to go outside.
As he neared the upper level, one young voice rang out above the others, and Holston
remembered being a child in the silo—all the schooling¹⁴ and the games. Back then, the stuffy¹⁵ concrete
cylinder¹⁶ had felt, with its floors and floors of apartments and workshops and hydroponic gardens and
purification rooms with their tangles¹⁷ of pipes, like a vast universe, a wide expanse one could never
fully¹⁸ explore, a labyrinth¹⁹ he and his friends could get lost in forever.
But those days were more than thirty years distant. Holston’s childhood now felt like something
two or three lifetimes ago, something someone else had enjoyed. Not him. He had an entire lifetime
as sheriff weighing heavy, blocking off that past. And more recently, there was this third stage of his
life—a secret life beyond childhood and being sheriff. It was the last layers of himself ground to dust;
three years spent silently waiting for what would never come, each day longer than any month from
his happier lifetimes.
At the top of the spiral stairway, Holston’s hand ran out of railing. The curvy bar of worn steel
ended as the stairwell emptied into the widest rooms of the entire silo complex: the cafeteria and the
adjoining lounge. The playful squeals²⁰ were level with him now. Darting²¹ bright shapes zagged
between scattered²² chairs, playing chase. A handful of adults tried to contain the chaos²³. Holston saw
Emma picking up scattered chalk and crayon from the stained tiles. Her husband, Clarke, sat behind a
table arranged with cups of juice and bowls of cornflour cookies. He waved at Holston from across
the room.
Holston didn’t think to wave back, didn’t have the energy or the desire. He looked past the adults
and playing children to the blurry²⁵ view beyond, projected on the cafeteria wall. It was the largest
uninterrupted vista²⁶ of their inhospitable world. A morning scene. Dawn’s dim light coated lifeless
hills that had hardly changed since Holston was a boy. They sat, just as they always had, while he had
gone from playing chase among the cafeteria tables to whatever empty thing he was now. And
beyond the stately rolling crests²⁷ of these hills, the top of a familiar and rotting skyline caught the
morning rays in feeble glints. Ancient glass and steel stood distantly where people, it was suspected,
had once lived aboveground.
A child, ejected from the group like a comet, bumped into Holston’s knees. He looked down and
moved to touch the kid—Susan’s boy—but just like a comet the child was gone again, pulled back
into the orbit of the others.
Holston thought suddenly of the lottery²⁸ he and Allison had won the year of her death. He still had
the ticket; he carried it everywhere. One of these kids—maybe he or she would be two by now and
tottering²⁹ after the older children—could’ve been theirs. They had dreamed, like all parents do, of the
double fortune of twins. They had tried, of course. After her implant³⁰ was removed, they had spent
night after glorious night trying to redeem³¹ that ticket, other parents wishing them luck, other lottery
hopefuls silently praying for an empty year to pass.
Knowing they only had a year, he and Allison had invited superstition³² into their lives, looking to
anything for help. Tricks, like hanging garlic over the bed, that supposedly increased fertility; two
dimes³⁴ under the mattress³⁵ for twins; a pink ribbon in Allison’s hair; smudges of blue dye under
Holston’s eyes—all of it ridiculous and desperate and fun. The only thing crazier would have been to
not try everything, to leave some silly séance or tale untested.
But it wasn’t to be. Before their year was even out, the lottery had passed to another couple. It
hadn’t been for a lack of trying; it had been a lack of time. A sudden lack of wife.
Holston turned away from the games and the blurry view and walked toward his office, situated³⁶
between the cafeteria and the silo’s airlock. As he covered that ground, his thoughts went to the
struggle that once took place there, a struggle of ghosts he’d had to walk through every day for the
last three years. And he knew, if he turned and hunted that expansive view on the wall, if he squinted³⁷
past the ever-worsening blur²⁴ of cloudy camera lenses and airborne grime, if he followed that dark
crease³³ up the hill, that wrinkle that worked its way over the muddy dune³⁸ toward the city beyond, he
could pick out her quiet form. There, on that hill, his wife could be seen. She lay like a sleeping
boulder³⁹, the air and toxins⁴⁰ wearing away at her, her arms curled under her head.
Maybe.
It was difficult to see, hard to make out clearly even back before the blurring⁴¹ had begun anew.
And besides, there was little to trust in that sight. There was much, in fact, to doubt. So Holston
simply chose not to look. He walked through that place of his wife’s ghostly struggle, where bad
memories lay eternal, that scene of her sudden madness, and entered his office.
“Well, look who’s up early,” Marnes said, smiling.
Holston’s deputy closed a metal drawer on the filing cabinet, a lifeless cry singing from its ancient
joints⁴². He picked up a steaming mug, then noted⁴³ Holston’s solemn demeanor⁴⁴. “You feeling okay,
boss?”
Holston nodded. He pointed⁴⁵ to the rack of keys behind the desk. “Holding cell,” he said.
The deputy’s smile drooped⁴⁶ into a confused frown. He set down the mug and turned to retrieve⁴⁷
the key. While his back was turned, Holston rubbed the sharp, cool steel in his palm one last time,
then placed the star flat on the desk. Marnes turned and held out the key. Holston took it.
“You need me to grab the mop?” Deputy Marnes jabbed a thumb back toward the cafeteria.
Unless someone was in cuffs⁴⁸, they only went into the cell to clean it.
“No,” Holston said. He jerked his head toward the holding cell, beckoning⁴⁹ his deputy to follow.
He turned, the chair behind the desk squeaking⁵¹ as Marnes rose to join him, and Holston completed
his march. The key slid in with ease. There was a sharp clack from the well-built and well-maintained
inner organs of the door. The barest squeak⁵⁰ from the hinges, a determined⁵² step, a shove and a clank,
and the ordeal⁵³ was over.
“Boss?”
Holston held the key between the bars. Marnes looked down at it, unsure, but his palm came up to
accept it.
“What’s going on, boss?”
“Get the mayor,” Holston said. He let out a sigh, that heavy breath he’d been holding for three
years.
“Tell her I want to go outside.”

1 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

2 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

3 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

4 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

7 pouting   

v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The child sat there pouting. 那孩子坐在那儿，一副不高兴的样子。 来自辞典例句
• She was almost pouting at his hesitation. 她几乎要为他这种犹犹豫豫的态度不高兴了。 来自辞典例句

8 flecks   

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》

9 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

10 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

11 cylindrical   

adj.圆筒形的

参考例句：

• huge cylindrical gas tanks 巨大的圆柱形贮气罐
• Beer cans are cylindrical. 啤酒罐子是圆筒形的。

12 mere   

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。

13 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

15 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

16 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

17 tangles   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。
• Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

20 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

21 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

22 scattered   

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。

23 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

24 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

25 blurry   

adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的

参考例句：

• My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

27 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

28 lottery   

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。

29 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

30 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

31 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

32 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

33 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

34 dimes   

n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters are United States coins. 1分铜币、5分镍币、1角银币和2角5分银币是美国硬币。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes. 1965年，铸币厂停止向10分硬币中加入银的成分。 来自辞典例句

35 mattress   

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。

36 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

37 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

38 dune   

n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘

参考例句：

• The sand massed to form a dune.沙积集起来成了沙丘。
• Cute Jim sat on the dune eating a prune in June.可爱的吉姆在六月天坐在沙丘上吃着话梅。

39 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

40 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 blurring   

n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分

参考例句：

• Retinal hemorrhage, and blurring of the optic dise cause visual disturbances. 视网膜出血及神经盘模糊等可导致视力障碍。 来自辞典例句
• In other ways the Bible limited Puritan writing, blurring and deadening the pages. 另一方面，圣经又限制了清教时期的作品，使它们显得晦涩沉闷。 来自辞典例句

42 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

43 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

44 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

45 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

46 drooped   

弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
• The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。

47 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

48 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

49 beckoning   

adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
• He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

50 squeak   

n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another squeak out of you!我不想再听到你出声！
• We won the game,but it was a narrow squeak.我们打赢了这场球赛，不过是侥幸取胜。

51 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

52 determined   

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。

53 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。